Galapagos

I just came back from the Galapagos Islands. It was really one of the most amazing places I've ever visited. We left Sunday morning and flew to Guayaquil. After a layover there we flew another 2 hours over the Pacific to the Galapagos. When I got off the plane I saw a guy chasing an iguana off the runway. That was a pretty cool welcome. Then we got in a bus and drove across the island. The airport is on an island called Baltra which is pretty much a boring version of Arizona. It was really not what I expected. However, we drove to a crossing where the water was incredibly blue. It was like I was in the middle of one of those fancy beach screen savers. We took a ferry across where I saw a brown pelican flying around. The tour group gave us a really cheesy booklet with a checklist of animals to cross off. Naturally I decided that it would be a great idea to fill it out. We then took a bus on to a Galapagos tortoise reserve. There were tons of tortoises because it was mating season, so they were walking along slowly. They were really impressively big. It was super cool because I had remembered watching videos of them in school but I had thought at the time that I would never actually see them. We then went to a research station named after Darwin with more tortoises. I thought it was ironic that they named a tortoise breeding station after Darwin, because Darwin spent his time on the island eating tortoises. Anyway, it wasn't as exciting as seeing them in the wild, but we did see Lonesome George, who is the last of his specific species of tortoise. We also walked through a lava tunnel which was pretty much the same as any tunnel.

After all the tortoises we walked through the town where we could buy overpriced tourist stuff. Then we took a dinghy to our cruise ship, the Coral I. The cruise ship was amazing. We had a jacuzzi (although it was never on), a bar, and the rooms were pretty nice as well. Unfortunately I kinda got seasick so I took probably an unhealthy amount of motion sickness pills and felt a bit better. There were some Germans on the boat as well so I spent some time talking to them. It was really embarrassing how much Spanish got mixed up in my German, but I got it under control. The boat rocking was nice for sleeping though, so I slept really well.

We had to get up at seven on Monday and had breakfast. We disembarked at Isla Espanola. There were tons of crabs on the rocks. Then we saw some sea lions which are a lot cooler in person than anywhere else. When we kept walking we noticed that sea lions were absolutely everywhere. Since they don't have any natural predators on the islands, they don't have a fear mechanism, so you can walk really really close to them and they don't care. Watching them walk was hilarious as well. There were also tons of marine iguanas there, which were fairly big and very colorful. There were also lava lizards. I also saw my first blue footed booby there which was super exciting. Then there were also albatrosses and frigate birds. There were also some Nazca boobies, which weren't nearly as exciting as the blue footed boobies. We then returned to our boat and had lunch. We got snorkeling gear and then returned to a different beach where we went snorkeling. Unfortunately there wasn't a very good view where we were, but since I didn't really know what I was doing, it was good to practice a bit. There were sea turtles swimming around though so I could see them without snorkeling. The beach was also full of sea lions. At night there weren't any clouds, so I spent about an hour and a half star gazing. There was an amazing view because there aren't many light distractions in the middle of the Pacific.

During the night we sailed on to Isla Floreana. We walked around and saw lots more sea lions and crabs. We got to a lagoon but none of the flamingos were there. We got to a different beach where there were sting rays. We got to see them and one actually touched me. It only stings you if you step on it, so I was ok. There were hundreds of them floating close to the beach. Then we got to go snorkeling again. I knew what I was doing this time so I got to see a lot more. There were tons of tropical fish swimming around. I also saw a sea urchin. The highlight though, was that I got to see an absolutely gigantic sea turtle feeding really close. Then a sea lion started playing with us, so it swam all around us. It was really awesome. We then returned to the boat and had lunch, and then we had the option of going on a dinghy around this island or to go deep sea snorkeling. I went snorkeling again, and it was absolutely worth it. Apparently there was a shark right beneath me, but I didn't see it. Everyone else did though, so I have witnesses that I swam with sharks. My toe was bleeding at the time as well, so I'm pretty hardcore. There were lots of tropical fish again, including a really green parrot fish. I saw an octopus. Everyone was freezing, but I had rented a wetsuit, so I was really warm. It was a really good investment.

After that snorkeling adventure we had a short break and then headed to another part of the island where there's a mailbox. The mailbox is actually a barrel and stems from a pirate tradition, where sailors would drop letters in it and hope that someone who is heading back close to their home delivers the letter for them. Now it's a tourist attraction where tourists do the same thing. There was a soccer field close by where our crew was playing soccer. So we watched them for a bit and then headed back to the boat. I had befriended the waiter on the boat so I talked to him for a bit to practice Spanish. I then spent some more time stargazing.

That took us to Wednesday which was also our last day in the Galapagos. We came to Isla Seymour. There were tons of birds here. And sea lions, which are still awesome but everywhere. There were also huge land iguanas. The main attraction here were the frigate birds. There were two types, the great frigate bird, and the magnificent frigate bird. Frigate birds are the ones with the big red pouches for those who don't know. They were nesting and flying around so that was super cool. There were also loads of blue footed boobies. We then returned to the boat and took a short ride to the island of Baltra to return home. I spent the last trip on the top deck and there were frigate birds flying right over top of me. One was literally close enough that I could have grabbed it had I stood up. Unfortunately my camera died at this point so I couldn't take any pictures, but it was awesome.

We got to the airport at 11 and we were all sad that we had to leave. However, they told us that the plane was delayed about a half hour. Next thing we knew it was delayed until 3. Then until 4. I got sick of waiting at the airport so I went for a walk. Unfortunately they built the airport on the most boring island in all of the Galapagos. Like I said earlier, it's just a really boring version of Arizona. There was nothing at all except cacti. We finally ended up leaving at 4:15. I didn't think I'd be glad to leave the Galapagos, but after five hours of waiting in Baltra, I was pretty glad to get on a plane. I'll post pictures later, I don't have time to upload them right now.