holyshitgalapagos!
So, everyone, sorry I haven’t posted anything for a while, but I’ve been busy doing the coolest activities of my life.
This past weekend, I went to the Galapagos Islands with my three closest study abroad friends, Megan, Alan, and Parker. We had a four-day trip to four different islands and we stayed on a boat (the boat’s name was Eden, which was already a part of my top three boat names). There were 12 other tourists on the boat besides us, from England, Austria, France, Germany, and Japan. They were all really nice, but we spent the most time with the three people from England.
Because the Glapagos Islands are a national park here in Ecuador and they’re highly protected, you can’t go to shore without havinga guide with you. Our guide, Jorge, was a native of the islands and very knowledgable, even though he was kind of cocky. Either way, he showed us a ton of super cool things.
Because we had the luxury of sleeping on the boat, we were able to spend all day on or around the islands, then travel at night. This made sleeping more difficult because there are lots more waves in the open ocean than there were in the areas where we anchored during the day, but we also go to see more of the islands. Definitely worth it.
So. Every morning we had breakfast at 6:45 then took a dinghy to the island. We would have a walking tour along a marked path to see animals and sights, then we would go back to the beach and snorkle. Every day we went snorkling twice in lovely, warm, clear water that was full of animals. For example, in four days, in their natural happy habitats, I saw giant tortoises, sea turtles, sea lions, fur seals, galapagos penguins (yes, penguins), marine inguanas (they dive), black and white-tipped reef sharks, hammerhead sharks, blue-footed boobies, red-footed boobies (and you thought they only had blue feet), manta rays, frigate birds, and lots of other birds. And, excluding the non-swimming animals and the rays, I went snorkling with all of them.
After our morning excursion, we wold go back to the boat for a few hours to rest and eat lunch and maybe move to a different part of the island, then we would go back to land for another walk and more snorkling. We’d be back aboard by five or six, have dinner at seven, get a talk about the next day’s activities, then have the rest of the night to ourselves. We spent a lot of time laying out in the bow, or at night, lounging on the second level and watching stars. Stars are different in the southern hemisphere, and even when we were north of the equator, I still didn’t see anything I recognized. Also, stars in the middle of the ocean are better than they are anywhere else in the world.
For those who like other details, the weather was super beautiful. Even when it was cloudy, on the islands we didn’t wear more than shorts and tee shirts, and we spent a lot of time in swim suits. On the boat it was breezier, especially when we were moving, but even at night it was comfortable in jeans and a long-sleeve. When it was sunny, it was probably 80 or 90 degrees, even at 9:00 am. It was perfect.
Sorry to not put any pictures up yet. I do have them but it’s a process and I am still going to school, which means I have homework to do.
This weekend we’re headed deep into the jungle to a research station connected to our university. We’ll be seeing lots of jungle-y things like monkeys and bats and birds, and bascially just hanging out in the Amazon Basin.
Again, I’m thinking of everyone, I wish you all could be here to see what I’m seeing. It’s absolutely stunning and I want to share it with everyone. Don’t worry, I’ll come home with tons of pictures!
Nice writeup about the Galapagos, send more info about the jungle trip. Post a photo or tow, doesn’t have to be a lot.
Mom