Los Galapagos

(I’m going to combine all my entries from this trip-get ready for a mini novel)

6:00am-wake up

6:45am-leave for the airport

7:00am-meet everyone at the airport

8:30am-board airplane to Guayiquyl

9:30am-leave Guayiquyl for the Galapagos!

11:45am- arrive in the Galapagos

12:00pm-take boat taxi thing across the channel to Santa Cruz

12:15pm-take an hour long bus ride across Santa Cruz to our hotel Verde Azuel

1:00pm-Pile everyone into 3 taxis and drive to Tortuga Bay

These creatures are absolutely magnificent. They literally make you slow down and enjoy life. These massive Tortugas move at such a slow pace, and yet you are completely captivated by them. It’s hard to believe that these turtles are years upon years older than me. Being here is completely surreal. This place + one man created so much doubt and controversy in the world and I actually get to experience this place for an entire week. My life is good.

23 de julio

Today was pretty exciting. We went on some cruise to some island. (When I remember it’s name I’ll add it in here) Our tour guide was super hott. I wish I could have understood more of what he said about the animals. Next time-English speaking tour guide. We got to see all sorts of cool birds, sea lions, crabs, iguanas, and other various creatures. After that island tour we headed over to some other island where we got to go swimming and snorkeling. That place was fantastic. White beaches, emerald water, and bright South American sun. Gorgeous! The sand was made up of tiny pieces of shells. I was super excited about the snorkeling part. I miss water sports. There’s no feeling like getting to breathe underwater. I feel like you get a completely new and better look at life. I feel like nature is letting me look at a side of it that not everyone gets to experience.

            I think I could totally be a beach bum. Maybe someday I’ll live close to a beach. What I’d really like to do is marry our tour guide and be able to live here for the rest of my life. He was hott and I could understand most of what he said in Spanish. That’s a good sign right? We did have like an hour-long conversation on our ride back to the main island. He did say he’s come out dancing with us tonight…do I hear wedding bells? Is it wrong to want to marry someone because you want to live on the Galapagos? He would get a green card in return. I think it’s a fair trade.

24 de julio

Gorge

Today has been awesome. We began out day with the Charles Darwin station. It actually sounds way cooler than it is. I thought it was going to be full of cool sciencey stuff, but it was actually pretty lame. We’ve basically saw more Tortugas. Although, we did get to see Lonely Gorge. I believe he is the last of his breed. Poor guy. That was pretty cool. Then we hopped on a boat to Isabella. Man that 3 hour boat ride was a disaster. Remember, this is South America we’re talking about. It’s not a luxurious tourist boat, it’s a dinky overly crowded with a small view shanty boat. Lucky for us no one in our program threw up, although we had some close calls. I actually felt pretty good the whole time. I even got a little nap in.  But man was that water choppy. I forgot how powerful the sea can be. It really makes you realize how insignificant you are. Good reality check.

            Once we arrived on the island I think we all agreed that the boat ride was completely worth it. The word paradise doesn’t even describe the emerald waters, black lava rocks, multitude of vibrantly colored creatures, or the sand consisting of minie shells and soft white crystals. I am in love. Not to mention this island has hardly any tourists. It feels so remote. Just the locals and us.

The Island of Isabella

            One day I think I will be a beach bum. I would love to surf and be barefoot. This life is wonderful and shoes are optional everywhere. The streets are actually just packed down sand most of the time. The first thing I did was walk out into the sea in my skirt and bathing suit. The water was warm and friendly. I had a hard time getting out for dinner. For dinner we ate fresh tuna with various delicious sides. Dinner was delicious and I am thoroughly excited for breakfast.

            After dinner Jade met one of the locals named David and invited him to play Apple to Apples with us. I can’t even imagine how it feels to play that game as a native speaker of Spanish. I was very impressed with how well he played/guessed. He seems to be a really fun guy and I hope he hangs out with us tomorrow. Meeting locals in the best way to discover a new place. And who knows-making a contact in the Galapagos could be good. I am looking for a Galapagoean husband.

25 de julio

This morning Katie and I woke up at the ungodly hour of 5:45am in hopes of catching the sunrise and then go running on the beach. Unfortunately it was super cloudy so we didn’t get a chance to see much. But the run was awesome. Running on the beach in the wee hours of the morning is pretty inspiring. We ran during low tide so we could see all the shells left over and laugh as the crabs scuttled away from us. Hard to beat the feeling of bare feet beating upon the sand while the waves crash around you.

26 de julio

Today we snorkeled with sea lions! Like literally interact with them. They came so close to us in the water that you could hear their noises. We were really lucky to have had that family so close. It was seriously one of my most favorite life experiences.

Life here reminds me a lot of life at Miguel’s. . . only less humidity, rednecks, and bugs. The culture is very similar to that of climbers only with surfers. Last night Steph, Maria, Naomi, Ashley, and I all went to a local beach bar called Casa Rosado and drank cervazas with the locals around a campfire only a couple feet from the ocean. I talked to a lot of new people. One girl, Raquel, is from a small town close to Banos, another was from Germany. I really enjoyed having the conversations solely in Spanish. I’m getting to be really proud of my speaking ability. I’m not super correct grammatically, but I can hold basic conversations. Raquel even told me that I spoke well-score.

            The surfer boys really reminded me of my climber boys back home in the courting of the gringas. A girl named Tally, who has been living here for the past month teaching ESL (lucky) and I had an in depth conversation about the boys here. At the red all the boys spit their game at the easy weekend warrior girls. Here they speak Spanish slower, learn Spanglish, and play American music for the gringas. Where there’s a nitch of all guys in a male dominated sport, you’ll find that they all have seasoned tactics on how to court the tourists into their beds. I love watching it happen and experiencing the different methods. 

            One of the best parts about last night was the ride to Jr’s house after they closed the bar. We were each assigned a guy who was on a bike and then rode on the metal frame. Talk about having a blast. My guy got out his blackberry and played musico romantica. I called him out and he said, “Anna, tranquilla tranquilla. Estoy un conductor de este taxi y este es la musica de este taxi.” (Anna, tranquil tranquil-which is like a nice version of chill out-. I am a taxi driver and this is the music of the taxi.) I love South American men, they have the biggest personalities.

27 de julio

Yesterday was an absolute blast. I’m super bummed to be sitting on an airplane on my way back to Quito. I’m going to miss the warm breezes and sandy feet.

Out day began with our delicious breakfast that consisted of bread complete with two types of jam, fresh juice, eggs and ham. We were giving the choice of going on the volcano tour or spending the day at the beach. Everyone except for Katie and Faulky opted for the beach day. I spent my morning doing yoga with Ashley, Alycia, and Maggie. Then I painted with watercolors for about an hour close to the ocean. There is nothing like sitting in the sun and painting. I am so happy that I am so near the end of my college career and can begin to actually think about things like painting again. Following my relaxing morning came lunch.

            After lunch Ashley and I met up with Jr for some surfing lessons. I am in love with this new sport. Jr was a pretty crappy guide though. He supplied us with wetsuits, boards, and basic land lessons. As soon as we go in the water he pretty much only paid attention to Ashley. Then he eventually went out past the break where the bigger waves were and surfed with his friends. Apparently there was a huge swell that had come in that night. I really sucked at surfing at first…I’d like to blame it on the fact that our lesson was in Spanish and Jr mostly just flirted with Ashley. (just kidding) But I did stand up quite a few times, so at least I didn’t completely suck. I can defiantly see the lure of surfing now. Where I wasn’t covered with the wetsuit I’m super tan and my body is completely wrecked. I love any sort of sport that can be this painful the next day. I wish I lived closer to an ocean with waves. I’d love to get more into surfing.

            After we returned we ate dinner with everyone and then I took a nap. I was completely exhausted and totally deserved that nap. Then Ashley and I headed back to that local surfer bar. That place was so fun and chill. They locals kept saying that we were tranquilla. I guess that’s a good thing in Spanish surfer slang. We stayed there and  chatted with the locals until Jr closed down the place. Then we all headed over to Iguana Bar for some dancing. The guys here have a funny way of dancing. They don’t really salsa, they just kinda move their hips in a circular humping motion-gross. Boys in Quito are much better dancers for sure. (Although all of their intentions are the same) I ended up leaving the dance room because they were so dirty and hung out with my friends outside. At one point a guy named X, who is super sweet, started dancing and I looked in through the window. The guy next to the window scooted over and I crawled in next to him. He made some small talk and then asked, “Quieres bailar?” He was cute so I said yes. We spent the rest of the night dancing because he wasn’t dirty like the others. After the bar closed we spent some time talking and I found out that his name is Jackson, he’s 21, and has lived on the island of Isabella his whole life. I wonder what it feels like to have lived on such a small island all your life. I mean I felt like I knew a good chunk of the locals on the island and we’d only been there for 3 days. Gives a whole new meaning to small town. We eventually met up with the rest of our group for the after after party and had a really fun remainder of the night. I miss The Galapagos already.