Galapagos! Day One (too much to fit into a single blog)

This post is coming a bit late, as I visited the Galapagos with my mom about 2 weeks ago. I knew I would have a lot to say, and just never set aside enough time to sit down and write it. It finally occurred to me, after reading an e-mail from my mom that mentioned she was looking for my blog, that I could do this in installments. Here we go.

2 weeks ago, there was no school on Friday, because of the national holiday, Guayaquil Day. It has been said that in order to travel to the islands from Quito, one would need 4 consecutive days off. I was lucky enough to have a director willing to arrange an extra day off for me, so that I would not miss out on this fabulous experience. My mom actually planned her visit around these days off, so that she could share it with me.

One of the teachers in my 7th grade classroom was nice enough to recommend a travel agency that he had used on his trip. He had taken a cruise, traveling from island to island at night to make the best possible use of his time. I got in contact with Gulliver Expeditions, who were a fantastic choice. Very informative and quick to respond to my numerous e-mails (and English speaking). We discovered that they did have cruises available on the dates I needed, however they did not see all of the islands my mother most wanted to visit. They arranged our flights, a hotel stay, and guided English tours on all of the islands we had requested for a fantastic rate. The prices were much better than the ones my mom had found looking online from the states.

We took the last two seats on a flight from Quito (with a half hour layover in Guayaquil- we never even left the plane) to the island of Baltra early on Thursday morning. Once we landed, we took a free shuttle to the docks, followed by an 80 cent boat ride to Santa Cruz (where are hotel was), and a $1 taxi (actually, all the taxis were white pick up trucks) to our hotel, Verde Azul. We were at a bit of a loss as to what to do with the rest of our day. It was only around 2:30 in the afternoon, but we did not have any tours scheduled for that day. We decided to ask the girl at the front desk for suggestions, we knew we wanted to see either the lava tunnels or Los Gemelos, the twin volcanoes. As I fumbled with my Spanish, we discovered that she could call us a taxi and get us a quick Spanish tour from the drive to 4 places that we were interested in seeing for only $60! The price included transportation, and he would stay with us and answer our questions as we visited each place. What a deal! We jumped on it.

Fist, we saw Los Gemelos. Volcanic craters. Nature had really taken back over. These two "twin" craters were literally across a small street from one another!

With our driver/ impromptu tour guide

amazing, isn't it?

Next, he took us to a refuge site for tortoises. Most of Santa Cruz island is set aside for preservation, people only live in designated areas. The speed limit in the non-populated areas is low because of the tortoises. They are not in the least afraid of people, even when we saw them from the road! We kept stopping to take pictures, but our guide explained that we would be able to get close soon enough. We entered the refuge area and paid a small fee. Tortoises everywhere! They were not even the least bit afraid of humans, although loud noises and touching the animals was forbidden. These magnificent creatures were not fenced in, but conditions (and grazing supply) is optimal for them in the refuge area. I asked if cars were a problem for the creatures, and our driver laughed. I soon saw why. These guys are too large to miss, and they may hurt your car more than your car hurts them!

HUGE!!!

I fit just fine in a tortoise shell.

Next, we went to see a lava tunnel! As lava is moving, the top of the "river of lava" is exposed to air, which begins to cool it. The cool lava hardens, as the hot lava below stays liquid and continues to flow. Over time, "walls" and "ceiling" form. The tunnels created can be large enough to drive semi trucks through! This tunnel was only about 5 km long, although some stretch hundreds of kilometers. We explored for a while, but as the floor got increasingly rocky and uneven, mom decided it was a bit much for her, and she would prefer to conserve her energy for later adventures, so we headed back. There we even mini stalactites forming, but I could not seem to get a good photo.

Next, we went to visit a beach, in an area where flamingos like to frequent. Our driver explained that flamingos tend to migrate to other islands this time of year, but the trip was beautiful nonetheless.

I loved how diverse the islands were. We passed areas where people were growing coffee and bananas just minutes before we arrived at this walking trail and cacti.

Many pretty mangrove trees, but also Manzanillos. the tree of death. Good way to keep visitors on marked trails!

Here one is. There was no fruit, so I asked if the fruit looked like apples (manzana in Spanish). He said they do look a bit like crab apples. That make you sleep. Forever.

This was an area where people could cook on the beach! Under the branches, to hold in heat and keep the people warm during late night cook outs. There were little grills in strategic places.

He actually took us to a 5th location at no charge. A lookout where a person could see all of the island. Unfortunately, it was so foggy that all we could see is what I imagine the inside of a cloud looks like. Oh well, we had a fantastic day, and headed back to the hotel to rest up for our next adventure.