Hola desde Ecuador!

After leaving Cotopaxi in the afternoon, going back to Quito for a nice relaxing night in the hosteria, we woke up early at 4:40 in the morning to catch our flight to the storied islands of the Galapagos. Most of us are not morning people, however, all of us were excited to be able to experience a journey that many people do not have the opportunity to witness. When we first landed on Baltra Island however, it was not at all what we had imagined. The desert-esque landscape was barren with no inhabitants except for a large building that spanned across a tiny portion of the island. With our passports, transit control documents, and some money, we went through security and obtained our bags. We met our Galakiwi guide at the airport, along with some of his colleagues. We ferried across Baltra Island to the first island where we would be staying, Santa Cruz. Without any stops between, we were immediately transported to see the giant tortoises that were made famous by many books as well as movies. We split into two groups and walked along the trails to see the tortoises. They were massive and wrinkly, but still very cute. We watched them fight each other, which in their world, is fast and furious, but to us, was slow-motion and hilarious. After watching the turtles, we were finally able to get settled in our hotel for the night. Many of us, however, did not have our eyes on the nice bed and the warm temperatures, but the ice cream shop that was right next door. Knowing that no one would be able to control their cravings, we were promised ice cream after a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Center, and a quick trip to the beach.  We all wanted desperately to see the baby tortoises, so we walked to the breeding area where we not only saw baby tortoises that were only a few months old and from all different islands, but also older tortoises. Then, we passed through a two-minute exhibition of Lonesome George, who was the last remaining tortoise on Pinta Island, who died on June 24, 2012. Afterwards, we walked excitedly to the beach that the exhibition guide had told us about. On the way, we saw many nesting iguanas who decided to sunbathe in the middle of our path, forcing us to look down with every step that we took, making sure that we did not step on them. As we arrived on the beach, everyone took off their bags and laid them in a clump on the sand, kicked off their flip flops and ran into the water. The first yelps were heard with exclamations of cold water. We were able to see marine wildlife in the small lagoon that we waded in, as we were not allowed to swim for the fear of riptide. There were many small crabs that climbed along the volcanic rocks that formed in the ocean, creating a barrier to a small tide pool. There were iguanas that blended in with the rocks, and some people claimed to have seen an eel as well. In the tide pool, there were snails, millions of shells, and small minnows that swam in between the rocks. Connor spent some time in the tide pool trying to catch them, but with no luck. That night, we walked two blocks into the town center to a street filled with local restaurants. Vendors pulled out their tables into the middle of the street, and as we walked by, they each tried to sell their food to us, but we already had a reservation and a place in mind. A house specialty at the restaurant was lobster to share between two people, and fish to share between three. When we watched the lobster being served to the other tables, we were worried that we would not have enough to share, however, this did not end up being the case. The lobster was amazing, the meat was tangy and juicy, and we all fully enjoyed our meal.

-Juliana & Lawrence