Words cannot describe all that we have experienced in the last few days. The Galápagos are all they are hyped up to be and so much more. It is such a magical world over here, and being able to appreciate it with such a solid group of students just makes it that much better. We can’t believe this is our last day here, but we are trying not to think about that and instead enjoy every moment left together in Ecuador.
Arriving to the Galápagos required a long travel day. After two flights, two bus rides, and two boat rides, we finally arrived at our destination for the first few days: Isabela island. Here we got to enjoy kayaking, snorkeling, visiting a tortoise breeding center, and hiking to a volcano (thankfully not quite as challenging as Cotopaxi!). Here too is where we had our first sightings of flamingos, penguins, marine iguanas, sea lions, blue-footed boobies, and tortoises. There is a rule on the Galápagos that people must stay at least six feet away from wildlife, but sometimes that is impossible because of how surrounded we are by these amazing animals! The iguanas lay right in the middle of the sidewalk and the sea lions take naps on the public benches!
This sea lion basically owns the bench at the pier.
After a few days on Isabela we took another boat ride to Santa Cruz, where we spent just one night at a cute hotel called Posada del Mar. On this island we visited the world renowned Tortuga Bay, a picture perfect beach with white sand and turquoise water, where we swam, played in the sand, and explored on the rocks. We also visited the Charles Darwin Research Center where we saw baby tortoises, yellow land iguanas, and the taxidermied body of Lonely George. This was a great place to learn about conservation, biodiversity, and current research. It’s amazing how much more real and relevant these topics become when you are surrounded by the most fascinating species of plants and animals, breath-taking landscapes, and people who are so passionate about protecting our planet!
Santa Cruz was great, but we soon found ourselves once again packing our bags for yet another boat ride, this time to San Cristobal. This is where our guide, Danny, is from. He kept saying that his island is the best one. We assumed he was just being biased, but after only a few hours here most of us came to the conclusion that San Cristobal is in fact our favorite island as well. We were greeted from our boat by a sea turtle, a welcoming beach town, and an abundance of sea lions. Here our main activity has been snorkeling. The first site was called La Loberia, which we actually rode our bikes to. It was a nice rocky bay that was full of sea turtles! In the afternoon we went on a little hike to get to our next snorkeling site at Tijeretas. This was such a memorable experience as there were some very playful juvenile sea lions that were just as intrigued by us as we were by them! They circled around the students, surprised them from all angles, and seemed to be posing for the pictures. For a perfect ending to an already fabulous day we treated ourselves to sushi for dinner. Both our hearts and our stomachs were completely satisfied by the end of the day.
Students with the playful sea lion at Tijeretas.
Now we come to our last day together on the islands and we are making the most of every second! We started off with a spectacular snorkeling excursion to Leon Dormido, a rock formation reached by a 45-minute boat ride from San Cristobal. After relaxing a little while at a beautiful white sand beach and eating a delicious lunch on the boat we geared up and jumped in the water. Only two minutes later we were surrounded by blacktip reef sharks. What an unforgettable experience! We also saw more sea turtles, sea lions, and an Eagle Ray. The night ended with a fancy dinner at a nice restaurant where we enjoyed our delectable food, an ocean-front view, and the best company one could ask for. Now it’s time to prepare for a long travel day ahead of us and try our hardest to fight back the tears.
The whole group plus our awesome guide, Danny, right before swimming with sharks at Leon Dormido.
Thank you all for following along in our adventures. It’s always comforting to know that there are loving friends and family supporting our travels from afar. Soon you will hear so many more stories and see so many more pictures to fill in all the gaps, but this time it will be directly from the amazing young men and women who are coming home to you!
See you soon!
– Claire, Nicolas, & the 2017 Language Learning Ecuador Crew