When we landed we went on a hike up to a look out point and then on our way down stopped at a beach to go swimming with sea lions. The closest way I can describe sea lions is that its basically a dog with flippers instead of legs, because they are so playful and happy, and when you're in the water they will swim right up to you and do tricks. Also, they pose when they know people are taking photos, it is the cutest thing I have ever seen.
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| The Galapagos are also known as the Enchanted Islands |
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| LOOK AT THE BABY SEA LION |
We went snorkeling later that day, and other people saw some sea turtles (I did not) but I did get some great pics of a sea lion swimming with us.
We did quite a bit of Island hopping while we were in the Galapagos, so the next day we took a two hour boat ride to Santa Cruz ( it was terrible, but it was the only means of transportation), and went to a giant tortoise sanctuary-type thing. The animals have complete control over the island and the people who live their are not supposed to feed them, but we went to a place where a bunch of them could be found. The tortoises also only live in the highlands, which is a completely different climate to the coast of the islands, even though the island itself is relatively small.
Afterward we went to a bay for some more relaxed swimming and to just chill out for a little. Although the walk to the beach was a 2.5 km hike, it was pretty relaxing.
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| This beach's water was a little murky, so it was harder to see what was swimming around you |
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| when you lowkey go swimming with a shark |
On our third day, we went to Isabela Island, which is the most underdeveloped of the islands, and the most beautiful. We were there for the longest consecutive amount of time, which was a day and a half. The day we got there we went snorkeling in a partially enclosed area of the ocean because it was much calmer waters. I swam with sea turtles, all kinds of fish, sea iguanas, and saw different species of starfish. It was definitely the best experience of the trip.
On the next day, we drove up to the highlands to hike the Sierra Negra Volcano, which was kind of a waste because it was super foggy and rainy, but it kinda lightened up when we were looking into the Caldera.
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| great view |
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| That is the inside of a volcano in the middle of the Pacific ocean on the equator |
We got on our second to last boat ride, back to Santa Cruz, where we had the rest of the evening to go shopping and get exclusive Galapagos souvenirs (which of course I did plenty of shopping). It was nice to have a break to do some stuff apart from the group especially because we had been waking up before 6am every day.
These were taken before we left for Santa Cruz
I'd say that Santa Cruz is the most developed island in the Galapagos, and it gave me the same vibe that Mykonos did. Then, the next morning we got on a ferry to Baltra, where the other airport is, to fly back to Quito.
We still had another day in Quito, and we went to a market to get some handmade clothes, jewelry, and other souvenirs. Our flight the next morning was at 7am, so we had to leave for the airport at 2 in the morning, which I was not the fondest of. I have to say for my first time in Ecuador and South America, I had an amazing time. I definitely recommend visiting the Galapagos and Ecuador, and I am pretty sure that I will be going back (at least to Ecuador) because there is so much more to see and such a rich culture to immerse yourself in.
Talk to you later,
-Karin xx
