Galapagos! Days Two and Three.

On Friday we woke up in Paradise--I mean, the Galapagos Islands. The first activity of the day was a visit to Tortuga Bay, which I imagine will be the best beach I'll ever visit in my lifetime. It was perfect and well worth the mile and a half walk to get there. We stopped at a place where the waves are big and the currents are dangerous, so we didn't go very far into the water. Still, it was great enjoying the warm Pacific Ocean, talking on the beach, and watching the iguanas that come up on the sand to get some sun. After some time we walked down the beach to a mixed freshwater/saltwater pool for some serious swimming. On the way we passed a whole bunch of iguanas sunning under the mangrove trees--you can get so close! The bay where we swam was absolutely gorgeous. It was like a swimming pool, only the nature's version of it. So fun. 

After lunch we took a trip to the Darwin Center to see giant turtles native to the islands. This was easily one of the highlights of my trip, as I think the turtles are absolutely adorable. On the way back to the hotel I stopped for a smoothie with two of the staff just to cool off and enjoy the shade. I was happy to take a nap in the air conditioned hotel after that though, as this is the hot season for the Galapagos and boy was it hot in the middle of the day. 

That night I had the pleasure of eating sushi in the Galapagos, and wow was it good! We had shrimp, octopus, tuna, salmon, and crab, I think. What better place to eat sushi than an island?

On Saturday we took a two-hour boat ride to Isabela, the biggest island. The boat made me so thankful that I don't get seasick, as the ocean waves made for a bumpy ride. Once we got to Isabela, we hopped on a taxi boat to see some local wildlife. The trip was beautiful, and we got to see blue-footed boobies, sea lions, marine iguanas, sharks, crabs, and more. After that we hopped back in the boat to do a little snorkeling in the ocean. That was pretty cool, although I didn't see much more than coral and fish. Our guide spotted a manta ray and an octopus, but I was swimming with a broken flipper and couldn't get over to it.

After lunch we stopped at another, smaller beach to relax before seeing some more animals. Most of us opted to stay in the shade, as a lot of people got really burnt the day before. One thing to know about Galapagos: Wear sunscreen! The sun is extremely strong there because it's the equator, so you will burn really badly. In fact, Ecuador is one of the worst places in the world for skin cancer because the sun is ten points stronger than it is in southern California. I wore 50 SPF, reapplied it, and still got a little burned. So you can imagine how the other girls felt.

After the beach we went to see flamingos in the wild and more turtles at the turtle breeding center. There I learned more about Lonesome George, the famous turtle from the Galapagos who died last year. The scientists still don't know how long those turtles live, but they do know that they can weigh more than 600lbs.!

That afternoon we enjoyed another long boat ride back to Santa Cruz, during which I rode on top for a little bit. The next morning we stopped to see two giant volcanic craters named "Los Gemelos" (The Twins) before hopping on our plane back to rainy Quito. In retrospect, I loved the Galapagos even more than I thought I would. I never would have wanted to go there unless someone planned the trip for me, and I've never really been interested in tropical destinations because everyone wants to go there. However, the Galapagos proved me wrong! It is such a gorgeous, special place that I never dreamed I would experience in my life. I didn't want to come back to Quito, and I still sort of wish I was there!