OHAIIIIIIIIIII FROM THE FRIKIIINNN GALAPAGOS ISLANDS!! CAN YOU TELL THAT IM REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE IM TYPING IN CAPS? HOW OBNOXIOUS WOULD IT BE TO HAVE THIS WHOLE ENTRY IN ALLL CAPS CUS THATS HOW ENTHUSED I AM ABOUT BEING HERE!!! AHhHHHHhhHHHH!!
but seriously… i cannot flipping believe I’m heree… like.. IS THIS REAL LIFE??? it’s always been a dream of mine to visit and NOW ITS REALLY HAPPENING (all thanks to my mom who chastised me for debating about whether to come.. like HELLO IDIOT, you’re already in ecuador and it won’t get any cheaper.. moms always know best!!) i’ve been chillen with iguanas and tortoises, swimming with sharks and penguins, hanging out with schools of fishes (squad goals) and giving some sea lions some major side eye cusss they have the most stankiest faces… like NO BIG DEAL, super casual yo.
I spent my first week in Puerto Ayora, which is on the the main island, Santa Cruz and then the last few days on Isabella, another one of the inhabited islands which was amazeballsssssss. I ended up doing a bunch of day trips cus i wanted to keep the cost on the low lowww, plus spending a few days trapped on a boat with the same people didn’t really appeal to me.. everything ended up being less than a $100 a day for tour, food, and accommodation THANKS TO THE WONDERFUL IGUANA TRAVEL AND PADDY (shout out to the Israelis for the tip…) and i got to see everything i wanted to see, so i am very, very pleased :)
From Puerto Ayora, I snorkeled in Las Greitas, Floreana, Daphne, and Santa Fe islands.. there were so many beautiful, colorful fishes plus i got to swim with a bunch of sea lions and saw a ton of DOLPHINS just jumping all around our boat (JUMPMAN!!) i also chilled out on the beautiful beaches of Tortuga Bay and Bacha where the sand was so soft and water was so clear.. and finally.. i hung out with a few turtles at El Chato that were like 80 years old (u know how much i love hanging out with old peeps.. SO FULL OF WISDOM though apparently turtles live till about 120 years old so i guess that means these tortugas were middle aged?!) Anddd i got to ride on the front of a real fast moving boattt which was a little jumpy but awesomeee.
Isabella, which is another one of the larger, inhabited islands was INCREDIBLEEEEE.. on my first day there, i rented a mask, jumped into the waters by the dock and ended up swimming with a bunch of penguins and iguanas (creepy) and saw some mantras and then i visited a lake with a bunch of flamingos.. i also went to los tunnels while i was there.. and that was just adjfhadkjghiudfvbiudbviudav…. NO REAL WORDS to describe it but totally my favorite place in the Galapagos… i saw a ton of sharks (i was scurrredd), sting rays, ginormous turtles, blue footed boobies and more penguins and sea lions..
on my last full day in Isabella, i did an 8 mile hike up the second largest active volcano in the world, where i had a beautiful view of some of the islands from up top... Isabella was created from five active volcanoes erupting and the lava fusing together.. it was crazy how quickly the terrain changed from lush greenery to dry desert during our hike.. since some of the landscape was red from oxidation, i felt like i was on mars (not that i would know what it feels like.. ) UN-FRIKIN-BELIEVABLE
I also met a lot of good people and NOT JUST ANIMALS (Though tbh.. i sometimes prefer them more to actual people) i met an ecuadorian dive instructor who spoke bahasa because he lived in bali for a few years (we had a brief convo in english/spanish/bahasa), two japanese girls who were volunteering in ecuador and could not speak english so we conversed in spanish the whole day, a few friends of friends from NYC (smalll frikin world). and a ton of other fun people from all overrrr... GLOBALIZATION yo. i celebrated Halloween in Puerto Ayora, which was pretty entertaining to watch since there were a bunch of locals dressed up at the bar.. i didn’t have a real costume other than a black tank and jean shorts so at first i was Amy Winehouse but by the end of the night i was known as badd bitch #1 (malcreita en espanol.. obviously picking up the key phrases)
I also had some time to be alone.. which has relaxing since being out on a boat tour every single day was both physically and mentally draining…there was a lot to see and pack in within those 10 days.. and i wanted to get my money and time’s worth.. it was really nice to curl up with my boxed wine and a book most nights.. i could not get thru The Voyage of the Beagle, which is the Charles Darwin book he wrote while on the Galapagos, but I did manage to finish 2 other books..
I’m finally leaving Ecuador after a month here.. it’s been incredible but i’m excited to keep on moving and see the rest of South America.. i have a flight out of Santiago to Buenos Aires on December 26th, so I kinda have to make it thru Peru, Bolivia and Chile a bit quicker than I’d like, but its not the worst problem to have :)