Island Hopping

For one week I had the wonderful opportunity to explore some of the other Galapagos Islands. We spent most of our time on the Islands of Santa Cruz and Isabela but took a day trip to Seymour Island as well. It is about a two hour boat ride from San Cristobal to Santa Cruz. The ocean was not as nice to us as we would have liked and caused many of our tummies to be upset. After that ride Dramamine became a good friend.

On our first day we took a short boat ride to Seymour island, an uninhabited island where the Friget birds were in abundance. During mating season these birds puff up their red chests to attract the females, making them very beautiful. We also saw yellow land iguanas and the famous Blue Footed Boobies. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch on the boat and then had time to snorkel and relax on the beach.

Day two was filled of snorkeling with turtles and rays, a penguin spotting, and exploring a section of Santa Cruz that resembled another planet. Jagged lava rocks made up the landscape that were covered with iguanas. More iguanas than you ever really need to see in one place ever in your life. It was pretty incredible.

We then ventured on another two hour boat ride to Isabela island where we would be staying for the next four nights. This island was definitely my favorite with its long beach, cute restaurants, and sand roads. It is less populated and touristy than San Cristobal and Santa Cruz and is home to the 2nd largest volcano crater in the world. We saw penguins, an octopus, seahorses, flamingos and beautiful sunsets. We hiked to the top of the volcano where an amazing view awaited us and explored lava tunnels. We spent our evenings on the beach next to a bon fire where we enjoyed happy hour with other travelers from around the world.

At the top of the volcano.

Listening to music by the fire.

My host brother Jose and I. He was guide on our trip.

San Cristobal Island, Galapagos

I have officially been absent from my blog for two months. For this I am sorry. I'm not sure where the time has gone but ever since I have arrived to the islands there has been beautiful beaches, sun, animals, snorkeling, and of course class to distract me.

I'm not sure where to begin my tale of island living but I figure a lot of pictures will do an adequate job of telling my story.

This is my host families tourist shop. Tourists stop by on their way to the beach and rent kayaks or snorkeling gear. Our house is directly behind the shop. My room and bathroom are separate from the house which has proven to be a nice quality since I have two little host siblings (2 yr old boy and 7 yr old girl) that would probably spend every minute of the day with me if I let them.

This is my host brother Dante. He's so cute but sure does love to test his boundaries; especially with me because he knows I can't yell at him if I don't speak Spanish.

Spanish has probably been my biggest challenge so far (besides not being able to watch the Packers play). My host parents don't speak any English which makes for interesting dinner conversations but I am slowly learning. Their two daughters who are in their late 20's and early 30's and still live at home (see mom and dad, it could be worse) speak English. They give me some relief from translating but often times speak to me in Spanish so I learn.

It's a tough life when your university is directly on the beach and your house is a block away but I've been able to manage. Beautiful sunsets accompanied by the sea lions are a frequent occurrence.

The variety and multitude of animals in the ocean, on land, and in the sky might be my favorite part of being here. The best is the hundreds of sea lions that line the beaches. They are just as interested in us as we are in them. This can be scary at times because of their sheer size but they are amazing creatures and the babies couldn't be cuter. The giant tortoises and blue footed boobies are pretty cool too!

More to come on trips and activities!