Galapagos Islands! :o)

Hey everyone!!

Philip and I arrived in the Galapagos islands on Wednesday morning, met some Canadians, an Italian and an American guy in the bus and we all searched around for the cheapest hotel once we got to the Santa Cruz island (the biggest island). We eventually found a nice hotel for $10 which is a bargain for the Galapagos islands! I bumped into some Americans (who first gave me the idea of going to the Galapagos islands independently instead of doing a cruise) and an English girl who I had met in Quito but unfortunately whenever I bump into them they are always leaving and were off to Isabella island! We wandered around Santa Cruz for a while and all had dinner together, which was really nice!

The next day Philip, the Italian guy and I went on a snorkelling trip in the morning! It was really fun.... unfortunately I ended up sitting at the front of the boat as usual and got absolutely drenched and it wasnt sunny so was quite cold.... when we got to the snorkelling spot i had a hard job making myself jump into the freezing water, but it was amazing!! Saw lots of cool fish and the water was so lovely and clear! Then we went to another snorkelling spot where we were supposed to see sharks but didnt see any! We snorkelled to a beach where there were a few sea lions lying around which was really cool as it was the first time we had seen them in the wild! Although we were warned not to go nearer than 3 meters as they find tourists a bit annoying, disturbing their peace and will bark at you and chase you if you come too near! Then we went for a walk on a little island and saw lots of sharks in a cove and saw millions of iguanas, including some swimming in the sea! I didnt even know iguanas could swim! :o) That afternoon Philip and a couple of others went to the big turtle reserve and I just read and did my blogs in the internet cafe as I knew Marieke would want to see them too so I thought I would wait for her! That evening we went ouf for a cheap local dinner with the Italian guy and a Dutch girl we had just met which was nice!

The next morning we got up at 6am to go and pick Marieke up from the airport, which was a bit of a trek as you need to get a 45min bus, then a ferry and then another bus and unfortunately her flight was really delayed but luckily we took our books with us! :o) That day we just wandered around the island and sat on the harbour with a beer watching the seals and the birds!

The next day Marieke and I went to the turtle sanctury which was really cool! They were absolutely HUGE! If you got too close then they would retreat back into their shell but they were so big that they made a loud whoosing noise as the air went out of their shell as they went it! Made us giggle everytime! :o) We wandered around outside for ages watching them and taking pictures, then when we were leaving we saw the shells of dead turtles on display so wiggled ourselves into them.... I ofcourse managed to get a teeny bit stuck! :o) That afternoon the 3 of us went to the Charles Darwin centre and read about all the conservation work they are doing on the islands and how detremental the introduction of new species to the islands was! On flights to the Galapagos bags are intensely searched not for drugs or weapons but for any kinds of fruits or species and on the flight all our bags were sprayed with disinfectants to make sure no bacteria was brought on to the islands! We also saw lots of baby land turtles and lots of huge ones, including "Lonesome George" - poor lonesome George is the last of his kind and they are desperately trying to get him to breed but he just isnt interested! They are still trying to find a turtle with the closest match to his genes and then will artificially seminate! After lunch we watched the fishermen bring all their fish in... but tourists werent the only ones watching... there were also a lot of birds and a seal sat right next to the man cleaning the fish hoping to get fed! :o) That night we went out clubbing with an English guy we met in Quito and some NZ guys he had been on a boat with (a private boat tour that he had paid $2000 for! yikes!) which was really fun!

However.... getting the boat to Isabella the next day was not so fun as we were a teeny bit hungover and the boat trip was insane! The waves were huge and the boat goes sooooooo fast that its in the air more than its on the water... I felt soooo seasick... but Marieke told me not to bother being sick as we were going to fast that it would just come back and hit me in the face which is rather gross so I managed not to! :o) After 2 hours we finally got to Isabella and the Italian guy who had gone to Isabella the day before had sent the manager from their hostel to come and pick us up which was really lovely so we didnt have the hassle of wandering around trying to find the cheapest hostel! We had a room for the 3 of us with a bathroom - it was a lovely room and best of all..... everything was PINK! :o) The bedspreads, the towels... everything! I felt right at home! :o) The hostel was also right on a lovely beach so we went for a walk and a swim straight away - it was lovley - the water was sooo clear and the sand was so soft and white! As soon as we were getting in the water though we saw a big stingray right next to us... ooops! So went swimming a bit further down the beach where it was apparantly a bit safer! That evening we went out for dinner with everyone from the hostel which was an absolute nightmare as there were just too many of us that it took about 2 hours to get our food!

The next day the manager of our little hostel took us and the Dutch girl snorkelling which was amazing and really cheap! We were on a tiny little boat and he always slowed down when we were passing boats with baby seals on them (the seals always sleep on rafts or fishermens boats!), we saw an island with lots of penguins on it but youre not allowed on the island! We saw lots of turtles swimming in the water which was so cool.... especially as the water was so clear, you could see everything! We went snorkelling and swam with a baby seal who played with us, circling us, spinning around and showing off! SO cute! The others saw a shark but i missed it! :o( Then we went to another little island, where we walked around, saw lots of sharks sleeping in a little cove, saw lots of seals on the beach, lots of igunas etc! Then we went snorkelling in a cove where there were LOADS of turtles.... it was amazing snorkelling alongside lots of turtles and they were just like in Finding Nemo hehe! Theyre so graceful in the water!

The next day we organised another tour with the hostel and went to see two of the active volcanoes on the island! We left at 8am and had a bumpy ride in a truck for a half an hour and then an hour or so walk/slide (it was very muddy, wet and slippery!) to the first volcano crater (Volcano Sierra - the bigger of the two - which errupted 3 years ago!) Then we had a very long walk in the heat to the second volcano.... it was a tiring walk but very cool as we were walking over volcanic rock and could ocassionaly put our hand in a hole in the volcano and you could feel the heat of the volcano and sometimes see it smoking! Then we finally got to the top of the volcano where we had lunch - the view of the sea, mountains and other Galagagos islands was amazing! :o)

The next day our boat for San Cristobal (the island we were flying from and third other main island) via Santa Cruz left at 6am (ouch!!) and the journey was just as horrific! Lucky Marieke managed to sit at the back of the boat where its much less bumpy but Philip and I were in the very first row and it was hurrendous! Philip knew how seasick I get so thought he would help by looking out of the window and poking me everytime a huge wave was coming so I was prepared for when we flew up in the air and landed with a painful jolt but he was poking me every 2 seconds and quickly realised there was no point hehe! I just listened to my Ipod, closed my eyes and tried to have an out of body experience.... I think it half worked as I manged not to be sick and unfortunately the same could not be said for many of the other passengers who were protecting their sickbags, worried they were going to burst! yuk! :o( We wandered around Santa Cruz, had breakfast etc. before getting our boat to San Cristobal at 2pm! The journey was just as bad as all the others and everyone was getting thrown around the boat and as usual we were at the front as some cheeky man had laid himself along all the back seats to reserve them because some of his friends get seasick! Philip got a bit cross with him and told him that I did too... but actually the journey was OK... we did the Ipod, eyes closed thing again and got there eventually!

We wanted to stay in a tree house on San Cristobal and had reserved a room but it turned out to be quite far away from the centre and the beach so we found a cheap hotel on the pier instead, where a Canadian girl and an Israeli guy we had met on the volcano tour on Isabella were staying which was nice! The next day we rented out snorkelling beaches and walked to a couple of beautiful beaches on the island, finally stopping at a beach with about 60 seals on it! It was amazing although unfortunately we couldnt really go snorkelling as there was a big male seal in the water patrolling the beach and barking! Philip tried going snorkelling but within 2 minutes of him being in the water I saw that the seal was charging towards him and luckily he heard me screaming at him and managed to get out of the water in time! Phew! We have heard of a few people who have been bitten by seals so we decided not to push our luck! :o) That evening Philip and I went for a dinner and then met up with some friends from the hostel and went to the local election concert where the first band from the Galapagos were playing.... it wasnt very big but was really fun! A little local girl spent the whole concert staring at me until she eventually came over gave me a hug and asked if she could dance with me.. bless... she was very cute... until she jumped on my toe and it started bleeding! ouch! :o) Luckily after a while she decided Philips dreadlocks were more fun and went to play with his hair and I sneaked off to bed! :o)

The next day we went on a trip with some Americans - snorkelling and to a few beaches further away! We first went to a big rock island where you swim through the channel in the rocks - we were going to just drive through with the boat but asked the guy if we could snorkel through, he said yes but be careful of the current and stay in a group because of the sharks! It was scary because the water wasnt very clear and it was sooo deep you couldnt see the bottom! An American guy and I were in front and saw sharks and followed them,which was a bit scary but very cool!! Afterwards we had lunch on the most beautiful beach before going snorkelling near a seal island on the way back which was also amazing - swam with lots of seals and even an iguana - they look hilarious in the water! :o) I was still a bit scared of seals though after our experience on the beach the day before and when i saw a big seal charging towards me i really panicked but luckily about an inch before my face he swam under me! phew! :o) After that though it was lovely and i swam around with the seals happily! :o)

Next day we went snorkelling in a cove and swam with lots of fish and a big turtle and then went back to the seal beach for a few hours! Then on the Sunday (our last day, although our last day was actually supposed to be Friday but we changed our flights for free because we didnt want to leave hehe!) we went to a lagoon and then to the most amazing beach with a Canadian guy we had met the night before! The waves were absolutely massive and the water was sooo clear! Was a little bit scary swimming though as everytime i turned around there was a 20 meter (almost!) wave coming towards us! :o)

OK... in a big rush now as usual as need to check out! We flew back to Guayguil on Monday morning and stayed there that night! Yesterday Philip got the bus to Quito and Marieke and I are heading to Vilcamba (south Ecuador) but had to stop here in Loja last night as our bus was delayed and we got here to late to get the connecting bus! It was so sad saying goodbye to Philip at the station yesterday.... when travelling you get attached to people very quickly and I have spent every day for over 3 weeks with him and had a great time! He had goodbye presents for Marieka and I - sooo lovely!! I now have some very cool new jewellry! :o)

Will quickly try to upload a few photos but will have to upload most of them later as we are in a big fat rush!!

Lots of love and miss you all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

OK internet here is rubbish and uploading photos didnt work so will upload photos in a couple of days when i have internet again! :o) xxxxxxxx

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