Boat Tour of the Galapagos

How do I even begin to describe my boat tour of the Galapagos? All I can say is it is by far the coolest thing I have ever done and I had quite possibly the best week of my life.
Since I saw way too many cool things to even began to describe I decided that a “top 5” list would work
1) Snorkeling!
We snorkeled at least once a day and over the week I snorkeled with manta rays, eagle rays, sharks, sea turtles, sea lions, penguins, and so many beautiful fish. At some points I would be swimming behind a ray only to be distracted by a shark swimming by. My favorite part was the sea lions. They were really playful so they were constantly swimming at and around you. Most importantly, I discovered that I actually love snorkeling! I was a little worried before the trip since I don’t like getting my face wet and all previous attempts at snorkeling had resulted in mass amounts of water being swallowed. Thanks to my superb fitting mask and idiot-proof snorkel (thank you Dad and Lorna), I had no problems and thoroughly enjoyed every moment that my face was submerged.

2) Island Tours- In total we toured 11 islands. Every island was amazing and unique. Some had cool birds on them, some had marine and land iguanas, some had sweet plant species, and some just had really cool lava formations. Usually we would first hike around an island and then snorkel around it, which was a great way to see the diversity both on and off land. My favorite island was Santiago. It had black sand beaches, crazy rock formations everywhere, and 2 kinds of sea lions. Very cool!
3) The Boat and crew- The boat was a 30 foot yacht that held 16 passengers and around 8 crew. Our group consisted of 9 Ceiba students, our Ecuadorian TA, and 5 Europeans. The food was wonderful and the drinks were plentiful. We had a blast and got to know our crew pretty well! I seriously never wanted to get off the boat and I was so sad when our week was over!
4) Lava tunnel- On the last day of our cruise ended on Santa Fe island. We spent the day visiting places where our TA had done his masters research and looking at giant tortoises. The last hour was spent inside a huge lava tunnel. Words cannot describe how neat it was inside.
5) Research Station- We visited the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Fe. It was neat to visit a place where so much research is conducted and also really cool to learn about their giant tortoise programs. We also visited the famous “Lonesome George”, who is the last pinta tortoise alive today.

I am now on Santa Island living with a host family for the next two weeks. My family is wonderful and I have decided that I love the island lifestyle. Everyone is so laid back and relaxed! We are spending the next two weeks studying marine biology and working on our marine research projects. I think I am going to do mine on sea lions. I don’t think I am ever going to want to leave!

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