Blogs from Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador, South America - page 15

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Friday 03.04.09 Last night I went out with the group in the hostel in Quito as it their last night there as well - many were going into the jungle for 5-10 weeks environmental project. They were a lively group. We went to a restaurtant where you could eat and drink as much as you like for $12 - this included cocktails. I wasn´t very hungry as I ate at lunchtime. I tried out a few cocktails (margaritas, mojitas and caipirinis) and had a bite to eat later.We left the restaurant just after 11 and continued back at the hostel until after midnight when I made my excuses and went to bed. Someone gave me a knock at 6:00 in the morning when I quickly packed and shared a taxi with Kirsten & Dieter (the Dutch ... read more
Fellow Passengers
Blue-footed Boobies
The Magnificent Frigatebird

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Santa Cruz Island March 30th 2009

Hey guys, Well we are heading back to the mainland tomorrow so since we have so many pics and videos I wanted to share them now while they are still relevant to our travels. Most of the pics were taken by Macarron our dive master and are really good, I have also attached a cool video Tyne shot on our last dive where she encountered approx. 20+ sharks at the end of the dive, really cool (you know it is authentic cause she looses her balance at the end:) ) Anyways enjoy and Hasta luego! Matt & Tyne... read more
Scool of Solemas
Tortuga!
Manta Ray

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Santa Cruz Island March 26th 2009

Well we´ve been in the Galapagos islands now for two weeks and all I can say is WOW!!! This place is absolute paradise, never in my life have I ever been anywhere with such a wide variety and concentration of wildlife. Everywhere you look you´re bound to see several different species of animals if not more, the landscapes are also as varied as the animals, making each island unique from the last. We spent the first days of our trip here in Puerto Ayora which is the main town on Santa Cruz Island, we visited some local hangouts such as Tortuga Bay which is an awesome beach and we were practically the only ones there as well as Las Grietas which is two lagoons surrounded by 30´high walls of lava rock. Las Grietas was awesome but ... read more
Guess who wins the race!
Ladies and Gentlemen....Mister Bojangles
Las Grietas

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Santa Cruz Island March 25th 2009

One month to go! 3/25/09 Yippee! Only one more month to go!! I am pretty excited to say the least! I’ve come to the point that I’ve been here for a long enough time that I’m ready to head home. The people have been good to me here but there are things I still miss despite that. I just have to teach the month of April and that’s it. The experience has been a good one but I’m not a huge fan of teaching English as I’ve stated all along. But I have learned a lot. This month of March has been just about the easiest laid back time I’ve had the whole time I’ve been here and I’m not looking forward to starting classes this next Monday. Although things did get switched up a little ... read more
Underwater photo
Our Las grieta adventure
The town where I live across the ocean

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Santa Cruz Island February 21st 2009

Yay GALAPAGOS!! I can´t believe I'm actually here. It just seems like one of those places that you always go, yeah it'd be great some day but you never actually *go* you know? Ever since bio in sophomore year in high school this place has sounded awesome, and it's been pretty amazing to be here. Within 20 minutes of being here we were already seeing huge birds flying near our bus. Then we stopped at the canal and there was a heron just sitting there, completely uncaring about the fact that we were maybe 2 feet away. Then in the middle of the canal there was a seal happily sun-bathing away on a dingy! And that was just on the ride to our city! Within our city (Puerta Ayora, on Santa Cruz island for anyone who's ... read more

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Santa Cruz Island February 13th 2009

Chilling on the Galapagos 2/13/07 Alright well I know it’s been a while since I’ve written something but I do have two reasons. First I haven’t done anything new and exciting lately and I don’t have internet. Nothing much has really happened. So here I am on the Galapagos slipping into that daily routine. I’ve been doing a lot more reading then I have ever done in my life and well I actually like. I can actually read pretty well in Spanish and I have about four books that I’m reading and I switch between them often. Then I have an English book that I’m reading to. The one I’m on now is about a father and son that canoed from Canada all the way to the Amazon something like 12,000 miles!! It’s a pretty exciting ... read more
The Summit Block
Surfers

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Santa Cruz Island February 11th 2009

Yesterday was a chill out day, after having to wake up at 4:30am to take a boat which stunk of exhaust for 2 hours over some large swell, watching small children and tourists with barf bags make good use of them. Fortunately I have a stomach of steel on the ocean, I am usually squeeling with glee when the boat is sideways. Jill was fine too. We mostly ate amazing food and drinks yesteday. Tamarind sauces, plantain chicken empanadas, coconut smoothies, watermelon juice, fish with seafood cream sauce, a malbec that made our head swoon after one small glass, oooooh yeah. We burn if off with all our running around and whatnot. Today we went to the Charles Darwin research center and saw Lonesome George, the last living giant land tortoise of his species. He looks ... read more

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Santa Cruz Island February 7th 2009

Life has become so challenging here. We wake up every day and have major decisions to make, it´s a lot of pressure. Surfing and hiking vs. snorkeling or sunbathing, what type of beer to order, plantains or yucca. It´s so hard. Somehow we are managing all this. Today we found our way to a pristine white sand beach with swimming iguanas and pretty fishies, then continued on across a desert landscape through a red swampy salt mine to a crevice in the earth filled with a mix of ocean water and fresh water, crystalline blue, and more pretty fishies in a rainbow assortment. I discovered, along with two other dudes, the fun of pacticing my climbing skills up the cliffs of the wall, then swan diving back in, repeating. The locals love us so far, and ... read more

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Santa Cruz Island February 6th 2009

We made it!!! This place is amazing. After a short stay in Quito at a lovely but packed hostel we finally found our way to the Galapagos. Imagine Arizona desert that gives way to grassy inlands as tall as me, with large cliffs. The beach has iguanas rolling by in all directions, cacti all around, bright red crabs, giant fish swimming in the shallows, and lots of men in small bathing suits flailing around in the water. I am studying the iguanas´every move so that when the wrestling match ensues I will have the upper hand. Me and Jill are ready to take on the island adventure... we´re deciding tonight where to jump off a boat and snorkel. In true girls trip fashion, so as not to be distracted by my lovely male surroundings, I am ... read more
Me vs. Iguana

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Santa Cruz Island January 21st 2009

We wave goodbye to our ship and start our tour of the Darwin Center. They breed giant turtles in captivity as well as land iguanas and release them all back into the wild. It's very hot as there is no wind or shade. We get to see all the giant turtles except for George. George was hiding today. George is famous because he is the last of the giant turtles on a particular island. When he dies, there will only be 10 species of giant turtles in the world. The baby giant turtles are so small. The babies' shells are marked so that the breeders know which islands to return the turtles to. After our tour, we take a bus to a local bus station then switch buses to travel across the island. It takes about ... read more
Where is my breakfast?
Here we go again. People watching me eat.
I don't think is is enough for everyone




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