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Published: July 16th 2010
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To finish off our time in the Galapagos we decided on a 2 day tour of Isabella, the largest island in the archipelago. Immediately after we had dropped our bags off at the hotel it was time for a quick tour of the lagoons just outside of Puerto Villamil, the main town on Isabella. The tour was somewhat brief, but we did see a couple of flamingos, and several iguanas, plus an assortment of aquatic birds. Just as the tour was finishing we discovered that our one-hour-up, one-hour-down volcano trek for the following day was actually a 18km 5-6 hour jaunt!
The next day we were up at 7am and after a quick breakfast and making our packed lunch we got into the back of a truck and started the journey Volcan Sierra Negra. When we started walking the cloud was thick, which made the walking pleasant, but we wondered how good the view would be at the top. We were told that the clouds came from the west (the side we were on) but parted around the volcano giving excellent views. With muttered grumbles of "I've heard that one before" we carried on up the slope.
After about
an hour and a half we rounded a bend and reached the first look out point. Our guide was proved correct as we were now above the cloud and had a clear view over the island. As we carried on it just got better and better. When we reached the crater rim we could see the clouds reaching the summit, and then flowing down into the caldera. The caldera is the second largest in the world with a circumference of 10km. Truly spectacular!. The next section of the walk consisted of walking to the smaller Volcan Chico some 4km further on. Whereas the first part had been through wet, fertile, green country, the second was through the lava field resulting from the last major eruption in October 2005. The contrast was dramatic. Exposed lava flows made strange shapes on the landscape, and different minerals caused different colours in the rocks. When we made it to the peak of Volcan Chico we were rewarded with amazing views over Elizabeth Bay, and the rest of the island. The walk back was via the same route, and we made it back tired, but satisfied and a little sunburnt.
Next on the agenda
was a boat tour around Puerto Villamil in search of various aquatic creatures. First on the list was snorkelling. We were promised that White tip reef sharks were always found in a crack into he rocks. When we arrived it didn't look that promising, but only a few metres into the gap, the sharks appeared. They we sleeping on the sandy bottom, minding their own business, and we were snorkelling only a couple of metres above them. All of a sudden along comes a party of snorkelers from the other direction. As they splashed about they disturbed the sharks and the water, making everything murkier and the sharks more active. Apparently the sharks have been known to nip at people's fins (and who would blame them if someone kicked them in the head) but I wonder if the people swimming barefoot knew that?
After the sharks it was time for the sea turtles, 3 turned up for the occasion which was pretty cool, but after the diving we were pretty blasé about turtles. A couple of rays also showed up which was nice.
Next the boat dropped us on a tiny island where we saw loads of iguanas,
and a poor abandoned baby sea lion. Our guide said that sometime people come to the island and touch or pick up the babies for photos, and that the perfume or mosquito repellent that they are wearing changes the baby's smell so that the mother no longer recognises it. The little thing was wasting away to skin and bones and made everybody sad.
Last on the tour were the blue footed boobies and Galapagos penguins, located on a rock just near the port. The penguins are tiny, only about 30cm high, and are the most northerly species of penguins in the world. The boobies feet are really quite blue as well.
We returned to Santa Cruz the next day and said goodbye to the Galapagos in style taking advantage of the Monday night happy hours and enjoying several mojitos, and a bottle of wine. This had nothing to do with us sleeping in the next day, and having to rush to the airport arriving only 35 minutes before our flight left. We still managed to get a stamp in our passports as well as getting on the plane.
Arriving back in Quito, we decided to stay in
the old town, which was a welcome change from the Mariscal district, also known as "Gringolandia". The buildings are old, the food cheap and authentic Ecuadorian, and hardly any other gringos around. After a day of boring but necessary things we decided to finally see some of Quito's sights. The Teleferiqo is a cable car that takes you from an already respectable 2800m to 4100m above sea level, the highest either of us has been on land. The views over Quito were spectacular, the photos don't do them justice, although by the time we made it to the top, the cloud had descended and there wasn't much to see.
Immediately afterwards we boarded a bus bound for El Mitad Del Mundo (literally the Middle of the World). This being the monument that marks the line of the equator( Ecuador being Spanish for equator and all). Some smart-alecs will point out that this isn't the actual equator line (according to modern GPS), but the same argument applies to the Greenwich meridian, and the photos are a lot better.
Our time in Ecuador is now over, roll on Peru!
Lot of love
S&S
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Sheryl and Steve
Sheryl Lee
Thanks Joan
Lots of love x