Jenny’s flight to the Galapagos, we ran into a problem: all the flights to
the Galapagos have to connect in Ecuador first (the Ecuadorians really have
this whole tourist thing figured out, to make you spend as much money as
possible), and all the flights from Ecuador to the Galapagos leave in the
morning. The only flight Jenny could find to get to Ecuador arrived in the
afternoon, so spending a night on mainland Ecuador was the only option.
Since Barbie goes traveling solo in a 3rd world country didn’t seem
like a good idea, I flew from the Galapagos to Ecuador to meet her and
spend the night before flying back together.
Sorry for all you guys who have always wanted unleash your inner
Darwin and visit the Galapagos (mom), but it looks way cooler on the
Discovery Channel than in real life. For starters, our hotel, the Red
Mangrove, managed by Nat Geo (you think they would have their shit together
right?) was supposed to be one of the top 3 hotels in Santa Cruz. Well
apparently someone at Nat Geo thought it would be a wonderful idea to build
a hotel in a mangrove swamp. Because of this wonderful planning there were
lots of mosquitoes and the smells wafting out of the decaying mangrove was
a bit unappealing to say the least. However, I must say that the hotel
staff was very helpful in helping us plan activities.
Ok, now on to the good part. Despite what you would think, there is
actually a decent nightlife in the Galapagos (I know right?), and we did
make a few friends with some sea lions along the way. Someone may or may
not have even pet one while it was having a snooze on a park bench. The sea
lions are everywhere. In fact, in San Cristobal, they are so bold that if
you drop your dinghy in the water even for a minute, you can expect to find
a few of them asleep inside it.
I put a video up on Facebook of us swimming in Las Grietas, a
volcanic fissure resembling a mini grand canyon. The seawater seeps in, and
rainwater collects there making for a brackish mix. The funny part is that
fish eggs can seep in from the sea with the salt water, and once the fish
hatch, they are basically trapped for the rest of their lives since they
are too big to find their way out.
We spent a morning on a bay tour with Carlos. The hotel concierge
introduced him to us, and had a nice little panga named Union II. He agreed
to take us on a bay tour for a half a day, and told us we were sure to see
some sharks. We were really exited. What he didn’t tell us was that the
water we would see them in was 6ft deep and had visibility that rivaled the
Hudson River, so by the time you saw a shark, it was about 3 feet away. We
saw over a dozen white tip reef sharks up close and personal. I think Jenny
liked the sea lions better.
As beautiful as the beaches and the water were, the highlands of
Santa Cruz were equally as spectacular. We had our friend Isidro the taxi
driver take us on a tour. We stopped at Los Gemelos, a pair of sinkholes,
near the peak of the mountain, and then continued on to explore some lava
tubes. These underground tunnels are created when molten lava flows
underground, and the outside cools faster than the inside. Once the lava
stops flowing, a hollow cave is left behind. Well Jenny was sure excited
for her first spelunking trip!
After convincing her it was a good idea to trek through this 1km
long cave I made sure to videotape the process. I will try to upload the
video from the Marquesas if the Internet is fast enough. Trust me, that
video alone is worth sailing the 3000 miles.
We found a beautiful beach named Playa Garrapatero where we spent
two afternoons, but by far Jenny’s favorite place was the pool at Finch Bay
Hotel. For all of you planning on making a trip out here, stay at Finch
Bay. The pool didn’t even smell like sea lions, it was great.
We had a wonderful week together and it was so nice to see each
other, especially after the previous two weeks. I’m sending this from the
middle of the ocean, so pictures of our adventures will have to wait. Check
back in 2 weeks. I should be in the Marquesas by then.
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