Peru

The day after flying from the Galapagos back to mainland Ecuador, Dylan and I took a 27 hour bus from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Lima, Peru. While this sounds daunting, in actuality, it wasn't so bad. The bus company, Cruz del Sur, was very precise and reliable (a relief after our experiences in Colombia). We were able to book seats on the bottom floor of the bus that reclined to 160 degrees, and we each had a personal screen to watch movies on. While we certainly didn't sleep soundly, we managed to get some rest. I even got to watch the new Hunger Games movie in English! Score!

Once in Lima, we had a day to rest and revitalize while awaiting the arrival of my sister, Kelsey, and her boyfriend, Robin. Kelsey just graduated from University, and the two of them were joining us for a two and a half week jaunt through Peru. Our hostel, Dragonfly, was very laid back, and we were happy to be able to hang out and cook for ourselves again after so long of eating out in the Galapagos. Kelsey and Robin arrived after a long international journey, and we all took the evening to catch up and plan a rough outline for the next few weeks.

Kelsey and Robin's second night in Peru, we went out to experience a little of the nightlife Lima had to offer. We started with double Pisco Sours at a very interesting bar, Ayahuasca. After finishing our drinks, we got a tour of the bar, which is located inside an old mansion. It has endless rooms, each having its own theme and bold, quirky decor. From Ayahuasca, we went in search of a dance club. Since it was a weeknight, this was a bit of a challenge, but eventually, we found somewhere to dance the night away.

The next day, we packed up and caught a bus to a little town on the coast called Paracas. We organized a boat tour to Islas Ballestas, also known as "the poor man's Galapagos," of Peru for the next morning. On this tour, we saw more birds than I have ever seen in my life. The islands and sky were full of birds including Peruvian boobies, cormorants, pelicans and even a few penguins. There are so many birds there, that the topsoil of the islands is mostly composed of bird poop (or guana) and is actually highly coveted for its fertilizing properties. Wars have been fought over the bird poo.

Upon returning to Paracas, we caught another short bus farther inland to Ica. Once in Ica we got a quick 5 km taxi ride to Huacachina. Huacachina is a cool little tourist town in the midst of sand dunes. While all of the restaurants only serve overpriced hamburgers and pizza and the hostels are a bit run-down, the sand dunes are awesome! We climbed the dunes the first night to watch sunset, and it was really lovely. Of course, we also played around some, and by the time we returned to the hostel, we all had sand in every crevice of our bodies.

The next day was Robin's 21st birthday. To celebrate, we went on a dune buggy adventure. The ride in the buggy was a bit like the Disneyland ride "Indiana Jones", with sharp, bumpy turns and steep drops off the tops of tall dunes. The trip also included sand boarding. Our driver would take us up to the top of a dune, hand out boards (sort of a cross between snowboards and sleds) and then meet us at the bottom. The fastest and most fun way to ride was headfirst on your stomach. After our adventure, we returned to our hostel and drank Pilsen beer and danced salsa in the bar.

The following day, we hired a taxi to take us on a pisco tour. We visited two pisco distillery/ wineries in the area. Here, we learned about the pisco making process and then did some tastings. I will just say that "tasting" hard alcohol is not my favorite. I tried following the tasting protocol : sniff, sip, swish, swallow, exhale slowly...and nearly gagged. After the third or fourth taste, I was grateful for the sweet wine we were given... despite the fact that it tasted like fruit syrup. I fully intend to save future wine tours for Chile and Argentina.

We spent one last day relaxing in Huacachina before heading to Nazca. Since there were several ruins and sights between Huacachina and Nazca, we hired another taxi to take us. With four people, this ended up being less expensive than taking a bus to Nazca and then doing a tour from there. At one stop, there were a bunch of aqueducts built by the Incas that we were able to climb down into. The size and quantity of the aqueducts was really impressive. We also were given the opportunity to hike around the Cahuachi ruins. Though they were no Machu Picchu, they were still very interesting. We were able to see some of the Nazca lines from a tower we climbed up.

 The driver ultimately dropped us off at the Cruz del Sur bus terminal in Nazca. We checked our bags and then headed to a restaurant to kill some time. We ended up drinking Pilsen and playing hearts while watching a very strange game show.

Our bus from Nazca to Cusco was about 14 hours long, and boy was it a challenge. From the minute the bus left the terminal, it was winding through mountains. Both Kelsey and I felt nauseous and did our best to just close our eyes and sleep it off. Thankfully, neither of us actually got sick, but the combination of curvy roads and gaining close to 11,000 feet overnight left all four of us feeling pretty badly upon arrival in Cusco.

We spent our first two nights in Cusco at La Boheme Hostel. It was very well ran, and Robin was excited to get to speak some French as most of the staff was from France. In the evenings, most of the guests crammed into the small indoor common area, and between the free coca leaf tea and the fireplace, there was a very cozy atmosphere. We chose to switch hostels because there wasn't a kitchen we could use. After so many days of eating at overpriced restaurants in Huacachina and Kelsey having to compromise her dietary needs, we were ready to cook for ourselves. Our third day, we switched to Dragonfly Hostel (the sister hostel of the one we stayed at in Lima). Like its partner hostel, the Dragonfly was very laid back, and the kitchen was kept very clean. Best of all, there was a foos ball table.

We spent those first few days wandering around Cusco. The day after we arrived was the start of Corpus Christi in Cusco. The streets around the central Plaza de Armas was jam packed, and there were 15 giant statues of saints being carried around in a procession. In addition, there were marching bands and people in costumes. It was quite exciting, especially since we had no idea that it would be happening.

In the first few days, we also discovered the San Pedro market where you could find anything from alpaca sweaters and key chains to fruit, cheese and meat. Kelsey, the vegetarian, had a hard time with the meat section as the heads of the animals were typically on display as well as the entire hind haunch.

There were also hundreds of street vendors selling the local favorite, cuy (guinea pig).

Though it took us until one of our last days in Cusco, we did try it (even Kelsey took a bite). The meat was dark and pretty greasy, and I suppose, of all the types of meat I've tried in my life, it most resembles duck. That said, it was definitely a unique experience since, as you're eating, you can look to your right and see the full animal, teeth and all.

From Cusco, the four of us made our way through the Sacred Valley toward Machu Picchu. Since Kelsey's leg was bothering her, we opted not to backpack in, but to do a mix of cars and hiking. We first took a collectivo from Cusco to Ollantaytambo. This little town sat within Incan ruins, and many of the walls of buildings in the city were originally walls of the ancient town.

We spent one night there and then continued on via taxi to Hidro Electrica. We then hiked along the train tracks for a few hours to Aguas Calientes, also known by its tacky new name - Machu Picchu Pueblo.

 Aguas Calientes is at the base of Machu Picchu and is the hub for nearly all tourist activity related to the area. Thus, like Huacachina, it is primarily composed of really overpriced pizza restaurants and run down hostels. We found one such hostel and then after grabbing dinner, turned in early. At 3:30 the following morning, we got up, ate an early breakfast at the hostel and made our way to the bus station. The first bus didn't leave until 5:30, but even at 4:30, there were at least 20 people in front of us in line. Once on the bus, we had a 25 minute journey up the mountain to the entrance of Machu Picchu.

We made it in the gates in time to see sunrise and were very fortunate to have a day entirely free of rain.

We snapped some photos of the sunrise over the ruins and then made our way to the entrance of Machu Picchu Mountain, which we had tickets to climb. At 7:00, we began the hour and a half ascent up the incredibly steep mountain. Talk about a workout. After about 10 minutes, we reached an overlook with new birdseye views of Machu Picchu. About 30 minutes in, there were a few spots with sheer drops, and I started to panic a bit. I have a pretty severe fear of heights that can lead to vertigo. At this point, I decided I didn't want to keep climbing so Dylan and I turned around while Kelsey and Robin hiked on. After seeing their photos from the top, I'm grateful I made that choice. At certain points, the trail was only a few feet wide with sheer drops on either side. I would have had a nervous breakdown. Instead, I enjoyed a nap in the sun on the ruins of Machu Picchu while my sister and her beau had their asses handed to them.

Once we were all reunited at the bottom of the mountain, we began to explore the rest of Machu Picchu. It was spectacular! Though there were certainly a lot of tourists (especially between 9:00 and 12:00), we were able to find little patches of grass within the ruins to sit and enjoy the views of the mountains. We walked around all afternoon exploring the city. By late afternoon, we were all tired, especially Kelsey and Robin, whose legs were beat. We caught a bus back to Aguas Calientes and had a low key evening.

The next few days, we made our way back to Cusco the same way we had come. The views on the drives were gorgeous and at times terrifying!

Kelsey and Robin only had two more days in Cusco, and we filled them with lots of foos ball,  walking around and checking out the festival and visiting with their friends from college who happened to be in Cusco at the same time.

It was wonderful spending part of our trip with my little sister. Since she did a project on Machu Picchu in middle school it has been her dream to visit it. I'm grateful to have been able to experience it alongside her.

Kelsey and Robin flew back to the US to begin their summer jobs, and Dylan and I tried to find a new volunteer placement. After nearly 2 months of visiting tourist sites, we were beyond ready to settle down for a few weeks. We finally heard back from an English Language school in Taltal, Chile. With 10 days left before our start date, we slowly made our way south.

We bussed to Arequipa where we made plans to hike the Colca Canyon. After a day of down time in our cozy room at Park Hostel, we caught a 3 am bus to Cabanaconde in the canyon. We were on a "tourist bus" with about 15 other people. Most of these people were doing a guided tour of the canyon, and we were the only solo hikers on the bus. On the way to the trailhead, we stopped at an outlook, Cruz del Condor, where we saw condors flying at eye-level. They are massive birds with wingspans of up to 10.5 feet and are typically only seen soaring far above you. Because we were at such a high elevation and it was early in the morning, we caught them just as they were making their way up out of the canyon.

We began our hike just outside of Cabanaconde. Though we did not cover much ground in terms of distance, the Colca Canyon trek was very challenging due to the changes in elevation. On day one, we planned to hike down to a small village called San Juan for lunch and then on to a village called Tapay for our first night. By the time we were nearing San Juan, we had descended over 3,000 feet in just a few miles and our legs/knees were really tired. We were intercepted after crossing the bridge at the bottom of the canyon by a woman named Gloria. She asked us if we were going to San Juan that night, and when we said no, she asked if we were at least going to eat lunch there. We told her that was our plan and she smiled and told us that she had a restaurant. How convenient. She then proceeded to herd us up a shortcut path that led directly to her hostel/restaurant. We were seated and then fed vegetable soup, rice, alpaca, and veggies all for about $3 a person. By the end of the meal, we were ready for a nap. Conveniently, she had a private room available for $6 for the night. Done and done. As we were moving into our room, the guided group who had been on the bus with us arrived at the same hostel. We spent the evening chatting with them. Gloria's dinner was equally as filling and delicious as lunch, and given our 3 am start that day, we passed out shortly after.

The next morning, after filling up on banana and chocolate pancakes, we bypassed Tapay and headed straight for Sangalle, also called Oasis. Our hike called for a lot of up and down, and once again, our legs were pretty tired upon reaching the small village. Oasis has a separate microclimate from the rest of the canyon, and the subtropical patch of land is lovely. We holed up at another hostel that had a pool and spent the afternoon playing in the water.

Dylan and I took turns playing the games we played with our siblings in pools growing up. He taught me his brother and his rendition of pool football (involving a lot of dunking), and I taught him a synchronised swimming routine. Though his front somersaults could use some work, he is surprisingly good at back walkovers in the water. That evening we had dinner at the hostel (it didn't compare to Gloria's) and then turned in early.

At 4:45 the next morning, we were early to rise. We began the grueling uphill journey back to Cabanaconde in order to make our 9 am bus back to Arequipa. In about 2 hours, we regained the 3,000 feet that we lost that first day. Towards the top of the canyon, we reconnected with the guided group and continued to chat with them. We followed the group to a small restaurant for breakfast and then got back on the same bus with them. Our bus made several stops on the journey back to Arequipa. The best was the hour long soak session at some hot springs. They were divine. We also stopped at the highest point of the canyon, which, according to the altimeter on Dylan's watch, was over 15,000 feet (the guides told us we were at 4910 meters, which google tells me is over 16,100 feet!!) and at a nature reserve for alpacas and llamas.

Overall, it was another beautiful drive and the views of the Colca Canyon were incredible.

 Though our time in Peru was brief, we enjoyed every city and village we visited, especially those visited with Kelsey and Robin. We have now started our volunteer position in Taltal, Chile, and we are already having a blast. More to come on Chile.

Galapagos Islands

We finished working at Gringo on the Beach and caught a bus to Guayaquil - a fairly easy trip from Manta. Arriving in Guayaquil on May Day is a bit like being in Quito for Easter Sunday - most stores are closed and the streets are almost empty. Kim and I dropped our stuff at our hostel and walked down to the mall to find an ATM, get some lunch and pick up a few necessary items before we flew to the Galapagos Islands. Guayaquil has a few craft breweries and we bought a couple bottles to celebrate our last night in continental Ecuador.

The next morning, a short two hour flight landed us on Baltra island in the Galapagos archipelago. Baltra island is barren, very dry, with only an airport and a small dock area for ferrying passengers across the Itabaca Channel and onto Santa Cruz island. Puerto Ayora, an hours bus ride to the south side of Santa Cruz, is the largest city in the Galapagos at about 15,000 people. We found our regal-sounding Hotel Sir Francis Drake (not as fancy as it sounds), and dropped off our bags before we started exploring the town. We knew we had three weeks on the islands, and that we wanted to do a cruise. And so we started exploring the different tour agencies and doing some research on what activities could be done independently.

The majority of the islands are designated as National Park area, and you are not allowed into the National Park without a guide. However in and around Puerto Ayora there are several places that are privately owned or that lie outside the park boundaries. We made a list of things we want to see and places we wanted to go, but part of each day was consumed by shopping for a cruise that suited our budget and let us see the islands we most wanted to visit. It quickly became clear that all the tour agencies had more or less the same information and offers. Other travellers had told us that you can find the best deals on cruises if you book on the islands, and the prices most places offered were much lower than the price listed when we checked online. After four days of haggling over prices and researching boats and islands we booked a six day tour around Isabela island. We knew that we probably could have had a better price if we waited a few more days before booking, but we wanted to enjoy our time and start spending our days seeing what Santa Cruz had to offer rather than in tour agency offices.

We had a week to explore Puerto Ayora and other spots on Santa Cruz. We visited the Darwin Research Center, which sounds far more scientific than it was. In reality it was akin to a very small zoo, so we saw some land tortoises and land iguanas. They also had a breeding center for land tortoises, so we saw some very small tortoises; the tortoises they breed are relocated to the wild once they are old enough. We also took a taxi to the highlands of Santa Cruz and checked out three different spots - los gemelos, the lava tunnels, and las primicias. Our taxi driver turned into a makeshift tour guide as he explained the history of a site or helped us find tortoises and gave his estimation of their ages. Los gemelos, the twins in Spanish, are two giant craters created by magma pockets that emptied, leaving enormous caverns that later collapsed with tectonic movement. Nothing to stare at for hours, but they were cool to see.

 The lava tunnels are what they sound like, natural tunnels created by magma flow. Also fun, maybe not great if you get claustrophobic as you have to crawl through a very small gap at one point. The best attraction in the highlands was most definitely Las Primicias. Basically, it's a privately owned piece of land (meaning you don't need a guide to visit) where land tortoises hang out. They probably spend time there because there are lots of guava trees and visitors gather the fruits and help the giant tortoises out.

On another day, we walked 40 minutes out of town to Tortuga Bay, where we would presumably see some marine turtles. To our disappointment, we saw no turtles, but the beach was lovely and peaceful and there were lots of marine iguanas on the beach and occasionally in the water swimming. The marine iguanas are a bit creep (they kind of look like demons), but we probably took 300 pictures of them throughout our time on the island. We revisited Tortuga Bay several more times just to relax. One man we met on the island told us that some locals go every day, calling Tortuga Bay the Temple.

We also went to Las Grietas (the cracks in Spanish), which are exactly that - but filled with clear blue water. We swam around for a bit in the brisk water and when the water was calm, we could see some bright blue fish below us.

During our time in Puerto Ayora, we had a hard time finding a hostel with a kitchen that was not extremely dirty. Thus, we ate out for most meals (sometimes buying fresh bread from the grocery store as a makeshift breakfast or lunch). We often purchased set "almuerzo" (lunch) menus on Kiosko street for less than $5 that were very filling (usually soup, fish or chicken, rice and salad). We also returned to the street for dinner and had some of the best sea food of our trip so far for less than $10 a plate. We treated ourselves to sushi a few times and found that Pelican View restaurant had by far the best on the island (you know it's fresh when you walk past the fish market on the way to the restaurant :)). Kim also became addicted to the ice cream served at Galapagos Deli. I think her record was 3 cones in one day (it was her birthday to be fair).

After a week on Santa Cruz, we were definitely ready to start our cruise and check out the other islands. We met everyone on our boat, the Encantada, at the Baltra airport. All together there were twelve passengers. Kim and I from the US; Lewis, Kerrie and Jenny from Australia; Robert and Julia from Germany; Sevi, Raphi and Sabrina from Switzerland; Heather from Belgium, and Natalie from England. Juan, our guide, was born on the island and has been guiding in the Galapagos for 35 years. Most importantly, he was a ranger for the Galapagos National Park and a Marine Biologist. Kim was immediately impressed with his vast knowledge, especially when he was able to talk lichen with her. We all got onto the boat, got settled into our cabins, and shortly after had our first meal together.

The meals on the boat were good, pretty typical Ecuadorian food (rice, fish, veggies and fruit) and plenty to eat without wasting much. Coffee and tea was available at all hours, and you could grab a beer and mark it down on your tab whenever you felt like it. The cabins were small and the bathrooms smaller, but we didn't empty our wallets to hang out in our cabin, so it was more than acceptable. The boat itself was small compared to other boats, but it was an old sailboat repurposed as a cruise boat for tourists. Where most of the other boats we saw were very modern looking, with glossy white sides and black tinted windows, we were on a fire engine red boat with a mast and circular portholes for windows.

Our first stop was a short trip further down on Santa Cruz island where we got off and walked around on a trail close to Cerro Dragon. This ended up being our first and only opportunity to see land iguanas. Kim and I were ready with our camera in hand and our battery fully charged - but with the battery still in the charger plugged into the wall in the cabin. Oops. So instead of peering at these yellow and orange monsters through the lens of my camera, we enjoyed watching them lethargically move about if they moved at all. Back on board we had our first nightly briefing with Juan before eating dinner. He explained that we would navigate to Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island overnight. That night, before heading out, we saw a sea lion hanging out around our boat trying to catch fish (the fish were drawn to the boat by the lights). The sea lion had attracted a more impressive predator, a Galapagos shark. With the help of Robert's and Lewis' super bright head lamps, we saw the shark dart after the sea lion. To the dismay of some and the joy of others, the shark didn't catch the sea lion (at least to our knowledge).

To put it mildly, the seas were a bit choppy that first night. Kim had been taking the motion sickness pills we had with us, so she wasn't feeling awful, but she did head to bed early. I ended up staying up and playing Uno with Robert, Julia and Sevi. When I did make it to bed (the top bunk), the boat was rocking back and forth hard enough that I was a little worried that I would get tossed out of bed. As such, I didn't sleep so well the first night.

At breakfast the next morning, I found that just about everyone else had the same troubles (you might even say we were in the same boat). The second day we had a chance to check out some marine iguanas and some sea lions before we went snorkeling for the first time. The water was a bit cloudy but we saw lots of colorful fish ranging in size from my pinky finger to my torso. We also saw a sea turtle who was incredibly calm and unafraid of us despite the fact that we were a large group and were quite close to it. Right at the end we saw a huge sting ray nestled into the bottom.

In the afternoon we disembarked in Puerto Villamil and took a van a short ways out of town. We all got out of the van to check out some flamingos in a pond a short ways away. I got out of the van last and the driver closed the door behind me and quickly took off. I thought we were just getting out because we were lucky to see some flamingos, but when I asked Juan he said no, we would walk back into town from where we were. Awesome, because I left my backpack on the van thinking it was just a quick stop. Losing the backpack wouldn't have been a big deal, but it had my wallet with debit/credit cards, and Kim's cell phone in it. Needless to say I spent most of the rest of the afternoon in Villamil worrying about if I would get my backpack back and if so would it have my wallet and Kim's phone in it. It didn't help that when we would ask Juan about it he was fairly nonchalant about it and kept telling us we had to wait to find out - that the driver had gone up into the mountains to pick up a different group and had no way of being contacted for an hour and a half. Ultimately, Juan did pull through, and we got the backpack and important items back no problem. We did get to see the tortoise breeding center in Villamil, though it is much like the one in Puerto Ayora, and I was deep in the middle of a pity party so it wasn't the best Galapagos afternoon.

The second evening we learned from the Captain that the seas were supposed to be even rougher than the night before, and it was a 12 hour navigation to our next destination. A crew member offered to tie us into our bunks (we still aren't sure if he was kidding). More people had trouble with this night, Kim included. We went down to our cabin and she laid on the bottom bunk and told me that she wasn't going to get ready for bed - that she couldn't or else she would be sick. She took her contacts out and gave them to me to put away for her. I had felt a little seasickness myself when we were up on the top deck, but once I sat down on the bed it went away.  Luckily, both of us slept through the night without too much issue, something that not everybody was able to do.

The third day we were settled into the routine of the boat, and feeling the swaying of the sea was starting to become natural. We were on the west side of Isabela Island where we walked on a huge swath of black lava rock called Punto Moreno. We walked a ways in and there were some pools with flamingos standing in the water. It was also pretty incredible to see how different plants had begun to grow in the lava rock despite a lack of soil. Even more incredible was how there was a cactus that looks a lot like a penis.

That afternoon we went to Elizabeth Bay, a short ways from Punto Moreno, where we had another chance to snorkel and then did a tour of the bay by dinghy. From the dinghy we saw blue footed boobys, galapagos penguins, and flightless cormorants. In the water we had what might have been our best snorkeling outing. There were penguins in the water with us and at one point a group of them torpedoed directly beneath us as they chased a school of small fish. Later there was an octopus crawling along the bottom of the sea. I followed him for a bit, keeping my distance and just watching what he would do. It was mesmerizing to see how instantaneously and flawlessly the octopus could change his color to match his surroundings, or how he would flash a bright blue when another fish accidentally swam into him. While I was distracted by the octopus, Kim and the others were swimming with a sea lion and a sea turtle.

Day four started at Fernandina Island, which is just west of Isabela. Our walk on Fernandina culminated in us seeing a big male (macho, in Spanish) sea lion barking and honking and chasing a female sea lion. Juan informed us that he was trying to mate with the female and the female was playing hard to get. Our second stop, Punta Vicente Roca, was also to be visited by dinghy only. We saw lots of blue footed boobys and the landscape was reminded me of Isla Nublar. There were two opportunities to snorkel on the fourth day, and we swam with sea lions and saw lots of incredible fish - however the water was a bit too cold for most at the first area and it was murky and too deep at the second stop.

Juan told us that we were going to be crossing the equator at about 5 pm, so Kim and I as well as the Aussies all had a few beers and enjoyed a beautiful early evening on the deck of the Encantada. We stopped at the equator and a bunch of people were trying to take pictures of the ship's navigational equipment reading 0'0'0' latitude.

Unfortunately I didn't see the equator on the day we passed it, but Juan said it is pretty rare to catch a glimpse of it. On the plus side, Kerrie, Lewis and Jenny taught me a wonderful Australian drinking song where you peer pressure your buddies into chugging (skulling, in Australian) their beer.

(Side note, as I'm writing this post so incredibly late I have heard about the eruption of Wolf Volcano in late May. Kim and I were off the islands at this point, but the volcano is on the northern part of Isabela and we sailed around it. We were about a week too late to see the eruption. Damn.)

The fifth day started on Santiago Island and we found a place that had cracks in the lava rock where sea lions would hide from sharks. We saw a large group of sea lions hanging out and playing in the cracks. Juan told us that it was one of the few places to see fur sea lions, as opposed to Galapagos sea lions, but to be honest they don't look all that different. There was also a hole in the ground called Darwin's Toilet where the water would retreat and then come exploding out of the ground. Snorkeling was right from the beach, and the water was warm and clear. It seemed like we were going to see mostly the same animals we had seen the previous snorkeling days, until Kim said that Robert and Julia saw a shark. I swam over to where they were and caught a couple glimpses of a shark, but that was enough for me so I swam away from where the sharks were and back to the group.

Our day ended at Rabida Island. The beach is made up of deep red sand, which made for interesting landscape. Unfortunately the weather was overcast and threatening to rain and there wasn't much in the way of wildlife. We spent most of the hour or so on the island chatting with other people from the boat (I spent a good 30 minutes explaining American Football to Sevi from Switzerland).

The last day on the boat was a quick circumnavigation of Daphne Island. Daphne used to be open to tourists but it has since been closed to the public, only a handful biologists have been allowed to disembark on the island. After Daphne we sailed back to Baltra Island, unloaded our belongings and then ourselves. We all caught a quick bus back to the airport where most of our new friends were getting on a plane back to Guayaquil. Kim and I gave hugs and said goodbye to all before we took a couple busses and a ferry back to Puerto Ayora.

We had originally booked a day trip to Bartolome Island for the day before our cruise started, but there was a miscommunication on the part of the tour agency so the bus left without us. The agency re-booked our tour for the day after our cruise ended. To be honest, we both had mixed feelings about the day tour before leaving since we had just spent 6 days going non-stop. We were tired and both feeling ready to move onto something else. However, Bartolome Island was incredible and we were so glad we went. Our guide was fantastic, and the landscape was stunning (scenes from the movie Master and Commander were filmed here). We hiked up to the top of a hill where you have a panoramic view crisp blue water, white beaches, and black lava rock. Even better were the Galapagos hawks that were soaring around us and seemingly posing for pictures on the handrails not more than six feet from our group.

After Bartolome, we headed over to San Cristobal. It was an almost 3 hour ferry ride. As a native to the Puget Sound, I use the word ferry only in the most literal sense. The boat fit about 25 people and the locals all sit as close to the back as possible. The reason for this became clear as soon as we left the bay of Puerto Ayora and the boat kicked into high gear. I don't have any reference for how calm or rough the seas were that day, but there were parts of the trip where I literally bounced half a foot off the bench. Kim had taken a motion sickness pill, but even so she wasn't feeling too hot. The most frightening parts were when the captain would kill the motor right before a particularly large wave so as not to capsize the boat and it felt like a car fishtailing on ice. Thankfully, we did make it to San Cristobal in one piece, and with no chunks on the ground.

San Cristobal is less touristy than Puerto Ayora with less restraunts and bars, but we heard there were some lovely beaches and good snorkeling. We found a nice little hostel, Casa Mabell, with the sweetest older gentleman running the place. There was a nice restaurant in town, Rosita, that served a fantastic five dollar set lunch (maybe the best set lunch we've had). The huge downside was that it poured rain for the first two days, not leaving much opportunity for visiting beaches. When the weather finally cleared enough (still pretty overcast), we walked a ways out of town to a local beach that was filled with sea lions. We saw some sea lions that looked like they couldn't be more than a few weeks old, and Kim took some great pictures of them nursing and playing.

When it was time for us to fly back to Guayaquil and end our Galapagos adventure, I think we were both a little bit relieved. Everything on the Galapagos is incredibly expensive compared to the rest of Ecuador, and after three weeks, our budget was pretty shot. That said, it was an experience that neither of us will ever forget and something that we wouldn't take back if given the opportunity.