Hey Everyone,
I apologize for the long pause in blog posts. I am finally in a place where I can upload pictures and videos! I am in Lima. I am going to make posts about different things that happened in Galapagos.
The first place Mom and I visited was the island of San Cristóbol. Mom was really a trooper; she arrived after a ten hour plane ride and then went straight to a two hour boat ride! And, these boat rides are not easy. As you can see in the photo, there were MANY sea lions here to meet us. It is hard not to fall
in love with beautiful animals.We stayed in San Cristóbol for two days. The second day, we went snorkeling at a place called Kicker Rock or Sleeping Lion. I went snorkeling there! It was sooo beautiful. I saw sharks, eagle rays, turtles, and many other types of fish. The water was a little chilly, but I survived. The water in Galapagos is shockingly cold. Kicker Rock is the rock formation behind Mom´s head.
After spending two nights, we headed to Isabela.
Two boat rides later, we arrived. The sleepy little island where I was living was a perfect place for us to rest. At times, Mom was a little bored, but I think she learned to like it after a while.Mom took pictures of everything. This is me going into my house! I also lived at a church... It happened to be the noisiest place in town. If there was not construction, there were people singing or playing LOUD reggeaton. And, not to mention that my roommates and I all shared the same roof! Never a dull moment.
In Isabela, we did many activities together.
One of the first places we visited was the tortoise breeding center. It was breeding season! They act
ually make very funny noises when breeding. We also went on a kayak ri
de with my friend Jackie. It was very relaxing and beautiful. We saw sea turtles, American Oyster Catchers (bird), sea lions, and penguins!We also visited the Wall of Tears together. We rented bicycles from my friend Junior and rode for about an hour to get there! This is a picture of Mom and I on to of the Wall. It was a wall built by prisoners in the 1950s, but was never really finished. BTW, the island I was living on is a formal penal colony...
We went to another beach called La Playa del Amor (the beach of love). I went swimming and Mom waded a little bit. We saw a lava tunnel and visited our water reserve on Isa
bela. This was all within walking distance from the beach! The beach on the islan
d where I was living was outstanding. I made a point to walk on the beach there everyday. I also did a lot of yoga on the beach. Mom and I did yoga on the beach, as well.Mom also went to the volcano! I had already been and needed to pack, so I did not go with her. We also went on a cruise together. We went to Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago, Bartolome, Baltra, Sombrero Chino, and South Plaza. I apologize because I do not remember the order! It was definitely a good decision. We had a great time.
One animal we saw was a frigate bird. This is what a frigate looks like when it is mating. Our guide told us that this is only 60%! Many animals are endemic
to Galapagos. This animal is endemic. Endemic means that it is only found in the Galapagos and native means that it is found in Galapagos but also in other parts of the world. We saw blue footed boobies as well. As you can see on the left! They are so cute. There are red footed boobies in the Galapagos, as well, but we did not see these animals. Sally Light Foot crabs are EVERYWHERE in Galapagos. And, they are illegal to eat. Our guide told us that when he was young, they ate these guys all the time. They are one of my favorite animals of the Galapagos.
We had a great time exploring this magical place. I actually left the Galapagos a day before Mom. The picture of me in the crazy red dress is me during my despedida or going away party!
After Galapagos, I left on a mad rush to Peru... And, from here the story gets more and more interesting. I am now in Colombia posting blogs that I never finished, and when I was writing this post, I had no idea what the future held. Wow! It is a lesson in time and patience. We are always, really in that boat, and it is great to look back and know that my time in SA ended better than I had imagined!
