in the Galapagos Islands!

Day 3: Again we woke up bright and early to start our day. On the itinerary for that day was a 10 mile hike up and around a volcano. We had buses drive us up to the start of the trail to Volcán Chico. The hike took overall about 5 hours. We hiked around the crater at the top of the volcano and the lava fields down the hill. From the lava hills we could see the rest of Isabela Island, Darwin Lake, the Pacific Ocean,

and quite a few other islands. The hike was not very difficult, but everyone was tired just from walking for so long! The buffet lunch was entirely perfect and delicious.

For the afternoon we crossed the harbor to a small piece of land that was a marine reserve for some exciting animals.

We saw more penguins and blue footed boobies along the rocks; there were plenty of sea lions lying out in the sand or on boats just soaking up the sun; we saw white tip reef sharks swimming along with more turtles and sea lions; and we saw so many marine iguanas all over the island! We attempted snorkeling again to see if we could swim with any sharks or manta rays, but the water was extremely murky and we could not see a single thing. We ended our rather tiring day swimming in the beautiful sunset and loving our lives!

Day 4 (Easter!):

Today we were scheduled to take another boat ride over to Santa Cruz Island, and we did just that. Sadly this boat was not nearly exciting as the one from the first day because we did not stop to snorkel at all.

However, at one point we looked behind us and saw the most complete, bright and perfect rainbow I have ever seen stretching across the ocean with islands in the background! We were all speechless at that breathtaking image and I think it could not have been more perfect for Easter Sunday! Sally and I rode up top with the captain again and this time we saw lots of turtles swimming in the water and I saw a manta ray jump out of the water and splash back in! Once we got to the island we got on buses and went directly up to volcanic collapse craters. These were just massive holes on the Earth’s surface and little scary when we got close to the edges! We also walked through a lava tunnel which was basically a cave, a very muddy cave at that. Our guide made a point the night before to mention that we would not need sneakers to walk around and he highly recommended wearing sandals, which made the cave quite a spectacle with all of us slipping through it. Then we continued on to a tortoise farm where they protect turtle nests and eggs so that the babies are born safely. I was expecting to see more turtles but the few that we saw were cool!

Our afternoon activity was a hike to Turtle Bay and enjoying the beach. Unfortunately it took about an hour each way to hike to and from the beach so we didn’t get as much time on the beach as everyone would have liked, but the beach was absolutely gorgeous and we loved being there! Again the water was too murky to snorkel but the Bay was too beautiful for anyone to be annoyed. After a long day of hiking/walking again we were all pooped and didn’t stay out too late, but it was our last night on the islands. We did a little souvenir shopping and ice cream eating before we all passed out.

The morning of our departure: We dragged our tired bodies out of bed at 6am just one more time and made our way down to the Charles Darwin research center. There we got to see baby turtles, giant tortoises eating their breakfast, the famous Lonesome George looking so sad and lonely, and giant land iguanas! They were all really neat to see. After this small excursion we had to be on our way to the airport.

A bus took us to the other side of Santa Cruz where we caught a ferry that took us to the small island of Baltra. Sadly we had to say our goodbyes to the glorious Galapagos Islands and make our way back to rainy Quito. Like I said it was one of the most incredible trips and opportunities I have ever had in my life and I will remember every single one of our adventures! I think that everyone should put it on their list of places to go before they die and go experience the stunning beauty and marvelous fun of the Galapagos!