I Have a Feeling We're Not in Quito Anymore.

Yesterday morning (after waking up at 5:30 am, which is 4:30 Galapagos time!) my parents and I flew into Baltra, one of the three Galapagos Islands with an airport. I'm not saying that I was expecting to fly into paradise or anything, but I was definitely surprised when the plane landed and we were surrounded by miles of dry, red dirt spattered with seemingly dead cacti. However, as soon I stepped off the plane and could breathe in the warm, clean air, I decided it didn't really matter.

We met up with a tour group and hopped on a bus to the coast of Baltra. As we turned a corner, I saw the turquoise water for the first time and within two seconds my eyes were fixed on a sea turtle--my first sighting ever! After ten minutes I already had goosebumps. I knew we were truly somewhere special.

We took a very short boat ride to Santa Cruz, where our hotel is located. On Santa Cruz we saw two huge craters as well as a ginormous lava tunnel formed by volcanos--a day full of unique landscapes. We also walked through a giant tortoise farm, where I was super thrilled to finally see some wildlife! I definitely regretted wearing sandals, however, because tortoise poop was massive and abundant. Just like they were!



We drove from one coast to the other over the course of the day and ultimately ended up at the hotel. I was definitely expecting to feel like I was in a different country than I had been for the last two months, but the streets of the town on Santa Cruz looked almost identical to those of the smaller Ecuadorian cities I've visited. It just hadn't occurred to me that many Galapagos residents might share a lifestyle with people on the mainland: the same food, same cell phone providers, same marketing techniques, same Ecuadorian flag-color grocery bags. It surprised me, but I knew that each island was supposed to have its own "personality," and that we would soon see so much more.

I could not have been more right. Today, I truly felt like I took a 2-hour boat ride to another planet instead of just another island. We inched our way to the coastline of Isla Santa Fe on a small water taxi that Galapagos residents call pangas, where the sand was white and the sea lions slumbered...in a colony of a hundred. Although they barked like dogs with whooping cough, I very much wanted to crawl right under their flippers and take a nap, too! But I guess the second best thing was being awake to watch them snuggle, swim, fight, and play.




We explored the rest of the island and saw the Santa Fe land iguana, a reptile that is not found anywhere else in the world, as well as the Blue-Footed Booby, one of the most famous birds on the Galapagos. I really can't believe I have now seen one in real life! Finches, crabs and lizards were also all over the island. Most of the animals couldn't have cared less that we were there--even the sea turtles, baby sea lions and white-tipped shark we encountered in the water when we swam. It was amazing!



To call this island "beautiful" would be an insult. I really don't think there are words to describe it, this gem in the middle of the ocean where wildlife doesn't have to be threatened by anything. Then again, I guess I should say "gems," since there are 18 of them. And we'll see another just as incredible tomorrow.

I feel pretty helpless being spoken to in English by locals giving tours or serving us food. Sometimes I feel so spoiled for being here that it's almost hard to think about anything else, but I am trying so hard to get over it because I know this is something I will probably never do again, and I want to soak up everything. It really is hard to believe that I am where I am, seeing what I'm seeing!