Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Ecuador - Day 4

The Galapagos Islands
Sunday was our first full day in the Galapagos Islands. We are staying at a hotel on the Island of Santa Cruz. We have an amazing view. Our room has two large sliding glass doors that look out to the ocean. We are pretty high up so we can see all the boats in the port. We fall asleep and wake up to the sound of the waves. Aside from not being able to figure out how to get the hot water to work the first day, we couldn't ask for a better room. We had an early breakfast then came back to our room and drank coffee and read while overlooking the ocean. It was amazing!


View from our room



We got ready, as we needed to be ready at 10:00 a.m. for a Bay and Beach tour. We had to take a taxi in to town as the water was too rough to board the boat at our hotel. We boarded a small boat in town at the port and off we went. Our first stop was to go snorkeling about 10 minutes away from the port. Emily decided to not go snorkeling at this point as the water was very cold and rough and she gets motion sickness quite easily. Darin went with a few others into the water. He saw quite a few fish and even a large turtle swimming. We did have one mishap as our brand new Flip video and waterproof case did not seem to work correctly. So no more video of the Galapagos islands. We're hoping they'll replace it when we return.



Not a great picture, but gives you an idea of what the water was like. This was a pretty rough as Darin's first time swimming in the ocean and snorkeling. Another shot from the boat during the snorkeling experience.



After the snorkeling adventure we headed towards a beach. The ride was pretty intense. The waves were huge and we were in a very little boat. We made it through the rough waves into a cove that lead to the beach. I was relieved, but also a little worried about our trip back out. We explored the beach area where we saw many Iguana and Blue Footed Boobies (a Galapagos Bird). We ate lunch on the beach.



We headed back to the hotel and on the way stopped by the same place we had gone snorkeling earlier and saw quite a few sea lions lounging around on the rocks. If the water hadn't been so choppy, they may have been swimming, but like Emily, they don't like it when the water is rough.



We'll post more of our adventures at Isabella Island (Monday) and on a Mountain tour (Tuesday) when we have time. Take care!

2 comments:

Susan said...

Glad to hear that you guys are safe. Love the pictures! Rest up lots and have a great time! :)

Young Family said...

It just looks BEAUTIFUL!! So glad you guys are having a great time and I hope you aren't thinking about anything here!!!

Talk to you soon!

Stephenie