Day 51: One Day 'Til Galapagos (01/17/10)
This morning I really didn't feel like getting up. I pried myself out of bed and in to the shower. I got my laundry together and got dressed for breakfast. It was just about 10 already so I asked for only egg, bread, and hot water.
I ate everything and was just about done with my tea when Santiago showed up. I guess it was good that he was late again so I had time to eat.
We headed to the internet shop and went online, but his friend wasn't on. So we called from a booth. His friend got my passport info from me so he could book my hotel stay. After they talked a while we went back online and he sent Jorge Luis (his friend) an email with my email address so he can send me instructions and details for when I land at San Cristobal airport.
We left the internet shop and headed over to the church across the street to see the festivities (they were having another parade).
I guess they dress all the children up and decorate horses and cars and reenact some kind of baby Jesus scene.
They do this every weekend from late November/December until Carneval. All of the children were dressed in fancy traditional costumes.
The church across the road from my hotel doesn't look particularly spectacular from the outside. Plain white walls (etc.), but the inside is beautiful and ornate. There are carvings and sculptures and lots of colors. Really very beautiful and a lot larger than I expected.
After the church we walked down towards the Tomebamba. Santiago's mom called and wanted him to call back, so he walked me up the river a bit and then back to my hotel.
He said to give him a call when I get back into town and take care.
Back at the hotel I asked if I could start laundry and the owner said yes. Then we talked briefly about my trip.
I need to ask about leaving a few things here for the week and about getting a room again when I get back.
I'm drinking some tea and writing now, but in a short while I'm going to call my mom.
It's nearly 2, but the computer place is packed and I'm hungry. Pretty much nothing is open today so I ended up at "Cafe Austria" again.
I think I'll probably just call my mom instead of trying to Skype. On the way here I passed a place that advertised 5 cents a minute for calls to the US, so I'll head there instead of the usual place.
I need to remember to go to the ATM today.
Talked to my mom for a bit. She was busy making stuff for a work potluck and had some other things to do, so we didn't talk for too long.
Part of the reason I have been pretty set on heading straight to Central America with Gabe is that I afraid my mom would be on me about finding a job right away etc. But after talking to her I'm no longer worried about it. It surprised me a bit that she didn't expect me to really be looking until April, but I guess she realizes how hard it is to find work right now. The only thing on the agenda for right when I get home: taxes. Not a big deal, because I really want to get mine done as soon as I get back anyway.
For dinner I headed to Rayipampa (I think that's the name). It was the place that I had tried to go for lunch with the huge line, a few days back. My teacher had recommended the lunch, so I figured the dinner probably wouldn't be half bad either.
I had a mushroom and chicken crepe and a margarita. Both were good, but the crepe was SO rich and very filling.
After eating I headed back to the place I had called my mom from, to call Gabe. He didn't answer so I told his voicemail I'd try later.
I went to the internet shop by my hotel and checked email. Jorge Luis sent me an email, but all it said was to take the bus to the Central Park stop and walk 3 blocks, or take a taxi ($1). The hotel is called "Hotel España" and the room is $30 with AC or $25 with a fan.
I wrote the info down and hoped that that was all the info I actually needed.
I talked to Katie on IM briefly.
I called Gabe and got to talk to him for a while, which was nice. I had questions that I forgot to ask, but I remembered to invite him to Cirque Du Soleil when I get back.
When we got off the phone, I headed back to the hotel and packed.
I wrote a note asking if I could leave a small bag behind, and if I could reserve a room for when I get back.
Then I went to bed. I was a bit anxious about traveling the next day, and about figuring out my week.
I ate everything and was just about done with my tea when Santiago showed up. I guess it was good that he was late again so I had time to eat.
We headed to the internet shop and went online, but his friend wasn't on. So we called from a booth. His friend got my passport info from me so he could book my hotel stay. After they talked a while we went back online and he sent Jorge Luis (his friend) an email with my email address so he can send me instructions and details for when I land at San Cristobal airport.
We left the internet shop and headed over to the church across the street to see the festivities (they were having another parade).
I guess they dress all the children up and decorate horses and cars and reenact some kind of baby Jesus scene.
They do this every weekend from late November/December until Carneval. All of the children were dressed in fancy traditional costumes.
The church across the road from my hotel doesn't look particularly spectacular from the outside. Plain white walls (etc.), but the inside is beautiful and ornate. There are carvings and sculptures and lots of colors. Really very beautiful and a lot larger than I expected.
After the church we walked down towards the Tomebamba. Santiago's mom called and wanted him to call back, so he walked me up the river a bit and then back to my hotel.
He said to give him a call when I get back into town and take care.
Back at the hotel I asked if I could start laundry and the owner said yes. Then we talked briefly about my trip.
I need to ask about leaving a few things here for the week and about getting a room again when I get back.
I'm drinking some tea and writing now, but in a short while I'm going to call my mom.
It's nearly 2, but the computer place is packed and I'm hungry. Pretty much nothing is open today so I ended up at "Cafe Austria" again.
I think I'll probably just call my mom instead of trying to Skype. On the way here I passed a place that advertised 5 cents a minute for calls to the US, so I'll head there instead of the usual place.
I need to remember to go to the ATM today.
Talked to my mom for a bit. She was busy making stuff for a work potluck and had some other things to do, so we didn't talk for too long.
Part of the reason I have been pretty set on heading straight to Central America with Gabe is that I afraid my mom would be on me about finding a job right away etc. But after talking to her I'm no longer worried about it. It surprised me a bit that she didn't expect me to really be looking until April, but I guess she realizes how hard it is to find work right now. The only thing on the agenda for right when I get home: taxes. Not a big deal, because I really want to get mine done as soon as I get back anyway.
For dinner I headed to Rayipampa (I think that's the name). It was the place that I had tried to go for lunch with the huge line, a few days back. My teacher had recommended the lunch, so I figured the dinner probably wouldn't be half bad either.
I had a mushroom and chicken crepe and a margarita. Both were good, but the crepe was SO rich and very filling.
After eating I headed back to the place I had called my mom from, to call Gabe. He didn't answer so I told his voicemail I'd try later.
I went to the internet shop by my hotel and checked email. Jorge Luis sent me an email, but all it said was to take the bus to the Central Park stop and walk 3 blocks, or take a taxi ($1). The hotel is called "Hotel España" and the room is $30 with AC or $25 with a fan.
I wrote the info down and hoped that that was all the info I actually needed.
I talked to Katie on IM briefly.
I called Gabe and got to talk to him for a while, which was nice. I had questions that I forgot to ask, but I remembered to invite him to Cirque Du Soleil when I get back.
When we got off the phone, I headed back to the hotel and packed.
I wrote a note asking if I could leave a small bag behind, and if I could reserve a room for when I get back.
Then I went to bed. I was a bit anxious about traveling the next day, and about figuring out my week.
Day 52: En Route To The Galapagos (01/18/10)
Just before bed last night I had asked the hotel owner to call me a cab for the morning. I watched him call and he said everything was worked out for my 6:45 cab.
I woke up early and got dressed and packed up my last few items.
No one else was up. At 6:30 I headed downstairs with my things. A short bit later a woman came downstairs. There was a honk outside and I thought maybe it was my cab. The front door was locked and this other woman seemed just as antsy as I was. She told me to wake up the hotel owner, so I did.
He came out and unlocked the door. He double checked my cab and I gave him the note. I realized that the woman was antsy because the honking was her ride somewhere.
He said it was fine and I payed him for the last 20 nights.
My cab came and I was off. When I got to the airport (about 5 minutes later) there wasn't anyone working the check in counter, so I waited in line. After getting checked in I found my way to the departure waiting area. This airport is tiny, but nice (there are only 3 departure gates).
I was feeling pretty antsy because I didn't see any of the people I had waited in line with. As I had walked into the room a guy from (I think) TAME (my airline) had rushed outside with a woman. I began to worry a bit, thinking maybe I had missed my boarding call (which was silly because I still had 30 minutes before my plane was supposed to leave).
I made myself sit still and wait. The room began filling up and a bit later they started boarding.
When I got to Guayaquil they announced that people heading to the Galapagos should talk to a flight attendant while exiting, so I did. She pointed me to another airline employee. He started walking briskly and motioned for me to follow. I followed, but when I handed him my ticket to look at, he stopped. They hadn't checked me in for my next leg yet, so I had to go to check-in (and the plane was supposed to be leaving a bit early).
The line for check-in was long. After checking in I had a while to wait still so I got some food. Basically just a grilled cheese ( for $4.50, holy cow).
My flight ended up leaving at the original time.
When we got to the Galapagos I had to wait in another line. This one was short, but took a long time. I had to pay for a tourist card ($10) and fill out a paper explaining the nature of my visit (migration form basically) and pay $100 to enter the park. Then they emptied my bags and put everything back in.
When I got through, I hit the bathroom and then tried to find a bus or taxi. When I asked a cop where the bus stop was all he said was "taxi" and pointed to one. So I asked the driver if he knew where my hotel was and he smiled and said "yeah, but it's on a different island." I had flown to San Cristobal, but my hotel was on Santa Cruz (a couple hours away by boat). Shit. So I looked for a phone and saw a payphone looking thing that said Porta all over it. The number for Jorge Luis was a porta number so I went to check it out. The only problem was that it required some type of Porta phone card. I started to panic a bit. A guy had asked if I was part of his volunteer group coming in and I had said no. I decided to go ask him about it. He said that my hotel was on Santa Cruz and that the boats were done for the day, so he'd help me find a hotel for a night and tell me how to catch a boat the next day.
A short bit later another guy standing nearby asked if I'd like to take the last room on the boat he was the guide for. At first I thought "no way" but after talking to him a bit (and seeing the other passengers) it didn't sound so sketchy.
He said for $1,000 everything for all 5 days would be included and it would drop me at Santa Cruz on Friday. I would have a day to do whatever and a day to get back to San Cristobal. I agreed and joined them. I thanked the volunteer guy for his offer to help me, and then headed out.
The boat is very nice. When we first boarded we took our shoes off and went inside for a meeting. We talked about the plan for the day, the meal plans, and who belonged in which room. Then we unloaded all of our things and met back up for lunch.
After lunch we were going snorkeling (near Isla Lobos) and then for a short hike.
Snorkeling was awesome. I was afraid to do it at first, but I'm glad I didn't chicken out. The first sea lion that swam by me scared the crap out of me and swimming close to the rocks scared me too. After a bit I got over it though. The sand on the bottom was just little bits of sea shells. There were fish that looked clearish with electric reflections and a sword shaped nose (the fish were not very big though, 4-8 inches and skinny) that swam in schools close to the surface.
There were darkish fish with yellow mouths and lots of other brightly colored smaller fish. There was the raddest sea slug I've ever seen. It was wild camo-y print with electric spots along it's body that I think were blue (I can't remember though).
After playing with young sea lions for a bit we headed back to change and get ready for our hike.
Our hike ended up being more of a walk. We climbed over some rocks for a bit and saw a baby sea lion (2 months old) nursing. There were a lot of other sea lions and lots of lizards too. We saw an adolescent blue footed boobie (that didn't have it's blue feet yet and couldn't fly yet), and a couple young frigate birds and some yellow warblers.
We ended by walking through a section of beach scattered with sea lions and pups.
After the walk we had some relaxation time and then at 6 had a "meet the crew" cocktail.
I sat and talked to a couple from Switzerland. They were young and are both geographers. Betina and Warren. They had been here for a few weeks on a bike vacation and after the cruise are headed home.
I sat and talked with them during dinner (I had sat with an older couple from Minneapolis at lunch).
After dinner there were going to be some boat taxis to town for shopping, internet etc.
I bought some post cards and emailed my family and Gabe. When we headed back to the boat I hungout with some of the crew and had a couple beers. The guide got his computer and showed me some pictures of the islands. After a short while it became apparent that he had the wrong idea about me. He asked if he could kiss me. I said no, thanked him for the beer and went to bed. Ugh. Breakfast is at 7 tomorrow, so bed was a good idea anyway.
I woke up early and got dressed and packed up my last few items.
No one else was up. At 6:30 I headed downstairs with my things. A short bit later a woman came downstairs. There was a honk outside and I thought maybe it was my cab. The front door was locked and this other woman seemed just as antsy as I was. She told me to wake up the hotel owner, so I did.
He came out and unlocked the door. He double checked my cab and I gave him the note. I realized that the woman was antsy because the honking was her ride somewhere.
He said it was fine and I payed him for the last 20 nights.
My cab came and I was off. When I got to the airport (about 5 minutes later) there wasn't anyone working the check in counter, so I waited in line. After getting checked in I found my way to the departure waiting area. This airport is tiny, but nice (there are only 3 departure gates).
I was feeling pretty antsy because I didn't see any of the people I had waited in line with. As I had walked into the room a guy from (I think) TAME (my airline) had rushed outside with a woman. I began to worry a bit, thinking maybe I had missed my boarding call (which was silly because I still had 30 minutes before my plane was supposed to leave).
I made myself sit still and wait. The room began filling up and a bit later they started boarding.
When I got to Guayaquil they announced that people heading to the Galapagos should talk to a flight attendant while exiting, so I did. She pointed me to another airline employee. He started walking briskly and motioned for me to follow. I followed, but when I handed him my ticket to look at, he stopped. They hadn't checked me in for my next leg yet, so I had to go to check-in (and the plane was supposed to be leaving a bit early).
The line for check-in was long. After checking in I had a while to wait still so I got some food. Basically just a grilled cheese ( for $4.50, holy cow).
My flight ended up leaving at the original time.
When we got to the Galapagos I had to wait in another line. This one was short, but took a long time. I had to pay for a tourist card ($10) and fill out a paper explaining the nature of my visit (migration form basically) and pay $100 to enter the park. Then they emptied my bags and put everything back in.
When I got through, I hit the bathroom and then tried to find a bus or taxi. When I asked a cop where the bus stop was all he said was "taxi" and pointed to one. So I asked the driver if he knew where my hotel was and he smiled and said "yeah, but it's on a different island." I had flown to San Cristobal, but my hotel was on Santa Cruz (a couple hours away by boat). Shit. So I looked for a phone and saw a payphone looking thing that said Porta all over it. The number for Jorge Luis was a porta number so I went to check it out. The only problem was that it required some type of Porta phone card. I started to panic a bit. A guy had asked if I was part of his volunteer group coming in and I had said no. I decided to go ask him about it. He said that my hotel was on Santa Cruz and that the boats were done for the day, so he'd help me find a hotel for a night and tell me how to catch a boat the next day.
A short bit later another guy standing nearby asked if I'd like to take the last room on the boat he was the guide for. At first I thought "no way" but after talking to him a bit (and seeing the other passengers) it didn't sound so sketchy.
He said for $1,000 everything for all 5 days would be included and it would drop me at Santa Cruz on Friday. I would have a day to do whatever and a day to get back to San Cristobal. I agreed and joined them. I thanked the volunteer guy for his offer to help me, and then headed out.
The boat is very nice. When we first boarded we took our shoes off and went inside for a meeting. We talked about the plan for the day, the meal plans, and who belonged in which room. Then we unloaded all of our things and met back up for lunch.
After lunch we were going snorkeling (near Isla Lobos) and then for a short hike.
Snorkeling was awesome. I was afraid to do it at first, but I'm glad I didn't chicken out. The first sea lion that swam by me scared the crap out of me and swimming close to the rocks scared me too. After a bit I got over it though. The sand on the bottom was just little bits of sea shells. There were fish that looked clearish with electric reflections and a sword shaped nose (the fish were not very big though, 4-8 inches and skinny) that swam in schools close to the surface.
There were darkish fish with yellow mouths and lots of other brightly colored smaller fish. There was the raddest sea slug I've ever seen. It was wild camo-y print with electric spots along it's body that I think were blue (I can't remember though).
After playing with young sea lions for a bit we headed back to change and get ready for our hike.
Our hike ended up being more of a walk. We climbed over some rocks for a bit and saw a baby sea lion (2 months old) nursing. There were a lot of other sea lions and lots of lizards too. We saw an adolescent blue footed boobie (that didn't have it's blue feet yet and couldn't fly yet), and a couple young frigate birds and some yellow warblers.
We ended by walking through a section of beach scattered with sea lions and pups.
After the walk we had some relaxation time and then at 6 had a "meet the crew" cocktail.
I sat and talked to a couple from Switzerland. They were young and are both geographers. Betina and Warren. They had been here for a few weeks on a bike vacation and after the cruise are headed home.
I sat and talked with them during dinner (I had sat with an older couple from Minneapolis at lunch).
After dinner there were going to be some boat taxis to town for shopping, internet etc.
I bought some post cards and emailed my family and Gabe. When we headed back to the boat I hungout with some of the crew and had a couple beers. The guide got his computer and showed me some pictures of the islands. After a short while it became apparent that he had the wrong idea about me. He asked if he could kiss me. I said no, thanked him for the beer and went to bed. Ugh. Breakfast is at 7 tomorrow, so bed was a good idea anyway.
Day 53: Isla Española (01/19/10)
Today we went to Gardener Bay and Punta Suarez.
We had breakfast at 7 and left the boat for our first beach and snorkel at 8.
The beach had very light colored sand that was made of sea shell bits. The first hour we walked the beach. There were tons of sea lions and lizards. There were also some turtles, hawks and other birds.
I got a video of one type of bird fishing. It flew close to the surface of the water, then flew much higher, and then dove into the water and popped back up shortly.
After walking a while, we snorkeled from the beach to a large formation of rocks. I saw a few rays and lots of fish. There were a pair that I remember specifically. The one swimming in front was silvery and fairly plain, but the one following was bright neon electric blue. Spectacular.
I did not, however, manage to see the sharks that supposedly inhabited the rock formation. I'm not terribly bummed about it though. I almost pee myself each time I get passed by a sea lion, so I can only imagine my reaction to being even relatively close to sharks.
After that we headed back to the boat to get ready for more snorkeling around a small island.
This time we were mostly looking for sea stars, coral, anemones, etc.
It was nice, but my muscles were crampy and I was pretty cold.
Shortly after getting back in the taxi boat the last few members of our group joined us and we headed back to the boat.
When we got back I got ready for lunch and ate. After lunch I talked for a while with the Australian/UK couple and the Swiss woman, then headed to the second floor to digest.
I wound up attempting to nap and found myself dozing in and out. It was a bit chilly so I headed to my room to nap for real. The only problem was that I really didn't feel like getting back up. I forced myself to get up.
On the taxi boat I got to talk to the Swedish people a bit. On the boat there are 3 older Swedish from the same town (Inger, Shel, Susann, Mari-anne, Claes and Uke. I'm guessing on all the spellings), they're hilarious, there's a young surfing couple (Michelle from Australia and Gawain from the UK), an older Italian couple(Angela and Stefano), a young Swiss couple (Betina and Warren), and an older couple from Minneapolis (Barbara and Lon).
So far I like everyone pretty well. The Swedish couples are great. They're all very funny.
We went on a hike at Punta Suarez that was very hot and fairly long. We saw lots of iguanas, smaller lizards, sea lions, blue footed boobies, Nasca boobies (and their babies), doves with bright circles around their eyes, a couple types of finches, waved albatrosses, re-billed tropicbirds, hawks, and lots of crabs.
We got to see the cliffs on Española which were nice (but probably much more dramatic years ago). Also a blow hole.
After the walk I was about to faint from being so hot and thirsty by the time we got back (I brought water with me, but not enough).
I drank a lot of water and ate lots of snacks. I sat in the common room couch area and talked to the Swedes for a long while.
More people filtered in and we talked about a lot of different topics until it was time for our group talk about the formation of the Galapagos and our plans for tomorrow.
After the meeting was dinner and I sat and talked with the Italians. I think that the husband doesn't speak English, but the wife does quite well (also Portuguese, apparently).
After dinner I got my notebook and postcards and started writing. One of the Swedes offered me a drink and I accepted this time (they had asked earlier, but I was on a re-hydration mission).
When I finished my writing I headed to bed.
We had breakfast at 7 and left the boat for our first beach and snorkel at 8.
The beach had very light colored sand that was made of sea shell bits. The first hour we walked the beach. There were tons of sea lions and lizards. There were also some turtles, hawks and other birds.
I got a video of one type of bird fishing. It flew close to the surface of the water, then flew much higher, and then dove into the water and popped back up shortly.
After walking a while, we snorkeled from the beach to a large formation of rocks. I saw a few rays and lots of fish. There were a pair that I remember specifically. The one swimming in front was silvery and fairly plain, but the one following was bright neon electric blue. Spectacular.
I did not, however, manage to see the sharks that supposedly inhabited the rock formation. I'm not terribly bummed about it though. I almost pee myself each time I get passed by a sea lion, so I can only imagine my reaction to being even relatively close to sharks.
After that we headed back to the boat to get ready for more snorkeling around a small island.
This time we were mostly looking for sea stars, coral, anemones, etc.
It was nice, but my muscles were crampy and I was pretty cold.
Shortly after getting back in the taxi boat the last few members of our group joined us and we headed back to the boat.
When we got back I got ready for lunch and ate. After lunch I talked for a while with the Australian/UK couple and the Swiss woman, then headed to the second floor to digest.
I wound up attempting to nap and found myself dozing in and out. It was a bit chilly so I headed to my room to nap for real. The only problem was that I really didn't feel like getting back up. I forced myself to get up.
On the taxi boat I got to talk to the Swedish people a bit. On the boat there are 3 older Swedish from the same town (Inger, Shel, Susann, Mari-anne, Claes and Uke. I'm guessing on all the spellings), they're hilarious, there's a young surfing couple (Michelle from Australia and Gawain from the UK), an older Italian couple(Angela and Stefano), a young Swiss couple (Betina and Warren), and an older couple from Minneapolis (Barbara and Lon).
So far I like everyone pretty well. The Swedish couples are great. They're all very funny.
We went on a hike at Punta Suarez that was very hot and fairly long. We saw lots of iguanas, smaller lizards, sea lions, blue footed boobies, Nasca boobies (and their babies), doves with bright circles around their eyes, a couple types of finches, waved albatrosses, re-billed tropicbirds, hawks, and lots of crabs.
We got to see the cliffs on Española which were nice (but probably much more dramatic years ago). Also a blow hole.
After the walk I was about to faint from being so hot and thirsty by the time we got back (I brought water with me, but not enough).
I drank a lot of water and ate lots of snacks. I sat in the common room couch area and talked to the Swedes for a long while.
More people filtered in and we talked about a lot of different topics until it was time for our group talk about the formation of the Galapagos and our plans for tomorrow.
After the meeting was dinner and I sat and talked with the Italians. I think that the husband doesn't speak English, but the wife does quite well (also Portuguese, apparently).
After dinner I got my notebook and postcards and started writing. One of the Swedes offered me a drink and I accepted this time (they had asked earlier, but I was on a re-hydration mission).
When I finished my writing I headed to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment