Semester in Ecuador: Quito & The Galapagos Islands

Weather: Rainy in the AM, Humid the rest of the day

This day was pretty broken up and I've written a lot the past couple days so I figured bullets are best:
-In the morning Kayelyn and I got breakfast from los kioskos. There's only a few kiosks open but the breakfast was great! It was a grilled cheese, jam, eggs, and juice.
-We got our bags and headed to the sister hostel to leave our bags in reception. Kayelyn's mom and sister are coming next week so I went with her while she booked a tour for them to Bartolome for next weekend.
-We walked around and looked in some shops, I was finally able to get a long sleeved t-shirt which I was pretty happy about since they're not easy to come by here.
-We got our bags and headed to a pizza place where Sam and Hannah were hanging out. We ended up splitting a personal pizza and I got ice cream (they forgot to charge me for which I was too excited about lol).
-We all were on the same boat so we got to the pier and at 2pm boarded our boat. It was the roughest ride I have had and a girl ended up puking on herself. I've never been more relieved and excited to step foot on land.
-One huge highlight of the trip was that we passed Santa Fe! It was a lot bigger than I imagined and really pretty. This is another untouched island but apparently the snorkeling/diving is supposed to be great.
-A half hour after getting back, I got pictures sent to me of a boat on fire near the malecon. Eve and Ellie had just come back on that boat from Santa Cruz. Luckily no one was on the boat, apparently a few people went to the hospital with burns (I'm assuming this is because they move the boat to shore to put the rest of the fire out). Apparently the boat hit another boat but I don't know if that would be the case since it was really close to the dock.
-They have firefighters on the islands but they are not equipped to deal with boat fires so there was really nothing they could do until the fire went down a bit.

I headed back home and got settled, I put all my dirty clothes in the hamper which was a big relief, and headed out to have pizza (once again) for dinner with Megan and her friend. This day was full of carbs and I didn't feel so great after, but it was that or I eat dinner alone. Overall, it was good to be back and I have a better appreciation for San Cristobal now that I have experienced the other islands. I am excited to go back and see Bartolome mid April as I think it will be a good last hurrah before the program ends. Spring break was a fulfilling experience and I am thankful I was fortunate enough to see as many things as I did! I can't believe my second to last class starts on Monday, it's all about climate change so it should be really interesting.

Julia K

75 chapters

End of Break: Leaving Santa Cruz

March 23, 2019

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Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands

Weather: Rainy in the AM, Humid the rest of the day

This day was pretty broken up and I've written a lot the past couple days so I figured bullets are best:
-In the morning Kayelyn and I got breakfast from los kioskos. There's only a few kiosks open but the breakfast was great! It was a grilled cheese, jam, eggs, and juice.
-We got our bags and headed to the sister hostel to leave our bags in reception. Kayelyn's mom and sister are coming next week so I went with her while she booked a tour for them to Bartolome for next weekend.
-We walked around and looked in some shops, I was finally able to get a long sleeved t-shirt which I was pretty happy about since they're not easy to come by here.
-We got our bags and headed to a pizza place where Sam and Hannah were hanging out. We ended up splitting a personal pizza and I got ice cream (they forgot to charge me for which I was too excited about lol).
-We all were on the same boat so we got to the pier and at 2pm boarded our boat. It was the roughest ride I have had and a girl ended up puking on herself. I've never been more relieved and excited to step foot on land.
-One huge highlight of the trip was that we passed Santa Fe! It was a lot bigger than I imagined and really pretty. This is another untouched island but apparently the snorkeling/diving is supposed to be great.
-A half hour after getting back, I got pictures sent to me of a boat on fire near the malecon. Eve and Ellie had just come back on that boat from Santa Cruz. Luckily no one was on the boat, apparently a few people went to the hospital with burns (I'm assuming this is because they move the boat to shore to put the rest of the fire out). Apparently the boat hit another boat but I don't know if that would be the case since it was really close to the dock.
-They have firefighters on the islands but they are not equipped to deal with boat fires so there was really nothing they could do until the fire went down a bit.

I headed back home and got settled, I put all my dirty clothes in the hamper which was a big relief, and headed out to have pizza (once again) for dinner with Megan and her friend. This day was full of carbs and I didn't feel so great after, but it was that or I eat dinner alone. Overall, it was good to be back and I have a better appreciation for San Cristobal now that I have experienced the other islands. I am excited to go back and see Bartolome mid April as I think it will be a good last hurrah before the program ends. Spring break was a fulfilling experience and I am thankful I was fortunate enough to see as many things as I did! I can't believe my second to last class starts on Monday, it's all about climate change so it should be really interesting.



1.

The Stress Before a New Beginning

2.

Traveling to Quito

3.

First Full Day in Quito

4.

IES Orientation Day

5.

First Day of Spanish Class

6.

Galapagos Orientation and Day 2 of Spanish

7.

Quito City Tour

8.

My First Dance Class!

9.

Trip to Otavalo

10.

A Trip to Church and The Mall

11.

First Day of Wildlife Conservation Bio

12.

Teleferico

13.

Santa Lucia Cloud Forest

14.

Busy Saturday

15.

The Amazon

16.

Cotopaxi

17.

Guayllabamba Zoo

18.

Antisana & the Paramo

19.

Last Day of Class & Final Bus Trip

20.

My Last Day in Quito

21.

Traveling to the Galapagos!

22.

First Day of Class & Life in San Cristobal

23.

Adjusting & Trying the Tango

24.

Isla Española

25.

La Reina de San Cristobal

26.

$15 for 3 Amazing Places

27.

Tiburones de Tierras

28.

Spending Time with my Host Family

29.

A Trip to the Dump

30.

New Found Love for Essential Oils

31.

Isla Lobos

32.

2 Weeks on Island Time

33.

Last Week of Strategic Mgmt & a Run

34.

Getting Involved

35.

USFQ Family Day

36.

Picture Day and a Miracle

37.

First Day of Political Ecology

38.

Busy Week & Speakers

39.

Lobería & Meditations

40.

The 1 & 2 Month Mark

41.

Carnaval

42.

Rosa Blanca & Kicker Rock

43.

Plastic Pick Up & a Visit to the Hospital

44.

Low Key Weekend

45.

Last Week of Political Ecology

46.

End of a Module & Prepping for Spring Break

47.

Kick off to Spring Break: Floreana

48.

Isabela: First Full Day

49.

Isabela: Day Two & Start of Santa Cruz

50.

Santa Cruz & Return to Isabela

51.

Isabela Round 2, Day 2

52.

1/2 Day on Isabela & Santa Cruz Round 2

53.

Day Trip in Santa Cruz

54.

End of Break: Leaving Santa Cruz

55.

Elections and a New Module

56.

The Job Hunt Abroad

57.

Module 4: First Week Down

58.

Tijeretas

59.

Kicker Rock Round Two & Cerro Brujo

60.

One Month Remaining

61.

La Policia & Other Things

62.

Emotional Rollercoaster of a Day

63.

Santa Cruz + Bartolome

64.

Tortuga Bay & Leaving Santa Cruz

65.

Last Class & Summer Plans

66.

GIS, GIS, & More GIS

67.

Many Options

68.

360 Tour & 1 Week Remaining

69.

The Last Weekend

70.

Farewell Lunch with IES

71.

Family Time

72.

Last Day in San Cristobal :(

73.

Until Next Time, Galapagos

74.

Last Day in Quito/Homeward Bound

75.

Home Sweet Home

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