Isabela: Day Two & Start of Santa Cruz

Weather: Sunny and 85

Today was another incredible day and I saw the most beautiful scenery possibly of my whole Galápagos experience thus far. This morning we were up, packed, and ready for breakfast by 6:30am. Another early day but the we were going to Los Tuneles and an awesome snorkel spot near Los Tuneles.

Breakfast was the same as yesterday, but it was filling and healthy so I was all for it. We headed out in three different groups. I had a good group since Nicola, Megan, and Kayelyn were there. I could’ve done without these girls Fallon and Hannah because they are very negative and complain about everything. They’re also pretty judgmental which I cannot stand, and when Hannah is told she can’t swim somewhere she gets pissed and immediately starts questioning authority. I didn’t let their weird attitudes affect me since what we had planned was incredible.

The first stop on our tour was snorkeling and it was amazing. It was super shallow so we had to float in some parts so we didn’t disturb the little creatures that could be living in the sediment below us. While snorkeling we saw countless giant sea turtles, baby white tip sharks, and other cool looking fish. We swam into the mangrove forests, and I saw a huge black ray of some sort resting at the bottom, and more baby white tip sharks swimming within the mangrove roots. It was so cool and I’m excited to get the GoPro pictures downloaded because I think they were the best turtle shots I’ve gotten so far. There was a group of us that got separated from the guide when we went into the mangrove area and when we came out they had gone off snorkeling elsewhere. I decided just to head back to the boat because there wasn’t much to see at that point and we had been in the water for about 40 minutes. It worked out well in my favor because 5-10 minutes later everyone was getting back on board, and I got to relax for a few minutes with Megan and dry off. I will say seeing mangroves up close and then snorkeling to see the roots was so cool. They are such a unique ecosystem and so many species rely on them. They have been cut down in many places, especially coastal Ecuador in order to have shrimp farms. I think cutting the mangroves down should be illegal considering how much they do for the environment and how many species call them home. Anyways, it was so cool to see up close because we learned a lot about them in my first module Wildlife Conservation Biology.

Everyone got back on board and headed to Los Tuneles. To get into the area the boats need to pass over HUGE waves. The way the rocks are formed its like a huge breakwater. We had to wait for the right moment to pass over the waves. As soon as the captain had the chance, he gunned it and started turning the boat in all sorts of ways to make the passing as painless as possible. It was super scary at first but we were all laughing hysterically at the same time. Once we were in the bay area before entering the tuneles we had our lunch which was sandwiches that came with a juice. Thomas and Ethan went snorkeling for 10-20 mins with the guide to look at the landscape. Us girls started eating early as we had already dried off a bit from the first snorkel. The water was a bit colder than the water we were snorkeling in so we all just rested. Our captain then maneuvered really close to the rocks so we could get better looks at a penguin and fur seal that was perched up on the rocks. I will forever have a ton of respect for bus drivers and captains of the boats here. They are so spatially aware it’s absolutely incredible. The tuneles (or tunnels) are from lava formations. And it’s no taller than a salt marsh. They all had cacti, shrubs, and grasses on them making from some cool scenery unlike any I’ve seen before. The water is a bright turquoise which only adds to the effect. We docked the boat along one of the formations and got off for a 10-20 minute walk on the tunnels. After taking it all in, we got back on board and headed back to port. Along the way, we stopped at a rock formation where Blue Footed Boobies and Nazca Boobies go to nest. Seeing the waves hit the rock is one of my favorite things, and it made for great pictures.

Once back in port we got right on our ferry to Santa Cruz. 2 hours later we landed in Puerto Auyora and headed to our hotel for the

night. We had gotten in earlier than expected so we showered and then Kayelyn and I headed out with Genesis (our friend and chaperone) to buy our boat tickets to and from Isabela. First, we had to stop at a shop to look for a toilet since Fallon dropped something on top of the toilet and it cracked. She has to pay for an entire new toilet because here you can’t just get parts of a toilet. It’s unfortunate but I don’t care for her attitude, so I don’t care that much. It sounds conceded of me but if it was someone else then yes, I’d have more sympathy. After finding the place was closed, we got our boat tickets. We ended up getting them for 25 since Genesis knew one of the people working for the boat. Normally a boat ticket here costs 30 so we were happy to get the discount. Before dinner we walked around and just hung out a bit. There was a couple people at happy hour so Kayelyn and I went to say hi to them and hung out.

We had a buffet style dinner which was delicious and they had roasted potatos which was a first for me here. They were great and I was truly impressed. I’ve only seen potatoes in the form of french fries here in the islands. Kayelyn, Mohammed, Erica, Ellie, Olivia, and I ended up hanging out a bar post dinner. They had 3 for $10 drinks so Olivia, Erica, and Ellie went for it. At the table next to us was a group of guys that all seemed to have different accents. We ended up playing a guessing game about where they’re all from which was hilarious. Kayelyn remembered seeing them on San Cristobal. Apparently they’re a group of sailors traveling the world. When they were in SC, one of them asked Jackie (a local that helps with the Summer camp we were helping out with) to join them while they sail to Polynesia because they wanted to have an ecologist on board. Ellie ended up asking them where they were from and told them we’ve been guessing. They were amused and so we went around to each guy and told them where we thought they were from based on their accents. We got every single one wrong. Except I did get the guy from Ecuador, but when it came to him someone said Chile. It was a great time and I was crying laughing.

We headed back to the hotel around 10 to play cards but that never happened...Roommates were assigned and so I was with Olivia and Ellie for the night. Olivia went to get the cards and was taking forever to return. When I asked her where she was she said Ellie got the wrong key stuck in the door (we had a key for the main entrance of the hotel and our room). I went up to see what was going on cause I was getting tired at this point. That key was going nowhere. We tried everything, Erica even tried using the sewing kit that the hotel gave us all complimentary...and nothing. We tried getting ahold of Juan and Genesis but no one was around. At this point it was a little after 10:30 and there was no one at the reception desk. Literally no one to be found anywhere. Luckily, Ellie asked where Juan’s room was in our IES group chat and mentioned that it was urgent. Tania who is located in Quito asked if she could help, and so she ended up calling the owner of the hotel. They sent this couple who I think were part of the kitchen staff to help us. All in all the key would not come out of the doorknob and the window to our room was locked. So Erica and the mystery woman pushed the window two different ways somehow and got it open. We ended up climbing in through the window and had to take the entire doorknob off! In the moment all I wanted to do was go to bed but it’s all pretty ironic. During the day I would check with Ellie to make sure she locked the door...well as she said she “super-locked it.” It definitely makes for a funny story!

I was eventually able to get to sleep and all was well even though we had an open window covered by a curtain and no door knob. Tomorrow we have the last leg of the IES trip, and then Kayelyn and I head back to Isabela!