It was beautifully warm getting off the plane onto the tarmac. We walked to a sign that welcomed us to the first eco-friendly airport in the world. Along this long covered (with solar panels) walk, we saw volcanic rock and Darwin's finches!
Getting through customs was a breeze, we even got Galapagos national park stamps in our passports! Score!
When we left the airport, we again found my name on a whiteboard. This guy helped us find the correct bus to take us to the ferry and then helped us get taxi's for the ride into town.
But back to the bus. We were sitting there for awhile and it was HOT. and I LOVED it. I talked with our guide for awhile in very simple, broken Spanish. He complimented me on my Spanish, however, after this trip, I am very aware of how I need to work on it. I want to take Spanish lessons!
Getting to the ferry was beautiful. The Island of Baltra used to be a military base for the U.S. during WWII. It is a large flat island north of Santa Cruz (which is one of the main islands). What many people don't realize is that the Galapagos islands are very desert-like as they were formed from volcanoes and don't get much rain (the northern parts of the islands at least). So driving to the ferry we saw lots of dirt, cacti, other desert plants and old roads/buildings from the WWII days.
As we rounded the corner for the ferry we saw amazing blue waters and cliffs on Santa Cruz. The two islands are very close together and the ferry ride is quite short. They put your luggage on top of the ferry and you sit below. We were all just slightly worried that we would hit a wave and all our luggage would get tossed into the water.
On the ride we saw some blue-footed boobies sunning themselves new to some mangroves! One animal, check!
Once we got to Santa Cruz and collected our luggage, we hopped into two of the truck taxi's and were on our way... Aaaafter we switched trucks cause ours wouldn't start!
Along the way to Puerto Ayora we saw some tortoise shaped rocks, which were the Galapagos tortoise! They're ginormous.
We got dropped off at our beautiful Airbnb (The Cactuspad if anyone wants to book, it was perfect in so many ways), got settled in, and then needed to explore and find dinner.
Our dinner was pricey but delicious at il Giardino. Ty and I split some vegetarian soups and veggie ceviche.
On our explorations of the island, we saw some marine iguanas chilling everywhere! It was so exciting to see these creatures up close (though I'm sure they're annoying to the locals!). We also saw FIVE black-tipped reef sharks from the dock! They were so adorable and I squealed and got so excited seeing these guys everywhere! We also saw many crabs, urchins and fishes in the water. And almost ran into a sea lion napping under a bench on the dock!
It was an incredible first day and I couldn't believe that I was in the Galapagos. The Galapagos! The birthplace of evolution and science. Amazing.
When we left the airport, we again found my name on a whiteboard. This guy helped us find the correct bus to take us to the ferry and then helped us get taxi's for the ride into town.
But back to the bus. We were sitting there for awhile and it was HOT. and I LOVED it. I talked with our guide for awhile in very simple, broken Spanish. He complimented me on my Spanish, however, after this trip, I am very aware of how I need to work on it. I want to take Spanish lessons!
Getting to the ferry was beautiful. The Island of Baltra used to be a military base for the U.S. during WWII. It is a large flat island north of Santa Cruz (which is one of the main islands). What many people don't realize is that the Galapagos islands are very desert-like as they were formed from volcanoes and don't get much rain (the northern parts of the islands at least). So driving to the ferry we saw lots of dirt, cacti, other desert plants and old roads/buildings from the WWII days.
As we rounded the corner for the ferry we saw amazing blue waters and cliffs on Santa Cruz. The two islands are very close together and the ferry ride is quite short. They put your luggage on top of the ferry and you sit below. We were all just slightly worried that we would hit a wave and all our luggage would get tossed into the water.
On the ride we saw some blue-footed boobies sunning themselves new to some mangroves! One animal, check!
Once we got to Santa Cruz and collected our luggage, we hopped into two of the truck taxi's and were on our way... Aaaafter we switched trucks cause ours wouldn't start!
Along the way to Puerto Ayora we saw some tortoise shaped rocks, which were the Galapagos tortoise! They're ginormous.
We got dropped off at our beautiful Airbnb (The Cactuspad if anyone wants to book, it was perfect in so many ways), got settled in, and then needed to explore and find dinner.
Our dinner was pricey but delicious at il Giardino. Ty and I split some vegetarian soups and veggie ceviche.
On our explorations of the island, we saw some marine iguanas chilling everywhere! It was so exciting to see these creatures up close (though I'm sure they're annoying to the locals!). We also saw FIVE black-tipped reef sharks from the dock! They were so adorable and I squealed and got so excited seeing these guys everywhere! We also saw many crabs, urchins and fishes in the water. And almost ran into a sea lion napping under a bench on the dock!
It was an incredible first day and I couldn't believe that I was in the Galapagos. The Galapagos! The birthplace of evolution and science. Amazing.
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