and all of their God-given glory as experienced through the eyes of a grateful gringa.
Saturday morning. We arose at the butt crack of dawn with ghostly pale, sun-deprived skin. After an elusive few hours in flight, we found our senses as the rocky islands began to appear amongst turquoise waters through the plane windows: we had arrived at the Galapagos Islands! Embarking the plane onto the tarmac, my hair grew two times its original size as it greeted the humidity and my lungs woke up as they breathed the warm, sea-level air on Santa Cruz Island after having been living at a brutal 9,000 ft elevation in Quito. Our two guides who would be accompanying us throughout our five days on the islands greeted us by welcoming us to Hawaii. These men were some of the most joy-filled people I’ve ever met, having been born on the island and filled with delight and extensive knowledge of every biological feature of the Galapagos.
Taking a bus on the red-soil lined road we arrived at our site from which we took a boat taxi to cross the river, made our first blue-footed booby spotting, and marveled at the deeply turquoise color of the ocean in which the Galapagos resides.
El Rancho was our first stop on the island at which we were able to marvel at the plentiful tortoises that occupy the fertile land. As we walked amongst the gentle creatures, our guide taught us extensively about their living habits, the fact that Steven Spielberg’s creation of the character E.T. was most likely inspired by the face of a Galapagos tortoise, and we descended to walk through enchanting lava caves that are plentiful on the islands.
Analyzing tortoise skeletons, the anatomical similarity that these vastly different creatures have to human skeletons was wildly apparent.
Departing from the gentle giants, we found our luxurious hotel home for the next four days and jumped immediately into the pool. With a little bit of time remaining before dinner, we explored the pier from which we were able to see marine iguanas, sea turtles, plentiful sea lions occupying the walkway with us, and bountiful sharks in the water, accompanied by one uncomfortably-large, daunting shark. Following this frightful discovery in the water that we would spend the next four days in, we loaded into taxi trucks and found our way to a restaurant that was apparently in the backyard of a local’s personal residence. Here I feasted on a freshly-caught plate of coconut shrimp. Walking back to our hotel for the night, we accidentally stumbled upon an ice cream shop that smelled too horrible to pass by from which we bought ice cream as would follow the following four days. After conversation by the pool, we returned to our rooms for the night.
Easter morning a few of my friends and I arose to watch the sunrise on the pier as we stood surrounded by sea lions soaking up the morning rays beside us. After catching a water taxi to travel to a walkway located on the other side of the pier, we trekked the long, yet lovely path through rich flora and fauna to arrive at Las Grietas. This river was nestled majestically between two jutting rock faces in which we jumped between and swam for around an hour. While swimming, we occasionally had to pass between rocks blocking the passage, and there was the challenging option to swim beneath a rock figure at one location. This involved warning our guide and swimming through a short rock tunnel using our hands to guide us through the sightless crevice. Thank goodness I had no problems swimming through it initially, and I only hit my chin on the way back, but one friend was not as lucky as he got stuck and was shamelessly rescued by the guide. I could have swimmed all day at Las Grietas; however, our next stop at the dreamy Tortuga Bay was eagerly awaiting for us.
We walked for approximately 45 minutes from our hotel along a lava rock pathway to have literal paradise reveal itself in the form of turquoise ocean and warm white-sand shores as we emerged from the trees. Walking along the shore, the sun brought us the happiness of vitamin D that we had been severely missing for months and the salty air coated our skin. Arriving at our beach, we dropped our beach bags in the shade and found our way over to a tiny umbrella stand where we rented snorkeling masks for the day.
Equipped with all we could have asked for, three friends and I made our way into the turquoise waters and swam over to the mangrove trees that lined the bay. With our faces immersed in the water and our bodies floating as close to the surface as possible, we marvelled at the numerous schools of small fish and sharks swimming beneath our bodies. We snorkeled for an hour until the cold made us crave to bask in the sun on the shore with the marine iguanas. Returning to the sand, we posed with our scaly friends, swam a bit in the overpowering waves on the neighboring shore, and then returned to snorkeling with the intent of finding tortoises in the infamous Tortuga Bay. Swimming far out into the waters, we saw two turtles taunting us by popping their heads out, and we foolishly feared getting stung by the eagle rays swimming alongside us which we later learned wouldn't harm us.
Having spent the whole day at the beach, we started the long journey on foot back to our hotel. Walking along the shore, we couldn't help but run along the white sand and jump into the crashing waves to add a little more sea salt to our raisined skin. Swimming and laughing in these rolling waves after spending seven hours with childish joy at the beach was one of the most enjoyable moments of all of my time spent in Ecuador.
After the long trek back to the town, we walked to our dinner spot for the evening where I enjoyed lobster caught that same day cooked in garlic sauce. Followed by the religious scoop of ice cream on the way home, a few friends and I boarded a caterpillar truck for a one-dollar ride around the town as we sang loudly and enjoyed the perplexed stares as us twenty-something year old gringas passed by in a flashy caterpillar train. Returning to the hotel at last, we slept heavily on sunburnt, salty skin that evening.
Monday morning, our group filled three snorkeling boats in which we rode out into the ocean for about 30 minutes to arrive at a hidden beach. We unloaded the boat onto a dinghy which we rode to the shore with marine iguanas swimming alongside us. After swimming, discovering eels and exotic fish in the lava rocks, and dancing on the shore, we loaded back into our dinghy to be welcomed by fresh fruit and bread on the boat as a mid-morning snack.
Riding another 45 minutes to our snorkeling site off of Santa Fe Island, we geared up to dive into the chilly ocean water. Swimming here, we enjoyed multitudes of exotic schools of fish beneath us and sea lions on the nearby shore. Diving down to swim with the schools of fish and see the parrot fish close up was my favorite aspect of this snorkel site.
Travelling around the island to the nearby inlet, we feasted on fresh tuna ceviche accompanied by popcorn, chifles, and maracuya juice as is Ecuadorian law. Reaching our next site, we rode the dinghy out once again to view the marine life in the bay from above the water. On the dinghy, we learned about the six different sea lions herds that reign in the bay. Viewing eagle rays, blue-footed boobys, sea turtles, sharks, multitudes of fish, and the friendly sea lions, we eagerly waited until our opportunity to join these plentiful species in the water finally arrived. Jumping in by the sea lions, these playful creatures swam right up to us snorkelers and danced for us in the water. After playing with them for a while, the dinghy pulled us over by the herd of eagle rays to swim with them and the sea turtles occupying the same region. The majesty of the sea turtles was plainly apparent and the grace with which they swim in the water made the creatures all the more awe-striking. After an adrenaline invitation from our guide, we swam over to the region of the bay the majority of the sharks reside.
Swimming amongst the sharks, our guide assured us that we had no marine animals to fear in the bay. The only caveat was that if we were to see something larger than ourselves, we were to let our guide know. Snorkeling for a short while, I heard our guide and the boat boy conversing in Spanish about the "obscuridad" of one particular creature in the water swimming amongst us snorkelers. He then casually asked us to return to the dinghy with "tranquilidad" as the two of them continued to gossip as to how unusual it was for a shark of that size to be in the bay at that time of day. After all had loaded the dinghy safely, he gave the shark hand motion to the other boat in the bay to warn them to not allow snorkelers to swim in the area. Thankfully, none of us had a face-to-face encounter with this particular shark this day.
After another full day out on the water, we loaded back into the main boat, showered down with fresh water, and got comfortable for our long ride back to the pier. Situated on the bow of the boat, we happily basked in the sun to be arisen by dolphins jumping in the water alongside the boat. Our captain made a few laps with the boat so that we were able to thoroughly enjoy the unusual, enchanting presence of the majestic dolphins.
Returning to the pier with the sun-setting in the distance, we disembarked from the boat and headed to dinner with sea-water soaked swimsuits underneath our clothes as was custom on the island. I feasted on fresh shrimp this night, then headed to try on my wetsuit for scuba diving the following day. Trying on our wetsuits this evening was filled with comedic chaos as we painfully rolled the moist skin-tight suits over our sun-burnt skin. After our nightly, well-deserved ice cream, we slept easy as the coming day and all of its exciting adventures awaited us.
The coming morning, we enjoyed some restful time exploring the seaside shops, and I spent a solid hour sitting on lava rock on the shore with two friends simply enjoying the surrounding wildlife and the peace of the sea in front of us. At the strike on noon, we made our way to the scuba shop and loaded taxis to cross the island. We enjoyed a pleasant conversation with our Galapagonian taxi driver on the way over then loaded into the small boat from which we would scuba dive!
After a short 15 minute briefing on how to scuba dive, in place of a lengthy certification process, we reached our dive site where we got on our gear and fell backwards into the water for the dive! We spent about 15 minutes underwater at this first site after which our guides informed us that we had all "passed the test" and were well equipped to dive at the next site. Going underwater at this first site was quite freaky at first, simply realizing that my life was solely dependent on the proper functioning of my air tank and my own ability to control my breathing; however, diving at the second site, I felt significantly more comfortable underwater. Swimming down, I initially held hands with a partner as we swam amongst the schools of fish approximately 30 feet under the surface at the ocean floor. Marvelling at all of the sea life and goofing around comfortably underwater, the 45 minutes we spent underwater seemed to pass by in 5 minutes.
After reboarding the boat, we sat happily in our towels and were given a late lunch. Sitting and chatting with the guides with music playing, we goofed around carelessly as we tested who could do the most pull-ups onboard the boat and danced as the boat engine pulled us back to our departure site. After the journey back to the town, we had a measly 5 minutes to prepare ourselves for our "fancy" seaside dinner. Meaning, I was able to change out of my wet swimsuit for dinner for the first time the whole trip and I threw on a flowy sundress. I enjoyed freshly caught tuna and a shrimp quinoa salad this evening as our group joyfully conversed about our various adventures of the day.
The following morning some friends and I arose early to sip on Galapagos coffee at a nearby coffee shop and walked the town before preparing to leave from our hotel for the airport at 10 AM. Returning to the hotel for breakfast, we learned that our flight was so unfortunately delayed so we didn't have to leave until 2 in the afternoon. Hearing this, we downed our breakfast, changed back into our previously-packed swimsuits and dove directly into the pool. We swam all morning in the pool until we couldn't ignore the grumbling of our stomachs and decided to enjoy smoothie bowls in the tropical heat and humidity before returning to the dry and cool climate of Quito. This flight delay was truly a gift from God as the hours spent in the pool sincerely made me feel like a child swimming with the company of great friends and without a care in the world.
Reaching the airport after returning on the last boat taxi of the day, I choreographed a dance with some friends to pass the time as we waited for our plane to arrive. The airport on the island felt more like a warehouse with the tropical air passing through large windows and wishing us a difficult goodbye. Walking back out onto the tarmac, the sunset was a sweet send-off before loading the plane and returning to dark, rainy Quito around 10 PM that evening.
The Galapagos Islands are a location so rich in biodiversity and with such historical significance that it is an inherent dream to visit for any biologist. The ability to visit these islands at such a young age is an experience that I could not be more grateful for. More so than thoroughly enjoying all of the experiences I had in the Galapagos, whether carelessly enjoying the islands' tropical features like a child or observing the biological diversity of which I've learned so much about in my biology classes, this experience inspired me to study wildlife with an eagerness I had not yet experienced. In addition to a new biological appreciation, I deepened my appreciation for the infinitesimal creativity of God in creating such rich biodiversity. I deeply desire to return to the Galapagos in the future and the uniqueness of these islands is such that all who have the opportunity to visit should without an ounce of doubt.