Thursday in the Galapagos

Ecuador Galapagos Thursday, March 31, 2011

Ginny and I had a leisurely breakfast this am then headed down to the tourist office to get our tickets to San Cristobal. We had a fast taxi boat ride in a very comfortable boat. We had hoped that Midene would be there to meet us, but it was not to be. So we got directions to the hotel and started off that way.

We were totally distracted by the dozens and dozens of sea lions everywhere! They were all over the stairs, piers, benches and sidewalks. There is even a shallow pool area with tube slides for kids and the sea lions come up and go through the slides!! They were very funny to watch. As we were strolling along, Midene found us!! They had checked on the ferry schedule and were told there was only a 2pm boat, so they figured we would not come over. They just happened to be having lunch and she saw us! Yay!!

We sat down and had lunch with them. I had a wonderful bowl of chopped fruit with yoghurt ($2) and a grilled ham and cheese ($2). Then I saw fried plantains and cheese (also $2) and had to order that! I thought each item would be rather small… not! It was quite the meal. Any two would have been enough… but I managed.

We got checked into our hotel and grabbed snorkel gear and headed off to La Loberia. It is a pretty beach where you can often swim with the sea lions… and we did!! We snorkeled for over an hour, two sea lions were with us. There were also lots more fish than I have seen in other areas. There were waves and rocks, so I had to just be very aware as I was swimming, but it was the BEST snorkeling I have done on this trip! We were hoping to also see some sea turtles, but we never did.

After cleaning up, we went to the interpretive center. It is very nicely done. Michael got up on the super neat stage that is there and he did some “Texas Monologues” that were very funny. We had some good laughs.

We spent the next hour (or two!) just watching the sea lions as they came in for the night, covering the local beaches. They were so entertaining to watch! We were making up dialogues of their conversations. Too funny.

It was finally well after dark and we went for dinner. We stayed and talked for quite awhile. Midene and Michael are a fun couple. We exchanged email addresses. I hope we can keep in touch in some way. They expect to be on their cruise for another 6 or 7 years. I may have to join face book just so I can keep up with their adventures!

We finally let them go back to their boat and Ginny and I went back to our hotel. Ahhhh, air conditioning! We managed to sleep better, even had to use our blankets! This was such a fun day.

My advice to future travelers is to stay on San Cristobal for 3-4 days. Do lots of snorkeling (and SCUBA diving, if qualified). There were several hikes I would have liked to go on. There is not the diversity of animals here as there is on some of the other islands, but it was definitely my favorite day of the trip. I am going to check to see if there are houses for rent (like Pablo’s house) for a trip in the future. I am also looking forward to chatting with Carol about her cruise.

Maybe the next trip will need to be a 4 day cruise and 3-4 days on San Cristobal… something to think about!!