Grand Hotel Lobo del Mar Galapagos Islands

... dark void that promises a whole world full with attractions, tasty cactus wood and sunny afternoon rays that will help warm up your tortoise blood while relaxing to the max...

Still this idea of tortoise heaven only comes around after many years of trying hard to avoid possible dangers, the hungry sharp gull beaks waiting for you to break through the sand of your nesting hill, stray cats introduced by ...

This isn't a post from the islands...whilst there is internet on one island i have no intention of spending time using it! Too much to see instead.

So in the last week i've gained and then subsequently lost my sea legs after one jam packed visit to the amazing Galapagos Islands!

I've played 'peekaboo' with a sealion, swum with turtles and sharks (the not so dangerous kind), sent a ...

... by a sea urchin. Not nice, and bloody sore. Went to the post office in the afternoon which is a pretty unique place. Essentially a pile of wood where folk would leave letters hoping they would be picked up by travelers heading to the place they were being sent to. The tradition remains with visitors are encouraged to write a postcard and leave it in the barrel. Future visitors check to see if there is anything intended for a ...

... iguanas and some very tiny tortoises as well (one fell on its back and i reckon it will still be there...). Also so Solitario Jorge (Lonesome George) who is the last of his kind. Back to the boat for lunch and to meet the new guests. Unlike the last bunch who were generally good craic, this lot were young academic Americans on a 4 month travelling semester from ecology college. There were 9 ...

... the supposed easy way and just stuck around the rocks. I cut my knee pretty badly as i clung onto rocks for dear life - i was doing it all wrong and didn't have the snorkel fitted correctly, consequently getting mouthfuls of salty water every time i tried to breathe! Luckily i got this sorted next time. Took a dingy ride into San Cristobal town after dinner to pick up a few things and have a beer. The boat proved a ...

... I had barely a moments hesitation when they jumped in and spotted one 20 feet from the boat. In fact, Gabe and I plunged in on opposite sides of the boat and kicked as hard as we could until we got to where the other snorkelers were. Turns out there were a number of sharks. As I swam around taking pictures there were a number of times where I freaked because of how close I was to them. There ...

... demanded to get off the plane so the plane had to dock back at its fuel soaked gate to let of half the passengers who by now were hysterical. Those left on the plane had to make the decision whether to get off or stay. Matt clearly valued his Galapagos tour more than his own life and decided to stay aboard the plane. By now the captain was refusing to talk to his passengers so they had no clear information. One of the remaining passengers called her brother in ...

... order to try and fill the bus fully. We met a guy named Vinny from NYC (from now on, he will be named our cousin Vinny) that was traveling Ecuador with his surf board hitting all the spots in Ecuador and a girl named Cynthia who was a local. Cynthia negotiated the taxi rate for us to get to Puerto Ayora (a 45 min ride) and got us to our hotel from cheap. Driving through the center of Santa Cruz island, we passed through many ...

... 30 plus countries each and had been around the world FIVE times. We met them for dinner and drinks that night and just talked about nothing but traveling...nice to meet others who have scratched the itch. Yesterday (day 3) - - We took a hike to the Galapagos Nesting place for turtles. HUGE. These things are massive. Actually had the pleasure of watching 2 of them mate as well...haha...wow. In the afternoon we headed out on the boat again. Our guide, Angel ...

... 3 weeks had me wanting to decapitate my fellow traveling companion that day. A shower and a few beers later I was back to my old, easy going, self again. The one night spent in Quito was magical indeed. We were two of maybe five people at the local pizzeria around the corner from our hotel Friday night, when in walks 2 older gentleman probably in their 70īs, dressed in three piece suits and carrying busted acoustic guitars. For the next 2 hours we heard simply amazing ...