Hotel Solymar Puerto Ayora

... out) for an hour and a half until they got us on another plane. That hour and a half delay seems much more significant when you're going on a once in a lifetime 4 day trip. It did, though, give us all the chance to stock up on duty free wine to smuggle onto the boat.<br><br>Off flight at Batra airport, pay $100 to get in and meet Bolivar, a very, very old guide who herded us onto a bus, then on a boat across a canal to Santa Cruz island, another bus to Puerto Ayura, onto a ...

... when I say &#8216;walked into&#8217;, I don&#8217;t mean passed by, or saw in the distance, but practically tripped over! The sea lion (a seal with ears for trivia buffs amongst you) just grunted and went back to sleep :-)<br> In short, the Galapagos are an archipelago of islands 1000 km off Ecuador&#8217;s coast. They&#8217;ve always been isolated from the mainland which meant that the wildlife and flora have diverged and changed from their cousins ...

... to come in, not because of the sharks but because she felt cold. Once in though she was keen to duck dive and get a closer look at the sharks.<br><br>We left having had quite a bit of fun and started to make our way back to Santa Cruz but first we stopped off to pick up an unfortunate young girl and her boyfriend from a nearby boat. They were on the first day of a cruise and she slipped on one of the stairs and landed badly causing her severe pain. They were ...

... there wasn&#8217;t any school tomorrow because of a bank holiday.<br><br>We had lunch again at the cheap restaurant around the corner, $12 for all of us, and we decided to go to Tortuga Bay, after we had returned to the café to look at the apartment. When we got there they hadn&#8217;t been able to tee up a viewing, so we headed for Tortuga Bay. On the way we came across a small hotel, Casa Del Lago, which was a nice looking place and had a ...

I haven't been very good at keeping the blog updated. It's definitely been an adustment living on this island. When I came to Galapagos two years ago as a tourist, I never would have expected to actually live here for a significant amount of time. and here i am but under completely different circumstances. Two years ago, I came as a tourist and went on a seven day boat trip to various islands, getting to spend only a few ...

... pick up any mail for the direction they were heading, dropping it off when they arrived. The tradition continues today via travellers who take postcards with them and either hand deliver them (doesn´t seem likely???) or posting them when they arrive. I sent a postcard to my mum and work, still waiting to see if it ever gets there :) <br><br>* Charles Darwin Research Centre: I have to add here that this is where I ...

... 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 ...

... at our hotel. Although they told us not to drink the water prior to coming to Galapagos, we often did not have a choice at the places that we went and all of them claimed that there water is purified in the restaurants, but sinks and showers are not. With an early morning dive, we both intende to get an early start on being localized and planned to take a siesta, but woke up a 2AM in the morning and just went back to bed.

... frantic pace. We have an underwater camera, so hopefully I can load some of our pics for all to see. This is our last day in the Galapagos. It´s raining here, but Ecuador plays Uruguay in a few hours (Futbol) and some locals promised us Pilsners and a big TV to catch the game. Our time in Ecuador has been short. It´s another beautiful country that we didn´t have enough time to fully-immerse ourselves in. Next up, Peru, and the Lost City of The Incas (Machu Picchu). Michael ...