03/19/2010, Academy Bay, Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos
Hi All,
Heather here again and today is my last day in the Galapagos Islands. It has been an amazing trip and I can't believe that it is almost over. My dad asked that I share my over all thoughts and impressions with you before I left so please forgive me if this appears a bit redundant but here goes...
As many of you have been reading, the first part of my journey started out with a nice family reunion (sans one younger sister and her esposo fantastico) then sailing for 4 days from Bahia de Caraquez to the Island of San Cristobal of the Galapagos. I was a bit dismayed initially when I realized how rocky it was going to be while sailing out in the open waters of the Pacific, at least it was rocky from the perspective of this land lover- my mom has a very different opinion. Luckily, after the third day, I made the adjustment to the constant back and forth rolling, and have been fine since. And once I adjusted, I soon learned why my folks find this lifestyle so appealing. The actual sailing is very peaceful... long quiet days, beautiful vista, warm sun, cool ocean, and good company (most of the time). I also got to play around with continuing my yoga practice while on the boat- what an adventure that was in and of itself!
Once we reached the islands, we did a little bit of exploring on San Cristobal, but much of the time was taken up with the mundane, getting cleared by customs, getting paperwork in order, fixing the refrigerator, the topping line, the auto pilot, cleaning the boat and the list goes on... I was really looking forward to the cruise ship exploration that we started on the 15th and getting back to my "real" vacation!
For those of you who would like to come and visit the Galapagos but are not planning to sail here yourself, I think a cruise option is a great way to go. The process was very organized, the staff of the Legend were kind and the accommodations were lovely. Overall, I'd say the actual touring was fairly complete for this season, though I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get to see the Galapagos Albatross, the penguins, red footed boobies, and whales. However, it was amazing to see the sea lions, the turtles, blue footed boobies, finches, and the iguanas. I loved exploring the 5 islands we visited and getting up close and personal with the creatures who lived there!
Finally, my visit wrapped up with Dave, Daniel and I going into Puerto Ayora this morning to buy souvenirs and visit the Charles Darwin Visitors center. The Visitor Center was great, we saw the famous "Lonesome George" the last Tortoise of his kind, poor guy has been mating with two lovely ladies from a near by island, but no luck making babies as of yet. We also saw some other seriously huge Tortoises and I'll post those pics when I get back to the states. Tonight, D&D and I plan to go back into town again and hit up a couple of bars. It is 80's night and we plan to enjoy the fiesta! I'd say that the only thing missing from this trip was that Christina and Michael weren't here to enjoy it with us... that would have made the trip complete. Tomorrow I head home and after 4 taxi rides, 1 bus ride, 1 ferry ride, 5 flights, and two days of full traveling, I'll be home again in San Francisco! My own little piece of paradise! Til' next time, bon voyage! Thanks Mom and Dad for the amazing opportunity!
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Here is the video I promised you of the sea lion swimming with us. You will see our buddy with Danielle toward the end of the video. I hope to download more videos of your cruise tomorrow or the next day.
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This is a photo of the friends we made while on our cruise boat. From the left bottom we have Polly, and her two lovely daughters: Daisy and Analeigh (Analeigh celebrated her 23rd birthday yesterday). From the top left, we have Polly's husband, Terry, and then we have Martin and Carol Goldberg. The Goldbergs used to live in Saint Thomas, American Virgin Islands adn they still run a fruit and vegetable store there. Martin has to fly down for a week each month to help out. Tough life, Martin!
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There was also this colony of sea slugs nestled in a hole in the rocks in about 15 feet of water.
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Just another shot of more beautiful fish in the Galapagos
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