Galapagos Islands II, Ecuador

First real beach time...done! Hardest thing: Chilling in a hammock (it's a hard life!)

Folks,
Im back in Quito, the sun is shining, the birds are singing but I already miss the sound and smells of the ocean (that of the buses isnt quite the same!!)

So....hopefully this WILL be a fairly short email (though no promises!!), as I didnt really get up to much over the last week!

Thursday. Santa Cruz to Isabela Island.
The last stop of my boat tour was the inhabited island of Santa Cruz. I chilled there for a few hours, and then caught an afternoon ferry to Isabela (although when I say ferry, it is more like a teeny,weeny speedboat which sits about 8 ppl!) Took a couple of hours to get to Isabela and once there I found myself a hotel and saw a few more penguins (highlight!!!) It was carnival weekend, so the place was fairly chocka and I was lucky to find a room!

Anyway, didnt do much on the Thurs, just orientated myself with the town, which took all of about 5 mins as the town literally consists of about 8 businesses (ie bakery, shops, bars etc) on two streets....job done!!

Friday. Sierra Negra Volcano.
Got myself up and out and joined a group of ppl going up to see the Sierra Negra Volcano on the island. There are five active volcanoes on Isabela (the largest island) and Sierra Negra is one of them...it last erupted in October 2005!!
So, we took a pick-up to an area known as El Cura about an hour out of town and from there got allocated a horse.... Rode the horses for about 2 hours, past the absolutely HUGE crater!! I dont really understand the way the volcano works and if that is the main crater or one of many, but this crater was gigantic!! It is said to be the second largest crater in the world (the largest is in Africa?!) and measures about 10km from North to South and 9km for East to West. You can still see the fumaroles smoking, its was beautiful.
Anyway, so we carried on with our horses (which were being super slow!!) and eventually got to a part where we had to walk. Needed to walk about 45mins to get to Volcan Chico (which is a volcano within the Sierra Negra) At first the path is quite grassy, then outta nowhere you find youself walking on lava rocks and its almost desert like!! A few cacti about, but nothing more. The terrain gradually changes again as does the colour of the rocks....and before you know it, its like walking on Mars (well, what I imagine the planet to be like!!!) It is truly unbelievable!!
What is really great is that there are lava tunnels, that if you put you hand in, you can feel the hot air!! And in the landscape, you can see sections which are like waterfalls, (ie. where the lava would have cascaded over the edge of rocks etc) among other things. Also, from the differences in colour and size of rocks etc, you can see where the lava flowed on each of the last three major eruptions...1973, 1979, 2005...so the difference between old and new lava is apparent!! Fantastic.
So after we had a walk about, and climbed to the summit of Chico (obviously!!) We head back to the horses. There was a threat of rain, so we were attempting to hurry the horses along a bit, but mine would do no more than trot...which is bloody uncomfortable!! And then outta nowhere, me being the expert horserider that I have now become, managed to double up the reins as a crop and got my horsey to canter...woohoo!!! What fun!! So there i was...cantering...with the volcanoes in the background, the sea in the distance and the threat of rain in the air...and outta nowhere my bloody horse buckles and wipes out, taking me with him!!! What?! Anyway, I came out unscathed as did my horse, seeing as he got straight up and galloped off!! Then the heavens opened up and I find myself horseless, groupless (we were spread out all over the place) and drenched!! A guy comes up round the corner sees me and starts laughing...he cant make out what ive done with my horse!! I asked him to head off to try and catch the damn thing for me, so off he went...but in the meantime, I had to start walking!! Classic!! Eventually some other guy came back with my horse in tow...and I got back on and WALKED him home!!!
What a day!!

Saturday and Sunday.
Didnt do much except hit the beach by day and carnival by night. The beaches were unbelievable....white sand which never seemed to end and beautiful (fairly warm) blue water!! And hardly any ppl around, so literally found myself alone on the beaches a few times!! (The surfers all hit the beaches at 4-6am and then 6pm ish...so the place is deserted). Amazing!

Monday. Isabela to Santa Cruz.
Got up and onto a ferry back to Santa Cruz which left at 4am!! (not sure why I chose that one over the 6am...but hey, whats two hours in bed!) The sky was incredible at 4am..it was pitch black and the stars were beautiful!!
Was on the boat with a group of Canadians among others who I had met at my hotel. We all dozed off for most of the journey, including the driver...hmm....
Woke up and watched the sun rise over the ocean....
Got to Santa Cruz and found ourselves some brekkie, then headed off to Tortuga Bay, which is yet another huge beach with white sands and crystal blue waters!! And there is also a beautiful lagoon nearby which was perfect for swimming in.

Tuesday. Santa Cruz to San Cristobal.
Took the afternoon boat to another of the inhabited islands (there are 5 in total) of the Galapagos. Chilled there for the next three days, messing about in the village, shooting pool, chilling on the beach etc.

Thursday. San Cristobal to Quito.
Left paradise on Thursday afternoon and am now just chilling in Quito...gonna tie up a few loose ends then hopefully be on a beach in Peru by the end of next weekend...

Here endeth yet another loooong saga.....more soon!!
Love to all...xxxxxxx