Galapagos

So I had some spare time at a computer with internet so I decided I really should post a Blog in relation to my Galapagos trip. To put it simply, it was very enjoyable and very much needed.

I went on an 8 day 7 night cruise trip with my Auntie Alex, Uncle Andy, and Alex's brother Richard all from England. This managed to cause some confusion as people didn't really understand what a 24 year old female from the states, who could speak Spanish, was doing with three people from England who were not her parents. Needless to say, it took some explaining as to how we all got grouped together and why I was able to speak Spanish and know the Ecuadorean culture. I also think that at least once or twice people thought I was British or that they were actually from the States. We do know how to keep it interesting us Parkers.

The cruise was broken up into two groups if you will, with some people only doing a 4d 3n or 5d 4n and us, along with two others, doing the full 8d 7n. On the first leg of the trip we had 12 guest total on the boat and on the second leg we had 13. It was very interesting to meet everyone from the different parts of the world. All in all, we had Americans, British, Russian, German, Irish, Finnish, and Swedish to mention a few.

A general overview of the trip would be snorkeling, dingo rides, walks along the beaches, sea lions, lava fields, sea turtles, birds or many kinds, penguins, sting rays, blue footed boobies of course, sharks, giant tortoises, sun sets, sun rises, and a lot of beautiful scenery. Our days were complete from 7am until 7pm and were fully enjoyable looking at and observing all of the wild life. We made many trips on and off the boat daily to different beaches, lava fields, ports, dingo rides, or to go snorkeling.

Highlights for me definitely include swimming with a penguin, sea turtles, sting rays, sea lions, and even some reef sharks. And when I say swimming here, I really do mean swimming with them. The sea turtles, sting rays, and reef sharks were aplenty along with many different types of fish (thank goodness though the sharks stayed at the bottom...and yes I may have screamed into my snorkel a couple of times). The penguin we happened to find while he was eating so he really did just swim around us for a while which was probably one of my favorite parts. And of course the sea lions I think thought we were there to play with them as they would come right up to you and then at the last second switch course away so they wouldn't actually hit you.

The wildlife and scenery of the Galapagos is really beautiful and lives up to the standard that they say. And we were also there during the baby sea lion seasons...adorable for sure. However, I also really enjoyed spending some time with my Aunt, Uncle, and Richard. It was really nice to go out all day and enjoy the Islands and then be able to come back to the boat and have some good conversation accompanied with wine of course.

I was even allowed to drive the boat at one point...and I really do mean I drove it for about 45 minutes from one cove to a port. Why they decided to let me drive the $2 million catamaran boat I am still not sure, but oh well! It is a lot harder than you would think though to actually keep the silly compass on the mark that you need to. And once we got to the port the captain told me to head towards the red light on the shore line. So I headed towards the one that I saw but I didn't think that was right as it wasn't by the town. I then came to find out that the red light I saw was actually for the airport...my bad...but I did manage to find the right blinking red light to go towards!

The one thing that I do have to mention about the Galapagos is that although it is a part of Ecuador, it is not the Ecuador I live in at all! With such heavy influences of truism, it really does change the culture and way of life. You can almost always find someone who speaks English, all of the prices have about a 100% increase, and things in general are cleaner and nicer. The Galapagos are still Ecuador, but it is definitely not the Ecuador that I know.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip including microwave popcorn, hot showers, good food and wine, amazing scenery and wildlife, and some great people. As my Uncle said, I am sure this is something that we all will remember for a very long time.

P.S. I will post pictures up on Facebook when I can! I took a ton so I have to go through them and decide which ones to upload at some point.