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| This is in fact real |
Is it possible to dream for 4 days straight? Cause I’m pretty sure that just happened. I still can’t believe where I just was. So basically 4 words describe Galapagos. Out. Of. This. World. Just like the amazon, there are literally no words that I can use that really shed light on these magical islands. Just incredible. So the first day we got there in the airport San Cristobal which is on a smaller island right off of Santa Cruz, where we were staying. So took a little ferry across the way and then a bus ride, about an hour, to the hotel. On this one small bus ride though the vegetation changed drastically. It started off desert like, a lot like Arizona.
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Then slowly the shrubs turned into bushes, which turned into trees, which turned into tropical palm trees, then into Vermont-like trees and plants, then into amazon like rain forest, and then back again. It was ridiculous. We stayed in Puerto Ayora, this popular harbor town on Santa Cruz. The town was quite nice, very touristy with all the tourist shops and diving tours of course, but cute. The marina was really nice as well. Tons of boats, lots of sail boats, which I was happy to see. You’d expect more motorboats with all the different tours and that being the means of transportation between islands. But it was about even. So we settled into the hotel then went to the other side of town to see the Charles Darwin research center, which was where a lot of the land tortoises live. They are HUGE. Its amazing. We got to see Lonesome George, who’s the last of his species and between 110 and 120 years old. After that we had free time on the town which is ride on the water so we all just found a spot to look out over this majestic turquoise water and right away saw sting rays, sea lions, crazy looking crabs, and tons of birds. The nightlife of this place was really fun as well. We went out to a salsa bar that night which was so much fun to just dance with all these people that have truly become life long best friends.
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| Penguins! |
There were 40 of us in my group. Saturday morning we got up and walked about 40 minutes to Tortuga Bay. Which I guess is the nicest beach of the Galapagos, and my god was it beautiful. It literally just looked like the pictures of paradise, only I was actually there. A white sand beach that just stretched on for so long, with rolling turquoise waves. So beautiful to be there. After a morning and early afternoon there, we walked back and then went to the lava caves. Galapagos has lots of volcanoes with 6 of them active.
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| Tortuga Bay |
There’s been over 50 eruptions in the last 200 years which is quite a lot. So from the lava flow beneath the surface it creates these massive tunnels. The look man made but they are only from the lava cutting away at the rock to make them. So we walked through one that was like 600 m. Pretty cool to be somewhere where absolutely no sunlight could reach. Galapagos islands are actually moving a few centimeters every year because of the activeness. The next day we were split into smaller groups, got on a boat and were off to island Isabella. It’s the largest of all the islands and has 5 of those 6 active volcanoes. We went snorkeling in this little bay which has some of the best in the islands. It was spectacular. The water is soooo incredibly clear. Could see so far. We saw sting rays, crazy fish, all weird looking sea urchins, and the sea iguanas. There are TONS of iguanas every where, but the ones that can swim and dive under water are my favorite. In the water they look like Godzilla the way they swim. To see them from under the way was pretty cool. Then we found a family of sea turtle on the bottom. It might have been 10-12 ft deep and there were four or five sea turtle just chilling on the bottom. My goal for this trip and always had been to ride a sea turtle like in movies or cartoons.
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| Lava rocks |
Well with my opportunity right there I dove down and came in really slow and then ran my hands along his shell until I got to the sides and had a grip. He then started swimming slowly and got faster and faster. I let go when I didn’t have any more breath. I surfaced and was completely speechless. I literally couldn’t speak a single word. All I thought was how special that was. Then I hear my friend from behind say “Koda! I got a picture of that!” It was one the specialist moments for me of the trip. After an hour or so of snorkeling we got out and went for a walk through the lava rocks. The rocks look really cool and are all formed from hardening lava. We later went to another tortoise center where they bread them. So that was cool to see that. We went to this little pond where a bunch of flamingos were which was cool to see wild flamingos. After we went to another incredible beach. Again, out of this world. Went back on the boat after and saw a big whale, a massive manta ray (around 10 ft across) and tons of other life. Monday we got up and took the boat again but to the island Santa Fe. This island is known for the cactus vegetation it has as well as the rocky shore with spectacular cliffs. Here went snorkeling again in this cove and you guessed it, out of this world. This was the best day snorkeling. Tons of tropical fish, again stingrays and this time we got to swim with sea lions. They are the cutest things in the world. The babies were all swimming around us and playing with us, but then the mom kept coming by and she was big. Shed come at us with her mouth open like trying to bite but you could tell it was more just to scare us and protect her children. What an adrenaline rush though. To see these animals that you usually only see on tv shows or in zoos, are right here in front of me in the wild. I had the biggest high as this moment; I was high off of life. Such a special moment for me.
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| Catchin a ride |
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| cliff jumping |
After we went back to Santa Cruz and the hotel to eat lunch. After we walked about 30 minutes to these cliffs where we could jump. It like crack in the earth with these big cliffs and the sea water came in and its so deep but soo clear. So of course I felt right at home cliff jumping, as that’s what I do all summer long in Vermont. So that was really fun. That night was the last night and there was a farewell dinner at this ranch and it was so much fun. We sang karaoke, played pool, swam in the pool. Then my really good friend Kelcey and I played together again. She plays guitar and has the most beautiful voice, I love it so much, and I played some bongos that they had as this place. It was really fun.
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| sunrise |
The next morning I got up at 5 to watch the sunrise. I walked across the street, to the end of the pier, and sat on the railing next to a pelican and settled in for what was to become the most spectacular site in the world. I watched the morning bustle of the harbor as all the fisherman were heading out and all the tour boats getting ready. As the sky got brighter the horizon got prettier. Now this sunrise had some pretty tough competition, going up against that in the amazon, which was unbelievable. So I kept an open mind, not expecting anything amazing incase I was to be disappointed. But I was in for a treat. All of a sudden the rays from the sun shot up into the sky and it looked like a bunch of spotlights in the sky. That was just the pre-sunrise, as those rays started to fade and the sky got brighter I thought that was it. But then the horizon became more of a fiery orange and I knew it was about to get even better. As the sun finally crept above the horizon at 5:43am a family of sea lions were passing by right below me. The sun got higher and higher and I just felt this amazing warming sensation come over me as the rays just washed over my face and body. I was in such a meditative state. I keep saying how I get these feelings of joy and love for where I am and they always come as such cliché moments. For instance, watching the sunrise in the Galapagos. I would say very few people in the world have or ever will see that, and the entire time the only thing that was going through my mind was how I’m the luckiest kid in the world. I’m only 18 and look where I am and what I’m doing. People would do anything to be where I am and work their wholes lives for things like this and I basically have it given to me. Yeah I worked hard with things to get here, but in perspective to others, I’ve barely lifted a finger. I mean don’t get me wrong this year hasn’t been all rainbows and lollie pops, to learn a new language, live with a different family, make new friends, and to discover who you really are is no easy task. But at the same time, our problems are miniscule to those of others. I just wish everyone could experience what I’ve experienced. I literally consider myself the most fortunate kid in the world. All of us on exchange are. To be doing what we’re doing at such a young age is mind blowing to me. If we keep this up where will we be in 10 years? 20? When were 60 what will we have done by then, where will we have traveled? Who will we be? The questions are endless and will only be answered with time. This is what hits me the hardest, and all of that is what was going through my head as I watched the sun come over that magical horizon. I will never forget this trip and I will never forget watching that sunrise for the rest of my life. The things I am doing and living right now are what are shaping me into the person I’m to become. And to be honest, I absolutely love who I am and the direction I’m headed.
(If you click on the photos you can see them bigger)
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| so cute |
There’s been over 50 eruptions in the last 200 years which is quite a lot. So from the lava flow beneath the surface it creates these massive tunnels. The look man made but they are only from the lava cutting away at the rock to make them. So we walked through one that was like 600 m. Pretty cool to be somewhere where absolutely no sunlight could reach. Galapagos islands are actually moving a few centimeters every year because of the activeness. The next day we were split into smaller groups, got on a boat and were off to island Isabella. It’s the largest of all the islands and has 5 of those 6 active volcanoes. We went snorkeling in this little bay which has some of the best in the islands. It was spectacular. The water is soooo incredibly clear. Could see so far. We saw sting rays, crazy fish, all weird looking sea urchins, and the sea iguanas. There are TONS of iguanas every where, but the ones that can swim and dive under water are my favorite. In the water they look like Godzilla the way they swim. To see them from under the way was pretty cool. Then we found a family of sea turtle on the bottom. It might have been 10-12 ft deep and there were four or five sea turtle just chilling on the bottom. My goal for this trip and always had been to ride a sea turtle like in movies or cartoons. 
After we went back to Santa Cruz and the hotel to eat lunch. After we walked about 30 minutes to these cliffs where we could jump. It like crack in the earth with these big cliffs and the sea water came in and its so deep but soo clear. So of course I felt right at home cliff jumping, as that’s what I do all summer long in Vermont. So that was really fun. That night was the last night and there was a farewell dinner at this ranch and it was so much fun. We sang karaoke, played pool, swam in the pool. Then my really good friend Kelcey and I played together again. She plays guitar and has the most beautiful voice, I love it so much, and I played some bongos that they had as this place. It was really fun. 
