6 -19 july: Galapogas Islands
Arrived in Puerto Ayora without a plan but did the rounds of the boat operators and soon got a spot on a 7 night cruise leaving on the 8th on YV Free Enterprise. Cruise went to most of the inner islands including: Rabida, Bartolome, North Seymour, Espanola, Floreana and Santa Cruz. I limited myself to 3 dives because at $70 each they were a bit expensive... saw a school of hammerheads diving at Gordon Rocks which was the highlight. The other dives were at Bartolome and Gardners Bay but nothing too remarkable. The snorkelling was brilliant, especially at Devil's Crown... in all saw lots of sea lions, penguins, sea turtles and white tip reef sharks.
Arrived back in Puerto Ayora on Friday 14th and jumped on a boat to Isla Isabela with Tim from Aus and Neil from the US. Neil charmed a local Peace Corps volunteer into free accomodation at her house in the giant tortise sanctuary for 3 nights. The mission was to get to the top of Volcano Sierra Negra and ride mountain bikes the 25 kms back to the town. Managed to pull it off on the 17th and avoid the usual requirement for park fees and a guide by a mix of story telling and bad spanish with the park ranger.
Back in Puerto Ayora on Tue 18th to fly back to Guayaquil on the 19th.
|
|
