Galapagos Day 1: San Cristobal Island is covered in sea lions.

As I sit in my hotel room writing this I am listening to a funny barking/yelping sound outside. It’s the Galapagos Sea Lions on the beach in front of the hotel. It’s just been a half day here, but YES, I like it so far. And it’s only going to get better.   

We left Quito early this morning after spending a mere 7 hours in the hotel room (so much for seeing Quito). Paul from CarpeDM Travel picked us up and brought us to the airport, where we had to purchase tickets, get a special Galapagos card, and then wait for our flight, which brought us here to San Cristobal Island via Guayaquil.

The airport in San Cristobal was very small and it was hot and humid out, really reminding me of the Caribbean. Unfortunately the hotel did not send a ride, so we waited for a taxi with the locals (all the tourists got into prearranged mini-buses or trucks). The taxi-trucks kept driving past us, so we thought we would wait forever, when finally a guy stopped. He didn’t speak English and kept barraging us with questions we didn’t understand, but somehow we got to our hotel, Miconia. The hotel is definitely a work in progress, but it’s OK.

I was so tired and really wanted a nap, but I couldn’t sleep because I was too excited to be in the Galapagos. While Steve tried to sleep, I walked down to the pier and discovered several sea lions basking on the cement pier stairs. So cute! They were completely impervious to the humans around them.

I then walked through the “town” trying to find water and food, but everything was closed since it is Sunday. I returned to the room and told Steve about the sea lions, and then we went out together and walked all the way down the beach to the edge of town. There were sea lions all the way, including some wee little babies. I love watching them.
 
We then decided to walk to the highly recommended Interpretation Center, but it was closed when we got there. There was a trail carved out of lava rock that led away from there, so we followed it past a beach being used by sea lions and humans alike, then through a barren cactus and shrub forest to a couple of outlook points along the way. We were looking for Frigatebirds, but I only know what they look like on the ground, with their red breasts all puffed up… we didn’t recognize the birds flying above us as Frigates until we saw a picture of them later. 

For dinner, we ate at the hotel -- a big disappointment. Steve had a flavorless fish curry dish and I had a salad (about two lettuce leaves and a pile of cucumbers. I hate cucumbers) and a small boiled potato. When we left I was still hungry, so we went off to find more food. I bought some yogurt, but it was spoiled. Dang. Oh well, even with no dinner, things aren't so bad. We are in the GALAPAGOS Islands, after all, a place I have dreamed about visiting seemingly my whole life.  I just can't wait to see the things I am going to see here!