Tuesday was boat day and lordy am I glad that I do not get seasick. We woke up really early, at 4 am, then realized there was a time difference and slept till 5. We went to the boat port and waited an hour and a half. I took a sea lion-esque nap. Our boat ride took 2.5 hours and I was on the boat for "people that do not get seasick" and people got seasick. Eventually, we found some land and looked at boobies and friggit birds. We learned how they evolved co-dependently and how neither is evolved to deal with predators.
We went snorkeling in open water which was originally scary but I got over it fast. It was just so beautiful! You can see how the island shelf/volcanic material just drops into the deep ocean below. Fish flutter in schools and divide endlessly around you, around rocks, around currents. Some people got to play with sea lions but I never saw any, I was really enjoying the fish and the geology. We swam a long way; it’s so easy with fins and beautiful things to keep your eyes busy.
We got back on the boat and went to the island of Floreana which has an insane story that was told by our guide Jeff in an insane way. It involves a baroness, polyamory, living in caves, and death by chicken soup.
Back on the boat, a long ride, too many games of 20 questions including one about Mr. Peanut that almost caused a fistfight. We arrived in Isabela and got into our hotel. Our guide, Jeff, works at/ owns? the hotel with his wife Courtney. She is gringa and met Jeff on vacation. He's from San Cristobal. Story goes, they fell in love, she came here to teach English and see where it went, and now they have a two year old and a tourist business. It's pretty amazing. They are both very fun and successful people and they must really love each other. They both have interesting life stories and seem to be really happy here.
So their hotel served us this enormous meal, huge pieces of chicken and tuna, endless rice. We took heavenly showers in brackish water (all the water on the islands is brackish, you have to buy sweetwater) and went to sleep.
Highlights: Seeing a beautiful sea star, ridiculous story, beautiful friggit birds
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