The second part of our trip to Ecuador was all about visiting the
Galápagos Islands. I've been fascinated with this place ever since I watched a nature program about Charles Darwin's expedition on PBS thirteen with my father when I was ten years old; It is funny how some stuff just stays with you. The Galápagos are an archipelago of volcanic islands near the equator in the eastern pacific ocean. They are located about 60 miles off the west coast of South America and were made famous by
Charles Darwin during his famed voyage of the Beagle. Darwin credits his study of endemic species in the Galápagos as a major influence on his theory of evolution and natural selection. We were lucky enough to visit three islands : San Cristobal, Isablela and Santa Cruz. We got a taste of what inspired Darwin to shake up the scientific world like he did.
San Cristobal:
The first island we visited was
San Cristobal and it's one of the oldest islands in the archipelago and was the first stop Darwin made on his voyage of the Beagle. After visiting the island's interpretation center, we tested out the water by snorkeling in Darwin Bay. This place was the first stop that Darwin made on his famed journey. A wetsuit is a good ideas as the water is cold and the volcanic rocks can be sharp if you are not mindful. I had my first encounter with a somewhat territorial male sea lion bull at Darwin Cove. He was big and moved through the water very quickly. It was overwhelming to see this enormous male swimming towards you to let you know who's cove this really was and in a split second he's gone and you're alone in the water. This early encounter foreshadowed things to come. I started to appreciate just how wild this place can be.
The first thing that struck me about San Cristobal was that wild life was everywhere. I foubd Sea kayaking was both fun, frustrating, and challenging. Negotiating the currents was difficult and coordinating in a tandem with Simmy added an unanticipated layer of complexity. The kayaks were a great way to see nesting birds in the sea cliffs around San Cristobal, that is of course when they're going in the right direction.
On day two we took a boat to Kicker Rock (Sleeping Lion) which is a a popular dive and snorkeling site known for its birds and sea life. It was probably the toughest snorkel I've ever done. The site is basically two volcanic formations in the ocean with a narrow channel that runs through the middle. The boat dropped us off on one side and we would snorkel through the channel ; The catch is the waves are tremendous, the rocks are sharp and there are sharks.
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