cruise :)

wow, the galapagos islands really are amazing!

So I have just finished an 8 day cruise round lots of different islands. Most of the islands that we went to where not inhabited. This made it even more special. It was amazing, all of the wildlife was so close and not scared of humans. This is because they do not have any reason to be scared and have no real preditors. Sometimes the sea lions got a little aggressive but apart from that all the animals where very calm. A mockingbiird did decide to peck at my toes once, I assume they looked like worms or something!

I went snorkelkling 8 times and saw amazing things. There were sharks, rays, turtles, sea lions, sea bears and lots of fish. It really was amazing. The water was cold but it was definately worth it!

The cabin I shared with a lovely girl from Singapore. We got on well which was nice and all the other people on the cruise were also lovely. The cabin was small but fine. The beds were perfectly comfortable and there were hot showers, definately necessary after a snorkel! The weather was ok. There were only a couple of days when it was actually sunny, the rest of the time it was misty with drizzle. A cardigan was definately necessary when walking around the islands. It was probably warmer in england so I am sure that you all have much more of a tan then me! Why is it always sunny when I am abroad!

There were tons of birds and they all nested on the ground right by the trails. It was brilliant. We saw boobies, frigates, gulls, mocking birds, tropic birds just to name a few!

We had some rocky nights on the boat. We did most of the moving in the night, the longest trip was 7 hours. To begin with we all found in very difficult to sleep when we were moving, there was one morning when everyone was rather tired! After a while most people got used to it! The food on the boat was relly good. We were given 3 cooked meal a day! Our excuse was that we did lots of swimming and walking ;)

An added bonus that I had not thought of was that on the 2 nights it was clear we sould all go up on to the top deck and look at the stars. It was amazing how much you could see. It was completely clear and there was very little artifical light and no moon. We also saw some shooting stars but we didn´t stay out there too long because it was rather chilly!

Just before I started the crusie I had one day on Santa Cruz and happened to meet one of the other volunteers from Jatun Sacha so we spent the day together. We walked a 2.5km route along a lovely paved path to a magnificant beach. It was really pretty with lovely fine, soft sand.

Anyway that concludes my Galapagos adventure. I am now back in Quito and it is rather chilly! I will update you again soon!

Adios

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