Quito Update and Galápagos Part II

Hey everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to write and update. Time is really moving fast.

Quito has been okay since coming back from the Amazon. I loved our trip and wish we could have spent more time away. We're still having exams (just about every other day it feels like) and things have been busy since we have come back home. Hopefully they'll start to calm down soon, though I doubt it.

If Quito has taught me anything during these 4 months it is that I am not made for the city at all. I like it here, and I have learned a lot, but my heart belongs to the woods. I'm not a fan of the pollution and car alarms and constant robberies. It's just too busy. I've also found that I feel the same way about school life in a big university. It's nice some days to blend in with the crowd and hide away – but SBC is much better… where you know everyone and always have someone nearby to smile and laugh with.

A bunch of us are going to the beach tomorrow evening. We'll be coming back on Saturday night. It's only two days away but it will still be nice. We have been studying a lot lately and we all want a break. On Sunday I am going on a short trip with my religion class at PUCE and then studying for the rest of the day… we have another huge exam on Monday.

There has been a small change in when I will be coming back to the U.S. I'll now be flying home on December 14th rather than December 22nd. This is good… it means that I will get some time with my family before leaving for St. Louis and Wisconsin. I love Ecuador… but I am really looking forward to getting home and seeing friends and family again. I miss you guys!

The last few weeks are going to fly. I feel like I have something planned for almost every day over the next month… I’m going to Puerto Lopez for four days (and skipping class!! Totally unlike me… I’m kind of excited, can't lie! Tania's mom lives there and is a SBC alum. I can't be in Ecuador without going to visit her for at least a few days), Otavalo one more time, Baños for two days, Quinche, my birthday and independence day in Quito (during the same 48 hours, how sweet is that!?)… oh, and p.s., 11 papers and 2 more big exams and 3 finals. It's going to be a fun month. Actually, seriously, it probably will be and I know it will fly by.


Okay… so the rest of Galápagos real quick before I have to go to class... it's a shorter story than the first posting because we didn't do as much.

We went to the last island that we were going to visit on Sunday morning. We had a long time in the boat – 2½ hours for the first part … then we stopped for lunch on a tiny island and went snorkeling … and then another 2 hours and 24 minutes. Most of the day was spent traveling between the islands. By the time we got to Isabella the sun was already setting. We had about an hour to get settled into the new hotel and walk around a bit. Then we met up for supper and we talked for a little over an hour about the trip and went to bed.

I didn’t go snorkeling this day because it had taken me so long to warm up the day before. Jorge didn’t think it was a good idea. It ended up being okay because the other students didn’t see anything that we hadn’t seen the day before… and I didn’t freeze all over again. I also had a chance to talk with some of the other guides and learn more about the natural history of the islands.

One really cool thing did happen though while we were on the boat. It had been quite for about an hour and one of my friends jumped up in the back of the boat and started yelling for everyone to get up and come look. There were dolphins everywhere!! There must have been near 100 of them. They were jumping out of the water and so, so amazing to watch. We also saw a whale. We only saw it once and for a very brief moment. But this was cool too. It’s uncommon to see whales at this time of year.

Monday was adventure day on Isabella and by far my favorite day of the Galápagos trip. We woke up and had breakfast. Then we took a bus to an interior part of the island. Isabella is very volcanically active and we were going to go see the crater of the volcano. It’s the third largest active crater in the world… it was so cool! We actually traveled on horseback for about 2½-3 miles and looked down over the crater. It was really amazing. The horses were a little crazy, but it was okay. We all improved our skills. :-)

We did a little hiking around the volcano and we were able to explore a bit. It was really peaceful. I saw an amazing owl (I was walking alone and scrambling up some of the rocks). We rode the horses back down the same trail we had come up and then went to a restaurant for a late lunch. It was a simple day, but amazing all the same. After the late lunch we all had our first real opportunity to rest, so we took advantage of it. We did some beach exploring and were able to get more familiar with the island. It was so beautiful!!

The next morning we had breakfast and left Isabella early. We had a 1:30 flight and we had to make it back to Baltra. It was a boat ride there (long, again) and then we went straight to the airport. Not much of a Galápagos exploration day – more just traveling.

Overall the trip was a lot of fun. There was so much to see and learn and do! I would recommend it!


I’m bummed I don’t have more time to write… I need to get to class and get some studying done. I miss everyone back at home! I’ll try to be better about writing more often. Love!