Santa Cruz Island

A Quick Summary

We took a bus from the Amazon rainforest back to Quito, and then flew to Santa Cruz, which is one of the Galapagos Islands! We then spent most of this week exploring Santa Cruz.

Highs and Lows

Animals everywhere:

The first thing I noticed on the Galapagos is that there are animals everywhere. It's not like in some areas, where the animals come up to you looking for food. Here, they are just around, living their lives and unbothered by the people. Whether it is sea lions on the dock, iguanas at the beach, or the many other lizards, birds, and fish around, it has been really cool just to see lots of different animals here.

A day on the bike:

One day, I rented a bike and explored around the northern part of the island, up away from the water. The bike ride up was super hot and all uphill, and in retrospect I should have probably taken the bus or a taxi up. 

Me exhausted

After a long break and a lot of water, I went to check out the giant tortoise reserve! They were HUGE; apparently they can get up to 250kg at full size. It was neat exploring around and seeing the turtles in their natural habitat. 

Before I biked back, I went to check out two of the volcanic formations in the area: lava tubes, and these giant craters called los gemelos. 

Snorkelling:

I was able to get out snorkelling 3 different times, twice in the ocean and once in this canyon. This has definitely been my highlight of Santa Cruz so far; it is amazing to put your face in the water and see the ocean come alive below you. The water is really shallow (usually only just above my head if I stood up), so the fish below are super close.

Right off the beaches there are TONS of different colorful fish. Some of the highlights were watching a seemingly endless school of bright blue fish the size (and shape) of dinner plates swim by. I've also been able to see a few eels and some sea turtles! At one point, this massive sea turtle swam right past me, and then stopped to eat some algae right in front of me. I just floated above it, about an arms length away, watching it go about its day for a few minutes. Whenever I would stop and stand up to take a break, there were pelicans diving into the water to catch fish, and I could just look down in the water and see little fish curiously swimming around my feet. All in all, it has been a super cool experience and I'm really looking forward to more snorkelling next week!

Canyon for snorkeling 

Food Review

Fancy Galapagos food: 10/10

There is definitely a big difference between travelling and being on vacation, and the Galapagos is definitely a vacation. It's safe to go out at night, everyone speaks English, and the food is amazing. After two and a half months of trying to live cheaply and just avoid getting sick, it has been really nice to relax a little and enjoy some nicer food here! I couldn't pick just one to feature because they were all so good.

Fancy drinks and sandwiches

Teriyaki Tuna

Barbecue platter 

Cheesecake!

Extra Photos 

A wall of $11 shoes in Quito

Tortuga Bay Beach