Quito to Galapogos

Left Colombia behind last week and flew from Bogota to Quito and spent a few days there. Was hoping to get some paragliding in but the weather didn´t play ball so had to make do with enjoying the city itself. Its very pretty, extremely pretty in fact. Surrounded by volcanoes and with beautiful colonial architechture it´s got a lot going for it. Except for the nightlife, which as it turns out is pretty damn poor. So poor in fact on a Thursday night we strived for what felt like hours (and was definitely at least an hour) just to get a drink and found out later that licencing laws dictate no alchohol to be served after 12am. Everythings possible however and we managed to acquire a few bottles of rum, purchased through a tiny hole cut into a garage door.

Quito (with requisite guardian angel overlooking the city)

Friday night wasn´t much better, so made up for excitement with alcohol and almost missed my flight to the Galapogos islands the next morning. But I did make it! Although the flight was delayed anyway so I could have enjoyed that sleep and maybe not have left so many things behind...

So here I am in the Galapogos islands. Just in the main town Puerto Ayora, there are big rock iguanas sunning themselves, sea lions snoozing on deck chairs, pelicans queing up for fish at the market. The animals are very relaxed here. Went diving on my first full day off an island in the south called Floreana. My first dive was quite an uncomfortable experience as I got used to the whole breathing underwater thing again (it was about 5 years ago I last dived) and I don´t think my 3 boozy nights in Quito really helped. Still, saw lots of fish, a few galapagos sharks, turtles and the real highlight was a big pod of eagle rays (or some type of ray) elegantly cruising through the water with a gentle flapping of their wings. There were also some big shoals of balled up fish which practicually pulsate around you creating caves and tunnels within the shoal. 

My second dive was much more enjoyable however. Felt a lot more comfortable and the area was a bit more interesting, on the edge of a shelf. Saw galapagos and whitetip reef sharks, a big turtle up close, moray eels and lots of very curious, playful sea lions. Not the most exciting of animals (in the Galapagos line-up) but one of the most fun as they play and frolic around you! 

Today was a somewhat frustrating affair as I spent a good chunk of the day sat in the airlines office admiring South American efficiency as I tried to change my flight out of here (There are 2 airports here and once I´d worked out where they are and where my flight was from, naturally I wanted to change it). It rained a lot while I was waiting which made it slightly more bearable. The afternoon cleared up and I walked along the coast a few kms to Tortuga Bay to do some snorkelling. Tortuga Bay is a long, very white beach with super smooth sand, and round the corner from it is a sea lagoon that is apparently good for snorkelling (much like most of Galapagos it seems). Its shallow and maybe because of the rain, visibility was limited to a few meters. Hardly the stuff the Galapagos reputation is built on. I swam around for about an hour, seeing lots of the same fish, and was feeling a bit dissapointed with the day in general when I almost swam into a ray of some sort and then shortly after, chanced upon 2 whitetip sharks as I dived down into the murk. Exciting, if a little unnerving!

Queing for fish (what you can´t see is the sea lion patiently waiting next to the woman to be hand fed any offcuts)

Diving again tomorrow, then off to Isla Isabela for a few days, followed by San Cristobal.