Day three on the boat tour:On Monday, I was up before the crack of dawn. I had gone to sleep really early the night before and was wide awake at 0 dark 30. I made my way to the deck of the boat and was immediately enchanted with the sound of the water, the sun rise and my hot coffee. There were only a couple people on deck and we just sat there and watched the sun rise...ahhh...calgon took me away!
After breakfast, it was a dry landing on Bartolomé Island. We immediately started a hike up to a light house at the top of the mountain. There, you could see the beaches of the island which have the shape of the sides of an hour glass. From the top, the sunken volcano craters were visible. The views from the light house are often seen in many travel brochures. I just love that I have been there first hand. We made our way down the mountain and headed to one of the two beaches, the one with sea turtles. At first we didn't see any, but later one just kind of sauntered on by. There is no swimming on this beach. Conservation efforts are in force here. There are designated pathways for hiking and designated swimming areas. The Ecuadorians are trying to balance the effects of tourism and the environment which is a constant struggle. But, there's always one in the group that has to push the limits. Our guides Eddy and Gallo were really good about getting everyone to keep to the rules, but there's always "that guy" in every group. I won't name names, but c'mon dude!
We headed to the second beach for some sun and snorkel time. I wasn't feeling the snorkeling so I just chilled in the sun. We saw some penguins on the rock! Yes, penguins! I thought they all needed snow but apparently not. These were small and mostly black. Very cool! After, it was back on board for sun bathing, lunch and moving on to Sullivan Bay.
In the afternoon, it was time to explore Sullivan Bay. We hiked on what I will call lava landscape. The entire hike reminded me of something that you might see in a movie on a different planet or maybe in a different time. There was the dark grey/black lava along with red rock land. There are random cactus growing out of the lava...they kind of look like...well you decide. Eddy pointed out the "lava hopper". I think he was joking, but basically it's a huge grasshopper and since there's no grass, only lava, it's a lava hopper. On our hike, I had Gallo pose for me. I call it the airport pose because everytime we´d be walking along and we´d get a little separated, he´d stand there and direct traffic. He was hilarious! After the hike, I was dying to get into the water. It was pretty hot out. I went snorkeling and saw a sting ray and loads of fish. Great time!
Back on the boat, Julio, our capitain, let me drive the boat. Just call me marinera! Of course, when I drove the boat, that's when the sea got really choppy and windy. I know I am powerful, but controlling the wind and the waves is asking a bit much ;-)! I think a few might have gotten a bit sea sick during that time!
This was our last night on the boat so after dinner, the entire crew and guests had a farwell toast and a few hours of salsa and merengue dancing. It was a fun send off!
Side note: I met some fantastic people on the tour...Charolette and Kelly from London, Myriane and Natalie from Quebec, The US Army gals from Ohio - Alicia, Amanda, Theresa and Stephanie and of course my roomate Daniel from Romania! Also, there were 6 ladies from France that did't speak english or socialize much, another couple from Copenhagen and two guys from Germany...that was our group! A very dynamic and fun bunch!
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