The sea was angry that day, my friend.

Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianandkim/collections/72157602215352996/

After spending our first week in the hot wet jungle, and our second week on the cold wet coast, we decided to bite the bullet and head to the Galapagos for some fun in the sun.  Or so we thought. . . We were excited to top Friday´s visit to the "poor man´s Galapagos" on the Isla de Plata (Machallila National Park) 20K off the southern coast of Ecuador where we were entertained by humpback whales, nesting blue footed boobies, frigate birds, and snorkeling with tropical fish.  September is low season in the Galapagos due to rough seas, and the frigid Humboldt current that flows north from Antarctica.  It is also allegedly the dry season, and with the frigid waters, more animals come to the islands to feed.

our boat got completely airborne launching off waves and slamming back down onto the water.

We landed in Baltra on Saturday the 22nd, and were met by sunny skies and turquoise water.  We hopped on the water taxi, and then the bus for the 40 minute drive to Puerto Ayora, and as soon as we crossed into the highlands, the climate changed from hot and dry to cold and wet.  Sunday we visited the Charles Darwin Research Center and saw the land turtle breeding center there.  They actually let you walk in the pens with the turtles!  As you can see by the pictures, they are HUGE!  In the afternoon, we headed to Isla Isabela via tiny water taxi on the open ocean.   I had  no clue what "rough seas" meant until this ride.  An unorganized herd of about 50 people piled into three tiny water taxis and off we went--they never even checked our tickets.   For two and a half hours we were slammed around  by huge rolling waves.  I really thought that we were going to die a couple of times when our boat got completely airborne launching off waves and slamming back down onto the water.  We literally flew out of our seats.  Miraculously nobody hurled, although I screamed a few times.  Isabella was great, although it was cloudy and cool with a San Francisco-like fog\drizzle.  We climbed the Sierra Negra volcano and the Volcan Chico.  Sierra Negra has the world´s second largest caldera, and it last erupted 2 years ago.  Volcan Chico has some fumaroles that still smoke on occasion.  The landscape up there is pretty bleak.  No animals or birds live up there, and the only life is cactus and some endemic trees called the Jaboncillo.  There was a decent view of Elizabeth bay from the top, and it was hot and sunny at the top.  We all turned into muddy messes walking down, as the ground was super dry powdery sand that billowed up with each step, and some clouds had moved in, soaking us and helping the dirt to stick.  Long story short  (and I promise that this entry is almost complete), our second Floreana trip was canceled (but we found out the night before) and we re-booked a trip to Bartolome.  Bartolome was another highlight of our Galapagos experience.  The boat ride was much smoother due to a bigger boat and calmer seas, and was uneventful except for the broken exhaust pipe on the ride back that smoked out the boat.  We saw a penguin which is apparently a rare sighting--they´ve all left for warmer waters.  We also saw rays with 5 foot wingspans project themselves completely out of the water, do flips and dive back in, a dolphin, and lots of orcas swimming alongside the boat.  We actually saw the sun for most of the day, and the water was clear (and frigid).  Tons of tropical fish, and more huge marine turtles swam with us.   It was great.  We are now safely back in Quito, and will start our journey south in another couple of days.  We can´t believe that three weeks have already gone by.  Time is flying!