I had the most amazing weekend in Isabela. I didn't tell my parents before hand for fear of worrying them too much, but to get there and back we took a six seater plane which definitely was an experience. I was a little bit nervous as the pilot who looked like he had recently hit puberty sat down in the cockpit and told us all to fasten our seatbelts on. I was one step ahead of him on that front. But my nerves were quickly washed away after take off. We had some great views of the island below and 30 minutes later we approached Isabela. It is a volcanic island and is the largest in the Galapagos Islands. So flying over the mainland before we touched down you could clearly see the volcanic structure and the summits of each volcano just clouded by fog.
Once we landed (safely I may add, mum and dad, don't worry), we went to the hostel that had been reserved for us. But upon arrival, there was no one to meet us, it was far from the centre of town and the aesthetics left a lot to be desired and so we journeyed on in search of a better place to call our temporary home. We had been recommended a place which was right on the beach, closer to the main part of town and was only 10 dollars a night and so we checked it out. We arrived and decided to stay at this hostel without checking the rooms out which in hindsight proved foolish. They were extremely dark and our toilet was inhabited by a colony of ants. I suppose that's what you get for 10 bucks a night though. We dropped off our stuff and went to find some breakfast. On the way we came across a really nice looking hostel for only 5 dollars more a night, but it was not free for saturday night and so we booked it for the following sunday evening. Something to look forward to. In the afternoon I went on a snorkelling tour of the Tintereras, where we saw penguins, plenty of marine iguanas and more sea lions. The guide then asked us if we wanted to snorkel along a canal inhabited by White Tipped Sharks. I said yes without thinking. The canal itself was rather dark and small without much room to move. I didn't see anything for about 2 minutes until near the end, a shark quickly swam about a foot below me and for a second my whole body froze up. It was however not interested in me and swam on.
That evening we were all very tired and so had dinner and got an early night.
The early night proved useful as we were up the next morning at 7 to start a 16km hike up a volcano. Despite the fact it was foggy at the first crater, the walk across the second one, Volcan Chico, was like nothing I had ever seen before. It is the perfect place to shoot a sci-fi film set on Mars. I never thought that I would be able to say that I've had lunch on the crater of a volcano, but I can now. By the end of the 5 hour walk I was totally wiped out and so the new comfortable hostel with a chill out area with sofas and hammocks looked like the pearly gates of heaven as we arrived, covered from ankle to knee in volcanic dust. I had a well earned rest on the beach and swim in the sea followed by a dinner of ceviche and afterwards, a long, long sleep.
On monday I relaxed at the hostel until 12:30 when we had to head over to the airport to get our return flight back. I was stressing out a little as we arrived ten minutes late, but I had temporarily forgotten that everyone runs on Ecuadorian time which meant that our 1 pm scheduled flight didn't take off until 2.
So that is the story of the weekend, I hoped you enjoyed it. I now only have 8 days left here in the Galapagos until I return and so I'm going to enjoy my last days in Paradise. That is all I have for you for now. Until next time.
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