Tortugas e iguanas

Today we awoke to a 5:30 breakfast at the hotel before leaving for the airport and our first day in the islands. The process for the Ecuadorian airport is a little different than at home. Liquids bigger than 3oz? No problem! We were encouraged to pack just a carry on for the islands, to speed up the process of checking through the busy airport, transferring to a bus, then a ferry, and a bus again, and many of us accepted the challenge, leaving our other luggage locked up at the hotel for our return on Saturday. We had some tasty food on our hour and a half flight to the islands, much better than anything I have had, especially since we weren't expecting a meal like that for a short flight!

Upon boarding the ferry to go from the airport island Baltra to the main island Santa Cruz, all cameras were poised and ready to take a picture of our first and what will be many sightings of the blue footed booby and pelicans. After arriving at the hotel, we had lunch, where a few of us tried the ceviche, a cold seafood soup, served with popcorn and plantains. Others stuck with the beef and gravy.

We then had time to change and prepare for our walk to and through the Darwin Research Center. We learned a bit about the history of Darwin and the Center, but I am sure the focal points of the tour would include the many animals we saw. We saw many tortoises, where they are being bred to repopulate the islands. Many of the tortoises that they have there were rescued fifty or so years ago from being kept, incorrectly, as pets in small areas. While walking to the research center, we saw sea lions swimming and lounging on the cement by the fish market, iguanas chilling on the side of the road, little lizards scurrying about, and countless finches. Our guide also introduced us to a berry that translates as "gorilla mucus" because of how sticky it is, and we learned that some people use it as hair gel...truth or not?

We finished our day with a brief swim, where a few ventured into the water to swim with a couple zebra striped fish. We then stopped by to rent snorkeling equipment for the next tow days. It will be the first time snorkeling for many of us, and we are definitely looking forward to it! 

We have dinner a few minutes, and then some time to relax or shop. Tomorrow, we have some boat tours around the islands, snorkeling, and other activities on the islands.

Hasta mañana