Galapagos: Day trip to Isabela Island

Since we fell into bed totally exhausted at 9:00 p.m. last night, we were ready to go pretty early today. Perfect condition for a spontaneous trip. We simply queued up at the pier without a ticket for the boats to Isabela Island, and they were kind enough to write us on a list that only had one spot left, but you can't turn away paying tourists. We paid $30, had our backpack checked, and got on a water taxi that took us to our boat. The crossing took two hours. Two long hours with rough seas and a dad behind us who was constantly vomiting.

Upon arrival at Isabela, I immediately lost a contact lens, and we realized that we no longer had enough cash to pay for the return trip. Since we were told in the next village that there is no ATM on the entire island, we paid for the tickets with Visa, each $10 more.

Despite the not-so-good start, our trip turned out to be a great experience. After walking along the deserted beaches for a while, we turned onto a boardwalk that led through hidden lagoons, showcasing a fascinating wildlife and plant world: On our way, we encountered iguanas, flamingos, ducks, pelicans, a stork, as well as various species of birds whose names we still need to find out. The path finally ended at a turtle breeding station, where we could observe various species and sizes of turtles up close.

Before we started the return journey, we strolled through mangrove forests where we encountered some sleeping seals, until we reached a lagoon with crystal clear water, where we enjoyed a magnificent view of the sea and other animals. Flo then briefly dipped into the quite cold water in his underwear, before we returned to the port from where we started the return journey to Santa Cruz, which turned out to be even bumpier than the outward journey. At least this time no one emptied their stomach.

By the way, the sky was gray and overcast all day, but Flo's neck still managed to take on a bright red color.

As consolation or just because, we stuffed ourselves in the evening with ceviche and grilled fish. Bon appétit and good night!