10th April in paradise!

10th April- in paradise. 

We woke early- mostly because my brain can't compute what time it is. My phone time hasn't changed since leaving England, despite stops at Amsterdam, Ecuador & the Galapagos, all of which are on different time zones. Graeme stirred & asked me what time it was- I worked it out, or so I thought, & said almost 7am.

We both bounded out of bed, as getting picked up in half an hour, needed to get ready, have breakfast, get our wet swimwear off the balcony, fill the water bottles from the hotel cooler, pack our bags ( we are leaving for San Cristobal Island after a trip to the beach, but had to check out & vacate the room). We were manic, getting everything ready. Once sorted, Graeme checked the time and we had another hour….Oops! Oh well, a leisurely breakfast after all. 

We were dropped off by mini bus at the walkway to the beach, the walk itself was shady & a good path, with plenty of birds to spot on route. Nothing could have prepared us for Tortuga beach. Powder white sand, turquoise water and an abundance of wildlife. It was absolutely stunning. The sand is made up of finely ground shells over centuries & does not have mineral content like most sand- therefor, no matter how hot the sun, the sand does not get red hot (we have all done the mad dash to the sea, trying not to burn the soles of our feet on boiling hot sand). The sand warmed as the day went on, but at no point was it too hot to walk on. We instantly rushed to the sea to cool off, and we're met by small black tipped reef sharks chasing shoals of fish along the shore. There are strong undercurrents at this part of the beach, so swimming is prohibited, so we walked along the full length to the next bay, which is surrounded by mangrove. We were greeted by pelicans, marine iguanas basking in the sun and a sea lion cooling off in the water. We went in for a swim and actually had a marine iguana swimming alongside us for a while. Then we started to spot huge turtles. Each one feeling more exciting than the last. The water at this little cove had poor visibility, so we had to wait until each turtle breached before we could spot it. They move surprisingly fast, and I think we spotted about 6 different ones, varying in size. A number of times they swam right next to us & like all of the creatures we have seen so far, aren't the least bit bothered that we are there. The exception being brightly patterned lava lizards, which dart & scurry away if you get too close. Next we walked back & were taken for lunch, where Emma & Kate met up with a friend who's boat was moored in the harbour. There friend is 3 months into a 3 & a half year around the world trip. Apparently they had to clean their boat before entering any harbour on the islands, which includes removing any barnacles & algea to protect the marine life in the area. If you can't dive to do this yourself, it cost $3000 to have it done for you!

We were taken by bus to the harbour, where we got a small taxi boat out to our larger "speed boat" ferry. The ferry is used for everything & even had post on board, as well as locals with their shopping. Taxi boats are a dollar and the ferry is $10. It is 2 hours on the ferry to get to Isabella Island. Our guide had warned us how hot it gets, so we managed to get 2 seats at the very back, in amongst the locals who all went to sleep as soon as we started to move. I didn't, as far too exhilarated & spent my time scanning the horizon hoping for a sighting of a whale or dolphin. We were moving too fast to see anything of course. Once we arrived, a small boat collected the post & then another began to unload some of the bags and luggage on board & some passengers. One case was left balanced precariously on the edge of the ferry as the taxi boat pulled away! Luckily someone on the ferry grabbed it before it fell. This caused much amusement with the crew who called the taxi back and we're obviously skitting the driver. I wonder how many cases have ended up in the water. 

Once across on Isabella, we waited for boat taxi's to bring the rest of our group and our backpack ( we condensed our stuff into one) while watching a friendly sea lion swim & play. There was another $10 fee to pay to enter the island. As we walked down past the small beach, there were sea lions everywhere, sleeping in the shade, including lying beneath a hammock and 2 on a bench, one sprawled along the bench & the other lying beneath it. It looked like the scene on a postcard. There were also marine iguanas everywhere, of varying sizes. I still can't quite believe we are here, amongst all of this. It is just incredible. We boarded our wooden truck with benches and painted sides depicting wildlife & headed to the hotel….or so we thought! 

There was a problem with one of the rooms, so we offered to go to another hotel- being the only couple, it seemed the obvious choice for us to move. After much deliberation, which seemed to take an eternity, our guide agreed and we jumped into a taxi to our mystery location…we laughed so much when it drove around the corner & stopped again! We were in the same hotel as our guide Daniella. The room was fine, despite the hotel still being built, but I wasn't too comfortable with it having a frosted glass door straight out to the landing. The door directly faced the huge bed, with the bathroom & shower on one side and the only space available to put our clothes on the other! I was convinced anyone walking past would be able to see straight in. Next door to the hotel was a small house that appeared to have 3 generations living in the one room that could be seen from the street. 3 small boys played football outside on the dirt road, the eldest boy of about 7yrs showing the youngest, who was just toddling, how to play. I saw them later on the way back and an elderly man was lying on the bed, whilst the older boy rocked the little one to sleep in a hammock above it. 

After dinner, the group went back to their hotel, but we stayed out, wandering along the dirt tracks, sitting in the square, people watching & then had a beer in one of the bars. A group of American teenage lads were teaching each other to dance in the street, which was lovely to watch. 

It's was another early start again tomorrow & so we headed back to the hotel.

Speak soon,

Caroline