Isla Isabella

So we have just returned to Puerto Ayora in the Galapagos from our little getaway in Isabella. Though short it was a great trip. We rode horses up to a volcano crater (second largest in the world), did a little snorkelling and had a great play with a pair of curious sea lions, visited with a huge colony of sharks (though we weren´t in the water at the time), and went for a nice easy hike to some remote beaches, lagoons, and lava caves. Gotta say that I am madly in love with lava caves, it's just so unreal to imagine vast quantities of lava flowing through. Our hotel on Isabella was pretty fantastic; a wood cabin(ish thing because nothing in ecuador is quite as you expect it) looking right out onto the beach. I have to say that nothing beats the beaches in the Galapagos Islands... I previously thought such places only existed in beer commercials. This is truly the most beautiful place I've ever been, though I have many more places to go in life.

The current plan (for the inqusitive parent) is to have a lazy day today and look for a good day trip for tomorrow or wednesday. This will probably be at least $80, which is a bit expensive, but we've got 3 days to fill before we fly back to Guayaquil on thursday. We've also got a hike we'll do in one of those days. I think we'll spend a day in Guayaquil, leaving either on the 26th at night or the 27th on a bus to Banos. This place has thermal baths, good access to the jungle, and a fun downhill bikeride. So at some point within the next week we'll be incommunicado for a few days while we do a jungle trip. Afterwards we'll spend a day in Riobamba and a day in Cuenca... then it's out of Ecuador finally! For such a small country there sure is a hell of a lot to do. We've decided against travelling by boat into Peru because a) we don't have time and b) we haven't talked to anyone else that's even attempted this. So we will head down the coast of Peru, hopefully quickly as we want to spend at least a month in southern Peru with perhaps a few days in La Paz, Bolivia. We were also thinking about booking a flight from La Paz to Lima as it's not too ridiculously expensive and would give us an extra few days (and save us from a long a torturous bus ride).

So that's the update. Lots of love, miss you all!

ps-mom, I'm thinking that applications will occur either in Cuenca, Ecuador around the 10th (more or less, I don't really know dates) or in Cuzco towards the end of the month. I'll be in touch then, in any case. Ah! Scary! I have to think about real life again! Love you lots.