The Galapagos Islands - Day 1

We spent no time in Guayaquil. Early this morning we headed to the airport, about 3 hours before our flight. Here's why:

Going to the Galapagos Islands requires a longer check-in process because it is under such strict protection. We had to...

1. Fill out ingala cards, which Tanya had done ahead of time online.
2. Fill out a national park entrance card.
3. Go through special security for checking bags.**
4. Go through check-in for the ingala cards.
5. Go to regular check-in.

**We had planned on carrying on our packs, but they told us we were required to check them in, even though we saw several others with carry-ons the same size as ours. BUT this turned out to be a good thing for arriving in Galapagos. All carry-ons had to be hand-searched through. But since ours was checked, it was already done. Also, we sat in the back of the plane, and they exited passengers from the back and the front. We were some of the first in line for everything. We finished super fast.

Okay, so after we arrived at Baltra Island, we had to get on a bus to a ferry boat. We piled onto the boat, which then took us to Isla Santa Cruz.

From there, we got a taxi to our hostel in town. There is a bus, which is a lot cheaper, but you have to wait a while for people to get on, and it takes longer to get to town.

We got our stuff put together, and then we immediately headed out. First stop: the lava tunnels.

Obviously formed by lava, these are all underground. Very cool!

We also saw our first giant tortoise here.

He's actually in the wild, as opposed to those still in captivity at the Charles Darwin Center, our second stop. We saw more giant tortoises, lots of iguanas, and other random cool animals in and out of captivity.

We even saw baby giant tortoises! This is a breeding center, so all of the tortoises will be released eventually, and they are separated by the island from which their species originates.

We then went to dinner - Ecuador has still not disappointed us on food - and walked around town a bit. There are pelicans everywhere! They hang out at the docks where people are coming in with fish. So cool!

And when it gets dark, the pier is lit up, which attracts lots of sea life. Sea lions, a cool striped fish, smaller fish, and sharks! These guys are pretty small.

It's so awesome here!!