the galapagos | 1

From my journal. These pictures were all taken on San Cristobal island, where the sea lions are in charge.

Zan woke up at 4:45am sick to his stomach. We ate at La Hacienda last night, an upscale Argentinian steakhouse in the JW Marriott in Quito. I'm still surprised we stayed at the Marriott, but with only about 10 hours between arriving in Quito and needing to be at the airport to leave for the Galapagos, it was a quick and restful solution. That oversize, comfortable mattress and plush bedding was absolutely worth it. Dinner at the steakhouse was a delicious splurge, but after eating vegetarian and healthy in the Chugchilan for the last 3-4 days, it was too heavy for both of us.

We got to the airport around 6:10am; it was only a 25-30 minute drive from Quito so early in the morning. It still cost about $35USD, and I can't get over not having a public transportation option to the airport. Our taxi driver was Julio, a nice, friendly man. He and I practiced our English and Spanish with each other in between my yawns.

At the airport, we waited in a short line for Galapagos travelers to pay a $10 fee. Is it for the airport? The park? We pay another $100 fee once we arrive on the island.

Speaking of arriving... we haven't booked a hotel yet. It's high season and almost Christmas, but surprisingly I'm not worried about it. We're planning to wing it, and that's exciting. I made a list of 5-6 viable options near Puerto Ayora in Santa Cruz so we at least have an idea of where to start looking.

As our plane began boarding just minutes ago, I noticed the sign at our gate read: City: San Cristobal. Errr....what?!

We had, I thought, booked our flights in and out of Santa Cruz. To be fair, we booked our flights after hiking on the ridge in the Andes two days ago, and we were on the verge of delirium. Zan pulled up his flight confirmation email (yay free wifi in the new Quito airport!), and sure enough - we're flying into San Cristobal island, not Santa Cruz.

I quickly used the last few minutes we had in the airport (waiting in line to board) to find a potential guesthouse and take screen shots of the WikiTravel page to read on the flight. I have some research with me on all of the islands in the Galapagos so we're not totally starting from scratch.

I'm stoked. It's bizarre and funny, and just the kind of adventure I need to get my slow-moving blood pumping this morning. This is almost as good as my fantasy of showing up at an airport with no clue where I'm going. It's like Galapagos Roulette!

We also lucked out that the woman seated next to me on the flight speaks English and is from San Cristobal. She offered us numerous tips on what to do and see. If my 10 minutes talking with her is any indication, we're going to love the people and island.

Galapagos day 1 - here we go!