A New Era

First of all, I would be amiss if I did not start this entry by sharing my joy and excitement over yesterday´s inauguration of Barack Obama. President Obama - it sounds a bit funny after hearing about President Bush for so long, doesn´t it? But of course it´s so refreshing, and I am ready to see what he can do. Unfortunately, I missed his speech when all the cable on Santa Cruz Island cut out a few minutes into it. But it was dubbed over in Spanish anyway, so I was already missing a lot of the pizazz. No matter - I will watch it later when I´m back in mainland Ecuador with a faster internet connection.

I have officially ceased living the life of your typical backpacker and have lapsed into the easy day to day routine of those fortunate enough to spend an extended period of time in the Galapagos. Angela, a girlfriend from college who I have been here with, met an amazing chef in Quito who manages a beautiful restaurant here. We have been fortunate enough to crash on his couch since we got back from spending a few nights on another island, Isabella, a few hours boat ride away. Before that we were on our boat cruise. Unfortunately, Angela takes off tomorrow and we lost Rebekka on Sunday, but I suppose I´m ready to revert back to solo traveling mode. It has been refreshing to have companions though - it really does make for a whole different kind of traveling.

How do I even begin to tell you about what I´ve seen and experienced here? There´s just so much. The highlight has probably been snorkeling with sea lions and sharks. The sea lions love to play and shoot right by you at very close range. I´ve also seen giant sea turtles, rays, tons of fish, penguins, fur seals, a million birds and marine iguanas which are only found in the Galapagos. The boat tour was great because we got to visit a bunch of islands in a short amount of time. I was initially proud of myself for not getting sea sick (I´m very prone to motion sickness) thereby proving that I might be able to indulge a recent whim of mine to live on a boat. Sadly, it seems I only do well on very calm seas, since on the extremely bumpy ride (on a smaller boat) to Isabella I threw up the whole time.

It was worth the trip though. I have never seen so many stars in a sky so clear on a white beach so empty. The streets aren´t even paved - they´re still sand. I have never spent an extended amount of time around beaches you would want to swim in, but here I float around in the warm ocean every day. I walk a lot, eat ice cream and fresh pineapple every day and have probably eaten more shrimp in the past week than I had previously had throughout my entire life. I feel like I´m settling in, which would be nice except that I am also getting anxious about getting back on the road.

It is frustrating that it has been so long since my first Galapagos entry because it is not a general summary I want to give you, but rather soundbites of moments and emotions. I am storing up quite a collection of little stories which I suppose you will have to ask me about when I return. One of the most recent observations is how I´ve realized that my level of fluency is not going to end up as good as it was after I studied in Spain unless I spend more time with locals. I discovered this when at a party with a bunch of Galapageños only speaking Spanish and I couldn´t understand everything. It´s not enough to be in a Spanish speaking country. One must begin to live, talk, think and breathe the language - total immersion - before it truly becomes second nature.

Damn, I am so lucky to be here. I am even more grateful that I still have money left to travel after this expensive side trip. But I´ll tell you - my skin has never seen so much sun and salt water. I walk over lava (not to be confused with magma) all day in flip-flops and drink a ton of fruit juice. My only problem is too much free time and that I can apparently still get a sunburn after applying SPF 70 ¨Babyface¨sunblock twice. What a life, eh? Tonight Angela and I will take a water taxi over to the restaurant of our friend so that we might indulge in a gourmet dinner and cocktails. I have to get out of here before I get sucked in. But in the end I suppose I would eventually get restless - one can only spend so many days relaxing in paradise before craving the excitement of a rougher life, the life on the road.

Note: I will have to wait to add pictures until I get back to the mainland because the internet connection here is just too slow. Also, for additional stories about my time in the Galapagos you can check out my friend Angela´s blog.