Galapagos (11) – San Cristobal Island (3)

Thursday 21/06

Vlog by Isabelle: see below.

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By me:

Isabelle and I wake up early (7am) to go and see the sea lions on the beaches. We love this spectacle and we want to enjoy it on our last day in the Galapagos. Moreover, I’d like to take “again” the pictures that I didn’t take yesterday…

We go to the nearby Playa de Oro with Ludivine and then we go and buy some pastries that Ludivine brings back to her sister and brother in the hotel.

Isabelle and I continue to Punta Carola where we are alone on the beach, with the dozens sea lions. It’s great to be able to observe them from so close!

We go and visit the Interpretation Centre, which explains the history and significance of the Galápagos. The exhibits deal with the biology, geology and human history of the islands. It’s interesting. I like the visual explanation about the finches and the theory of evolution. The secrets of evolution were indeed revealed to us upon observing these small birds. Thousands of years ago, species of finch established in Galapagos. This pioneer population, upon finding different environments and different types of food, evolved into 13 species. The forms of their beaks are the most visible result of this adaptation. See also the (below) picture ‘Each beak functions as a tool’.

When we come back in the hotel, the weather gets cloudy. We decide to stay in the hotel and to put the kids to work. I continue preparing our stay in LA. But the internet is really bad.

We stay in the hotel until 1:30pm.

We leave to Playa La Loberia. Before, we buy some empanadas (chicken and cheese) and ham and cheese croissants, which we eat in our usual bakery. Not great.

We take a taxi until the beach. We don’t go into the water. Would we be “satiated”; would we have enough? Probably. There are, as usual, sea lions on the beach and in the water. One is playing with our feet when we put them in the sea…

We don’t stay much (from 3pm to 4:30pm). We also take a taxi to go back (we jump at the back of his pickup).

When we come back, Isabelle and the kids go to the hostel of the Canadian family (the one we met on the cruise in Chile) who arrived yesterday on San Cristobal. I join them 2 hours later, around 7:45pm. The kids had fun and Isabelle was happy to chat with Carolyn and Patrick. I stayed in the hotel to continue the preparation of LA (including the visit to the many Poke Bowls outlets). It’s quite exciting to put on the programmes names that are so familiar to us, such as Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Boulevard (with its Walk of Fame)… I can’t wait! I also ordered a new battery for my laptop, to be delivered in LA (at Anuraag’s place).

The kids and Isabelle ate pancakes with our Canadian friends so they aren’t really hungry. Jules and Florence go back to the hotel while Isabelle, Ludivine and I eat some sushi rolls in a restaurant near our hotel. Nice dinner for the last evening in the Galapagos. Tomorrow, we fly to LA (via Guayaquil, Quito and… Lima!). The US will already be our last country! Amazing… We love traveling but I can feel also that the kids are very keen to settle in Belgium (Isabelle and I are more “circumspect” about the installation in Belgium…).

 

Friday 22/06 (1/2)

Travel day today: our first flight of the day is at 12:30pm.

Breakfast on the terrace of the hotel. The location is nice: right on the pier (‘malecón’), with a nice view of the port. Ludivine goes and buy bread in our usual bakery (the bread that they serve with the breakfast in the hotel is really not good).

We then pack our bags.

We walk a bit on the pier to see the sea lions for the last time and also to buy a magnet for Florence and Jules, whose collections are getting bigger.

We go to the airport (5′ drive) around 11am. We have 4 flights on the programme today: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno – Guayaquil, Guayaquil – Quito, Quito – Lima and finally Lima – Los Angeles…

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