Floreana Island

Monday we headed to Floreana Island. Someone was supposed to meet us at our house at seven thirty, which ended up translating into 7:45am Ecuadorian time. We walked to the dock and got on a boat. The boat ride was about 2 hours. The water was ridiculously choppy. I have never been on a boat ride as crazy as this one. About 25 minutes into it, the girl across from us blew chunks all over herself, and instead of moving to the back, to get sick over the edge she just sat there and made a mess all over herself and the boat. The smell was horrific, but it was good practice for mouth breathing - a very handy skill to employ as a physician. About ten minutes after her bout of vomiting, her father started dry heaving. It was a mess. Anyway, we were all fine. When we arrived at the island we went snorkeling. IT WAS AMAZING! We were swimming with tropical fish, sea turtles, and sea lions. The turtles were the best part! The water was cold, but our wetsuits made it bearable. After snorkeling, we took a sketchy gravel road to a trailhead. The twenty minute ride was bumpy and slow, but the hike as pretty cool. We saw some giant tortoises, a fresh water spring (very rare in the islands), and some caves that were thought to have been used by pirates. After the short hike, we headed back to the pier for lunch. The lunch was good, but not overly filling. After lunch, we went back to the boat and went looking for masked boobies and penguins. We found both! It was pretty sweet. The ride back was much less eventful. No vomiting. :-)

Upon our arrival in Puerto Ayora, we went to the grocery store and bought supplies for dinner. After finding everything we needed, we returned home, made cocktails, turned on some Spanish hip hop and cooked pasta with veggies. It was delicious! After dinner, Jen and I went out to see if anything was happening on the bar scene. IT WAS DEAD. So we got some ice cream and came home to watch the Incredibles with Rachel. Tomorrow we are heading back to the beach and checking out some lava caves!