90 Days In Ecuador: Last Days on the Islands

Last Saturday, about an hour and a half after the tsunami warning was called off, out of bravery or stupidity, eight of us got on a super dodgy boat and headed out into the Pacific. (The motor kept dying and someone literally held the wires together for a good part of the 3hr. journey).

In any case, we made it to Isabela and very quickly realized why everyone loves this island. There are way less people which also means way less tacky tourist shops, and we got a hostal right on the georgeous 2km long beach. Went for a sunset swim the night we got there and watched one of the most spectacular sunsets I´ve ever seen. Did a volcano hike the next day to see the second largest volcano crater in the world. We got really like with a perfectly clear morning so we had quite a good view. A short tour the next day, to see loads of marine iguanas nesting, frigate birds, and penguins! (No penguins on San Cristobal or Santa Cruz so this was exciting). We also went on a (successful) flamingo search. An excellent trip.

This is my last weekend on the islands, I go back to Quito on Wednesday. I did another snorkel tour today, the best one yet. We saw loads of reef sharks (it was impossible to count, but I would guess there were at least 30). Also about a dozen spotted eagle rays swimming by. And the usual sea turtles, parrot fish, puffer fish, etc. Definitley one of the most amazing things I´ve done.

I can´t upload my own photos, but here are a few I´ve stolen from another volunteer...

Post-tsunami evacuation. I think all of the town´s vehicles were called in to help with transport, so we rode back in this dump truck.