Aaaah! Well, I'm making sure I make good use of my time here in the islands, getting out and seeing as much as I can!! This past weekend I went with Maita (the gal from Spain who lives with me in the volunteer house) to San Cristobal Island. Que divertido!!
We left work early on Friday afternoon and took the 2pm boat to san Cristobal, where we met up with Paco (Maita's friend from Madrid) and his mate Alejandro.
Saturday morning, Maita and I rented some bicis (bicycles) and rode to several different spots on San Cristobal... we went to El Junco which is an old volcano with a lake in the crater, and then to Puerto Chino beach, where we swam against the strong waves to go turtle watching, and were then promptly eaten by horseflies upon exiting the water... joder!!!
Straight off the boat, we went to a beach in town to watch the sundown with the lobos (sea lions). I'm finding that the sea lions here are a bit like cows in India... they're everywhere!! (and, like the cows, you have to give them the right of way at all times!) Apparently the locals here in San Cristobal find them to be a bit of a pest... Anyways, afterwards we took in a bit of dinner and then hit the local waterfront bar for the happy hour specials of rum and passionfruit juice!
Saturday morning, Maita and I rented some bicis (bicycles) and rode to several different spots on San Cristobal... we went to El Junco which is an old volcano with a lake in the crater, and then to Puerto Chino beach, where we swam against the strong waves to go turtle watching, and were then promptly eaten by horseflies upon exiting the water... joder!!! 
Since the road to Puerto Chino was mostly downhill, and we hadn't eaten lunch, we hitched a ride uphill with a local family at the beach in the back of their truck to La Galapaguera to see the tortoise refuge and breeding center. OK, that was enough for the daytime! Maita and I found a roadside stall selling empanadas and corviches (tasty deep fried green banana dough filled with fish and served with spicy fresh salsa), and then enjoyed enormous fresh milkshakes of banana, passionfruit and papaya.... oh yummy!
That evening, rather than going back to the bar for happy hour, Maita, Alejando, Paco and I got a bottle of rum and went to the harbour were we had a few drinks, played a hilarious game of "film charades" aka, guess that film that the person is acting out (no talking allowed). And then we all crowded in to the local nightclub (which in a town of 8000 people was surprisingly hip!) called Iguana Rock to dance salsa until the wee hours of the morning...!
Sunday morning was a bit rough, but more for Maita then myself... we were off on a snorkel tour of Isla Lobos and Leon Dormido (Sleeping Lion). Isla Lobos was fantastic as we went swimming with sealions who would come right up to your face! The large male took particular interest in my underwater camera, and tried to put it in his mouth (I have a photo of bubbles and teeth, which I'm guessing is all I managed to get out of the encounter...). A large school of sardines had gathered under our boat for protection, and so we could watch the blue-footed boobies dive practically right next to in the water us to catch a little fish....!
Next, off to Leon Dormido! The water was quite chilly, even in the short-sleeved/legged wetsuits! But we were graced with the prescence of turtles, and deep down at the bottom of the channel was about 30 young sharks! Since the visibility was less than stellar, you could only see faint outlines unless you dived down about 20ft.... phew, I was out of breath!
Maita and I were quite tired, but when we arrived back in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristobal's town), we headed straight off to "La Loberia" which is a sea lion rookery, but also a great place to view red- and blue-footed boobies (the birds!!)
However, we arrived at nearly 5 pm, the sun is gone at 6pm sharpish, the bird viewing point was nearly a 1/2 hr hike away, and one of the bug bites from Puerto Chino had swollen up on my foot so badly that I required a bit of field surgery on the beach! Needless to say, we didn't make it to see the birdies, but we saw some incredible views of lava-rock strewn beaches being pumeled by frothy blue waves under a incoming stormy sky, it was breath-taking. I could have stared out on that scene forever....
Well, yes. As all good things must come to an end, so did this. Monday morning, Maita and I caught the 7am boat back to Puerto Ayora to head back to work....
