Well, every day outdid the previous day if that were at all possible. We are all back in Quito now but have wonderful memories of our special time in Galapagos.
On our final days, we hiked 18 km to the culdara of a volcano which recently erupted in 2005 and walked over arid, lifeless red and black lava fields, the views were spectacular from the top and we could see other peaks and islands. The following day we were taken to see some sleeping reef sharks in an enclosed chasm where they actually sleep, still, they do not have to keep moving like other sharks. Then we saw the marine iguana breeding grounds, a carpet of iguanas... but after that we snorkled a similar 1m wide chasm which was about 4 meters deep in single file in the hope to see sharks and we were not allowed to use flippers.... boy did we see sharks, there were at least 20 of them about 1.5m long all under us, sleeping and swimming, sometimes in groups of 3. They got so close i could have touched them but was holding my breath as was just so scared and fascinated. The water was a bit churned up so hard to see and a sea lion kept swimming under us. We got to the end of the chasm and Tim our guide said, Shit... that was bloody scary... he had done that swim dozens of times and cannot recall such a close encounter with so many sharks... we all got a buzz out of that and snorkeld away. Then we went into open sea and swam with a large sea turtle for a while while he was feeding and he let us come real close and hover above him. The wildlife has no fear of us humans.
The next day we went to the Charles Darwin research centre where they breed tortoises from all the islands and went to the national park to see some big ones roaming in the wild. Then we ventured into a large lava tunnel where the lava cools from the outside and the magma flows out to sea. It was like a caving adventure. After that we walked to an amazing lagoon and kyaked and swam and spotted more reef sharks and turtles and some more rays swimming in a group. Our final dinner was great, I chose tuna steak but there was a choice of prawns, lobster and beef. All served on a sizzling lava rock. that was fantastic. The group of people all got on really well. I just came back from a dinner for my friend Annas birthday but now i am sick again, this time tummy trouble so they are kicking on while I go to bed - lucky ol me.
All in all an amazing experience. We were so sad to leave and our guides got such a big hug from us all, they were unbelievable and we were so lucky to see so many aspects of these magical islands. I feel priviledged... until next time... c yas all.
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