island fever

After breakfast this morning we submerged ourselves into nearly blood temperature sea for a 3 hour surf, dragged our sunburnt hides back down the beach to the protection of midday shade. Heading out again in the afternoon for more ocean experiences of different colour fishes and turtles, perhaps a seafood dinner with a glass of wine and a mojito to finish before bed and doing it all again tomorrow. If this is island fever, then we truly are very sick.

Land ahoy! Touch down at Baltra off Santa Cruz island.

After leaving SA we stopped over off in Zurich to get rid of unnecessary wedding clothes and collect our snowboards (for later in our journey). Our next stop was at Mark and Rebecca's in Huntington Beach, LA where we enjoyed a couple of days of good surf, air dried steaks, martinis and mexican food before crossing the equator once more.

Waxing up the quiver at Huntington: our boards for the islands. 

Since its not possible to fly directly to Galapagos, we decided to stopover in Quito, as it is a world heritage site and boasts the second highest airport at 2850m! Our visit happened to coincide with the celebration of foundation day of the city, which meant the city was swarming with festivities, fruit stands and street markets. We walked through the city and eventually made it up the hill to the Madonna statue. 

The 45m high statue of Madonna was well worth the walk.

And the view back of the colourful Quito basin is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes.

The next morning we jumped on our plane to the Galapagos. The first sight of the hypnotic turquoise water washed all the hours of travel away in a second.
Since Santa Cruz is more developed than the other islands, it is more of a transit island for us. But before moving on to Isabela we did some cool exploring.

Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island, although more commercial, is still very beautiful. 

The land iguana was almost extinct in 1978 (only 100 left). Breeding in captivity at the Charles Darwin center an reintroduction to the islands has saved it.

Heading out to explore the island.

The deep Las Grietas ravine is filled with sea water and tropical fish. 

Salt pan surrounded by typical cactus vegetation.

It's lobster season. This pair, drowned in garlic, were enjoyed at a local street restaurant. 

But it is in Isabela where time really starts to slow down and the groove and rhythm of the Galapagos sink beneath your skin.
Every morning begins with a comprehensive smearing of sunblock, and every evening aftersun. The sun is remorseless. There is wildlife everywhere and you constantly stumble across lizards, crabs, iguanas, sea lions and birds. Daily activities include surfing, snorkeling and hanging on the beach. Delicious cerviche (a raw seafood soup) for lunch, and the end of each day is celebrated with some exciting local meal. Yes, if this is island fever, then we truly are very sick.

To get to the surf spot down the beach you choose between a 30min walk, 15min run or a 5min taxi ride. No matter how you get there, you always walk back.

Snorkeling in the mangrove lagoon right next to the docks we saw 2 beautiful  turtles.

The view from one of the beach bars, a great place for a cold beer to wash down the sunset.