We
got to the Quito airport very early for our flight to Baltra and those hours
that we had in the airport were completely filled with confusion; no one knew
what was going on for most of it. We made it to our gate with only 15 minutes
to spare, though we had arrived more than 2.5 hours before our plane was to
leave.
We
arrived in Baltra and I am taken aback by how subtle the heat was but the
intensity of the sun’s rays was evident and the air was dry. Mostly tourists
fill the line as we wait to go through customs. Everyone gets his or her bags
and we prepare for our snorkeling trip. As we are rearranging our gear, we
discover that the airport is closing because a bomb from WWII has been discovered
and the bomb is going to be disposed of by blowing it up on Baltra. It is
surprising how quickly action is taken though it seems this bomb has only just
been found and also by the method. It seems like a bunch of old kids having
some fun with explosives; the island attitude, we have truly arrived.
The
snorkel trip was fantastic. The first place we went we saw white tipped sharks,
many sea lions, and giant parrotfish. At the second site, there was a strong
current that prevented us from getting to where Rene, our guide, intends us to
go. The water was so turbid that we could not actually see anything, though
some people say that they saw manta rays swimming deep in the water. After a
few minutes of everyone struggling to stay in the same spot, the boat came over
and picked all of us up. It has been a long day and the rolling of the sea finally
started to get to me.
We
arrived in Puerto Ayora dripping from our snorkel excursion but filled with
anticipation for exploring a new place. We arrived at Hotel Verde Azul and
prepare for dinner. We walked to Galapagos People Inc. where we meet up with
Rene, a friend of Sarah who is our guide for the orientation days, who is going
to take us to the local dinner spot.
We
were sitting at tables in the middle of a blocked off road, with restaurants on
either side. There were a couple of dogs wandering around looking for handouts
but they mostly move from table to table without success. We remained sitting
for a while after everyone has finished eating, talking and just taking in the
beauty and foreignness of this new place. We began to walk back but get
sidetracked along a boardwalk over the bay. The sky is clear and beautiful.
Looking out beyond the bay is complete darkness. It is strange being surrounded
by quiet and darkness after living in Miami for so long.
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