As you know, I’m planning on selling everything I own to travel indefinitely. Part of that process is getting rid of all the stuff I’ve accumulated over the years.  I have an entire one-car garage full of boxes, a large bookcase with tons of books, 2 small closets with various items, and some furniture items.  I’ve decided to divide it into a three different categories: Sell, Keep, and Donate/Giveaway.

I’ve been pretty busy the past few weeks dealing with the relaunch of Where is Jenny and the upcoming launch of Pirata Design on top of my normal client work. This means I haven’t really gotten around to selling anything yet.  Given that I’m 4 months away from leaving, I think I should really start to get on that.  Part of me feels like I’m procrastinating because that is the one thing that would make this lifestyle change start to feel very real. After this is all said and done, I’m going to have nothing to my name besides what’s on my back.

A million thoughts race through my head; What if it doesn’t work out, then what? What if I need these things again when I come back? I’ll have nothing to come back to. It’ll be like I’ve just left my parents house to live on my own and I have to refurnish and buy everything. It’ll suck. Then again, I think maybe I’ll find the place I really want to live, get a place there, and furnish it how I’ve always wanted to. It’ll be like working with a blank canvas.

What if my dogs don’t remember me or don’t want to come back to me? I’m already really upset about deciding where to place them. It would break my heart to find that they moved past me, but I’d know they’d be happy. It would really upset me to lose Zulu because she is the best dog I have ever had. Maybe, I find the place of my dreams with a large yard on the coast, just like Zulu and Kibu would love to play in.

Zulu resting on the bed

What if I decide it’s not right for me? How could I not know this is the right decision? I’ve been dreaming of doing this with every waking thought for 10-years. I’ve planned so many life scenarios out in my head involving the nomadic lifestyle for just as long. I’ve taken two extended trips before and had the happiest times of my life.  During the 5-month backing trip through South America in 2008-2009, I almost didn’t come back home to Curtis (my boyfriend of 3-years at the time). I almost didn’t get on the plane to come back home because I knew in my heart that this is what I was meant to be doing in this life.  I knew that getting on that plane would lead me back to an ordinary life and I couldn’t stand the thought of that. I didn’t want to ditch Curtis like that though. I really did love him.

I feel like selling my items would make my dream become very real.  That not only excites me, but also terrifies me. All my other trips, I had something to come back to. If this doesn’t work out, I don’t have anything… No apartment, no security net, no nothing.

I do however love the idea of being a minimalist. When I came back from South America I really realized how much crap everyone has including myself.  I couldn’t deal with it and wanted to get rid of it all. When you carry everything you need on your back for 5-months, you quickly learn what is necessary and what isn’t.  I couldn’t relate with people who were consumerists and bought a bunch of stuff, just because. I’m excited to become a minimalist and only have what’s necessary. It means I care more about experience and having a good life than what items I’m able to afford. I let my experiences define who I am.

I have to let go of my fears and run full throttle into my new lifestyle. I have to quit procrastinating the inevitable and decide to make the life I’ve always wanted to have become a reality.

It’s also funny how when you decide to do something epic, everything starts to fall into place for it to happen. That’s the universe telling you, you’ve made the right choice. That is what the Alchemist (My favorite book) would say, at least.

Mt Yasur Explodes into the night sky - Vanuatu Volunteer Trip 2006

                          

Since I’m practicing the art of not planning for this upcoming RTW trip I haven’t yet decided where exactly I’m going to go. However, I have a rough idea of where I think I want to go come January. First off, I want to take a road trip through the United States to see some of the things I haven’t seen yet and to skate the best skate parks it has to offer. I’ll go from Texas to California to Vancouver, Canada and somewhere in between hit Colorado and Salt Lake City which aren’t exactly on the way.  I’ve found that Chris Guillebeau is going to have the World Domination Summit in Portland, Oregon and if things work out I’ll hit up that conference. Then in the summer the TBEX 11 conference is going to be in Vancouver, Canada which I’ll hit up as well.

I haven’t planned anything from where I’m going to stay, what parks I’m hitting, or even what cities I’ll be going to. I’m just going to take it day by day as I travel around.

After I’m done with my USA tour I’ll head back to Houston for a few weeks and then… Wherever the wind blows me. Right now, I’m thinking it’s going to be

1. Central America – to finish up my Spanish studies and get fully fluent.

2. France – To visit my nephews, tour around Europe, and learn French.

3. Asia – It’s calling my name.

                          

I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. I had always told Curtis (my ex-boyfriend) that he was the only reason I was in the States and if we ever found ourselves not together, that I’d leave to travel the world. When we broke up I felt like I had to live up to that statement.  I knew for a long time that it was what I was meant to do. I just didn’t expect us to break-up so the whole RTW trip really came out of nowhere.

Curtis with Zulu

I had about 6-months to figure everything out and 2 of those months have gone by already.  I’ve got to sell everything, get my dogs taken care of, talk with my doctors to figure out a plan of action (I require constant medical care for an injury I sustained in a car accident), and decide where I want to go.  It’s now 4-months until my departure date and only one of those items really concerns me. I don’t care about letting go of my things; I can always get more should I decide I want that life back.

Snuggle with Zulu

When my dog Buffy died I felt empty, like there was a void in my heart. I had Buffy since I was 5-years old and her passing was very difficult for me. I was 22-years old and didn’t really know life without a little dog.  I really wanted a dog so 6-months after her passing I found Kibu. Kibu is a half poodle, half Papillion mix.  I’m not a big fan of poodles, but I responded to an ad in the paper and decided to see what she was like.  She was the cutest thing ever and I knew I had to have her. Kibu is the smartest dog I’ve ever known; Sometimes I swear there is a little human in there.

Kibu at Watch, like she always is.

Zulu (right) with her best-friend Katy (left)

When Curtis and I got together we decided on a whim to get her a sister.  We ended up back at the breeders and got her niece, Zulu. Zulu is the sweetest most laidback dog ever. I guess since I was planning a life with Curtis, I didn’t think about long-term travel and the implications of another dog at the time. However, I don’t really regret getting Zulu because she’s enriched my life in so many ways. Our plan was to take off every few years for 6 months to a year and his parents would take care of them while we were gone. Now that plans changed things are different.  He can’t take the dogs since he’s a pilot and is gone frequently. Even though the original agreement was that he would get Kibu and I would get Zulu, neither of us can bear to separate them.  They are sisters and they really love each other. Every day for about an hour they play by running around the house and attacking each other.  Kibu takes the older sibling role seriously and looks after Zulu.

Kibu and Zulu playing as Katy watches and tries not to get trampled

I know that I would be extremely unhappy if I stayed here in the States for my dogs. Times change. At one point I saw myself in the whole domestic role, but now I don’t. They are 3 and 6 so they still have plenty of life left. I talked to my parents about taking them. I know that my parents, especially my dad, would give them lots of love and the attention that they deserve. My mom however has put the gauntlet down and told me she doesn’t want them. She then went on to lecture me and said things to make me feel really guilty and bad about the whole ordeal. It’s not like my heart was already hurting or anything… Gee, thanks mom for understanding and helping me feel better.

Sleeping with the dogs at Tammy's.

My heart cried that day.  I love these dogs more than anything and I want them to go to a place that makes them happy, but at the same time understands my situation.

It just so happens that earlier in the day Curtis had told me that his mom had asked to take care of them.  She asked. He didn’t say anything to her. She wants them, she loves my dogs and has taken care of them before when I went to South America. That is when Curtis and I were together though. I just think it would be weird to show up 2 years (or whenever it is I come back) later and want my dogs back. Would it be better to relinquish them to her? They’d get to see Curtis when he visited.  I could visit but since they live in the middle of nowhere it would be weird to stay there.

Zulu taunting Kibu from the bed.

I know that Kibu would be happy wherever she was. She adapts well and makes herself at home wherever she is.  The second she sees me she’ll come running to jump in my arms and lick my face to death.  When I came back home from South America, she did just that.  Zulu however, is depressed without me. I know this. It breaks my heart. Last time she was with Tammy she was so depressed they kept taking her to the vet. The day I came home to pick her up she didn’t rush up to see me like Kibu. She ran to Tammy instead and it broke my heart to pieces. She wasn’t sure if I was here to be with her or only to say hello and abandon her again. She was very reluctant to give me her heart again or any sort of attention. On the drive back when she realized we were going back home, she pee’d on my head in the hotel to tell me how she felt about the whole ordeal.  I just want to be happy and I want Zulu to be happy.  It sucks that I’m Zulu’s happiness.  The whole thing breaks my heart into pieces.  That little dog has stolen my heart.

Tammy (Curtis’ mom) wants to take the dogs not only because she cares about both Curtis and I, but because she also loves my dogs. She would do anything to help either of us achieve our dreams no matter what those dreams are and what she thinks of them. I’d rather have my dogs go to a home that wants them, than force them on someone who takes them on as a burden.

EDIT: My parents went to see the movie Eat, Pray, Love and I think it really helped them understand what it is I want to do and why I want to do it. They’ve decided that they would take on the burden of my dogs and make a lifestyle change for me so that I could be free to do as I please. I think that’s awesome and it makes me really happy.

So I’m thinking… Should I give them to my parents? Should I let Tammy take care of them with the premise I can get them back at any time? Would it be better for my dogs to just give them to her? Should I give them to my parents with the notion that Tammy will take them at any time if they become too much? My heart is breaking just thinking about it.

Since I made my decision to travel I’ve cherished every moment I’ve had with them. It really made me realize how I should appreciate the things I have in my life, because you never know when they will be gone.

Taking Zulu home after my 5-month backpacking adventure.

                          

I accidentally deleted my database in the move to WordPress in the redesign.  The site is not yet complete, so bear with me as the blog continues to be developed. Since I deleted the database I  will have to re-upload my 200+ stories from my travels around the world (along with ALL of the photos!) so that may take a few weeks to get everything back up. Thanks to everyone at Pecha Kucha that enjoyed my speech here in Houston! Boo Yah.

If you haven’t already please “Like” my new Where is Jenny? FaceBook fan page! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Where-Is-Jenny/134076163304125?ref=sgm

                          

I had always dreamed of traveling to far away places and living an adventurous unconventional life, far from the safe traditional upbringings of my childhood.  I marched to the beat of my own drum and was always being reprimanded for my creative and adventurous outlook on life.  I was worked like putty to fit into a mold already made for me since the day I was born. “Girls don’t do that” and “Your going to break your neck” are phrases that repeatedly haunted my childhood.   I was expected and forced to follow a path that had been laid out before me.  Because of the backlash and disappointment I always received I felt an extreme sense of guilt to not do what was expected of me.  It would have been easy to fall into that path, but I would be lifeless, miserable, and unhappy.  I’d be sitting in a cubicle trying to climb the corporate ladder and play office politics while simultaneously working towards the allure of the retirement carrot placed in front of me.  Is this what life is supposed to be like?  Work your entire life and give up the best years of your life for a time that is not fully guaranteed.  Then, if that retirement time does come your body is already well past its prime both mentally and physically and you likely will be incapable of living your dream.  It just never made sense to me.

When I graduated college I came to a point where I needed to decide where I wanted to go career wise.  I visited an ad agency in town to interview their staff and see the logistics of how this type of job worked.  I left disgusted.  I didn’t like what I saw.  I was passionate about design and being creative, but didn’t see this as a viable option for me.  ‘What now?’ I thought while feeling lost.

A design contest I had entered and won got me an entry into a student conference in town.  It was there a speaker talked about how he started his business straight out of college despite the naysayers.   It was like a light bulb went off in my head… if he could do it, so could I. I made a leap of faith, without any career experience, and started working as an independent graphic designer. My friends, family, and college career services all expressed deep concern for my well-being and worked hard to persuade me otherwise.  I had already made up my mind though.  It was done.

I was told I would fail, never be successful, and should quit being ridiculous and get a real job.  Actually, I’m still told that I should get a real job.  Although the first few years were rough I eventually made it.  I put in a lot of hard work and it paid off.  I made a good living and was able to live out whatever dreams I had at the time.  I was an amateur motocross racer backed by sponsors, volunteered in Vanuatu, traveled throughout the States, and backpacked South America for 5-months.  Even in my success the people I wanted to be most proud of me weren’t.  In fact, they were disappointed.  I could always see it in their faces and hear it in their voices.  The way they talked about me and the way they talked about others were completely different.  It broke and continues to break my heart.  They never said this unconventional path was easy.  Despite being criticized for every little thing I did  and being the black sheep of my family I continued on my path.  After all, it’s my life. Had I listened to them I wouldn’t have had any of the amazing adventures I’ve had thus far such as swimming with sea lions in the Galapagos, finding the Lost City in Colombia, or watching a volcano explode.

My business was doing well and I had just returned from my volunteer trip in Vanuatu. It was my first time out of the country and opened up my eyes to the world.  It was the happiest time of my life and I instantly knew I wanted to travel and learn more about the world.  I was reading many travel blogs and people on around the world adventures and was inspired to do the same.  I began to prepare for and plan my 3-year trip around the world.  I started www.whereisjenny.com and documented the process.  Then entered a boy named Curtis.  He had just returned from a trip backpacking in Europe with his dad and expressed similar interests.  We fell in love and my life changed.  I put my RTW (Around the World) trip on hold and began building life with him.  We settled into a routine and always talked about one day taking off to travel.  He was a pilot and was always on the road. I envied that.   One day, my wanderlust grew too strong and I had to take a trip myself.  We came to the conclusion that I would take a solo 5-month trip through South America (the 1^st leg of my planned 3-year RTW) and maintain a long-distance relationship.  Upon my return we would save up for several years and take off for 6-months to 1 year to backpack every continent in the world throughout our lives together.

When I returned home from South America I was a changed person.  I really struggled to fit back into routine and start this life again.  I had found out what I wanted and had a renewed passion for it.  After a year of routine a situation popped up that Curtis and I had to deal with.  The situation made me realize that although Curtis and I were great together and we had an amazing relationship we wanted different things out of life.  If I stayed with him, I could see myself settling into a routine and life I didn’t necessarily want.  A quote popped up that said, “Life is too short to make compromises,” and it was then I decided to leave the relationship.  Since Curtis was the only reason I was living in Houston I knew it was time to open up the next chapter in my life.  My dream of traveling the world would become a reality.  I stopped thinking about what I should be doing and started thinking about the things I wanted to be doing.  This all leads up to the moment I’m in now.  I’ve decided to sell everything I own and leave for the ultimate adventure around the world.  Where will I start? Where will I go? How long will I be gone? These are all questions I don’t have answers for just yet.  We’ll just see where the wind takes me.

Visit my site, read my adventures, and watch me go through this life changing process.  I’ll be working hard on my businesses prepping them for full on location independent working and ending this chapter of my life here in Houston as I sell all my belongings. Leave everything behind and come with me.

                          

Where is Jenny has been a source for my thoughts, travel experiences, and trip planning since early 2006.  It has gone through many phases since then including a bad decision to move to Drupal CMS.  Drupal (and the developer that built it) left much to be desired with a lack of functionality and user friendliness. I’ve made the decision to move back to wordpress and put Where is Jenny back on the map.  Where did all the blog entries go? Well, in the move I accidentally deleted the database! Oops! Over the next few weeks I’ll re-upload my old stories, so come reminisce with me.

I’ve recently decided to begin a new life. I’ve left my boyfriend, I’m giving up my dogs, and I’m selling all of my possessions to travel the world indefinitely. To celebrate this new lease on life I’ve decided to overhaul the Where is Jenny brand.  Not only does it look different and have better functionality it has a new editorial direction. It will continue to host my travel stories along with information and resources on around the world travel, backpacking, and location independent working.

Where is Jenny is back and bolder than ever! The theme will be completed over the next few days! Be sure to let me know what you think!

                          

Day 14:

Today we awoke at Floreana Island.  As usual we ate breakfast and headed to the island.  Floreana has a charming place called Post Office Bay where you can follow the tradition of pirates and whalers of the past.  There is a barrel where these guys left mail and every ship that passed by would look through the mail to see if they were heading to where the mail was addressed and then take it.  The tradition lives on, and you can leave a letter for a loved one in Floreana.  Hopefully, someone will deliver it personally fairly quickly.  I wrote a few post cards for my friends and families whom I had memorized addresses for.  I did not have access to my list of addresses.  The whole point is to hand-deliver the mail just like the tradition of pirates in the past.

(NOTE: The postcard I had addressed to Curtis was delivered from Oklahoma via the United States Postal System.  I’m a little pissed because the whole purpose is to follow tradition of past and hand deliver the mail for a unique experience and not just pick it up, put a stamp on it, and mail it upon your return to the states.  Why someone from Oklahoma picked up a postcard from Houston to mail is beyond me.  If your not going to participate correctly, then don’t participate!  If I wanted to mail it I would have put a stamp on it in the Galapagos and sent it via the Ecuadorian mail system. None of the other cards have been received yet.)

Anyways, we headed to a wet landing to the Floreana shore that was very difficult because the surf was strong.  Afterwards, we walked along the beach to find a path to Post Office Bay.  Our guide explained what it was and we stood there and went through the post cards.  Mika, the girl from Holland, found several cards within a few miles of where she lived.  I found no postcards near Houston, which upset me because I really wanted to participate and hand-deliver some postcards.  I managed to find a few in Texas, but none nearby or in a place I knew of. I found another card that wasn’t addressed to anyone, but spoke to me.  So I grabbed it.  It had a message to whomever was reading it about following your heart.  I wanted to keep it so that I would constantly be reminded to do so.

After spending some time sorting through the postcards we continued down the path where we visited a lava tube cave that the pirates used back in the day.  Our guide told us this island had a spot where the crew could get off the boat and play soccer, but they littered up (it is the culture in Ecuador)… our guide told us that while we went down he would go clean it up!  He warned us to bring our lights in the morning and since it was really dusty I put my large camera away in my pack to protect it.  I then headed down the steep stairs into the cave.  I am SO excited to be in a REAL pirate cave! How cool is that!?! – You all know I love pirates!

After climbing down these stairs we were led to this steep decline where there was a rope to hold on to.  We were slipping and sliding on the loose rocks down the path and hardly able to hold on with the loose rope we were given.  We finally made it to another part where we went down another ladder.  It was pitch black with only the light emitted from our headlamps and flashlights.  Once we reached the bottom and walked a bit a few of us decided to turn off all of the flashlights and see the pitch blackness of the cave.  It was extremely dusty and there was all kinds of stuff in the air floating about.  I then took a photo of us in the pitch black and caught a few people off-guard.    The area we were in was quite large and I could just imagine the pirates back in the day hanging out here.

We headed down further until we reached some water.  Two of the boys waded really far in the water, where it was quite cold and led to another path, but we opted to hang-out for a few minutes before returning back.  A few people didn’t have lights and it was difficult to walk without a light because the path was ridden with rocks, holes, and other whatnots.

We then made the trek back through the cave through the ladders and rope incline and headed out where we met our guide who was sitting there chatting with another guide. (Hey, I thought he was going to meet us on the beach where he was going to pick up the trash from the crew!?!)  We then started to head out and I saw this guy start to enter the cave with some really nice cameras (two) and I warned him of all the dust inside and told him not to bring his cameras down there.  He then, like me, put his gear up into his backpack before continuing.  We then made it back to the beach and walked down to an area where the surf was a bit calmer before proceeding.  It was a short trek total. When we arrived to the shore we saw a bunch of older people that were snorkeling near the shore because they can’t handle the current of where we were going.  They all had canes and we all cracked jokes about them. Oops.

It was now time to head back to the boat where we would get the best snorkeling of the trip so far, but it was too far to swim so we had to go by boat.  We had about 30 minutes to get ready and Stina decided not to go so I again, borrowed her underwater camera.

The boat brought us to Devil’s Crown.  It is a semicircle of rocks and one of the best diving and snorkeling sites in the Galapagos.  We then all had to jump in the water and go for it.  I wasn’t too happy about that and decided to try and slowly get down, but eventually I just had to jump.  When I got into the water I immediately saw sea turtles and tons of fish!  I was so incredibly happy about seeing sea turtles.  They were swimming majestically in the sea and I was privileged to share the ocean with them.  I then continued to swim around to see dozens and dozens of schools of fish.  It was very difficult to swim, the current was really strong and I was having a hard time, but continued on as the boat followed us around.  I then came to an area that was home to sea lions.  I was just floating there and they were swimming all around and under me.  They got SO close…. Inches away from my face! At first I was really scared, but then it was okay.  They were swimming all around me, playing with me, and copying me a little bit.  I started to blow bubbles as I went underwater and they would blow them back at me. I would twirl my body and they would do the same. It was so neat to interact with ocean wildlife in that way. Incredible.

I then needed a break because the current was really strong, the water was shallow so I stood up a bit, but then got knocked down by the water.  I decided to swim to the boat and hang out there for a bit.  It took me a bit to get my fins off as I was holding on to the boat ladder and the current knocked me off and away from the boat.  I finally got my fins in the boat and climbed up with a bunch of sea water in my mouth (yuk).  After waiting for a few minutes the captain told me to call in the rest of the crew so I did.  They slowly made there way over and we were to head to another rock that would be difficult to swim to in the current but was a few seconds by boat.  One of the crew was snorkeling with us and offered to find us a good spot.  I almost didn’t want to get in the water, but he said he saw sharks… so I jumped right in.

There were several sharks just resting on the ocean floor in this little cave quite far down.  I decided to try and dive down to get a photo.  Once I was done looking at the sharks, I swam a bit further to find sting rays and manta rays just swimming along.  It was quite amazing!

After we finished we all piled back into the boat and headed back to the ship where lunch was waiting for us (along with Stina).

After lunch we made our way to another part of the island where we had another wet landing.  We walked to an area that had fresh water and we found a few lonesome flamingos.  It wasn’t much to see and they were quite far off in the distance…

We then headed to an opening where we were near the water and we saw one Galapagos Duck.  One.  Then we headed further down the path, to a look-out that gave us a view of the freshwater lagoon.  It wasn’t much to see and we spent quite a while there before heading to the beach.  At the beach we saw tons of sea turtles in the water waiting for the females.  On the beach there were dozens and dozens of holes where the sea turtles came to lay their eggs.  The birds were flying overhead waiting for the baby turtles to hatch and eat them.  The sea turtles in the ocean were just chilling or swimming around.  Every few minutes they would poke their heads up and then pop back down.

After 25 minutes here, we returned down the path, the same way we arrived to check for more flamingos.  This island was my only chance to see penguins and there were none in the vicinity… there was an area where they hung out, but we were not allowed there by park rules.  I was pretty bummed.  I really want to see a penguin and have been obsessed with them lately.

We headed back to the boat where we took off immediately so that we would cruise during the daytime.  I decided to take a nap on-deck.  It took FOREVER to arrive back to Puerto Ayora.  We waited about an hour before dinner was served.  It was a special dinner for our last night and the captain’s birthday so we had a cake as well.  I was pretty excited.  Dinner was finally served and we ate it up… except me, it wasn’t too tasty.  My dinner mates were surprised and ate up my plate for me!  It was now time to tip the crew.  We were asked to tip about $10 per day, but none of us wanted to do so.  I tipped what I thought was fair to the crew and then to our guide… but it was pretty good considering what some other’s were tipping (less) that stayed for 8 days to my 5!

Cake was served and we all ate it up.  We had about 30 minutes to get ready before the boat would drop us off in town and we could hang-out there before returning to the boat around 11pm.  Everyone was waiting on me because I had to put my mascara on to head to town!  I wanted to dress up a bit since we weren’t hanging out on the boat…

We arrived to town and all headed as a group to a bar where they were playing 20 second clips of some 80’s music.  I was surprised at everyone who all knew the words to these old American songs!  Tetra, Stina, and I ordered Strawberry Daiquiri’s and then decided to share accommodation when we arrived back on the island tomorrow for a few days as Stina was staying an extra night and Tetra was staying until Friday.

The boys went off to play pool and then they took the 80’s music off and put this down-tempo music on that bored all of us to the point we were falling asleep.

Petra, Stina, and I decided to leave the joint and said that if anyone wanted to follow they could, but that we were heading elsewhere.  Everyone decided to follow us and we walked around not knowing what to do and settled on a restaurant where we all ordered dessert.  We hung out here, damn near falling asleep, in silence waiting until 11pm when we would be picked up.  We were all really tired.  It was almost lame.

The boat came to pick us up at 11 pm and I immediately went to bed and crashed for the night.

                          

Day 13: Today we awoke and arrived at Española island.  As usual we woke up and had breakfast and then got ready to head to the islands around 7:45 am.  We arrived and there were many crabs along the coast that scattered, as you got close.  There were sea lions and the usual crew of animals we have seen the past few days.

We then approached the Albatross where we found a couple sitting under a tree.  The Albatross is the largest bird in the Galapagos Islands and nest only on Española Island from March to early January.  The Albatross picks a mate and stays with them for life.  We watched them as they sat there and clack beaks with each other as we stood only a few feet away from them.  Their ritual begins with the male’s annual dance to reattract his mate.  The performance can take up to 5 days consisting of a series of strutting, honking, and beak fencing.  Once the pair is reacquainted they produce a single egg and share the responsibility of incubation.  The colony remains based on Española until December when the chick is fully grown.  By January most of the colony leaves the island to fish along the Humboldt Current.  Young albatross do not return to Española until their 4^th or 5^th year when they return to seek a mate.

We then came across a baby Albatross that looks completely different than the older Albatross.  It looks like a fuzzy Fraggle Rock.  We were the first ones on the island so we scared off the Albatross on the take-off area.  So they started to walk to the cliff of Punta Suárez where they would jump off the cliff to take off in flight.

We walked to Punta Suárez where we watched the 3 Albatross walk up and then jump off of the cliff into flight, just feet away from where we were standing.  The Albatross bird needs food availability in the ocean, accessible terrain for nesting and walking, and cliffs nearby for taking off.  They cannot take off any other way, they must jump off a cliff for flight.

It was definitely a highlight getting up close to these birds and watching them so closely.  We continued on the path where we came to another cliff that we sat on and watched for a while.  This part of the island takes a huge blow from the ocean as we watched the ocean crash along the rocky shore.    It is the oldest and southernmost island in the chain.  It’s remote location makes it a unique island with a large number of endemic creatures.  Secluded from the other islands wildlife on Española adapted to the island’s environment and natural resources. Over the years the island has moved further away from the hot spot on which the island was created from a shield volcano on the center of the island.  As it moved further away the volcano became extinct and erosion began to occur.

We continued on our walk to see a massive amount of marine iguanas resting on the rocky shore.  Normally marine iguanas are black in color, a camouflage making it difficult for predators to differentiate between the iguanas and black lava rocks in which they live.  On Española adult marine iguanas are brightly colored with a reddish tint except during mating season when their color changes to more of a greenish shade.

We moved on to find an area of blue-footed booties who were in mating season.  We watched as they played and did dances for each other trying to lure the other bird into him (or her).  It was quite the spectacle… we were literally a foot away watching this!

We then headed back to the boat where we made an hour-long journey to Gardner Bay.  This location is on the northeastern portion of the island and has an awesome long white sandy beach where there are colonies of sea lions, sea turtles, and inquisitive mockingbirds.

Once we arrived we were given a few hours to lounge about the boat and get ready to head to shore.  The boat would drop us off at the beach and then we could snorkel and lay about for a few hours before the boat would pick us back up for dinner.

I laid out in the sun to while others went snorkeling around the boat.  I was really tired, but forgot to put sunscreen on so my knees got a little burnt.  It was time to head ashore shortly after and we arrived on the long white sandy beach.  Stina, Dominic, Tetra, and I laid out on the beach before I finally decided to head out to the rock in the distance for good snorkeling.  I was scared.  I didn’t really want to go, but I forced myself to.

Stina let me take her underwater camera to take photos while I was snorkeling.  I stood in the water for over 30 minutes before getting the courage to go out.  The waves were a little rough and I don’t like to be out in the ocean swimming alone, but I made it to the Tortuga Rock and swam completely around it.  I had sea lions swimming all around me and playing with me.  The sea lions are very friendly. They swim around you, aim for your face, and at the last second dodge it to circle around you. They are fun to play with because they mimic your movements. I was a little too timid to really interact with them at the time. I had fish to look at, but nothing too exciting.  The waves on the other side of the rock were really harsh and I had a hard time swimming around but I finally made it.

I started my swim back to the beach and when I arrived I realized I didn’t put sun screen on the back of my legs and they were burnt.  Damnit.  I borrowed Dominic’s sunscreen which is much more powerful than my measly SPF 15 (He had 50).  We laid out on the beach and the mockingbirds would come up and jump on our feet and hands and look for food.  I still can’t get over how close we can get to these animals!

The shore boat finally came to pick us up and I ran to the shower before dinner would be served in a few minutes so that I could clean up.  I came out and we were having pizza and I was served Hawaiian.  It was made with that nasty Ecuador cheese and not mozzarella so it wasn’t very good.  I managed to eat a bit before starting to feel queasy and quit.  I could already feel it coming and asked for some seasickness meds from my table mates.

Shortly after I found myself in the toilet hurling up my dinner and we hadn’t even left yet.  I then headed on deck where I hung out until the ship was at our destination and went down below to get a proper place to sleep.

                          

Day 12:

Today I awoke at 5am when they started the motors for navigation.  I then dozed in and out of slumber until it was around 7am and time to head up to the dining room to get our grub on.  For breakfast we got a plate of mixed fruit to start along with a fresh squeezed juice and either coffee or tea.

After we finished our fruit we got a plate with an egg, a slice of weird cheese, and a slice of some kind of meat.   I ate the eggs and we sat there for a bit.  Finally, somebody asked where the bread was and they forgot to bring it up so we ended up with a nice fresh hot loaf of bread for each table.  I guess that is what the cheese and meat was for.  The cheese here in Ecuador is weird.  I don’t like it at all.  They make these really thick slices (like half an inch) and it doesn’t really have any flavor at all.  I’m not a big fan of awkward cheeses so I usually passed on it.  The texture is different as well and not my thing.

We started to head to the island around 7:45 am on Isla Santa Fé.  The islands here each have about 4-8 different names so sometimes it gets really confusing.  Each time the Galapagos was visited back in the day by the Spaniards, Ecuador, English, whomever they each gave the islands different names… I’m not sure which ones stuck but some people use one name and other’s another.  They should just pick one and run with it.

We arrived on Isla Santa Fé where the landing was dry and they brought the boat up to a dock and we had to jump off the boat onto this little narrow dock that was slippery.  There were black rocks all around us and seals just hanging out doing their thing.  There was a sea lion that we saw when we first got off the boat that was missing half of it’s body.  Our guide told us that a shark had bitten it and it was very lucky that the alpha male was allowing it to be in the colony because the blood attracts sharks.  He told us that a shark had eaten it.  Throughout the tour he showed us other scars on sea lions and told us they were from sharks and that the sea lion learned that sharks are not their friends.  (Our guide seems to know what happened to each and every animal and their brother on this tour… to the point where it’s obvious he’s making it up!)

We were told if we were lucky we would get to see a seal giving birth but that it usually happens in the early morning or late evening.  He told us that the frigit birds were waiting and looking for seal lion placenta to steal from recent births.  This area was kind of a maternity section and the male sea lion would stay around for about 3 weeks before he would be replaced by a bigger better male.  Whatever male is there is the father or step-father to all of the baby seal lions in the area and protects them.

Along the trail there are many dead sea lion babies.  Our guide tells us it is because the passengers touch the babies and they lose their scent.  They gain the oils and perfumes of the person petting them and then the mother can no longer tell what baby sea lion is hers and the baby starves to death.  I’m not sure how true that is, but it has been repeated to us every day at least 3 or 4 times along the trail.  “You know what happened here… I’ve told you before.”  “Do you know why this baby sea lion died? Why? Because somebody pet him.  That’s why! It’s not their fault.  They didn’t know.  I blame the guide.  Maybe they didn’t know. Maybe they didn’t tell them. Maybe they didn’t care.  I don’t know.”

The baby seal lion is highly protected by the mother for the first week of their life and then they are free to wander about and play with other lions.  Our guide told us you don’t want to get near a newborn sea lion because the mother is known to be highly aggressive to protect it for that one week.  They grow quite quickly and it is up to the mother how long she nurses the baby.  We saw several seals nursing some only a few weeks and up to two years old… one was almost the size of the mother it was taking the milk from.  I think the minimum is 5 months and the max is 3 years for nursing a baby seal lion.

We watched the babies play around in the shallow water and learn how to fish and swim with each other.  We were so close to nature it was incredible.  They are not scared of us at all and are very curious towards us.

Next we saw some land iguanas that were about a foot in body length plus the length of their tail. (They are much smaller than the iguanas we saw yesterday.)  This island has an over population of iguanas and a shortage of food.  One male iguana owns each cactus and owns the fruit that falls from it.  To show us this spectacle of nature our guide would throw rocks and see what the iguanas would do… their ears are very good, but their eyesight is very bad.  One iguana was confused and jumped to see what the rock was while the others laid still.  He then took a small piece of cactus fruit and threw it in the middle of this pile of about 15 iguanas.  They all jumped and started to fight for it.  A female iguana got the food and gobbled it down spikes and all.  It is very painful for the iguana to eat this way and not clean the cactus of the spikes before eating it.  She must do it otherwise the food will be stolen from her and she will not get the food that she desperately needs.

We sat and watched.  The iguanas communicate with each other by bobbing their heads up and down at each other and the male iguana after the female was finished eating started bobbing his head up and down and she ignored him for a bit and then bobbed her head a bit too.  (Granted we are only a few feet from these guys).  Then he jumped and started to attack her because she ate the fruit from his cactus tree! It was insane! Our guide told us that the iguanas that have black mouths have been eating seal poop or meat for food to survive and are very sick.  Iguanas are naturally vegetarians so to suddenly start eating meat or seal poop is not good for them and makes them sick.  There is not much the park can do about the overpopulation and the sick iguanas.  The islands are heavily affected by el niño and there was a drought two years ago that killed a lot of the cactus on the island so the land iguanas now suffer.  The iguanas are now digging at the trunk of the cactus and trying to push it over for food… this will cause food for a few weeks or a month, but then they will be left with one less cactus on the island, which hurts them even more.

The cacti on this island are very different.  They have a large tree type trunk and then they have the regular cactus flat spiked leaf with small balls of cactus fruit attached.

Next we walked over and saw a baby Swallow-tailed Gull and her parents.  The baby was tucked away under a rock and the parents were nearby.  One parent was missing who was going to get food for the baby to eat.  The parents take turns getting food and taking care of the little guy.

As we were walking our guide pointed out a bloody seal lion and a small baby and told us that she must have given birth this morning.  There were several frigate birds nearby waiting to get the sea lion placenta and were diving down to get it.  The mother sea lion will not let any animal get within 4 meters of her newborn and will do some crazy tactics if the bird tries.  The birds were testing her boundaries, but we saw no crazy actions taken. There are tons of little baby sea lions here of all ages.

We continued our walk along the trail and stopped at a little cliff where we watched some sea lions in the reject bachelor pad where they were hanging out to gain size before they could take over and become the alpha male in the maternity ward or something like that.  We sat and watched the action for 15 minutes or so.  It is a dangerous place for the sea lion because if they make a mistake it can cost them their lives in this area depending on the tide and if they jump at the wrong time on the rocky ledges.

We continued on and stopped and one by one we got to go down near a cliff and check out this baby bird that was hanging out under the ledge.  We were told to be very quiet as we went down there to take photos of it.  I was careful not to lean back or I would fall down the rocky ledge!

We continued the walk and didn’t see much more besides beautiful scenery and more iguanas, sea lions, frigit birds, and blue-footed boobies here and there.  When we were heading back to the dock we saw a hybrid iguana which there are very few of on the island and don’t live past 7 years old.  They are half marine iguana and half land iguana.  The marine iguanas were not marine when they arrived to the Galapagos Islands.  They evolved out of a need to survive and can go up to 30 feet under water to feed off of the algae in the sea.  We’ll see more marine iguana’s in the days to come.

We then headed back to the boat where our ‘snack’ was awaiting us.  Today it was popcorn! Yum.  After hanging out for a bit we then started our navigation to another part of the island, which was about an hour of motorboating.  The boat is really … really slow!

When we arrived we had about 3 hours to snorkel around the boat.  There was one area that we could not enter because it was dangerous with alpha male sea lions where they have had a few incidents in the past.  Our guide told us that a alpha male bit off part of a Chinese woman’s face or something crazy like that.

I really didn’t feel like snorkeling and wondered if we would have other chances.  The sky was cloudy and the water was cold and I didn’t have a wetsuit and the only thing I had for a swim suit were the boy swim trunks I bought and a sports bra.  Stina and I decided to go anyways and it was COLD.  She didn’t get a mask and find and tried to go without them.  Once we were in the water she decided she wanted some, and I asked one of the crew members if he would get us a pair and he said he would for $10.  Screw that… and with that we swam out.  (I had some snorkel gear that my tour agency gave me.)  She headed back to the boat shortly after we got to swimming to the area to find sea turtles.  I saw a few turtles, manta rays, and lots of fish before deciding to call it quits.  Others saw sharks, sea lions, turtles, manta rays, and other really awesome things.

I was on the boat when one of the crewmembers offered to take us out on the boat to show us the sea turtles.  I took Stina’s camera that was able to go underwater without any special housing.  It was pretty sweet.  We then started to take photos of the turtles when the German couple gave us their used up disposable underwater camera and took Stina’s from me to get a good photo of the turtle.  Off they went with the camera and we were in the boat looking into the water to see some of the sea life.  We saw some turtles and sea lions dancing in the water. It was pretty cool, but I was cold and didn’t want to get back into the water.

Upon our return many of the others were coming back from their swims.  The German couples were able to get some good photos of the sea lions and turtles and were really excited about it.

Afterwards we all got changed and ready to go ashore for a small walk around the island to see some more iguanas, sea lions, and stuff like that.

It was a wet landing so we had to wear sandals and shorts… it was cold so I opted to wear pants and roll them up.  On this island there weren’t that many iguanas, which is much different than the situation on Plazas island where there are many iguanas and not enough food… and are also very sick.  On this island there is plenty of food and not that many iguanas.  We found one hanging out by a cactus and our guide was throwing rocks again to show us how good their ears are.  He then threw some flowers because these land iguanas also like to eat flowers.  Soon as the flowers hit the ground the iguana made a beeline for those flowers and ate them quickly.  Our guide then decided to grab an entire cactus pad and throw it on the ground near the iguana.  The iguana headed towards the cactus pad and then spent a minute pulling off the thorns with his paws by scratching it.  It is much different than the other island where they race to eat it spikes and all.

After he was finished scratching off all of the spikes he started to eat the cactus.  We watched him eat for a few minutes before continuing to walk.  We saw a few mice and mockingbirds along the way.  The mockingbirds of the Galapagos are an example of an adaptive radiation.  Unlike their better-known counterparts, they do not mock the sounds of other birds and make their meal from lizards, small finches, abandoned boobie eggs, and insects.  They have virtually no fear of people and follow you out of sheer curiosity.

We continued our walk down the path and didn’t see anything else besides more mockingbirds, lava lizards, ad a few iguanas here and there.  We arrived at the beach where we were dropped off and we had about 30 minutes at the beach before pick up.

Stina, Dominic, and I chatted it up.  We witnessed 6 mockingbirds having a stand-off just a few feet from where we were.  They were chirping at each other and jumping around and they got into teams and were dancing around for quite a while. It was quite amusing to watch and I got a video of it on my little camera.  Then some seals in the background starting going at it.  They were jumping all over each other making these really loud noises and carried on and on and on as they got closer and closer to where we were.  The while they were trying to get it on, one of them took a poop.  Eww.

You gotta watch your step in these parts because there is sea lion poop everywhere and it is stinky.  Very stinky.

After watching the sea lions, mockingbirds, and other wildlife the shore boat headed over to pick us up and we went back to the boat.  After spending a few minutes cleaning up dinner was ready for us and we began to eat.  Our voyage to the next island is 6 hours so our captain has decided to take off directly after dinner.

The Italian couple had offered me some sea sickness pills and I decided to take them up on their offer.  About 30 minutes later dinner was served and I started to not feel so well.  I ate as much as I could.  Tonight was pizza and I was served Hawaiian, but it was made with that nasty Ecuadorian cheese.  Ewww.  I ate as much as I could, but all the sudden I got that taste in my mouth and I knew it was going to be bad and I excused myself from the table and ran down below.  I then puked… and puked… and puked.  And then when I thought I was done… I puked some more.  I went back up to the dinner table afterwards and played with my food until it was cleaned up and everyone headed up on deck to prepare for the long voyage ahead.

I stayed in the dinner room curled up in a ball in a corner.  Then I decided I needed something down in the room and I headed down there to go get my pillow and a few other items.  I didn’t make it more than a few seconds before I started to puke again.  It was getting worse and worse so I grabbed a bit of toilet paper and then ran up to the dining room as I was wiping puke off my face, arms, and shirt.  I then sat there and blew my nose and got all the nasty stuff off.  My piece of toilet paper wasn’t quite big enough but I said screw it and went back to my corner and fell asleep (there was no real room on the deck so I stayed in the dining room).

A few hours later I awoke to find the crew setting up their beds in the dining room.  I decided, even though the voyage was hours from being over, to head down below to go to sleep.  I should be used to the waves by now, plus there is nothing left in my stomach. I headed down below and felt a bit wheezy for a few minutes, but eventually fell asleep without problem.

                          

Day 11:

Today Yoshi awoke me at 5am trying to tell me to get up because she booked a SCUBA trip and had to be ready by 7:20 am.  I informed her that her time change was wrong and she had two hours to kill before heading to go SCUBA and to wake me up again then.  She sat in the room and read or did something while I vaguely slept.

She awoke me again this time at 7:20 and we said our good-byes.  It’s fun to meet so many great people on the road and have intimate moments together sharing space, experiences, language, laughs, and crossing cultural barriers. The sad part is you meet so many great people you’d like to continue to have in your life, but know that you likely won’t ever see them again unless by chance your paths cross again.

I got up to head to the bank to get some money and it told me I had reached my limit for the day and I couldn’t withdraw any money.  I ran into Alex on the street and he asked me if I had the money and I told him about my ATM woes.  He questioned whether I had the money and I assured him I did.  He told me to check the ATM on the other side of town because sometimes if one doesn’t work the other one will.  We agreed to meet at the office in 15 minutes. I headed over to Banco Pacifico and sure enough it worked and I was handed another $500.  I headed to Iguana Travel to meet Alex, but he wasn’t around.  I headed towards the dock where I last saw him and ran into him within a few minutes.  We then headed back to the office where I tried on some snorkel gear to bring on the Flamingo and headed out to the hostel to pick up my bags.  Alex assured me my guide would be waiting for me.

I headed to Liro Del Mar and checked out.  I left the keys at the front desk and told the girl that I would be leaving and the Japaense girl, Yoshi would be staying another night but was out for the day SCUBA diving and would pay upon her return.  (Damn my Spanish is getting good!).   I then got some breakfast and took a taxi to the bus station with all of my bags for $1.  I arrived to the bus station and was checking out the stores while I was waiting for the 9:30 bus (I missed the 9:00 one).  I turned around and the entire bus station was gone…SHIT.  I ran outside and everyone was already on the bus ready to go.  I threw my bags under the bus and jumped inside.  Apparently I didn’t realize that you had to buy a ticket inside and they never asked for it so I got a free ride.  The last buses I rode you paid once you were inside the bus.

I took the 45-minute ride back to the ferry dock.  I took my bags from under the bus and moved them to the roof of the ferry.  I jumped on the ferry to make the short crossing back to the other side.  When I got to the other side I walked up the stairs and grabbed my bags off the top of the ferry and then went to get on the bus where there were lots of people waiting.  They didn’t’ have a place to put your bags under the bus so I had to carry them on the bus.

We made the short 5-minute ride to the airport and I had my bags and walked off the bus.  I didn’t walk 20 feet when a man approached me and asked me I was on the Flamingo.  I said yes and he told me there were two other people waiting for me to head to the boat and we would wait for a bus to take us to the port that was 5 minutes away.  He told us we would only have to wait a few minutes, but that turned into an hour.  The bus wouldn’t leave until it had enough passengers to fill it so we were waiting for a flight to come in so that the bus would fill up and we would head out.  During that time I met Stina who was a blonde haired girl from Norway.  She was really nice and was traveling through South America and Central America for about 6 months and was already 2 months into her trip.   I also went to grab some candy and water at the airport and upon my return to my bags the bus was ready to go and we jumped on it.  Her friend Oslo was also from Norway and they met earlier when traveling during a GAP tour for Brazil and Peru and were sharing some expenses along the way.  He was quite quiet while Stina and I chatted it up.

We took the short ride to Baltra, a military area where the Flamingo was waiting for us.  There were some seals hanging out on the benches and an iguana on the dock.  Our guide told us not to get close, as it was a sea lion bachelor pad for all the rejects that weren’t quite big enough.  We took some photos and waited for the shore boat to come pick us up.

We jumped on the shore boat and put on our lifejackets for safety.  We took a short ride to the boat where we were met by the crew and a few of the passengers hanging out in the eating area.  We were led to our cabin and I put my bags down and headed up on deck.  I started to meet a few more people and soon they started to get the tables ready for our lunch.  Our guide then came down and explained what we would be doing for the rest of the day and tomorrow.

I was the only native English speaker on the boat.  There was a couple from Germany whose names I suck at remembering (sorry – the girl is in Quito for a few months working at the embassy in Quito while her boyfriend was visiting on holiday), Mita from Holland (traveling for 9 weeks), Petra and Dominic from Switzerland (traveling separately each for about 6 months), Stina and Oslo from Norway (each traveling for about 6 months, maybe more), and Martin and his wife from Northern Italy (on holiday).  All of them spoke German except Oslo and me.  The girl, Stina, could understand German since she took 3 years in school, but wouldn’t speak any.  The Italian couple were from a part of Italy that was German speaking.  A few were here just on holiday, but most of us were long-term travelers of 2 months or more.

Lunch was ready and I was asked if there were any certain foods I didn’t eat.  I let them know I was allergic to mushrooms and I didn’t like fish.  Tuna steak was for lunch so I got a big batch of rice instead.  Lunch always starts with a bowl of soup and then comes the main course… which are very large portions.  I ate as much as I could and told them not to serve me so much because I wasn’t a big eater (They never listened and always served me a ton of food- that mostly went to anybody else who wanted it or waste.)

We then took off and went to our first stop, Plazas Island.  It was a semi-wet/dry landing.  We pulled the shore boat up to some rocks and jumped from the boat to some rocks that we had to climb over.  I changed my lens on my camera and got ready to take some photos of the wildlife.  We first came across the Frigate bird where the male has a big red pouch that blows up really big when they are trying to pull the ladies.  Our guide told us the bird was confused because there were not females around and he was just practicing pulling out his red pouch.  There are two kinds of Frigate birds here on the Galapagos Islands the Great Frigate Bird and the Magnificent Frigate bird.  They are large and black with long wings, hooked beaks, and forked tails.

We then came across the Galapagos Hawk who was flying in the air waiting for some scraps.  They are endemic to the Galapagos and are found on most islands in the Galapagos catching their prey which includes lizards, young iguanas, rats, grasshoppers, etc. There were a few Frigate birds that were within 15 feet of us with a baby chick begging for some food.  He was hollering and screaming and finally the mother bent over and puked into the babies mouth.  We watched them feed and then the baby chick started hollering for more.  It was amazing to be so close to nature.

We followed the path to a Blue-Footed boobie who was just chilling out.  There were several younger ones around, but they weren’t old enough to have blue feet yet.  The boobies lay up to 3 eggs as a sort of insurance policy, but usually only allow one to survive.  Survival of the fittest.  The boobie family (red, blue, and Nazca) are incredible divers and plunge to a depth of 8 meters to catch their prey.  They are colorful, interesting, and a pleasure to watch.  Sometimes they do a little dance for you.

We came across a dead blue-footed boobie and our guide went on about how he saw that exact bird alive just a few weeks ago when he visited the islands and that his brother killed him because the Boobie birds only allow one of their eggs to hatch and live as part of a survival of the fittest type of thing.  We walked a little further and saw another dead bird and again we got a wild story about how he knew exactly what happened to him.  Sheesh.  My guidebook was right when it said the backpacker boats don’t usually have very good guides.

We then were on the look out for some iguanas that were in mating colors of red and yellow.  We saw several trails of Iguanas, but were having no luck.  We would see their tracks and their fresh poop and finally we came across a fairly large iguana that was hanging out on the path.  In the National Park we are only allowed there with a guide and only allowed on a designated part of the island that is clearly marked.  The National Park decides what boats can be at what islands at certain times and when they can go to shore with the passengers to visit the islands.

The iguana was about 3 feet long and was quite large but of normal colors and not mating colors.  The land iguanas grow to about 3 feet at their largest.  Their yellowish-orange belly and brownish red back make them more colorful than their cousins the marine iguana.  The land iguanas live in the more arid portion of the islands.  They mainly eat prickly pear cactus by eating the pads, fruit, and spines.

The cactus provides both food and water for the land iguana who can go without fresh water for a year.  They find shade during the day and burrow into the ground at night.

We walked a bit more and came across some lava lizards that I don’t remember much information about because I was fooling around with my camera when the guide was talking.  We ended up on the coast where we saw many sea lions.  They were walking around and lounging about.  They usually lift their head up if you get close just to check you out and then go back to lying down or whatever they were doing.

We then saw an iguana in the distance with mostly mating colors, but still not fully there.   We walked along the coast and enjoyed the beach and the nice surf and sea lion activity.  We then met the boat where we walked to a rock and a sea lion was lying there.  We crept past it to get into the shore boat and headed to the Flamingo.

We were welcomed with a small snack of popcorn and went upstairs to lounge on deck where we got to know each other a bit more.  The rest of the people on the boat (minus the Norwegians that joined me at the airport) were on an 8-day cruise and we were joining them for their 2^nd half.  They went up to the Northern part of the islands and now we were heading to the Southern islands of Santa Fe, Española, Floreana, and ending on the main island Santa Cruz (where we started).

We all chatted it up until dinner was ready around 7pm.  We had some sort of chicken and it was okay.  Everyone then went up on deck and we all talked and started drinking.  Dominic had two bottles of rum and the ship offered bottles of beer that you could buy by putting a tick next to your name on a paper on the wall in the kitchen.  They also offered coke.  I don’t like either so I was SOL on special drinks.

The sunset was absolutely amazing and we were in a peaceful harbor to sleep and hang out for the night.  Early in the morning (around 5am) we would start our passage to the next island, which would be around a 2-hour navigation.

After some good laughs and sitting up on deck, watching the night sky and experiencing several shooting stars I headed down below to go to bed.  What a great way to end an amazing day.

The bed the assigned me to was really small and on top.  As the boat rocked I felt like I was going to fall off and I was really uncomfortable and in pain so after an hour or so of that, I decided to climb down into Dominic’s bed and sleep there until he came down below to bed.  I could hear them up on deck from my room having a good time…  He never came down and fell asleep on deck instead.  Lucky me!