Becoming a Galapagos Tourist

We knew we were somewhere new.  First it cost $120 for fees...National Park fee.  The air was warm enough that we had to take off our coats and long sleeved shirts.  Hand luggage inspectors took my chia seeds and the seven kumquats I had left from Panoche.  The surrounding landscape was desert with nopales and palo verde trees.  After a short, circuitous bus ride, we transferred to a ferry to arrive at Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.  Sharing a car into Puerto Ayora with a German couple, we left the desert for the tropics that included two large sink holes, banana trees, and gigantic tortoises in fields along the roadway!  It reminded me of the area around Zipoliti, Mexico.

What do you do when your hotel is closed for lunch?  Go have a cerveza, of course, and enjoy the view.

Our online reservation at the Flightless Cormorant was ready and waiting.  We could be the only people here to enjoy this great place.  We have a comfortable room with both a tub and a shower.  An inviting terrace with lounges is nearly outside our door.  After a long nap, we walked around to acquaint ourselves with the neighborhood.

These sculptures are made using discarded cigarette filters.  They are unique, but ugly.

 

After watching an exchange of money by many of the men, a sort of 3 man volleyball begins.  A second game is started on the second court.  The same man always serves.  Each has his roll to play...server, passer, setter, hitter.  The men seem to yell at each other in an unsupportive manner.

We are close to the marina, and every boat has at least two or three motors.

We are trying to find a road to Tortuga Bay, but find the Laguna de las Ninfas.  It is like our Neary Lagoon in Santa Cruz, California.

I love finding murals.

Flowers...hibiscus, frangipani, bougainvillea, are blooming everywhere.

Walls of the local lava rock are all around.

We ate supper along a pedestrian street full of restaurants, tables, menus, and people.