THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS (Part 2)

By my fifth day in the Galapagos Islands I knew that I wanted to extend the trip in order to see more of the islands and luckily the change fee was only $1.40! After extending my stay I mapped out my final five days on the islands.

Isla Isabela
From Isla Santa Cruz I packed a day pack and left for Isla Isabela to enjoy two days on the island.  It took only 1.5 hours to get there by speedboat and then an easy 10 minute walk to get to the main town, Puerto Villamil.  It was a nice change of pace to get away from the crowds in this small laid back town.

The main beach on the island was perfect for walking...a long stretch of isolated white sand beaches!

During my time on the island I managed to see some of the nearby sites by bike as well.  From Puerto Villamil I followed a dirt path along the beach and then crossed through a red lagoon to arrive at the tortoise breeding center on the island.  I actually preferred this breeding center over the one on the main island, as it provided more backround information on the species.

Look at that face!

Red Lagoon




  





By the time I reached the path again it was boiling hot and I was dripping sweat!  All of the viewpoints were beautiful but I was startng to become exhausted!

Along the dirt path

 Although I was tempted to turn around I figured that I should see the final site before calling it a day.  After a bumpy 7km uphill ride through the slippery gravel I finally made it to Muro de Las Lagrimas (Wall of Tears).   Perhaps it was because I was so exhausted and was expecting something more but when I got there I thought to myself "are you kidding me...I biked all this way for a wall!".  Regardless, I made it to the end of the trail, took a couple pictures of this lava brick wall built by convicts in the 50s, and then went back to town as quickly as possible so I could hydrate and eat lunch!





Muro de Las Lagrimas



Later on I biked to the main port before returning the bike.  There were a ton of iguanas and sea lions out and about on this quiet afternoon.

By the time I finished my day I was exhausted and ready to take a cold shower, eat, then go to bed!  I was up bright and early the next day to catch the boat back to the main island.  Luckily I was at least rewarded with a beautiful sunrise at the port!

Overall it was great to get away and experience Isla Isabela for a couple days.  The locals were incredibly friendly, the food was delicious (and cheap!) and it was easy to get around the island.

Kicker Rock (Dive Trip)

On my first day in San Cristobal (below) I went to a local dive site called Kicker Rock.  Typically, for any diver going to the Galapagos Islands their main goal is to see hammerhead sharks.  Of course, that was my hope as well!  We left at 8am and made our way to the site arriving a couple hours later.

Kicker Rock aka Leon Dormido

After doing a test dive we went in between the rocks, along the wall for the first dive.  We saw so many sharks on both of the dives.  Its a shame I didn´t have a camera but one of the dive masters managed to capture this shot of a hammerhead as it was approaching us.

Our wonderful divemaster, Angel

During our second dive we saw more hammerheads, Galapagos Sharks, and Reef Sharks, along with plenty of fish and turtles.  While the visibility wasn´t great we certainly were able to see a nice variety of fish at the site.

On our way back we went snorkeling with sea lions at a place called Islas Lobos.  We had a lot of fun playing with the sea lions and they were very curious about us!

Overall, this was a great tour/dive site/day trip to do on the island

Isla San Cristobal

Isla San Cristobal was the last leg of my journey and pehaps my favorite island of all.  The main reason that I loved this island was because it had a nice port town, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, that had everything you could need but wasn't nearly as developed or touristy as Puerto Ayora.  I spent my last three full days of my trip in San Cristobal. 

My favorite part of the island was the fact that there were sea lions EVERYWHERE.  During ciesta everyday there would be far more sea lions out than people.  They took over public benches, playgrounds, and the beach.  If you tried to get in their way they would bark and scoot over to scare off anyone!

  

Clearly this sea lion didn´t get the memo

Overtaking the beach



Hanging out at sunset

Scaring away the children!



Apart from my obsession with the sea lions I managed to see quite a few parts of the island as well.  The beaches near the main town were great for both swimming and snorkeling.  In the morning at low tide it felt like I was stepping into an underwater aquarium.  Less than 5 feet from the shore I was able to see a family of massive sting rays, turtles, and a wide variety of fish.

It is hard to sum up San Cristobal because I didn't do that much there.  Perhaps the best part of the island was just wandering around without a plan!

Local beach with Puerto Baquerizo Moreno in the backround

Overall, I was very happy that I decided to do the Galapagos Islands independently.  While it certainly required a little more work and planning, it was worth it, not only because I spent significantly less money, but I was able to customize the trip to cater to my interests.  The combination of day trips, exploring the islands by foot/bike independently, and diving was perfect.  All in all, my Galapagos adventure was unforgettable, unbelievable, and certainly well worth the money! I can't wait to return someday!

My Darling Dahab (and the rest of Luxor)

I am ashamed to say that I never came around to posting about Dahab and the rest of Luxor.  Its amazing how time passes by!  Some of my best memories from my entire nine month trip were in Dahab, a backpacker/divers paradise located on the Red Sea.  When I come back from South America I vow to finish this post! Until then here are a few of the many wonderful memories from Dahab and the Sinai region!

Red Sea Relax Resort ($8 dorm rooms!)

Watching the World Cup on the roof 

Getting our Advance diver certification at the Blue Hole 

Diving WWII Wreck site- Thistlegorm

Trekking up Mt. Sinai for sunrise 

Kicking back on the beach with good food and friends

From one tropical paradise to the next: Southern Thailand

It has been less than a day since I left southern Thailand and I am already looking back on my time there and how quickly it went by! After the intensity of Vietnam, it was so wonderful to

have a place to simply sit back, relax, and enjoy the gorgeous weather! Our journey through southern Thailand began in Phuket, which is where we flew into from Vietnam. We decided to stay in Phuket Town, both for its central location to all of the beaches and the cheaper accommodation! I found it to be a nice town, especially because it didn't feel too touristy. We went to Patong Beach the following day, which I heard was the main beach to go to in Phuket, and to be honest, I hated everything about it! The beach itself was ruined by the infinite amount of beach chairs that you had to pay for, along with the vendors who kept hassling me as I tried to relax.  The town itself is just lined with Western food and souvenir shops, and it looked as though any bit of Thai authenticity had diminished a long time ago. We were ready to escape the tourist trap within hours and felt immediately relieved upon returning to Phuket Town!

The next day we went to a beach in southern Phuket, meant to be less manic, and loved it! It completely redeemed Phuket's image in my mind...although it was still touristy, the beach felt more authentic and still preserved some Thai culture within it. We enjoyed sipping on coconuts all day and lounging around at the beautiful beach and lagoon-like area!

As we were trekking up a curved road in search of the next beach, I fell, and there was blood falling down my leg.  Luckily, some really nice guys came to the rescue and offered to give us a lift on their motorcycles, so we were fortunate enough to get a free tour of the beaches! By the end of the day, Phuket redeemed itself, but with that said, it is necessary to really search to find that tiny bit of authenticity left in the town!

                     

After two days in Phuket, we caught a ferry to Ko Phi Phi, known to be the most beautiful island in southern Thailand. Despite the mass tourism on the island, it is indeed so stunning, and there is definitely a reason why everyone flocks here. Once we maneuvered through the chaotic main street near the pier, we ended up finding a lovely room in a more remote area. Although Ko Phi Phi may have been just as touristy as Patong Beach, I was amazed at how much I loved it. First off, the views and scenery are so incredible that it makes up for the fact that you are sharing it with tens of thousands of others. The othermain difference was that the aesthetics of the resorts and bungalows blended well with the island. There were no tacky high rises or Holiday Inns to ruin the beauty of it all. Within two hours of arriving, we immediately knew that we would be extending our intended one night in Ko Phi Phi to two nights, as we fell so in love with its beauty!

    

During our stay in Ko Phi Phi we did a lot of sun bathing, hiking up to viewpoints, afternoon naps, cold showers, and some scuba diving! We hiked up to the viewpoint on our second night there to watch an amazing sunset:

Our day dive trip was a lot of fun and we managed to see tons of marine life, including a leopard shark, sting ray, as well as massive schools of fish.

By our third day in Ko Phi Phi, we were sad to say goodbye and headed to Krabi, which was the closest mainland point to the island.  Despite our efforts to go straight to Koh Phangan, it ended up being a blessing in disguise that we missed the last night bus there. Instead, we stayed in Krabi Town and did an awesome daytrip the following day to three islands and a cave at nearby Railey Beach. We took a longtail boat out and went to some beautiful spots and were able to do some snorkeling as well. It was simply the perfect way to spend our day! The 3 islands we went to were so pristine, clean, and laid back.

Additionally, we got an incredible deal for the trip because the hotel owner loved us and was trying to get us to come back to work for him so he made us a nice little package that included transportation to Koh Phangan, in the hopes that we would return in a couple weeks to come work for him! While it was a tempting offer, we politely told him that we probably couldn't!

So after the day trip, we quickly got ready and were Koh Phangan bound, via Surathani. Sincewe were taking a night ferry to Koh Phangan, we hung out in Surathani for dinner with some people we met, where I enjoyed a delicious papaya salad and coconut shake! Afterwards, we got on our night ferry, which was quite a sight! It was essentially a boat full of backpackers, lined up right next to each other on these tiny floor beds. The funniest sight were these tough looking Aussie boys who looked like they were all spooning each other! Definitely an experience! We arrived in Koh Phangan around 6am to a zoo of vendors attacking us with their taxi and hotel services! We decided to sit down and have a nice breakfast before facing the day! After breakfast, we wanted to head to the east coast of the island called Thong Nai Pan Yai, which I had heard was a beautiful isolated beach. Especially since the Full Moon Party was in four days, we both agreed that we didn't want to be anywhere near the madness, but rather have the option toget to the Full Moon Party town, Haad Rin, whenever we wanted to. Upon arriving, we were sad to see that the cheap accommodation was full, but were fine settling for a fancy resort with an infinity pool where we each were still only paying roughly $8/night!

It was a similar case as with Ko Phi Phi where we instantly knew that we would be staying here for longer than we intended to! We decided to enjoy our nice resort accomodation for two nights, then switch over to the cheaper place ($3 each/per night) for the following three nights so that we could stay for the famous Full Moon Party.

It is hard to sum up the island in words, as there are so many incredible qualities about wherewe stayed. I think that especially on the east coast, where it is much more inaccessible, it isn't as developed as the other parts ofthe island and it has more of a rustic feel to it. It seems as though the east coast of Koh Phangan is what most of southern Thailand was like 10-15 years ago: beautiful, preserved, uncrowded beaches with plenty of locals who haven't been scared away by tourism.

We did lots of exploring on the island, trekking through the jungle from one beach to another, and wandering through the local villages. But, to be honest, most of my time was spent lounging by the pool or the beach, enjoying the scenery.

 

Once we left our fancy resort, it was a nice change of pace going to this funky, backpacker hub, called White Winds, full of cliffside bungalows overlooking the ocean. Although the bungalow consisted of the bare minimum, a bed with a mosquito net in a tiny room, it was probably my favorite accommodation thus far. Nothing beats going to sleep and waking up to the sound of the ocean, and having a beautiful view of the beach (view from our bungalow to the right). Additionally, the people that we met there made the place that much more amazing. The owners and employees were awesome, as well as the people who were staying there. I had a great time hanging out with everyone and hearing their stories and travel experiences

We even managed to go diving with people that we became friends with from a new divecompany on the beach. It was another fun dive site that was a bit more challenging, but definitely helped to improve my diving skills!
       

On our last night, after going back and forth about it, we decided to go to the Full Moon Party, which is basically a massive beach party that tens of thousands of people flock to for every full moon. It was quite a sight to see and in the end I am glad that I went! We got all decked out in some neon paint and danced the night away.  There was endless music along the beach and tons of ridiculously out of control people to provide endless entertainment!

So, to sum up my five days in Koh Phangan is difficult to do but i loved it so much! If I didn't have somewhere to be, it definitely could have sucked me in for at least a couple more weeks! It is weird to think how different the island will be in five years, as I noticed a lot of development in the works. But for now, I will hold on to the memories of the awesome, rustic island that I saw it as! Next up: Cambodia so stay tuned....and I am taking advantage of my day in Bangkok by posting some photos of Laos and Vietnam on Facebook so check them out!