Sur le pont d'Avignon

A few weeks ago I decided I needed a weekend away from the sea so I pulled out my much loved Lonely Planet France book and started flipping through the pages. The number of destinations that remain on my 'to see in France' list is quite large so I had to invoke a few criteria to pick a weekend spot - easily accessible via train in 2-3hrs (direct if possible and had to depart Cannes in the afternoon), not freezing cold, a few sights to see but not too many, and accommodation and whatnot wouldn't be too expensive given my last minute planning.

With a few possibilities earmarked I ultimately settled on Avignon. I'd skipped past this walled city and former home of Popes on the banks of the Rhone last spring on my way to the south of France so I thought I'd give it a go. After a bit of reading and talking to a few people I felt confident that this would be an easy yet interesting spot just about three hours away by train. Avignon is definitely a more popular summer destination - with a massive theater festival in July and all of the surrounding areas of Provence just a short drive away. But as it turns out my visit was perfect - just what I wanted for a quick weekend, a change of scenery, and best of all very few tourists. The town was bigger than I expected but absolutely manageable and perfect size for a two day visit.

All photos here.

While there I lucked out with the weather and though it wasn't particularly warm the sun was shining most of the time so it was quite nice for walking around aimlessly through the town's small streets and even a sunny breakfast and coffee in one of the many squares. I can certainly see how in late spring and summer this would be a fabulous spot to visit. I would absolutely go back and just spend my time sitting out having a drink moving from square to square watching the world go by.

Avignon's fame and appeal come from a few different things but the two highest on the list are that it was once home to the Pope, and second, the bridge of Avignon which is sung about in a nursery rhyme that every French child knows. The city itself is surrounded by about 4km of quite well preserved ramparts. Unlike some other walled towns you can't actually walk on these walls but they're quite lovely to look at and admire.

During some tumultuous times in the Catholic church during the 14th century the Pope decided to make Avignon home. Over the course of almost 70 years 7 different French Popes helped build the massive Papal Palace in Avignon. Apparently this is the world's largest Gothic Palace. What stands today is an enormous yet mostly bare structure. As with most buildings over the years after the Pope returned to Rome the Palace had multiple functions (including a prison) and many of the original wall frescos, tiles, etc have been removed. Yet just walking through the rooms listening to the audio guide you can't help but feel the history.

The Pont d'Avignon (really called Pont St Benezet) as it stands today is only a fraction of the original structure built in the 12th century. This bridge originally spanned 900m across the Rhone and contained 22 arches. Today only 4 arches remain as rest were washed away in the 1600s. You can walk out on the remaining span (buy a discounted combined ticket with the Palace) or you can view the bridge from multiple free vantage points - Rocher des Doms gardens on the hill behind the Palace and along the banks of the Rhone from Avignon or Ile de la Barthelasse. I of course opted for all options to see the various views each provided. I'd say the best is from across the river on Ile de la Barthelasse. Perfect picnic spot on a sunny day!

As for the children's song, I think there are a lot of stories around it and as I heard in the audio guide there never really was dancing on the bridge as the song states. But anyway, I suppose it's like most kids knowing and skipping around to London Bridge is Falling Down, Sur le pont d'Avignon has dug itself into every French child's brain. And no, I did not see anyone actually dancing on the bridge singing the song when I was there.

In addition to the Palace and the bridge I spent my time just wandering the streets heading from square to square. As with French towns there are so many little alleyways to weave your way in and out of once you'e off the main drags. And the nice thing here was that while it was possible to get lost I always knew that I'd run into a wall soon enough and couldn't get that far off course!

One of the most interesting streets that I read about and ventured specifically to was Rue des Teinturiers. This is a cobblestone and tree line street with a canal running along it. Here you can see four waterwheels (remaining or mostly remaining) telling the history of this street as 23 waterwheels once powered mills for the textile industry.

As for food I found myself taste testing olives, spreads, and other treats in the large covered market (Les Halles) on both Saturday and Sunday morning. There was no shortage of restaurants to try out for dinner and since there were no crowds I just took my pick and was very satisfied. On Saturday evening I had a delicious (and ridiculously messy) burger and incredibly sweet Pavlova for dessert at L'atelier des Thes. There was a coffee shop (Milk Shop) that I really wanted to try but of course I made the mistake of telling myself I'd go there Sunday and check out another spot on Saturday only to find that of course it was closed Sundays. Next time I suppose! I'm still getting used to the whole idea of things being closed on Sundays. In the states we mostly take for granted that most shops and restaurants are open every day of the week just waiting for us.

And with that a weekend in Avignon was successfully in the books. I returned to Cannes mid-day on Sunday and even got myself to do a little French school work on the train.

Working out with the French

The french lessons continue and it's slowly, and I mean sloooooowly, seeping in. I still have this hope that I'll wake up one day and suddenly be able to converse in French. Obviously that's not going to happen, but I can still have dreams, right?

This week we had a field trip to the market in Cannes. Not the grocery store, the real legit market with all the lovely produce, meats, flowers, cheeses, etc. The class had a list of questions to ask of different vendors.  Luckily there were only four of us that day so we did it together. My lack of speaking confidence didn't help me with this but thankfully the vendors see classes come in all the time and were very very friendly. I do realize I need to go and try to speak to people all the time and not just walk around like a mute every day. I'll get there, but also as soon as most people hear my attempted french they just start speaking English :)

As a step to immerse myself with more French I decided to try some workout classes. Last week I went to a yoga class at a small studio where the instructor spoke both French and English. Language wasn’t really an issue here... it was more that it’s probably been about nine months since I’ve done yoga so just this light class left me pretty sore in those tiny little back muscles that I never use until doing a bit of downward dog and plank. I might be getting back into running shape but the rest of me apparently has a long way to go!

Following my yoga soreness recovery I was more bold this week and ventured to an actual gym with loads of classes to see how I'd fare. I'm in a bit of Barry's Bootcamp withdrawal and need something to kick my ass for an hour other than running. Also, even though running along the sea is beautiful and I can rock out to the Biebs (yep, don’t judge, I’m having a bit of a Bieber moment right now) with my headphones on it doesn’t force me to listen and follow along to spoken French.

I now know that post workout soreness has no language barriers! My abs are still killing me from my ‘tallie abdos fessiers’ class on Tuesday. An hour of abs and butt work was totally exhausting but at the same time absolutely great. It's rare to do something for an hour, never break a sweat, and be sore for days! In between movements during moments of rest I’d glance over at my friend Jen with a laugh and look of ‘holy shit this is hard’.

Did I have any clue what the guy was saying during the classes? Umm… not really. For now knowing 1, 2, 3, 4, left, right, breath in, and breath out, is getting me pretty far. I should probably learn the appropriate French words for arm, leg, and back since we haven’t gotten to that in school yet. At this point I try to be in the back or on the side of the class, watch the instructor closely, and look around and hope someone else in the class has more of a clue than me :) I don’t know that I’ll venture into any super fast paced classes requiring the use of steps or other serious equipment any time soon. I had enough trouble figuring out how on earth I was supposed to use the band and weights during the abs and butt class. After some fumbling I finally figured it out and dang that band made those Jane Fonda leg lifts really difficult!

As I would at any gym, especially a workout class setting, I’ve been taking mental inventory of all the other people. People watching is part of the French culture is it not? This gym seems to be pretty hopping around 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon but I have yet to see it much later. As for my workout class buddies, well... they definitely run the gamut. A fair number of older ladies, a few guys, and then the younger crowd. Wednesday's 3:30 stretching class was definitely me and the ladies of leisure crew. And I'm still struggling to get the image of the woman last night in her velour one piece jumpsuit out of my head. I just can't imagine how hot and uncomfortable that would have been for squats, abs, and leg lifts.

So next time you’re in a workout class scouting the scene, judging, taking mental note, and you see someone looking totally lost just think of me! He or she might not be totally uncoordinated, they just might not understand the language. Or better yet, they are indeed totally uncoordinated and to make matters worse don’t understand the instructor - that would be me in a Zumba class for sure!

C’est la vie! And as always... fake it til you make it!

Lovin' the sea... and beginner French week 1

Given that it’s Valentine’s Day I thought it only appropriate to introduce you to my new love… the view from my apartment right out along the sea. Morning, noon, and night I’ve found myself just sitting, staring, and listening to the waves crashing across the street. I can even lay in bed and stare out. Not a bad way to wake up each day!

One of the draws to the south of France for me was the sea. I wanted to be able to run or walk along the water, check out the boats, watch the few brave winter swimmers, and the enjoy views up and down the coast. Having it right out my apartment window is even better. So yeah, I’m in love with the view. Things could be worse...

After a week of settling in, working off the jet lag, hanging out, having a ski day, and just some general wandering my French lessons started. Last Monday I was back to a routine and heading to school each morning at 9AM. Been a while since I’ve actually had to really be anywhere consistently, let alone paying attention, trying to learn, and then having homework. But so far so good. The routine is nice to have and it’s only three hours a day so I still have the afternoons and evenings to do whatever I please. I've got a few local things within Cannes, Nice, and some of the surrounding towns on my list to check out so I need to get cracking!

Sitting in the classroom it’s definitely like being back in 9th grade Spanish class and starting from the absolute beginning - and a few of the people in my class aren’t actually that much older than 9th graders! The week that I started must have also been the week that a semester abroad crew from various American universities began. So my six person class is me and mostly college students. There’s one other 30 year old girl, but she’s Russian and doesn’t really speak English. Luckily I do know one gal who’s in another class so we walk to and from school each day and have our mid-morning coffee break together.

I’ll be besties with the the college kids soon enough, they’re pretty entertaining. They’ve already informed me what pub has ladies night on Sunday and which has Karaoke Wednesday. Not sure I need to partake in any of that, but good to know where I’ll find all of the English speakers on various days of the week. The first day of class last week also happened to be the day after the Super Bowl which in France wasn’t on until midnight. Given the timing I decided that I’d pass on watching it - I caught the Lady Gaga national anthem and halftime show on YouTube later. However, two of the girls in my class definitely had a go at the game and arrived into the first day of class tired, hungover, and still sporting the giant florescent pen markings from the bar on their hands. Everyone in the class was quickly introduced to 'fatigué', the French word for tired, by our teacher and she now always asks if they’re tired or have headaches. Good start!

It’s going to take a while until I can hold any type of basic conversation and comprehend when people speak to me - it still tends to sound a lot like gibberish the first time I hear anything. But I will say even after week one I’m feeling a bit more confident even just on knowing how to pronounce things and I am a master at telling my name, where I’m from, and where I live. I know a few verb conjugations and if I could ever remember 13, 14, and 15 I’d be counting to 20. That’s not going to get me far, but hey I’ve got to begin somewhere. I do feel that in just the few days of actually be in class with the teacher, despite her not really talking any English to us during the lessons, it makes much more sense to me than when I tried to use anything online.  

On my third day in class I did need to figure out how to tell the teacher that I was going to be out on the Friday. Already ditching in the first week, oops! Only knowing the word for Friday my ability to tell the teacher and then see if there was a way for me to make up the session or know what was covered was a bit limited. Once I said Vendredi though she figured out what I was attempting to send telepathically to her :) It was all sorted so we’ll see what progress the class made while I was out and what I missed.

I’ll do a bit of a refresher and review of my words, phrases, and conjugations this evening and be back at it tomorrow. I might even find some French cartoons to watch which will make me feel even more like a three year old than I already do learning my counting in class! If I can follow a cartoon that will be yet more progress. Dora the Explorer anyone?!? It's preschool hour over here :)

A full five days this week, we’ll see how that goes and hope for some interesting stories along the way.

Joie de Vivre - 2016, I'm Ready!

2015 is really over, wow, that was fast!

It's unbelievable to me to think that one year ago I was wrapping up work and about to set off on an adventure. An adventure that was planned as three weeks in South America, then back to the States, then to Europe, and ultimately come June 2015 I'd be back in San Francisco making a decision on life. A decision that would allow me to be in the position that I'm in today - feeling free and open to anything that comes my way. It's only when I really stop to think about it that I realize an entire year has passed, and what a fricken amazing year it's been. When I try to note all the places I've been, sights I've seen, and people I've encountered along the way it takes some serious concentration. Reflecting on the year I can say with 100% certainty that I never think twice* about my decision in July to leave Google. I know to my core that was the right move and that certainty gave me the chance to be much more open as 2015 went on.

*let's be honest... when I had to buy a new phone for the first time (ever!) I did wish I had a Google Christmas gift coming, but I decided to be a real adult and suck it up! 

Swinging free at Casa del Arbol, Baños, Ecuador

A lot has changed in the past year both for me personally and for the people and the world around me. Fear and sadness has crept into our lives. Tragedy is always around us in many forms and we must join together and love stronger to persevere through it. At the same time great hope and the thrill of life through new babies, new relationships, or a new found self emerge. I suppose this is indeed how the hand of life is dealt - with great joy comes great sadness, disappointment, struggle, etc. There have to be low moments to allow you to really appreciate the amazingness that one has.

In 2015 I learned that the world really does have so much to offer and while it's great to see so many things by myself and tell people about it after the fact there's an amazing joy in sharing the raw live moments with others. 'Others' doesn't have to be a pre-defined term it can be family, friends of many years, newly developed friends, or people I just met that day or the day before. Whoever it is, a real shared experience and conversation is so much more powerful than one that is perhaps contrived on Instagram, Facebook, or whatever your social media platform of choice is. Do I share on social media to get people a little jealous? Yeah, perhaps there's always a hint of that, but it's really to inspire and to get people intrigued and motivated to step outside whatever their comfort zone might be and see the world around them or even venture thousands of miles away. In 2016 I vow to see more and do more in this great big world of ours - whether I start the trip by myself or with someone else I will make a point to find others with whom to share the experience.

I still can't tell you that I've 'Discovered' what my plan for life is, but I'd say I have a fresh outlook on both life and the world around me. My list of mottos, for lack of a better word, would start something like take risks, go into the unknown, say 'yes' (assuming the situation isn't totally sketchy!), laugh at your mis-steps, and always take time to soak in your surroundings and the people near and far who are always there for you. The last is incredibly important - I always have a home, or perhaps a few homes, regardless of where my latest passport stamp indicates I may be at any given time. For those people and places I am forever thankful.

I think back and compare the first trip I took with the most recent one and see stark contrasts. I thoroughly enjoyed my initial trip, I mean come on, I did the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and the W Circuit in Torres del Paine - two of the most amazing treks in the world - but the travel was so prescribed, I was uptight, and there was little room for on the fly changes. I feel as though it was so 'American' - go somewhere for a short period if time, everything is pre-booked, never deviate from the structure, see all the major sights, come home. That's certainly a method of travel but not how I want to do it anymore, especially when I have no specific end date or looming deadline. I haven't become completely lax but allowing the days and weeks to lead you where they may (assuming it's possible) and not feeling like every single top ten item from the guidebook must be accomplished is both freeing and potentially much more satisfying. I still want to see the sights, don't get me wrong, but the pace and prescriptive nature is much more flexible. Not everything must live in a detailed spreadsheet.

So where does this leave me? What am I up to next you might ask.

There are loads more locations on the ever growing list of places (yes, I have a spreadsheet of locations and sights to see by region of the world) I want to go and after Ecuador I was seriously second guessing my previously determined 2016 plan. But I'm sticking with aforementioned previously determined plan and heading back to the South of France to spend at least two months on the sea attempting to immerse myself and learn a bit of French.

Somewhere between Cannes and Nice, April 2015

Since my April travels through France I've felt that I missed a calling from this lovely country and needed to somehow make up for lost time. I fell in love with the Cote d'Azur during the final days of April and have since been back three or four times - sea, mountains, coastal drives, and enough wine to make anyone happy drew me in.

So as of February I'll be using Cannes as a base with a Monday to Friday French language school commitment. This is a test; a test of French living, European living more broadly, and even more so living in one foreign place for likely a two month, potentially more, stretch. Given that it's been a year since I had any type of Monday to Friday commitment this should be interesting and potentially a rude awakening when I actually have to be somewhere at a specific time for a few hours every day.

I have no idea how the next few months will go but I can only hope for an adventure worthy of sharing (both the good and the bad of course). I successfully convinced the French Consulate to give me a year long visa so my options are hopefully pretty wide open, or at least longer than 90 days open throughout France and continental Europe. For this flexibility I am incredibly excited. I may hate Cannes, I may decide I don't want to be in France or Europe at all, but it's worth giving it a go and challenging myself to both learn a language and find people to share the adventure.

If you find yourself (or want to be) in Europe, France, or better yet the South of France over the next few months definitely let me know!

Adventuring through the Galapagos - on the cheap

Happy New Year! 2015 has come to a close and 2016 is now upon us. My laziness took over and I didn't get my full Galapagos post edited and posted over the last week so I figured I'd just go ahead and post it now. Something interesting about 2016 is hopefully coming next week :)

For those who haven't heard me say it I'll say it again - I absolutely adored the Galapagos! If it's not on your bucket list it should be. After eight and a half days there I was quite sad to leave. I would 100% go back if the opportunity presented itself but if it never does I am honored to have been able to go to this magical place. I could just put loads of pictures into this post but I've attempted to select a few of my favorite - for all of the photos check out the Galapagos album here.

As Darwin and others discovered many years ago there’s no other place on earth like it. I never lost the excitement over seeing sea lions and iguanas just hanging out on the beaches, park benches, in the middle of the sidewalk, or wherever they deemed appropriate. The ability the get up close and personal with all the animals both in the water and on land is unbeatable.

Also, all of the people who I met there were fantastic in putting up with me as I strung together sentences in my broken Spanish (as with everywhere in Ecuador). Because I was not on a ship with the same folks the whole time I met different people everywhere - both locals and travelers - so I felt like that gave me a much better taste of things. Yes, people do in fact live in the Galapagos and there's infrastructure on a few of the islands. The locals are very proud of their islands and there’s certainly a bit of a rivalry of which island is the best. For me it's a toss up between San Cristobal and Isabela as to which was my favorite, but I think San Cristobal has the edge.

For people who think that visiting the Galapagos is ridiculously expensive let me tell you that it doesn’t have to totally break the bank. Yes, it's more pricey than mainland Ecuador and you can absolutely do it first class luxury all the way but it’s possible to have an incredible journey for much cheaper - especially if you’re willing to wing it a little bit. Like many locations in the world getting there may be the most expensive piece but what you choose to do while you’re there and how you want to do it will really determine your price. From Quito alone the flight to the Galapagos and back was about $450 - that’s almost as much as I paid for my Newark-Quito-San Francisco flight! You might be able to get them for cheaper if you book way in advance (totally not my style these days!) but I’m not sure how much lower the prices really go unless you're very very flexible. In the airport you then pay $120 just to enter the National Park. That’s expensive but in the name of conservation and national parks I accept. I have read that there's been talk for a while about increasing that park entrance fee.

Once you’re there how you spend your time (and therefore your money) is up to you. Tour agencies abound - especially in the city of Puerto Ayora on the main island of Santa Cruz which has the primary airport - so it’s possible to book all sorts of boats at a wide range of prices. I talked to a few different places when I got there trying to determine if I wanted to island hop on my own or get on a boat for anywhere from 4 to 8 days. I was getting prices anywhere from $450/500 to $1000 and beyond.  What I discovered, and had read this before hand too, was that you need to kinda know what you want to see/do and if there are specific islands on your ‘must see’ list. For me I really wanted to see both Isabela and San Cristobal Islands but since the boats spend something like 8 days on the Isabela side of the archipelago and then 8 days on San Cristobal my timing wasn’t going to work too well for that.

Ultimately I decided that I’d island hop on my own visiting a few of the accessible beaches, snorkeling sights, animal centers, and whatever else I could find in the towns and then book into a few day tours for the prime snorkeling and wildlife sightings. Since I wanted to see the three different islands there are of course a few places that I didn’t get to see but I don’t feel like I missed out, I would have just had another amazing snorkel experience to add to the record books. I ended up doing two day snorkeling trips and they were each $90 - I found that trips range anywhere from about $85-$120 and you can pretty much always get a few dollars off. If you want to just check out local snorkeling spots without a boat tour you can always rent masks and snorkels for $3 per day.

From an accommodation standpoint there’s super cheap to expensive and I opted for what felt like super cheap but I know there was cheaper! Upon arrival I had only booked two nights to begin with so I could make a plan and go on from there. After Santa Cruz I’d just eye a few spots ahead of time and then pick one and upon arrival see what rooms they had and at what price. I paid $25/night on Santa Cruz with breakfast included, $15/night on San Cristobal no breakfast, and then $25 on Isabela with no breakfast. Each place I had my own room with bathroom including hot water. Over 8 nights I spent less than $200!

“…by far the most remarkable feature in the natural history of this archipelago…is that the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set of beings…I never dreamed that islands, about fifty or sixty miles apart, and most of them in sight of each other, formed of precisely the same rocks, placed under a quite similar climate, rising to a nearly equal height, would have been differently tenanted.” - Darwin

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is not the largest island land wise but it’s the most developed. The town of Puerto Ayora is bustling with hotels, restaurants, tour operators, souvenir shops, and a harbor full of boats. This is certainly a town with the most services but for me it was my least favorite. However, because I started here it only got better.

Many flights come into the Baltra airport which is on an island just next to Santa Cruz. Once you get off the plane you take a bus (free) to a small ferry dock, get on the ferry to cross the channel ($1), and then either get into a taxi or public bus ($18 or $2 respectively) to make the ~45 minute journey across the island to Puerto Ayora. Upon my return to the airport I was unhappy to learn that the bus option back to the ferry dock apparently only runs a few times in the morning and not when I wanted to go at like 9:30 or 10 so I had to pay the $18 on my way back but took the cheapie option on the way into town.

Iguanas sunning on the beach

While in Puerto Ayora...

• Charles Darwin Research Center - just on the edge of town this was my first chance to see giant tortoises. I also passed numerous sea lions and iguanas napping on the sidewalks as I walked. The research center itself felt a bit sad. They’re doing some construction so hopefully it’s going to feel a bit more alive in the future but it really felt sad and neglected.
• Tortuga Bay beach - this is about a 30-45 minute walk from town out to a nice beach and then at the end of the beach there’s a protected bay with calm waters for swimming and kayaking. While walking along the beach you see iguanas everywhere both on the sand and the rocks and taking a swim. First time i saw an iguana swimming I couldn’t believe it! I didn’t have much luck with the snorkel seeing any turtles in the bay but apparently they’re there.
• Las Grietas - this is a nice snorkeling spot one minute water taxi and then about 10 minute walk away from town. It was suggested to me that I make sure to go over the rocks at the end of the first pool and into the second and third pools. This was a fantastic tip! While the first pool was quite nice and incredibly clear there were not many fish. After I not so gracefully attempted to scramble over the rocks without falling there were indeed many more fish to see - and also no people.
• Giant Tortoise Reserve, Lava Tunnels, and Craters - when I was in transit between San Cristobal and Isabela I had a few hours to kill back on Santa Cruz so I hired a taxi to take me to check out these three sights. I was going to try and just do them on my own but since I needed to be back for the boat I just went the taxi route and my new friend Eciro was very patient with my Spanish for about two hours. The tortoise reserve was fantastic. Here you put on some wellies and wander muddy paths through the natural habitat of the tortoises. These guys looked so much happier than those at the Darwin center just chomping away in the grass or having a soak in a puddle.

Under the water at Las Grietas

In the lava tunnel

Munch munch goes the tortoise

In order to get to the other islands of San Cristobal and Isabela you have to take a ‘Ferry’ from Puerto Ayora. There are two boats each day, one AM and one PM, going to and from either island and they cost $30 each. With my first ride to San Cristobal I quickly learned at ‘Ferry’ is a very loose term! I don’t know what I had in mind but these are 20-25 person speed boats with a covered top. They load the luggage in and then you grab a spot on the bench on either side and hang on! I’d read that the waters were choppy but good lord, these rides were ridiculous. I am pretty confident now that I do not get sea sick, Whew! I also quickly learned that my location on the first boat ride was not ideal (I felt like I was being thrown around like a rag doll) and I needed to make sure I positioned myself to get a spot at the back, but you don’t want to be in the back row by the engines because you’re guaranteed to be soaked a few minutes into the 2-2.5 hour journey! After the first boat there was definite strategy for the following three boats.

I will say, these 'ferries' were one of the least enjoyable parts of the trip and I wasn't even getting seasick. If you're prone to sea sickness you may want to just be on a larger cruise ship because these two to three hours felt pretty long each time!

San Cristobal

From Santa Cruz I went to San Cristobal for two days. Lucky for me the weather was probably the best while I was there. Sunny skies made the beaches and snorkeling even better! Arrival in San Cristobal immediately felt better than Santa Cruz with a small port town and a more relaxed feeling. I’d say that this was my favorite island experience.

View from the San Cristobal port

While here...

• La Loberia beach - a beautiful spot about 30 minutes walk out from town, much nicer than Tortuga Bay on Santa Cruz. Initially you see mostly iguanas lounging on the lava rocks while the waves crash a few meters away but then as you walk along a sandy path you’re lead to a beautiful white beach with tons of sea lions. This was my first chance to swim up close with them in super shallow clear water. They were absolutely adorable, very curious, and playful.
• Las Tijeretas snorkeling - another easy walk from town the other direction past a few beaches and an informative education center with lots of info about the islands and history of the Galapagos. This snorkeling spot appeared to be pretty popular but large in size so even if there were a lot of people there's plenty of space - just drop your shoes on the little wooden platform and jump right into the water!
• Playa Mann and Amor - nice little beaches just at the edge of town and great sunset views. I walked over to these beaches a few times to check out the local scene and take in the sun sets.
• Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido) snorkeling day - I knew heading to San Cristobal that Kicker Rock was one of the day trips I wanted to do. I’d also heard that Cerro Brujo beach was a must see so I asked around at a few of the tour operators to find one who was going to be going to that beach in addition to Kicker Rock the next day. Both were absolutely amazing and Cerro Burjo was definitely the most beautiful beach that I saw - very Caribbean feeling. The snorkeling started off slow and I wasn't seeing much but once one turtle was spotted all of a sudden it got so much better. By the end we were swimming among turtles, sharks, sea lions, rays, and of course loads of fish. The GoPro got a ton of use here!
• On a side note people who can’t swim really just shouldn’t sign up for a snorkeling tour! A few people weren’t confident in the water so had to be essentially pulled around on a life buoy and were apparently grabbing on to two of the other girls I was with, glad they weren’t grabbing at me!

Baby sea lion rests on the beach

Kicker Rock

Peaceful turtle at Kicker Rock

Isablela

This was my final stop and quite a different feeling to the other islands. It’s the largest in size but least developed and according to a local tourism really only came to Isabela about 10 years ago. It was traditionally a fishing village with a small main town made up of sandy streets along a nice beach. You definitely feel the difference here in that there’s just less of everything but not necessarily in a bad way. It’s low key, more relaxed, and far fewer people. Even though my Lonely Planet book was published in 2015 a few spots weren't actually open - business seems to come and go here and it's all very causal. Just go with the flow and find a local to tell you where to go!

Blue Footed Boobies

While here...

• Los Tuneles - Walking and snorkeling among blue footed boobies, turtles, sharks, and sea horses. The GoPro was in full effect again on this trip. The turtles here were massive compared to the ones that I saw at Kicker Rock - these had to have been as big as me. And we swam right up to a shark den and just watched as ten or more sharks swam around. There were even some penguins as well - Isabela has loads of them.
• Tortoise breeding center - Here you can see land tortoises of all ages and sizes. There’s pretty much a zero chance of survival for tortoise eggs laid in the wild so this center is very important to continuing the population. It was neat to walk around the various areas where the tortoises of different sizes and ages are and see them moving in what really did look like slow motion!
• Flamingo lagoon - I don’t think I’ve ever seen flamingos in the wild before so these were another exciting wildlife sighting. They're definitely pretty in pink.
• Concha de Perla - a short walk through mangroves near the port brings you out to a great protected snorkeling spot where sea lions sun on the dock and then splash into the water to cool off and all sorts of other animals can be found while swimming around.
• Penguins and playful sea lions are all over Isabela. I could have spent hours watching these guys swimming around and enjoying the waves as the tide was coming in right at the town's main beach.
• Afternoon drinks at the Beto beachfront bar is a great spot to meet locals and others while staring out at the sea while lounging in a hammock.

Happy sea lion

Penguins!

Hello Shark Den

After eight and half days, three islands, four rough ferry rides, two fantastic snorkeling tours, and uncountable animal sightings my time in the Galapagos came to an end. Sadly that was it but the amazing time in the Galapagos kept me on a travel high for two more weeks throughout mainland Ecuador and I had many more adventures to follow.

Sun sets behind a boat off San Cristobal

Ecuador (in brief) Love Life

The last major trip of 2015 is in the books! With a few final passport stamps to round out the year I’m now giving that bad boy a rest for a few weeks. I feel a little naked without it on me and everyday needing to make sure that it’s still where I left it the night before. But now it’s time for holiday celebrations and ringing in the New Year. 

Apologies for not sending out Christmas cards this year, but stamps from Ecuador to the States were $2.50 and I've just been too lazy since I got back! So Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year from me and my sea lion friend...

The first trip of 2015 was to South America so it seems fitting that the last trip would be back there. Ecuador was amazing and three and a half weeks there turned into some of the best travel that I’ve had this entire year. The destinations were fantastic, hello the Galapagos(!), and obviously I saw lots between cities, beaches, rain forest, and mountains, but it was more than sight seeing this time. This trip was incredibly fulfilling and the shared experiences with others recharged my desires to keep these traveling shenanigans going we much as possible. The Ecuador tourism slogan is 'Love Life' and I was indeed loving it all throughout my time there. I was also pretty happy about the cheapness of almost everything there - 10 months without a paycheck needed a budget friendly destination! 

I went into the trip excited but I’ll admit that I was somewhat hesitant and just felt like I was filling time until Christmas. When I got on the ground in Quito I decided that I needed to fully embrace the time there and make as authentic an experience as possible and also go as much backpacker style as I could (I’m not 25 anymore so there are some comforts that I want and will pay an extra $5 for). This was definitely the right way to go - between hostels, day trips, buses, and just chatting with folks wherever possible, I met more people in these few weeks than in most of my other travels and traded tips and stories helping to shape my route. Even though I was by myself I was rarely alone. I worked on my Spanish with lots of patient locals and despite usually only talking in the present tense and often just conjugating verbs into ‘I’ or ‘You’ I made do. Compared with my first travel of the year I was much more successful and loads more confident!

When I arrived in Ecuador I had only one real plan and that was to go to the Galapagos. I knew the dates I’d be on the islands and everything else until my return flight to San Francisco - all of my other destinations, transportation, accommodation, activities, etc - was on the fly. It’s really a good thing that my overly planning project manager self is pretty much non-existent these days and a low key flexible self has emerged. I’m working on a blend of the two now and allowing indecisiveness to just be known as willing, able, and flexible. You never know where a day or a night might take you so just be ready and willing!

I’ll put up a few different posts about the specifics of each of the spots that I visited but for now here’s the super Cliff’s Notes version. Also, now that I’m back to 1st world wifi all of my photos (read... 1500+) are now uploaded and organized into albums. Between my phone, DSLR, and GoPro this was definitely a photo heavy trip especially in the Galapagos and Amazon. I admit I just couldn’t stop snapping pics of the sea lions everywhere I saw them for eight days!

The trip shaped up like this (you can see these spots on a map here):

• Quito [3 days] [Photos] - massive capital city of Ecuador, nice old town with squares and churches, questionably safe especially at night, easy half day trip to Mitad del Mundo to see the Equator

• Galapagos [8.5 days] [Photos] - 600km off the coast of mainland Ecuador this is a world unto itself and a stunning display of wildlife both on land and in the water. It doesn't have to break the bank to visit if you're willing to play it a bit by ear!

• Montañita [2 days] [Photos] - famous mainland beach town perfect for stoners, surfers, and partiers. It’s relaxing but not…

• Cuenca [2 days] [Photos] - well preserved colonial city much smaller and cleaner than Quito with a nice National Park nearby

• Baños [2 days] [Photos] - outdoor adventure town, Ecuador’s answer to Queenstown New Zealand, with rivers, waterfalls, mountains, volcanoes, and a very photogenic tree swing. Definitely wishing I had more time here!

• Cuyabeno Reserve [4 days] [Photos] - Part of Ecuador’s slice of the Amazon rain forest, home to all sorts of birds, critters, and creatures, and much more beautiful with rivers and lakes than I imagined the rain forest to be

• Otavalo [½ day] [A few photos in the Quito album] - town two hours north of Quito with famous craft markets perfect for last minute shopping before my flight

Enjoy the photos - more to come soon if you're interested in the location and activity details. And if you're curious what's coming for 2016 that's in the works too and let's just say it's going to be très magnifique!