Manora/En route to Galapagos!!

I love Mancora. I am so glad I decided to spend a few days here. Not going to write too much about it, it´s just a really chill beach town. Amazing weather, cool people, pool-side bar - what more could I ask for??
The tide was low every day so my surf lesson got cancelled 3 times and I never got to go.  It was okay though, I rented a kayak with some of the girls from my hostel instead. Intense workout! Wished I hadn´t gone for a run this morning because I was physically exhausted from the combination, plus the heat.
I spent half my day figuring out Galapagos stuff. It was way more complicated than I would have liked, but I am 95% sure I got a cruise for Thursday. In short, in case anyone is ever looking to do a cruise while backpacking...

You can leave from either Quito or Guayaquil. Guayaqil is 8 hours from Mancora, Quito is 15.  The flight to the islands is around $50 more expensive from Quito. However, if it takes a few days to get a boat, there´s not much to do in Guayaquil.  The thing that was throwing me off was you have to pay for the boats in cash, and you can only withdraw from the ATM once a day, $200.  To get the $2,000 I will need for the trip, that means 10+ days, not counting the money I´ll be spending on those days on hostels and living. So really 12 days. You can pay by credit card but they tack on 16%, which is around $200.  Not happening.  Luckily, right after I had decided to just hang out around Quito while making my daily trip to the ATMs, one company told me I can pay by Paypal and only have a 3% surcharge, which is nothing. Perfect! Hoping this goes through, as Paypal keeps putting holds on my account because I´m out of the country. I had to call them for the 3rd time on this trip and explain that I´m still here, and to please stop telling me I can´t transfer money from my account into my own account!

But that aside, I just booked an 8 day cruise for $1200, which will bring my Galapagos total with flight and entrance fee to around $1700, much less than the $3,000 people were telling me, and WAY less than going from home ($4,500).  I get to go from Guayaquil, and return to Quito, and continue my trip from there. I am SO excited that it all worked out, and it ended up not being as hard as I thought!




This is the itinerary for the ship I´m going on:

Day 1 - Santa Cruz
Giant tortoises, black turtle cove, mangrove lagoon, iguana colony, pelicans & boobies
Day 2 - Genovesa - Darwin Bay & El Barranco
Sea lions, fur seals, petrels, finches and owls
Hike on volcanic rock
Day 3 - Santiago Island - James Bay, Sulivan Bay & Bartolome Island
Snorkeling with marine iguanas, lava lizards, exotic fish, sharks, rays and turtles
Volcano with colorful rock formations
Pengions, sea lions, pelicans, warblers
Day 4 - Chinese Hat - Dragon Hill
White sand beach with hiking
Day 5 - Isabela Island, Arnaldo Tupiza Breeding Center, Wall of the Tears & Los Humedales
Humedales - lagoons with migrant bird populations
Breeding Center - where giant tortoises are reared
Whale and dolphin watching
Day 6 - Fernandina Island
more snorkeling, penguins, etc
Day 7 - Egas Port, Rabida
Flamingos, pelicans & heron
Day 8 - Back, on to Quito

Yes, I´m obviously very excited about all the animals I´m going to see.  I´ve been dying to go to the Galapagos forever and it´s finally happening!!! After I get back I can figure out how much time I´m spending in the rest of Ecuador, where I¨m going to Colombia, and I´ll figure out after that when my return date will be (and where I´m returning to - cross country trip from the west coast anyone?) For now, I´m spending the rest of the day on the beach, getting ready to see all these amazing animals! Hope they let me bring home a fur seal across the border.