Hello! For the last part of my trip, we headed to the Galapagos. We went to our first island, San Cristobal, which turned out to be my favorite island because I loved the balance of having the cute, little town with shops and restaurants along with beautiful beaches, and Kicker Rock. On the island, we hiked up to Darwin’s Cove which offered beautiful views and we also learned some history about Charles Darwin and how the islands came to be. The next day we snorkeled at Kicker Rock, and let me tell you that was one of the best experiences I have ever had. It was a 45 minute boat ride out to a rock formation out in the ocean that had so many amazing creatures such as Sea Turtles, colorful fish, Jellyfish, Sea Lions, Hammerhead sharks, and Blacktip sharks. There were over a dozen Hammerhead sharks, and I felt like one of the luckiest people in the world to be able to admire all of them in their natural habitat.

Our next stop in the Galapagos, was Isabela, where we kayaked and snorkeled one day off the coast and saw penguins and a Spotted Eagle Ray. We also hiked Sierra Negra, which is an active volcano on the island and the views from there were spectacular as well. We also snorkeled at the Lava Tunnels and got to see more Sea Turtles and Blue-Footed Boobies! The last island we went to was Santa Cruz, and there we visited a Tortoise Ranch where we saw Giant Tortoises.

I am beyond thankful that I had this opportunity to not only explore Ecuador and the Galapagos, but to meet some really amazing people from UGA and Ecuador. I will forever cherish these memories, and I hope that everyone has the opportunity to go to this beautiful country.