Galapagoz or Paradise????

If I`ve ever made a decision that I have been so happy about it would have to be to change my plans and go to Galapagoz. I knew it would be a great ending to my trip but I was not prepared for what Galapagoz had in store for me. How does one comprehend something so beautiful, so perfect, so ideal?!? Galapagoz is what mother nature intended our planet to be like...air so clean that you can feel your lungs thanking you, water so clear that you can see to the bottom of the sea from your boat, animals so tame that they come within inches of you without any fear, skies so clear that you can see all the stars in the milky way! Wow, there is definitely no place like Galapagoz on this planet and I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to explore it, experience it!

So, we arrived on the gorgeous island of Baltra after a 2 hour flight. Took a dingy to our boat, our home for the next 8 days. Met the crew, the guide and the rest of the group. Our daily schedule included waking up at 6 am and going for our first exploration of the day. Mostly it was a wet landing, which meant jumping off the dingy while the waves crashed on you so you got soaking wet. Then our lovely guide, Edwin, would take us around the island pointing out all the animals and birds along the way. It`s unbelievable how tame the animals are in Galapagoz. If you are swimming, they`ll come right up to you and swim right next to you. I saw lots of sea lions, iguanas, turtles and loads of birds. My favourite birds were the boobies. Yes, that`s the name...blue footed boobies. I bought a t-shirt that says I love boobies!! There are a lot of species of animals and birds that are only found in Galapagoz and nowhere else on the planet. After the walk the first day, we had a chance to go snorkeling. I had never snorkelled before so I decided to give it a try but wanted to stay right by the shore. Edwin urged me to come along with him and promised he would hold my hand through the whole thing. So, I agreed and let him lead me into the water. The first time I put my face in the water, I was awestruck! I had never seen anything like this before. I`ve swum in the ocean many times but just stayed on the surface not even thinking about what`s underneath the surface. It was like a whole different world down there. I felt like I was flying and watching thousands of fish swimming around me. It was amazing! I saw sea turtles casually flapping, rolling about me. I was really starting to enjoy it and then Edwin pointed at something and when I looked I was startled to see a shark! My first instinct was to take my face out of the water and not look at it. I mean, it was a fucking shark and it was swimming merely a few feet away from me. Granted it was a small (about 2 ft long) reef shark but still!! But I stayed put but held on to Edwin`s hand real tight. As we were coming out of the water, right along the shore, we spotted a sting ray. I swam right on top of it, thinking the whole time about Steve Irwin!! I was in seventh heaven, so pleased that I had been exposed to a whole new world and couldnt wait to go snorkelling again. In the afternoon, after lunch, we got free time or siesta time. We sat on the deck, reading, drinking beer, just watching our surroundings. In the evenings we had another exploration. Walked around and got educated on more birds and animals. In the evenings, we sat at the deck, drinking wine, socializing, dancing. After dinner it would be time to sit on the deck chairs and watch the stars. I swear you have never seen so many stars in your life. Not only because there are absolutely no lights for miles and miles, but also we were right at the equator. That meant that we could see the constellations of both the northern and the southern hemisphere. We`d just lay there quietly and stare at the stars, with the lovely breeze, sound of fish jumping around in the water, sea lions splashing about. I have never in my life felt so much at peace. There are very few times in your life when you are in the moment and you know there isn`t another place you`d rather be. I felt like that the entire time I was in Galapagoz.

The biggest excitement of the whole trip was the day we were to go snorkelling around Devil`s crown. Apparently, it`s the best place to spot hammerhead sharks. Hammerheads are known to be around 9 to 10 meters long i.e. around 10 to 15 ft!! And this time it was going to be deep sea snorkelling, which meant we had to jump out of the dingy instead of swimming in from the shore. So, we took the dingy to the spot where we were supposed to jump in the water. It was quite choppy and our guide said to us that it would be advisable to jump in that spot only if you were a strong swimmer and comfortable snorkelling. I was quite nervous and looking for an excuse not to jump in the water that most likely had schools of sharks in it. One of the guys on our trip was a real shark enthusiast and we`d nicknamed him shark boy. He was the first one to jump in. He came up from the water and told me to jump in coz he said I was in for a treat. He promised me he wouldnt leave my side the whole time. Now, I`ve noticed that when I am faced with a situation where I am really scared, my mind just goes numb. It`s like my body just takes over and I have no control. That`s what happened. I put on my mask and just jumped into deep sea which was likely full of sharks! WOW! I still can`t get over it. I was capable of doing that!?!?! And what a treat it was. I could see right to the bottom of the sea...about 30 meters down. And there they were...sharks...about 10 or 15 Galapagoz sharks all about 9 to 10 ft long. I saw them and I wasn`t scared. I just watched them, fascinated at the grace with which they swim, fascinated at the knowledge that I was in the water with these gorgeous creatures. I have never seen so many fish in my life. All colors, thousands and thousands of them. We, however, didnt see any hammerheads, which was a bit of a disappointment, but a part of me was also a bit relieved.

Now lemme tell you about life on the boat. On the first day, during lunch we were served juice that no one could figure out what it was. I said it was probably guava juice. That reminded me how much I missed being called guava. No one had called me Ria in a long time. I told some people at my table how my group had nicknamed me guava and they really thought it was quite a good name for me. And so it began....i was being called guava again. The crew on board loved me. They waited on me hand and foot. It was great! I was the only vegetarian and man did the cook look after me. He would make these lovely concoctions and present it so beautifully for me. And then bring it to me personally. It was quite funny really. The crew, all latino men, started calling me guavita, which means little guava. It was so cute! The only other time I`ve been treated so well was in Goa when Ash and me stayed in Palolem. My cabin was cleaned twice a day, and they left little treats for me. Then Louis, our first mate, started calling me morenita, which means a little brown girl. This got changed to negrita i.e. little black girl as I progressively got darker and darker. The first time I saw a shark in the water, I panicked a bit and wanted to get out of the water and into the dingy. Louis was driving the dingy at the time and since that day he started making fun of me, telling everyone how I panicked! And one day, as he was yet again laughing at me, I told him that I`d never seen him swimming with sharks and then I went on to make the biggest mistake of my life. I called him a chicken!!! Calling a latino man chicken is apparently a big deal! It was on now! He told me that he was gonna get me when I least expected it. So, on the last nite, we were having a party on the deck. Everyone was drinking, and dancing. Then the captain and Louise came up to me and picked me up. They started carrying me down the stairs to the bottom of the boat. I knew then they were gonna throw me into the water. I started screaming, really kicking up a storm. So the captain backed off and lemme go. But Louise, put me on his shoulder and carried me down and jumped into the water with me!!! It was hillarious! I came out of the water, everyone was laughing. So, I told him that he was still a chicken. Well, I guess I asked for it coz before I knew it, I was being thrown in the water again. LOL!!

It was really hard saying goodbye to everyone. But here I am again, in Quito. My last nite here. Tomorrow I fly to Crackass...I mean Caracas, Venezuela. From Caracas I will fly to India. Can`t believe it`s all come to an end. Loved every minute of it but man I cant wait to be in India now. I cant wait to go.