Leaving the Galapagos was bittersweet. Part of me was ready to move on and go somewhere new (and escape the heat because I don't thing my body could withstand it much longer--the chafing and heat rash problems were real), but at the same time, I was a bit sad because I doubt I'll ever have the chance to return. Swimming next to a sea lion, tiptoeing around sunbathing iguanas, photographing flamingos in a lagoon, hiking to active volcanoes and feeling the heat radiating up from the ground, biking in the rain and passing giant tortoises crawling along the path--those are once-in-a-lifetime moments that I was lucky to have experienced even one time.
On my flight to Guayaquil, I was listening to a Radiolab podcast about the Galapagos, and I couldn't even believe that I was in that place that they talked about. Even after being on those beaches and traveling to those islands they were talking about, I couldn't believe I had actually been there, had done those things. It felt like a dream.
The podcast was also talking a lot about Darwin and evolution and how a certain bird species had gone extinct recently while two other species had learned to mate with one another in order to stay alive. At first, I thought how sad it was that the one species had gone extinct. And yes, it is sad. But at the same time, that struggle and the eventual failure of some makes the life of the others that much more precious. If life were easy, it wouldn't be valued. That's not to say that it wouldn't be valuable, just that it wouldn't be valued. Thinking about the struggles of the birds and evolution makes me appreciate more some of the challenges I've had on this trip. Without them, life would be too simple to be seen as special.
When I arrived at the airport, I was met and brought to the home of the family of one of my English students from the US. My student is from Ecuador and her whole family still lives here. They are the kindest, most welcoming family I could have met. They invited me into their home, took me out to show me the city and special places, fed me traditional foods (higo con queso is delicious). Truly I can't thank them enough. What a great night we spent chatting and dancing to the music in a number of restaurants.
Today, I'm off to Quito and then to a farm near Otavalo for a few weeks where I will be WWOOFing, which means I volunteer on the farm in exchange for room and board. I have heard good things about the family that owns the farm, and I'm looking forward to some intense Spanish immersion the next two weeks.
I likely won't have Internet, so adios for now!
Love to everyone, and happy Mother's Day!!
Elana