July 10
Las Tunelas
Although we could have slept in until 10, we were up just after 6. We could have snuck an activity in before our 11:15am pick up, but we sensed some travel fatigue and allowed the kids (and ourselves) to laze around for most of the morning. We ate breakfast fairly early and then read and rested for a couple of hours. Zev and Koren did manage to squeeze in a Bar Mitzvah lesson for the first time since we’ve been here. Doing the lesson on the balcony over the sound of the surf, next to the beach makes it all the more bearable for both of us.
There was a little bit of miscommunication when we arrived at the office regarding what was and wasn’t included on the tour, but we are getting used to our language barrier. We climbed into a high speed fishing boat with 7 tourists and 6 non tourists. It seems the underbooked tour meant some friends came along for the ride.
The fifty minute boat ride could have been the attraction: we got some great air with some of the wave action out in the open ocean. Even as we sped up the southern tip of the western coast of Isabela, we spied the occasional sea lion, sea tortoise, and even three massive manta rays. We had to take care to avoid striking them with the boat. Each in its way was just floating along in the ocean.
We boated through a labyrinth of lava hardened over the ocean and then eroded by wind and water until sections broke off. The result is a plethora of archways and underwater tunnels. In a different section of these calm water lava structures, we snorkelled around and saw fish, sea tortoises, white tipped sharks and a manta ray, as well as a sea horse! Teva decided the boat ride was more fun and spent the hour in the boat. He was supposed to be with the crew, but unbeknownst to us they ditched him to swim with the sharks! Aubrey forgot his contact lenses at the hotel, so we managed to wedge his folded glasses in place in his mask so he could mostly see.
On the return voyage, the older three boys were thrilled as they took turns driving the boat and avoiding rays (and capsizing the boat). Then we spent about thirty minutes at this tall but quite small lava formation at least one kilometre out to sea as the crew fished by line jigging. They caught a few of the large school of yellow fish congregating near the surface and near the rock, moving in unison and often open-mouthed at the surface.
Tonight we dined on the seven dollar special set meal at a different restaurant on the main strip and packed for our two flight travel day to get first to Santa Cruz and then to the (Ecuador) mainland by mid afternoon tomorrow.
So far we have some decent pictures (underwater and more so above ground), we have a few stories, and we have only lost (and not found) a ukulele and a water bottle. We have been falling asleep and waking to the ocean, but after tonight we will be exclusively inland.
Tomorrow the Mindo Cloud Forest…