Not sure where the time is going... !

Hola from the Galapagos!

We arrived here a few days ago and are getting the lay of the islands! It's crazy to think we've been travelling for over a month and only have a few weeks left in Ecuador. I feel like the trip started out not slow, but with some extra transition time. I finally feel like I have adjusted to the different pace. Last night at dinner we counted we've stayed in 13 different hotel/hostel/airbnbs. No wonder my right shoulder blade is so mad at me - that's a lot of trekking with our huge backpacks! A reminder to work some more yoga in…

But it has gotten easier, or I've adjusted.. not sure which is which right now. I kind of had to! Otherwise I would be still stuck in fight or flight. Last night when we were counting our hostels we laughed at the “range” of all of them. We did in fact get dripped on by some mysterious brown water for about 3 nights, have expierenced some questionable shared kitchen situations including but not limited to lots of mouse poop, hostels on top of night clubs, hostels that were also night clubs, mysterious smells, and the hostel that appeared to be run by two 15 year old kids with frantic energy we couldn't help but be amused by.

There was also the one tucked into the foothills near Cotopaxi with an unreal view, another run by a couple who talked trees with Sam, the one that had an amazing breakfast before our Spanish classes everyday, and this one now that has air conditioning which is less common that you would think! Strikes and gutters.

I think the sun finally broke through our SPF 70 today because we are both tucking our tails this afternoon in the sunburn department. Sam says he would rather get food poisoning again then get a bad sunburn. We all know my stance on the matter.

On Tuesday we're headed to the next island, Isabela. I've heard the water can be pretty rough so I'm hoping for a smooth ride and to witness approximately 0 people getting seasick. There's always headphones and the fetal position. All jokes aside, I am trying to face my fears head on lately (starting 2 days ago). In between beach reads I am reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I haven't finished it yet so I'm not an expert in all things big and magical but she unpacks the concept of fear a bit and I really like how she lays it out. She explains that the less she fights her fear, the less it fights back. She invites fear on a road trip and makes plenty of space for it. She lets it stretch it's legs out in the car. But fear cannot make any decisions. Fear cannot change the radio, suggest detours, or change the temperature in the car. So I'm going with that right now. I do feel like travel really brings out any and all quirks that in ordinary life I can avoid or gloss over quickly. Here's to more character building!