Quito to Galapagos to Quito

I just spent the last 4 days on the Galapagos Islands in a town called Puerto Ayora with my childhood best friend Mateo and his family. It was an unreal experience to see Mateo again after multiple years, but of course we realized the instant we saw each other that nothing had changed all too much. His family let me stay in their house and showed me around the island, and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to finally fly out to see them.

The days leading up to my arrival, however, were a little more chaotic. I spent two full days traveling from Costa Rica to the islands, which are a time zone west of the coast of Ecuador. Waking up in Tamarindo on the first full travel day was not an easy task, such that I missed my 5:30 am bus to San Jose. As it turns out, this may have been for the better because the hostel had not yet finished cleaning my laundry. After a few stressful hours of packing, waiting for my clothes, and figuring out how the heck I was going to get to the airport 6 hours away, I found myself in a taxi that set me back 200 USD as a gentle consequence for my lack of planning. I finally made it to the airport, exhausted but with 2 hours of wiggle room. It felt nice not to rush in the airport. I made it to my gate, flew to Quito, Ecuador, and took another taxi through the city to my hotel in the historic district. My taxi driver, Fernando, was perfectly friendly and accomodating and warned me of the dangers of traveling alone in Quito. I heeded his advice and stayed in before another long day of travel.

The next day, I woke up once again at the crack of dawn, rode with Fernando an hour back to the same airport, and got ready to boaord my flight to the island. As it turns out, I had misunderstood the instructions Mateo sent me with and found myself running back to the entrance of the airport to buy a Galapagos national park tourist pass, without which they would not let me on the plane. After scrambling once more through security with 10 minutes to spare I was on the way to my final destination. After a refeuling stop in Guayaquil, a bus to the canal Itabaca, a ferry across the canal, and a long bus ride marked at the halfway point by a greusome and highly obstructive taxi crash, I finally stepped down onto the road to find Mateo on the bench waiting for me. We took a taxi to his mothers house and there are no words to describe the feeling of stepping into what would be my bedroom for the next few days. Mateo wouldn't stop apologizing for the small inconveniences that came with the room and the general lack of luxury. Meanwhile, I sat basking in the fact that not only was I finally stationary, I had a room all to myself. Mind you, I had shared a hostel dorm with no less than 7 other people for the last 21 days.

I expected my eyes to be opened to how much I took for granted after this trip, upon returning to the US. What I did not expect, however, is how indescribably grateful I would be for such little pleasures upon coming to a new place. To me, waking up with ants crawling on me, lizards scaling the wall, and parasite infested shower water were all well worth the privacy and BEAUTIFUL nature of the island. Of course, I would definitely have preferred for the bug net around my bed to do its only job, but I was quite pleased with my ability to look at the positive side of things. I genuinely mean it when I say I fell in love with the island during my short period of time there, ants and all. I wish I had planned to stay for longer because I can tell I only scratched the surface. Just like Tamarindo, I can't help but tell myself I'll be back soon. After my time on the island was done, it was finally time to fly hand in hand with Mateo back to the mainland in Quito to enjoy the gorgeous mountain city with my best friend... or so I thought.

On my last night on the island, my midnight pool game at club Bongo was interrupted by Mateo's surprise appearance. I was under the impression he was in for the night, so I knew he had something to tell me. He reluctantly informed me that he had realized only in the last hour that he booked a flight for the same day of the week as me, same time, same price, and same airline, only for November 1st. Coincidentally we had just been talking about the differences between solo traveling and traveling in pairs. We both agreed solo traveling requires a lot less compromises and sacrifices. In addition, Mateo and I are essentially brothers and as such are well known for getting on each other's nerves, bickering all the time. With all of these thoughts rushing through my head, I was hit by a wave of sadness at the thought that this would unexpectedly be our last night together. We quickly got over the "coulda shoulda woulda" of the mishap and shifted our focus towards enjoying our final night together as much as we could. We hit the unusually empty dance floor and danced our hearts out knowing we would probably never see anyone there again. We walked all around the town together when we definitely should have been sleeping. We foraged for wild fruit, knowing that was our only chance at a midnight snack. As we were walking, in one blissful moment I realized that Mateo and I had been planning this year of travel together since 7th grade. If I could show little 12 year old Mateo and Jonah a snapshot of the last 4 days I doubt they would believe that at last, it's finally happening. I couldn't be happier to share my time with my BFFL and I'm so thankful for him consistently dragging me out of bed to show me around and teach me about all the island's endemic species. The next morning I woke up at 7:15, threw my bags together, and met Mateo at the bus stop. He made sure I got a seat on the bus and bade me farewell. One more travel day later and I find myself here, back in Quito in the same hotel I found on my way to the island.

La Posada Colonial is a quaint hotel, with no more than 4 rooms and a lovely rooftop terrace overlooking the magnificent city. Now that I'm alone in my travels once again, I'm left to focus on some important computer work. Today I ran to the store across the street and picked up a BOUNTY of groceries for 10 dollars. I brought them back to the hotel room and made this place my ghetto kitchen. I feel a little like Tom Hanks, crafting dishes out of food packaging and tools out of whatever materials are available to me. All the while Wilson the tiny dinosaur keeps me company in my bed. The bare bones tuna sandwich I made today tasted a lot better considering the creativity and love I put into it. This cozy room with a tiny balcony has become an extension of my brain, and I've resolved to use this surprise alone time to take care of important business. I research in more depth my future destinations, making connections and arranging lodging. I look into the best career paths and universities for further in the future, and I find myself excited by all the possibilities. Soon I hope to set up a freelance online tutoring business to keep some cash coming in, and I urge anyone reading who has advice on the matter to share any tips. I make music on my computer, I do yoga on the floor, I attend YouTube university to keep my brain active, and I read and write. Most importantly, however, are the snacks and naps. I plan not to leave my room unless absolutely necessary, but I still have some exciting (and safe) outings planned a couple days from now. In the next few days, you'll be hearing more from me on how my period of isolation is treating me.

3 days from now, I fly out of Quito to San Fransisco, California! There, I'll stay in an Airbnb for 3 days and meet up with some old friends from La Botella de Leche. After my brief return to the states, I'm off to New Zealand. Stay tuned!

Peace and love,
Jonah