DAY 23 IN ECUADOR!

 Hola buenas noches, Amanda here to tell you about our second day on Isabela Island.

Today we began our day bright and early by having breakfast at our beautiful hotel named Wooden House here in Isabela. After, we made the journey to Sierra Negra Volcano which is the only active site that can be visited in the Galapagos. This volcano is 40 meters underwater which equates to about 80% of it not being visible. Only the very top is visible. From where we began hiking to the bottom, it was approximately 1.6 km which was a great way to exercise. After, we climbed a bit more near the eruption site of the volcano. This was a very cool experience because we got to hear the emissions/minerals coming out. It was very interesting to see the different rocks, vegetation, and sand. A lot of the plants we saw were a grey color due to the reflection of the sun from the sand onto them and therefore burning but also ash residue. Another cool fact about this volcano is that the sandy area that we can see today used to be filled with water that became very acidic but drained as the volcano rose up. It is believed that earthquakes are responsible for uplifting this active volcano. We know that it is active because it emits gases. Not much is known about the composition of the rocks surrounding it or how long it took for this volcano to be uplifted although some lava rocks were found to be around 2 thousand years. Overall today was a very educational day filled with an awesome view. Parts of this volcano looked like we were on another planet. My favorite part of today was unintentionally matching with the sulfur pieces on the floor surrounding the volcano. Also here is your friendly reminder to always reapply sunscreen otherwise you will have a painful sunburn like me, it’s not very fun.

Adios and thank you for reading our blog :)