Hola! My name is Mirjam, I am from The Netherlands and I have been living in Ecuador for more than a year now, working in tourism. During this year I had the opportunity to experience the variety of the country to its fullest. I travelled to the 
Amazon, the coast, the Andes and last but not least: I got to work and live in Santa Cruz for five weeks (one of the amazing Galapagos islands)! My position at Rebecca Adventure Travel has made all these amazing travels possible!
The Galapagos islands, Santa Cruz
Switching from the big hectic capital city Quito to the peaceful small island Santa Cruz was a very big change. No annoying traffic, no smog, no big blue buses that make me dirty the moment I leave my front door in the morning. This time I got to have my own bike to wonder through the town, I knew my neighbors after 3 days and the only way to get dirty was to hang around for too long on my favorite beach.
Not only is there a visible change going from Quito to the islands, also the culture is so different and this was something I really had to get used to, especially while working with locals every day. Santa Cruz opened my eyes, not everyone in the world has the same way of working things out. My Dutch direct way of finding solutions was not always the best. Before achieving goals, there were always some ‘social rules’ to pass. Very interesting!
What is even more interesting are the stunning beaches and animals on the island. Some places are easy to go yourself, but there are also some nice tours to do. For example the Bay Tour departing from Santa Cruz is really amazing. During this tour you do a variety of things like hiking, sightseeing and you also go snorkeling twice. Big chance that you will be snorkeling right next to a big sea turtle during this tour!
It is also possible to go to another island departing from Santa Cruz. For example, I got the chance to go to the mysterious North-Seymour island, an unforgettable experience as you can read in my other blog. Other nice islands to visit are Santa Fe island or Bartolomé island.
Santa Cruz is called the ‘capital’ of the Galapagos islands and this is also visible during night time. There are different bars with happy-hour promotions during every hour and there is the famous Bongo disco where you will find an interesting mix of local Galapageños and tourists. Perfect to practice your dancing and Spanish skills!
My weeks of working in Santa Cruz were weeks in which I developed myself as a person but also got to see a lot of wonderful nature and beaches. I know now what it means when people talk about the isolated ‘island-life’ and I would recommend everyone to experience this for themselves!
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Top 3 Activities |
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Bay tour |
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Garrapatera beach |
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Tortuga Bay |
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Top 3 Restaurants |
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Calle de kioskos |
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New Angermyer restaurant |
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Midori sushi & pub |
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Nightlife |
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| Bongo bar | |
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Travalas Friendly |
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Favorite travel quote
“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.”