The little town of Puerto Ayora stays lively till late. Had it not been for earplugs and eye-mask I am sure Heidi would have been up all night. The singing went on till 4am, despite the rain coming down. The rain petered out into a light drizzle around 6:30am, and the sun made an attempt to shine through it, albeit faintly.

While the Internet connection was ok yesterday, it seemed to have abandoned us the evening before and remains unavailable in the morning. The feeling of non-connectivity for more then 12 hours is amazing. While sitting in a simple hotel/guesthouse this electronic aberration makes me feel like we are ‘roughing it’. Total silliness. Surrounded by a stove, coffee pot, a fridge and an old, old TV the lack of Internet seems to define my Robinson Cruso sense of being isolated. Perhaps I am also influenced by the fact that I just finished the book Floreana, which describes the first settlement of the so named Galapagos island. Either way, as we go to Isabella I am sure matters won’t improve!

As the rest of the family awakens, Heidi puts together the cost spreadsheet and the study plan for Leendert.

NOTE: we are about to leave Santa Cruz. It is our expectation that we will have less connection on Isabella island. We’ll drop a message as soon as we can.