July 7th - Puerto Ayora - Galapagos Diving - Cousins Rock and North Plaza - Isla Grill

Sea Turtle near Cousins Rock

I was so ill on our boat ride out to Cousins Rock that I was prepared to cancel the rest of the diving.  It was a 1 hour speedboat drive out to the first dive site.  I had taken half a dramamine tablet in the 45 minute car ride to the boat.  I guess I might have gotten a bit cocky after the week on the cruise that I thought that a quick zip out would be a cake walk.  Foolish foolish me. 

I started to play a game with myself whilst weighing the possibility of throwing away hundreds of dollars of diving that we had already paid for versus what I was going through then.  If I had a thousand dollars in my pocket, how much would I pay someone right then and there to make it stop... completely, instantly and wipe out the unpleasant memories of having gone through it.  How much?  That day was a 400 dollar day.  I saw a poor American university student 2 days later go through a 1000 dollar day.

That said, Scuba Iguana, that led that trip where great.  They were very skilled masters, organised, helpful and prepared.  I would recommend them to anyone even after my 400 dollar day. But take a full dramamine in the morning no matter how you're feeling and one with your lunch.  TRUST ME.

Greasy Frozen Crust Pizza

Dinner that evening in town was at Islas Grill across from the Tame offices.  It was not really worth writing too much about.  Though I will say, you should choose your dining places by having a look around the restaurant.  The Islas Grill had a big open grill.  So their Seafood mix a la Parilla (BBQ) was pretty good.  Their Pizza on the other hand was horrible.  The crust was a dry, frozen biscuit type of crust.  It was not very well cooked and I suspect done in a simple oven.   It was slathered with a greasy blend of random melting cheeses.  The toppings of Anchovies and Capers on the Manana pizza were spare (not Manyana, as I was corrected).  Of the half a dozen places we tried in Puerto Ayora, this was my least favourite.  I would not recommend it.

Marsicos a la Parilla

Outside Isla Grill

Cost: $$$ (relative for the area)
Ambiance: Tropical Dentist Waiting Room
Service: Mediocre to slow
Wine: more by the glass selection than others but almost all Chilean

Isla Grill
Av Charles Darwin
Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz
Galapagos