Plans. And the most delicious dinner paradise has to offer.

Rule No. 1 while traveling South America: Never make plans! Have ideas, have information, but never ever make a plan and expect it to work out!

I had broken this rule. I had made a plan: I wanted to rent that mountain bike and go and explore San Cristobal. The guy had told me he would open at 8am, and I could have the bike all day long, if I wanted. Yes, that was what I wanted.

I got up at 7am to have some improvised breakfast (due to all of the shops still being closed) before walking to the bike shop. It wasn’t open yet. I decided to wait, get some sun tan in the meantime, and chill out. Never hurry in South America.

I waited for around an hour, before I decided to go running. I ran and ran and ran, and finally ended up at “La Loberia”, a place where sea lions are supposed to chill out. I found that to be an advertising mistake, as I had seen by far more sea lions around town than out here! Well, maybe that dozen surfer dudes had chased them away?

I went back to town and found the bike shop still being closed (11am), so I assumed I’d have all day to do other stuff. And other stuff was amazing: I explored the Interpretation Center, which is a goldmine of information about the islands, its past, its current problems as well as possible approaches to solve those problems. Amazing.

My only problem was: I had taken by far too little water with me. And there was still some walking to be done: Out to “La Tijeras”, as they often call the Frigate birds there, and “Punta Carolina”, two nice snorkeling spots, which are also terrific to look at from above the water’s surface.

I relaxed a little in the shadows of some poisonous trees before I had gathered enough (solar) energy to walk back. And because that solar energy doesn’t really convert into the energy my muscles needed, I rewarded myself with the best lunch I have found on the islands: A giant banana split at Bar Zanzibar near Playa Mann (4,50 $)! *yumm*

And I decided, should I ever try to obtain my masters degree, I should definitely do it at San Francisco University. The beach is like… well… 10m away. ^^ (But I'm not making plans. Plans never work out. It's just ... an idea ... *g*)

The university...

...right next to the beach.

The rest of the day was spent (involuntarily window) shopping, as no shop could provide me with the correct size of the T-Shirt I had fallen in love with. :( At least Wreckbay Diving had dive gear in the correct size, which I successfully tried before going to bed.