Change of Plans....

Looks like I will be headed home 3 weeks earlier than expected.. My house has a contract and it seems as though I will have about 3 weeks to pack up and say goodbye to my beloved lil house... Have so many photos and stories to share but I am unable to post as I am hitting a new city each day as I wrap up my trip... Will try to post more before I leave but no promises... sorry there are no pics... Much Love Me ;)

Back home in Vilcabamba

I was greeted with the warmest of welcomes when I returned to Madre Tierra's. Everyone was suprised to see me again and so happy that I have come back. The sun is still not shinging but I am happier than ever. I have walked alone this time without a guide as I know my way and am at peace with all that surrounds me. I walked thru the river, climbed a mountain, slid down the mountain, lolol slept on the hammock and have watched the stars every nite.

I went the other nite to a friends house up in the mountains along the rio, where there was a small party. I had an amazing time!!! As we went to collect wood for the fire there was an amazing rainbow that glowed, I did not have my camera at the time, so I ran with the wood in my arms down the hill to grab it to come back and take a photo... It was not as vibrant as when I first saw it, but there is a photo here for you to see its beauty.

We had a huge campfire and I played the drums beside the fire (mind you, I have never played the bongo before and I played it like It was always a part of me) as others played different instruments, such as flutes, whistles and a bunch of others that I have no idea what they are called but together we made the most beautiful music!! I watched two meteors zip along the sky and it must have lasted for a good 3 minutes!! never in my life had I seen anything like it!!! I made a prayer for all my friends,family and even for those who I do not know at that very moment. Life is beautiful, and it is what you make of it. The Universe is always open to your requests, always.

I have so many wonderful stories to share with my family and friends when I return home and look so very forward to writing several books on this beautiful country of Ecuador.

I will be headed to Cuenca once again to meet with bridal shops and hopefully open up my photography business here as well so I can live the best of both worlds. After Cuenca I will go back to Olon and then the door is open to where the wind will take me. There is so much I have not seen but I am happy knowing that if I live here part time that I will have all the time in the world to see them.

Here are a few pics from this adventure, enjoy!!

Camping on Baltra Beach

Today is my final day visiting the Enchanted islands of the Galapagos. I managed to meet Juan the very last week here and will never forget my time spent with this amazing person. We camped, laughed, danced till all hours of the nite, held hands, walked for miles, shared stories from our lives and cried.

Without Juan I would never have seen all the amazing places I visited in the last week. he is a native to the Galapagos, not to mention 8 years younger but in this case age did not matter. His knowledge of the islands is amazing and I visited places that not many tourists would go to. We were on a secluded beach in the middle of no mans land and at 10 at nite he suggested we go diving for lobster, I suggested (with my fear of nite diving) I stay on land and keep the fire going... that was daunting enough, but not so much as nite diving for lobster with white tip sharks buzzing around.... We ate 5 lobsters that he caught and cooked them on my fire stove I was so very proud of. In the morning we snorkeled and I swam with sea turtles, white tipped sharks and tons of colorful fishies along the reef. I will have a friend for life with him.

Today I headed out on my own to say goodbye to my beloved Island, Santa Cruz. I cried when I left 9 months ago and I cried today thinking of all the friends and memories I have made.

I have just been invited to a concert with my friend Elke the artist, her daughter is in a band and they have a concert tonight. So I will hopefully get some more last minute amazing photos ;)

Tomorrow I am headed back to Vilcabamba and from there I will go back to the coast to see some places I missed before.

I will be back to the Galapagos one day soon, hopefully in March when the trees are in bloom and the sun is always shining.

Enjoy the photos!!! And never forget to live life to the fullest!!

Bartolome, Kids and Franklin Angermeyer

Bartolome is one of the most photographed places in the Galapagos Islands, I could not wait to get my shot!! It was once a bombing ground for the United States when in 1942 they were premitted to build a large air base in Baltra and the soldiers used the island for bombing practice, nice huh? To this day bombs are sittting at the bottom of the ocean... anyway....

Bartolome and the Pinnacle rock were a must see for me and I was thrilled when the grey skies parted to give me the rich hues of blues... The water is so crystal clear that from the top of the island you can see sea lions below the surface of the water. It is home to blue footed boobies, lava lizards, sea turtles, penguins, sea lions, sharks and a variety of fishies :) I may be missing a few animals but it is full of life.

We took off on a boat much bigger than the one that took me to Isabela, thank goodness! It was a 3 hour ride that I truly enjoyed.

Today I was able to go to the childrens school and took some great pics of the kids painting and playing. My friend Elke, who is an artist, teaches at the school and invited me to come along. There is something fascinating about watching children paint, the faces they make and the paintings they create are one of a kind.

Later in the day I was invited to go sailing with the very famous Franklin Angermeyer. His parents were one of the very first settlers in the Galapagos back in the day. He wanted a photo of his sailboat boat while at sea so I suggested I hop on the dingy while the boat was sailing to get the photos.. With my heart in my throat I jumped from a speeding sailboat to a running dingy and made it without falling into the drink!!! More action filled stories to come!!! Mom, you do not have to tell Mama-Nini about the jumping from boat to boat part :) Love ya!!!

The Barefoot Nomad on the way to bartolome sitting on the rail of the Poseidon...


Bartolome and the famous Pinnacle Rock




The long walk to get there, one of them....




Finger Painting






The shot after jumping from the sailboat to the dinghy

Isabela, Galapagos

Isabela, Isabela, Isabela... it is a song written by the very famous Napo and I had the honor of watching him and his very talented son Lucas play one nite at Beto's Bar.

The island of Isabela is quite different than Santa Cruz, it's streets are filled with sand and the light posts are made from driftwood. It truly is a beautiful island yet something haunted me while I was there for the past week and I could not put my finger on it till I arrived back in Santa Cruz. I spoke with Sarah Darling the painter who is quite spiritual and sensitive to energy as well. The morning I was leaving Isabela I truly could not wait to leave... There was a Frenchman there who I have become friends with and when I told him this he looked at me strangely and said he could spend another month there... gasp.... So anyway, I spoke with Sarah and told her how I felt and she explained to me that the Island of Isabela was once a prison, for the very worst criminals and that the guards were brutal towards the prisoners. They were made to carry tons and tons of lava rock each day in the blistering sun to make what is now called the Wall of Tears... and now many of the descendants of there criminals live on the island... ahhhhhh she said to me... you are quite perceptive with the energy that surrounds you... I feel that my senses have only gotten stronger since my trip has begun.

I would go back to Isabela but only for a short while. I was not able to climb the volcano due to the weather, but I do not think I would stay for a week again....

Here are some photos of the island and some of its people. I rented a bike one day to tour the island and met a beautiful lady named Corrina. She is the English teacher at the high school and she asked me to come and teach her students English for a couple of days. I was delighted as I want to give back... I read to them in English while they followed along, lolol.. not quite... so when Corinna walked away to go to a seminar I told the kids to close the books and we were going to have some conversation together... I had them all laughing with the things I wanted them to repeat in English.. It was a wonderful day and I love nothing more than to see smiles on peoples faces!!

I also had the pleasure of meeting a beautiful 18 year old lady named Alexandra. We are 20 years apart yet on the same journey to explore and live life... She is a savvy kid at the mear age of 18 and would like to model one day, so I was delighted to take some photos of her to help her out. She was amazed at the photos I took of her and she said she had nothing like this in her portfolio, so I was happy to help her reach her goals.

Finally on my last day there I took a very cool moped ride down a very very very bumpy road and saw some amazing things... The ride had me making silent prayers as he slipped on the lava rocks a few times and we almost killed by cows who were freaked out my the moped... I have a video of the cows running for their lives... We were on our way to the three volcano's... once we got there my flip flop managed to break so I traversed the volcano's with bare feet :) And it was truly lovely, as the floor was covered in ferns so it was soft on my feet, I could actually feel the warm hot spots from the Volcano beneath my feet and felt so connect to the earth and all of my surroundings.... ahhhhhhhhhhhh, I love this life!!! Once we got to the first volcano I used a cable to descend to the bottom, it was a bit scary, but the air was so crisp and fresh and I felt so very alive!!!

OK, on to the photos.... Enjoy!!!

































My guest in my room for the evening....




And finally the beautiful Alexandra... If you want to see more photos of her go to my blog at www.stephaniesokol.blogspot.com

Isabela Island Galapagos

I left Santa Cruz two days ago to venture over to the Island of Isabela. The boat ride was a mixture of adrenaline rushing thru my body along with tons of sea water pouring on it... I sat next to a lady who told me she goes from island to island 2 times a week for the past 10 years and this ride was one of the worst she had experienced. We had seas that were about 10-12 feet at times, one guy who puked along the way and 13 others who were a little greenish grey in color. I chose to sit at the end of the boat... I was the only one soaked from head to toe for our 2 hour ride, our 2 hour ride ;) Gilligan's for ya!! But I was also the only one with a smile on my face and the wind and water in my hair.

Yesterday, I took a 4 hour walk along the beach and there were, sea lions, land turtles, marine iguanas, various birds and crabs afoot.

The streets of Isabela are primarily composed of sand and old boats pepper peoples yards here and there to really give it wonderful beach vibe.

I would share photos with you but it would take all year to post them so I can only share my words with you for now.

Isabela is not as populated as Santa Cruz but it is also suffering from tourism, cars and politics..... Last nite when a lady found out I was a photographer she wanted me to photograph the dead animals... As an amimal lover I found this disturbing yet the fact is, eyes need to be opened. I want for Quinn, my nephew to visit these islands one day and I want for him to see it the way I have seen it and not desolated and abandoned.

The issue is the cars... The drivers are careless and are killing off the wildlife. Why not make bikes the mandatory form of getting around, the island is so very small?? The construction is another issue and the mounds of litter hidden being houses is a problem as well.

I took a bike ride today to get the full effect. Last nite I met several people who have lived here for many years and have seen the drastic changes but they blame the political figures for not making a change. I tried to explain to them that if they are not careful that in 10 years the Galapagos will not be what it is today... Once the animals disappear from the over fishing, pollution and carelessness of the natives it will be just a volcanic island that had a beautiful but sad history.

When I returned from my bike ride I spoke to a lady who maintains the bikes and she asked me to come and speak to her students tomorrow at the college... I am quite nervous as I do not fare well in front of crowds but I want to get the word out that change will start with them. Not to wait for things to be put in motion my the PTB but by initiating it themselves and to start caring for this very precious land. Why not start a pick up trash day??? Everyone knows each other here, so make it a fun day have a BBQ, give prizes to the most trash collected and make this Island the pristine place it used to be.....

Mr Darwin would be sad to see how his beloved islands have evolved, to be sure...

Aside from the issues I am taking amazing photos of the people of the islands and am quite proud of my work., I hope that I will be able to make a book that truly shows the beauty of Ecuador as well as the nature of the people and the diversity of the land.

Last nite at Beto's Bar they had an amazing duo of father and sun who played the blues... I will get his name as he is quite famous... the nite was beautiful and many frineds were made... also met some amazing people from the US and one up and coming 18 year old named Alex who I will be doing a photo shoot with soon!!

On my way to have dinner ;) A hug and kiss to all my friends and family!!!

Los Gemelos and The Lava Tunnels

For the past few days I have walked to be what seems miles and miles, how I will miss walking to new and diverse destinations when I return home. Los Gemelos and the Lava tunnels are located in the highlands of the Galapagos on the Island of Santa Cruz. I hired a guide to venture out with me and he explained that Los Gemelos was created when a volcano erupted and once the lava settled it dropped hundreds of feet beneath the earth. If you were not aware of the creation of the Galapagos it is all created by volcanos and the land is the result of the lava. Most of these volcanos are sleeping or dormant at this point but one did arupt a few months ago in the island of Fednaninda.

So we traversed the island seeking cool pics which I will upload a little later and show you here. The internet is dreadfully slow and I find so many better things to do than sit and wait for pages to upload....

Yesterday i ventured back out to Tortuga Bay since the skies had finally cleared up and the sun felt amazing on my skin. So amazing that I did not notice the wave that swept over me, my camera gear and my cell phone.... Thank goodness Canon make a quasi waterproof camera!! My cell phone on the other hand had to be chased my be as the ocean wanted to take it away!!! Can you believe they fixed it for $15 ??? In the states they would have said, here are the new ones we can offer you to purchase.....

Did i mention, I LOVE ECUADOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My family will have to find a way to visit me once I find a way to move here. I think I would be quite content living in the states half a year and living in paradise the other half....

Here are a few pics of the Tortoise farm and the huge turtles that reside here. And a couple of other photos as well.

Tomorrow I will go to Finch's bay and take a water taxi to get there. Sounds neato!!