Allison P. from New York was the winner of the Propeller experience to "Win a Trip to Island Hop Across the Galapagos" that took place in July 2023. Below are some of Allison's highlights from the experience.
The Galapagos was a life-changing experience for me. I have been dreaming about going to the Galapagos since I was a kid.
In college, I was head of the animal welfare club and helped earn thousands of dollars towards local rescues. Being able to visit a place with untouched nature and unique animals is truly a dream. Before this contest, I had set up a jar and was putting coins in to save up enough money to go by the time I was fifty!
We got to see so many amazing wild animals and places that were untouched by humans. As soon as we stepped off the boat I got to see the animal I wanted to see the most; Marine Iguanas. They look like dinosaurs.
We went bike riding and saw huge mangrove trees and small streams hidden in forests. We got to climb up rocks and take in the island of Isabela. We went for insane speedboat rides for hours that felt like being on a roller coaster.
Our favorite activity was definitely snorkeling. We snorkeled on two different days. The first day we snorkeled we saw marine iguanas, sting rays, and so many fish. There were also sea lions in the water with us. The second day we went snorkeling we saw the biggest school of fish and we also swam with sea turtles. They came right up to us! We saw baby ones too. There were sea lions everywhere we went! They would just lay on the beaches we were at!
Another amazing thing that we did was vist three different places that had tortoises. They were huge!! It was so cool to see them and learn about the steps people are taking to help save and repopulate them. They have 11 species on the islands right now but soon they will have 12 because they repopulated one back from extinction! We also got to see the famous lonesome george!
One of the most memorable parts of the trip were the people in our group. They were the best! We made so many friends! We went out to bars and we got to play the music and ended up teaching everyone some very funny dances! We of course also listened to Lil' Dicky.
We had the absolute best time of our lives!! Thank you for changing my life and the millions of other people's lives through the work you do. Winning this and winning Demi Lovato's tour outfit three years ago (my favorite singer ever!) has been a true gift that I will always be grateful for. Thank you for putting together this sweepstakes campaign to raise awareness and showing me so much kindness in my life. It has been life changing.
- Allison P.
