Galápagos Islands: March 2016
Airport. Galápagos Islands. Ecuador.
We opted to arrive in Galapagos and figure it out as we went. It was a bit intimidating. As we deplaned and looked around, everyone was on a tour. The people all wore different stickers indicating which boat they were on and just about all of them were American. We thought…was this a mistake? After going through passport control, paying our national park entrance fee and going through customs, we boarded the bus designated for our flight. Apparently each airline provides a bus to the port, and you have to get on your airline’s bus. After the short ride to the port, we all got off the bus and on to the ferry. Javier told me to hurry up and get on the ferry to save us seats, and he would take care of the luggage. I hopped on and turned around when I heard Javier yelling.
Galápagos Islands. Ecuador.
The ferry was leaving! Javier stood there with our luggage as the boat moved away. I heard the guys telling him that he would catch the next ferry and I would have to wait on the other side. Good thing the ferry ride is only 10 minutes across the channel, and I could see Javier getting on the next boat and coming over, but I really didn’t like being separated.
We grabbed our baggage and were pointed in the direction of the next bus to Puerto Ayala. We loaded our stuff, and sat with the other 10 people and waited. After 10 minutes or so, Javier got off to buy some water and spoke to the driver. Not surprisingly, we needed to wait for the bus to fill up before we could leave, which meant that we had to wait to the other buses and ferries. Javier asked a couple of American girls in the front if they wanted to split a cab. They were more than happy, so we transferred our packs into a truck and made the 40 minute drive in a cab.
Fish market. Galápagos Islands. Ecuador.
We didn’t have a hotel destination, and neither did the girls. We told the driver to drop us off at a tourist office. He dropped us on one of the main tourism streets, in front of one office in particular. We said good-bye to our American friends and began our search for a cruise to the Galapagos islands. To make a long story short, we ended up going to 5 different offices, carrying our backpacks in the intense, sticky heat the whole time, only to end up back where we started. As it turned out, all the companies offered the same tour, and this guy had the best price.
Galápagos Islands. Ecuador.
After booking our tour, we booked a hotel, and walked over to check in. We were hot, sweaty, and exhausted.
We had to wake up early, eat breakfast, and check out by 9am. We dropped our stuff at reception and decided to walk around the town. We stopped at the ATM, which is near the water and could see pelicans and other birds swarming. We decided to move closer to have a look. We walked to the railing and were watching the pelicans fishing, while the other birds were hovering and waiting for scraps. We were taking in this whole scene, when we heard this growl, like someone waking up. We look down and right at our feet was a sleeping sea lion. He was a big guy and definitely startled us. We both took a step back to give him some space.
Galápagos Islands. Ecuador.
We walked along the water to where the local women were selling fresh fish from the morning. There were four women stand along this concrete counter selling their catch. They weren’t working together, but were still friends and enjoying each other’s company. After watching the local people come and buy we saw some movements around one of the women. There was an extremely well-fed seal right next to her cleaning up. The women slice up the fish and instead of throwing the undesirable pieces away, they toss it to their friend. The bones and the tails are discarded, and whatever the seal doesn’t eat, the patiently waiting pelicans fight over. The seal sometimes gets in the way, and the women just push him to get him to move. He doesn’t seem to mind and like a big dog, just reasserts himself when he can. The pelicans, desperate to eat anything, would often try to take a tail, but the fish are too big and heavy, so they try and try, only to give up, forget they tried before, and try again.
Crater walk. Galápagos Islands. Ecuador.
At around noon we met back at the tourist office for our tour of the giant tortoises. The owners of the agency sent their teenage daughter and her friend with us. Why? I don’t know, but they were typical teenagers that weren’t interested in talking with us, or doing any of the activities we were doing. Kinda funny. Our guide was really good and informative. We walked from one crater to the next. He explained how the craters were formed from old erupted volcanoes. After the craters, we drove to the tortoise sanctuary. The tortoises here are protected from poaching. They have a couple of old shells on display from tortoises that have died naturally.
Hello Galapagos Tortoise.
We walked through the reserve and saw many tortoises. I was truly amazed by their size. We were told not to get too close, but I squatted down to observe one and didn’t move as it slowly walked right in front of me. Granted, I was squatting, but it was bigger than me. At the end, we were able to crawl into the shells of two deceased tortoises. With our feet sticking out the back and and our head and arms out of the front, we pushed up to get the shells off the ground. Let’s just say that they were very heavy. No wonder why they are so slow. 😉
Heavy.
To end this portion of the tour, we walked through a lava tube. I was so excited to get there. One thing I have learned from our travels is that lava tubes are always cool inside. So, when we are somewhere (like Galapagos) where it can be sweltering outside, walking through the lava tube is a nice cool break. It was also one of the sketchiest lava tubes I had walked through, in that it was very slippery with sharp edges and points sticking out every which way. At one point, we had to get in a low push up position and crawl on our hands and toes to get through a very tight opening. The teenagers we were with just slithered on their bellies. We drove back to the tourist office, walked to the hotel to pick up our bags and walked back and waited on the benches for the rest of our group to show up.
There was another couple already there waiting, so we started chatting with them as we waited for the last couple. There was some confusion, and instead of riding to the dock, we were told to grab our stuff and start walking. It wasn’t far, and apparently we were late. The other couple still hadn’t arrived, and were going to meet us later, so the four of us hopped in a dinghy and rode out to our new home and friends for the next 6 days.
Cruise:
Nap time. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
Day One: Isla Isabela, Volcano Sierra Negra. Sleep was not to be had. Neither of us could catch more than an hour at a time. The boat was rocking back and forth, but the real problem was the temperature in the cabin. We hadn’t set the AC correctly, and subsequently kept waking up hot. We finally figured it out, but not until the wee hours of the morning.
After breakfast, we boarded the dinghy and rode to Isabela Island. Once on the dock we stepped around the sleeping sea lions to dry land. From there, we hopped on a truck, which took us to some lava tunnels. Before entering the tunnels, we stopped at a nursery and greenhouse where they are growing indigenous plants. We walked the grounds and learned which plants were native, which were introduced, and the problems this causes.
Galápagos Islands. Ecuador.
After a short walk, we entered the lava cave. The cave was found after a local farmer lost his pigs. In his search, he discovered this cave, which is actually a collapsed portion of a larger lava tube. Inside the cave was nice and cool. There is lichen growing all over the cave, making everything gold and sparkly. We walked further inside, but there wasn’t much else to see. I was happy with the gold shimmer everywhere.
We walked back to our truck, which took us back to the dock. On the way, we saw several iguanas running about. These iguanas are big, can move pretty quickly, and are great swimmers, which we found out later. On our dinghy ride back to the boat, we saw a penguin, and several blue-footed boobies on a rock. We all got really excited, and our driver just sort of shrugged at our excitement. Back on board, we changed into swim gear before hopping back on the dinghies to a snorkel site.
Galápagos Islands. Ecuador.
We had to walk through some mangrove trees to get there, and walked right next to a sleeping sea lion. At first, I wasn’t too thrilled about the snorkeling. The visibility wasn’t that great, and there wasn’t a whole lot to look at, until we came across a giant sting ray. Well, I’m not sure it would be considered giant, but it was about 5 feet in diameter. Big enough to be scary. We got as close as we could to still feel safe, took a couple of pictures, and left him alone. We also spotted another sting ray. This one was smaller, but grey with neon spots on it. Very cool. We watch the iguanas swim around, which was a little bit scary. They looked like little swimming dinosaurs.
Galápagos Islands. Ecuador.
Back at the boat, we had lunch before setting off for the island for the final time. Our guide took us to an area with bright pink flamingoes and a turtle hatchery. They have all sorts of tortoises there from small to giant. We saw some species that are endangered, as well as newborns. Once we were done, we had free time. Javier and I opted to go to the beach and play in the waves before meeting with the rest of the group and heading back to the boat.
On the way back, our driver spotted a dead blowfish, turned the boat around, and picked it up with a towel. I’ve never seen a blowfish in real life and even though it was dead, it was pretty impressive. On board, we showered and relaxed until dinner. The food had been really good so far, and dinner did not disappoint. We sat at our table talking with the others before going our separate ways. Javier and I decided to do a bit of stargazing before calling it a night and turning in. It was a busy, yet great first day. Hopefully tomorrow will be just a good!
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
Day 2: Moreno Point and Elizabeth Bay. We were late for breakfast, but not for the boat! We headed over some rough waters to arrive at the dry landing spot at Punta Moreno. On the way, we saw some cormorants, iguanas, and lots of crabs! When we disembarked, we had to walk on the lava rock that was wet and had a thin layer of algae. It was slippery!! It felt like we were walking on the moon, or at least how I envision the moon to be. There was lava rock as far as the eye could see. Some plants had managed to grow, so there were the occasional cactus and other random indigenous plant. There were some small ponds, which grew mangroves, and other salt water plants.
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
We saw migratory birds, as well as fish. It was really weird to see fish in a pond in the middle of a lava field. After our moon walk, we headed back to the boat where we put on swimsuits, jumped in the dinghies and headed to our snorkel spot. When we arrived, the waves were crashing. We were all a bit nervous. Our guide told us the water was really strong and pointed to an area that was safer. She told us to be mindful of the rocks and stay far enough away as to not get thrown by a wave. This would never fly in America. So off we went! Visibility was almost nonexistent because of the rough waters. We all made it over to an area where it was a bit more shallow, and could therefore see the wildlife. We had to constantly look above water to see how close we were to the rocks. Many times, we were pushed in with the waves and back out again. At one point, I found myself being pulled over rocks. I prayed that there were none too shallow, otherwise I would have been badly scraped. Thankfully, no one was hurt. We were able to actually see some really cool fish and a turtle!
Turtle swimming up to the surface.
The turtle was riding the waves as well, so as we all got pulled in together and back out, the turtle was coming out with the wave, and we were scrambling to get out of the way. Two of our party didn’t get a chance to see the turtle, and stayed in the water long after the rest of us were in the boat. From the dinghy we could see the turtles pop their heads out. We would call to those in the water, and they would start swimming toward them. It took about 20 minutes extra, but they finally got their turtle.
After lunch it was time for a little siesta. Most of the peeps were asleep, but Javier and I had gone to the captain’s deck. We asked if we could take a picture, so he let me sit at the wheel. He pointed at a rock in the distance and told me to aim for it, and then…he was gone! I was driving the ship! No worries, he didn’t stay gone for long, and would periodically check in on me.
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Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
I drove the ship for nearly an hour. In the beginning, I was zig-zagging from over correcting. After a short time, I got the hang of it. It was great!! When the rock in the distance was no longer in the distance, but right in front of us, the captain took over. Once we were in position, we hopped back in the dinghies for some sightseeing. This time we were going to a protected area, and therefore weren’t allowed to disembark, or snorkel. We first went to a small island where we were greeted by blue-footed boobies!! We were so excited. In the mix with the boobies were cormorants, iguanas, sea lions, penguins, and bright red crabs. We circled around the island and saw the different animals everywhere we looked. This was definitely the highlight of the day.
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
Afterward, we went to a cove. We saw different types of rays, many turtles, a heron, and a dead sea lion 🙁 Outside of the cove were more sea lions and turtles. We chased the turtles, but as soon as we were anywhere near them, they would dive deep and out of sight. On our way back to the boat, we stopped by a rock. It wasn’t a big rock, but we joked that it pretty summed up our Galapagos trip. On this rock were Blue-foot boobies, sea lions, Cormorants, iguanas, and crabs. The only things missing were the penguins and turtles. I was amazed to see all of these animals right next to each other, living harmoniously. It was incredible and a great ending to another amazing day.
Aquatic Iguana and a friend. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
Day 3: Tagus Cove. Isabela to Isla Fernandina. Another early start to avoid too much heat. We went to Punta Espinosa on Isla Fernandina where we saw thousands of iguanas. Again, the ground was lava rock, with the exception of the middle. There is a small patch of sand that is off-limits to the tourists as it is the nesting ground of the iguanas. We saw big iguanas, small ones, dead ones, and others with little lizards perched on their heads. They crawl over each other, stepping on their faces along the way. In the sand, their long tails leave lines crisscrossing every which way. We were told that the iguanas are vegetarians, and only eat algae. While we saw some of them eating this algae, we also saw one eating the skin (and maybe the flesh) of a recently deceased- so there goes that vegetarian theory.
Sally Lightfoot Crab. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
We walked until we arrived at a bay. The iguanas would crawl off the rocks, into the water and swim to the other side. We also saw sea lions and turtles swimming as well. As we continued our walk, we found two turtles who had been caught in low tide. One was stuck on a rock and the other on dry land. Our guide told us this happens a lot, and they just have to wait for high tide to get out again. As we walked back to the dinghies, we passed some old whale bones and walked over the area that was previously covered in iguanas. Most had retreated into the nearby mangroves to avoid the heat. Thankfully, we were on our way out too.
Aquatic Iguana. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
Back at the boat we changed and readied ourselves for some snorkeling. We took the dinghies to our location and jumped in. Visibility was a little better today than yesterday. In the water, Javier and I followed a turtle until we couldn’t see it any longer. Again, we had to be careful not to get slammed into the rocks by the waves. There were all sorts of fish down there and I found an octopus. I saw it moving to a new location, so I started filming, once it landed on the rock, it camouflaged, and I could no longer see it. There were a few fish who were infatuated with my go-pro. And as I swam along, they came with, pecking at the lens of the Go-Pro.
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
After snack we had some time until we arrived at our next place. On the way there, one of the guys thought he saw a whale in the distance, saying he saw what looked like a spout of water. As we all watched, we noticed several of these spouts. Our captain went off course so we could get a better look. It took a while to get close enough, but when we did, we saw that it was a pod of dolphins. They were jumping and playing in the waves. Very cute. After lunch, I took a nap, while Javier hung out with the few that weren’t sleeping. We arrived at our spot, and unlike most places we had visited, which were mostly flat, we pulled up next to a cliff. While we were getting ready to get into the dinghies, the two British guys asked if they could jump off the boat. At first our guide said no, but then she said that if everyone else agreed, they could jump. We agreed, so while we sat in the dinghies waiting, the two British guys, Matt and John, and Javier all jumped from the second level of the boat. They were all very happy.
Sea lion. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
The next snorkel sight was the best of the trip and quite possibly the best snorkeling experience ever! It started with two sea lion pups. They were so curious and playful. As we moved along the rocks we saw turtles, penguins, plenty of fish, and a shark! I was so excited to see the shark. Jon was next to me and the two of us followed him for a while. Jon’s wife, Katie showed up and while we were talking about how cool it was, she put her face in the water and sort of yelped. We said, I guess she saw the shark. When Katie lifted her head out of the water, she looked at me and said, that shark went right past your leg! Good thing I didn’t see THAT! We puttered along and while I was looking down at some brightly colored fish, I nearly ran into a resting sea lion. He was lying right at the surface with his eye closed. What made this snorkel so great, was that at any moment there could be a penguin shoot by you, or a sea lion playing chicken with you. There was so much activity under there, and never a dull moment. It was the highlight.
At the Equator. What!!!
On the drive to the next location, we passed by the equator. The driver stopped and went back and forth so everyone could get a picture of the compass that showed 00000. I only know about this because Javier told me. I was in the shower 🙁
Day 4: Isla Santiago- Rábida. We were out early again, and at another area of Isla Isabela. We took another walk and saw lots of brightly colored crabs, and a heron posturing to impress a nearby female. It was a mellow walk, and was followed by more snorkeling. On the way out, I found a huge and intact sand dollar. It was beautiful, and I wanted so badly to take it home, but didn’t.
Jackie and her sandshell.
We swam with more turtles, sharks, and lots and lots of fish. The most exciting part for me was our swim back. Javier and I had asked our guide if we could swim back to the boat instead of taking the dinghy. She agreed, so when everyone started making their way back to shore, Javier and I turned and made our way to the boat. There wasn’t much to see until we were almost at the boat, and spotted a ray. The sea-floor was fairly close, so I dove down to take a picture. We weren’t sure what it was, but after describing it to Jennifer, she told us it was an eagle ray!
Dolphins. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
On our way to our snorkel destination, we passed by a group of dolphins. At first, one of the guys pointed into the distance and pointed them out. They were far away and almost looked like white tips of the small waves. As we approached, we saw more of them. There were thousands of them. Our guide called them dolphins, but they were definitely smaller. They jumped in and out of the water and looked like little dwarf dolphins. They were everywhere. Jennifer said that the dolphins jump around like this in circles, scaring the fish into the center. They move in to make the circle smaller and smaller and then pounce! There were these “circles” everywhere. It was really incredible to see.
Galápagos Islands. Ecuador.
At our next spot. We put on our shoes and readied for a little hike. We were hiking up to a small lookout. At this point, we were all pretty tired of the heat, and joked about sitting this one out- one member of our party actually did. The rest of us loaded in the dinghies and made our way to land. The hike was hot and we were all pretty tired. The views were spectacular. From here, all we could see was ocean and a few small land masses. Afterward we went for a snorkel with the sea lions.
At dinner that night, someone spotted more dolphins. Everyone ran outside to watch the dolphins jumping in the sunset. As it was the last night, so we stayed up for a bit chatting with everyone. When we finally decided to go to bed, we could hear the Brits outside our window yelling about something. They were pretty drunk by this point, so we weren’t sure what was going on, but when we went out to the banister and looked into the water. There, in the light reflecting from the dining room was a shark. A big shark. The workers came out and were equally excited. The longer we watched, the more we saw. It was dark, so the only time we saw them was when they passed through the light. They were Galapagos sharks. There were three of them. They were about 10 feet long each. They were scary looking. We managed to pull ourselves away from the sharks to pack and get to bed.
Land Iguana. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
Day 5: Isla North Seymour. Our last day!! We were up earlier than any of the other days. We had a quick walk in store before ending our tour and heading to the airport. A few of the Brits decided to stay behind. When we returned, we found out that they had wanted to snorkel instead of land walk. The workers on the boat wouldn’t allow them to for several reasons. One being the sharks. The rest of us enjoyed some great wildlife on the island.
North Seymour is where the birds come to nest. We saw more blue-footed boobies who would just walk across our path without a care in the world, Frigate birds that we had seen flying with us all week, land iguanas, and sea lions with their pups. The birds were busy trying to impress their mates, with the boobies showing off their big blue feet, and the Frigates puffing out their red balloon-like throats. The land iguanas were much bigger than the marine iguanas and a mixture of yellow and orange instead of black.
Blue-footed Booby. Galápagos Islands.
We saw a baby sea lion suckling its mamma, as well as another sea lion nursing his open flesh wound that Jennifer said was from a shark attack. We made our way back to the dinghies and to the boat for our final ride home.
At Baltra, we disembarked, jumped on the shuttle and rode to the airport. Almost everyone else was going back to Santa Cruz, but Javier and I had changed our flight to leave the same day. While our time in Galapagos was incredible and unlike any place either of us has visited- one week was sufficient. 🙂
To see more pictures of The Galápagos Islands, click HERE.
Here are some videos of Galápagos Island: