D220 – D226: Galapagos Island, Ecuador

Early morning of D220 I was more than ready to get on a plane in the modern airport of Guayaquil and fly to Galapagos. It was like a dream come true and this made me feel extremely lucky and happy. Just before landing the view of the archipelago from the above was just mind blowing. 

The airport of Isla Baltra is small and normally packed with curious tourists and waiting tour guides. As I was the first to arrive I needed to wait another two hours for the rest of the future passengers of Treasure of Galapagos I.

While I was waiting I discovered that the only airport bar was selling Inca Cola so I savoured one after almost 7 years.

Next we were instructed to get on a local bus to the ferry crossing between Isla Baltra and Isla Santa Cruz. Once at the Isla Santa Cruz we travelled 45 minutes on another bus to reach Puerto Ayora's dock.

Treasure of Galapagos I was just amazing with three decks, a dining - living room, two bars. On board there were 14 guests including me and we all were spoiled rotten by ten crew members.

After everybody settled in almost luxury, the plan for the afternoon was to visit the Charles Darwin Station where endangered land turtles (tortoises) and three land iguanas were collected from different Galapagos Islands to be protected. I do not remember ever seeing myself so amazed with an animal as I was a giant tortoise. My mind was in trance and was not thinking.

The visit only lasted for an hour and a half and after that we had free activity in Puerto Ayora before we were taken back to the catamaran by a zodiac.

The next morning (D221) I woke up an hour early as I forgot to adjust the clock on my mobile. By the time I realized this, 40 minutes had passed later and it was almost breakfast time.

At 8 o'clock our Harry our guide presented Tintoreras, Isla Isabela where we could observe a huge number of marine iguanas of different sizes, sea lions, Galapagos penguins (the second smallest in the world), several birds and white tip sharks sleeping in a narrow bay. Back at the boat we changed into our snorkelling gear and headed to explore the diverse marine life of Galapagos.

In the afternoon I had to be woken up from my siesta to join the group for our second activity of the day a walk at the Arnaldo Tupiza Chamaidan Breeding centre in Puerto Villamil. This centre has a lot giant tortoises of different age.

On the path back to Puerto Villamil we passed by a lagoon that had some flamingos that are flying in from the Caribbean. If I would have known this earlier I would not had to take an expensive taxi ride in torrential rain to see them in Cuba.

The last part of the walk was on the relatively nice beach with pretty houses. Here a few of us decided to drink a beer despite the fact that on Sundays in Ecuador it is illegal to sell alcohol. But apparently in Galapagos not many would bother with this law.

When I got back to the catamaran I was told that Helen, my new roommate and the passenger #15 had arrived.  She is a very nice and pleasant English girl from London who had been travelling two weeks in Bolivia and a week on this catamaran. Her flight was cancelled in Bolivia so that was the reason why she missed the first two days.

During the night the captain whisked us away to Punta Moreno on Isla Isabela. After our breakfast on D222 at 8 o'clock we were dropped by the zodiacs at Punta Moreno. Here the path crossed through a volcanic eruption area with string lava flows surrounded by a few ponds with sea water populated by different marine fishes and even white tip sharks. At the end of the trail we could also spot some more flamingos.

Just when everybody was getting in the zodiac I tried to get my backpack off and in the process my watch got stuck, the pin fell off and went straight into the water so did my watch. Without much hesitation I took off my boots and my top and jumped into the freezing cold water. The water was deep and without a snorkel mask I could not find the watch but the zodiac drivers marked the place with a towel. They dropped everybody off and they returned with me to search for the watch. First David tried to find it but no luck, I got into the water but because it was rocky with a lot of cracks I could not spot it but at least a penguin swam beside me. Both of us got out and then Javier dived in and after 5 minutes he got the watch out. And it still worked even after 20 minutes being under the water. Javier was the hero and the comedian of the day.

Half frozen we returned to the catamaran where the others were preparing for our daily snorkelling session. Unlike the previous day we witnessed a lot of marine life like penguins, sea turtles and a lot of tropical fish. This definitely made us to bear better the freezing cold water.

We continued sailing to the Bahia Elizabeth. Upon arrival we took a zodiac or panga to explore the marine life of the mangroves. This was the paradise of sea turtles. Also a school of golden rays swam beside the panga and watched the sea lions sleeping hidden in the mangrove tree.

On D223 after breakfast we were taken with the panga around the Isla Fernandina. There were some small volcanic islets that were populated by sea lions, blue footed boobies, flightless cormorants that are endemic and unique to Isla Isabela and Fernandina.

On the shore a number of penguins and pelicans could be spotted jumping in and out of the water while a number of sea lions were swimming around our panga.

Also we could observe a rarely seen Galapagos hawk enjoying the sun.

In the afternoon we continued to the volcanic and dramatic looking Punta Vincente Roca. This was our snorkelling point for the day. At the tip of the cliff where we were dropped off a number of sea lions were playing with us and also could swim with a few of sea turtles. On the way back to the catamaran we could see from the panga two mola molas (big grey fish with a small fin specific to this area) appeared out of nowhere.

After drying off we continued our activities with a relatively boring panga ride along the cliff the same route as we did snorkelling. There were a lot of birds like blue footed boobies, Nazca boobies, brown noddys and penguins resting at the cliffs. There was a small bay that had a huge amount of sea turtles swimming around. Also we got into the scary cave.

Once back at the catamaran the captain started to navigate towards Puerto Egas, Isla Santiago as we had a long trip ahead of us. We were let in the bridge to see when we actually were crossing the Equator. Here some Caipirinha cocktail was waiting for us to toast on this almost unique occasion.

The following morning (D224) both of the walks of the day were wet landing (walk in the water less than ten steps) from the zodiac. The first one was landing on the black beach of Puerto Egas, Isla Santiago and walking around to observe Galapagos sea lions and to find some rare fur sea lions sleeping in some holes. 

Also it was the first day when I could see a marine iguana swim in the ocean.

From the beach we could do our first snorkel of the day following the rocky shoreline. At some point the sea was rough with a lot of waves and I started to freak out so I left shortly after Javier came to tell us to leave that area. During this snorkel trip I spotted two large turtles and followed them for a while.

Following this the majestic Treasure sailed to Isla Rabida, our next wet landing destination. When we were approaching the island you could see a red mountain with a long beach filled with sea lions lying in the sun.

When we landed on the island we walked up the hill observing some birds like the yellow wobbler, the holly tree (Palo Santo) and the amazing scenery of turquoise water and the red beach from the above.

Back on the beach I wandered around to admire the huge amount of sea lions sleeping and playing. There was a pup that constantly was getting milk from her sleeping mother's breast.

Next we did snorkelling following the cliffy shoreline during which a lot swimming sea lions, school of different size and colour fish could be observed. Javier was following us with the zodiac and was telling that there are some sharks around. The sea was quite rough so I was a bit scared to go very far but he picked Helen and I up and told us to swim in zigzag with the current. I could not see much. At some point close to the bottom of the sea I spotted two large fish that I thought they were sharks.

When I reached the shore a small sea lion pup got into the water and we started playing under the water. This made my day. It was just so beautiful. Then shortly our game was cut by the crazy and roaring male sea lion. Harry was screaming at me to get out of the water. During the period of seven days we were warned many times not to get close to a roaring sea lion. At this stage I felt like a naughty child who was breaking the rules and needed to be warned almost daily :).

Back at the catamaran we were continuing our trip to the Isla Sombrero Chino aka Chinese Hat Island arriving there just before sunset. 

The morning of D225 we were taken to the beach on Chinese Hat and walked on the rocky site similar to the Burren, Co Clare, Ireland.

At the beginning we spotted a small sea lion pup on the beach and on our return he was joined by another one. I sat 2m from them and they came close to me almost touching me. Again I needed to be warned by Harry to keep my distance.

The last snorkel of the trip was at the other side of the narrow bay from the Chinese Hat. We spotted a white tip shark, a lot of beautiful fish, two large sea lions swimming by and some penguins. This was an impressive last snorkel but after less than an hour it was about time to get out of the not so warm water. The theory in Galapagos is that where you spot penguins the temperature of the water is cold.

After lunch the captain navigated the catamaran to the Cerro Dragon, Isla Santa Cruz. In the afternoon we had an hour long walk in this green in the lowlands but arid desert on the top site. 

This part of Isla Santa Cruz has some territorial land iguanas. We could only spot three or four alive ones and one dead one. The lagoon close to the sea had two beautiful flamingos and a big enough blue heron.

As this was our last night the crew was present properly dressed and we said our official goodbyes with a cherry cocktail. The last dinner was set on the middle deck and BBQ meats were served with rice, baked potato and salad. Also at the end there was a surprise cake for Hans (a guest) who had his birthday the following day.

On the last morning of our cruise (D226) we started our last activity at 6am (me was not a happy bunny), a walk on Playa Las Bachas, Isla Santa Cruz. Despite the small size of the beach we could spot an endemic gull, a large blue heron, a marine iguana. Also the footprints of the wild cat could be seen in the wet sand together with tracks of the movement of a sea turtle who laid his eggs.

The last 30 minutes of sail to Isla Baltra happened during the breakfast. At 8 in the morning we said our goodbyes to the crew and we were dropped off at the dock. Here we waited more than an hour for a bus and nobody really gave a shit.  This waiting and the fear of missing the plane made me anxious and nervous. But luckily the bus trip to the airport was quick and efficient.

When I got off at the airport I felt somebody was taping my shoulder and when I turned I could not believe my eyes to see Nico here. I started screaming of joy like a lunatic. He wanted to surprise me and he was taking a boat for 8 days in that afternoon.

Luckily we caught the plane and flew to Guayaquil. From here I continued my trip by bus to Cuenca missing the warmer temperature and tranquillity of the unique and surreal Galapagos. What an adventure!!!