Quick warning, this will be a bit longer blog post. Internet connectivity on the Galápagos Islands was pretty poor which makes writing harder and I have to cover a couple of weeks now; but mainly because there is just so much to do here, so much to write about and to be honest I just didn’t feel like being on a device in this place. We just left the Islands and wait for our connection at Guayaquil airport. Finally a decent internet connection again (thanks McDonalds) to upload the hundreds of photos we took over the last couple of weeks. Yesterday we had a bit of a rest day to absorb, reflect and process really, taking the ferry back to Santa Cruz and enjoying our last evening in Puerto Ayora. What a couple of weeks it has been!
We arrived on Santa Cruz via Guayaquil a few days after my sister’s wedding. No time to rest for the wicked… The Galápagos Islands are/have been a big item on my bucket list for some time, so it was very exciting to fly in and see the Islands for the first time. Just out of the plane and we saw our first land iguanas, quick bus trip to the canal, 2 minute ferry ride and a 45 minute taxi drive later, we checked into our AirBnB accommodation.
A few points to start things off. The Galápagos Islands are expensive! Nothing you can do about it but for us it meant we had to make a few decisions. Currency in Ecuador is US$ and a water taxi, bus etc. all cost a buck each – this quickly adds up for us five. I only booked the first few nights on the main island, Santa Cruz – for us to then decide what to do with the rest of the days. Most people do a 3-8 day cruise around quite a few islands but for us this would have blown the budget (full price for kids…) and I didn’t get any good vibes from the rest of the crew to stay on a boat for a few days.
Reading up about the islands, we decided we only do two islands, Santa Cruz and Isabela, and we kept paid tours to a minimum. Both Islands offer plenty of opportunity to explore via a tour but also by yourself. For us it worked out perfectly that way.
We also kept cost down by stocking up in the local supermarkets and cooking most of our own meals and having breakfast in our accommodations. But don’t worry, we enjoyed the odd cocktail, beer and plenty of ice cream as rewards for some decent hikes.
One last thing, and probably the most important part. The wildlife is just amazing here. We read a lot about it, saw the TV shows etc. but it is still amazing once you arrive on the Islands. Sea lions, the red crabs, plenty of iguanas, too many birds to go through them, and of course the giant tortoises but also sea turtles. Unbelievable experience really! And none of the animals show the slightest fear for you. Quite the opposite really, they are inquisitive and come to you to check you out. Absolutely amazing. And a lot of the wildlife is native to the Islands of course as well, which makes it even more special.
Ok, let’s start with our first week on Santa Cruz. Our accommodation was just excellent and the host most helpful. This was great as it gave us a nice base to explore the island. When we arrived early in the morning, we headed straight over to the Charles Darwin centre for some background on evolution and the environmental efforts being undertaken to keep/restore each of the islands. We then relaxed on a nearby beach and to try our new snorkelling gear. Always wanted to try one of the full face masks and we bought one kid and one adult one in Bogota. Concept is great but the (not so cheap) model we got was absolute crap. Plastic stuff which fogged up in no time, even after we got some anti-fog spray to see if it helps. Lessons learned here… back to basics with decent tempered glass goggles and snorkels next time.
On our first full day, we rented a taxi for the day (about US$60) to drive us to a giant tortoise reserve and two nearby sinkholes. This was the only rain day during our time here but this didn’t bother us too much as it was still warm and we had our rain jackets ready to go. Well, it turns out my “rain jacket” might have been a rain jacket a few years back, but now it is more of a sponge really.
Anyway, the giant tortoises are hugely impressive! They are massive, I guess their name says as much, but once you see them up close – well, they are massive! It was great to see them in their natural habitat (after seeing quite a few in the Charles Darwin Centre the day before) and numbers are slowly recovering after near extinction due to some excellent effort by local naturalists and the Charles Darwin Institute. The story is very much as we have in New Zealand, introduced pests like rats but also goats, flies and wasps are having a massive impact on the Galapagos ecosystem and are very difficult to manage/control.
For lonesome George these efforts were too late though and he and his kind from one particular island are now extinct. You can actually still see him, stuffed in his own celebrity area. Anyway, we saw lots of other giant tortoises in our two weeks and the different species are easily distinguished by the different shells. Very interesting and we talked a lot about evolution with the kids.
On the same trip we also saw and entered our first lava tunnels. Quite impressive to walk through them, formed by lava cooling and hardening on the outside and the red-hot lave still flowing in the inside.
The second day trip via taxi took us to a mountain (Cerro Mesa) and a beach about 30 minutes from Puerto Ayora. Overall this was probably our least favourite day. Nice views, and a short walk down to the base of a crater plus nice beach but without any wildlife really. So let’s move on.
One day we spent exploring Tortuga Bay where at the right time of year the sea turtles arrive and lay their nests. Nothing of that for us but a bloody nice beach nevertheless with plenty of sea iguanas lingering about and taking on heat before heading back into the ocean. Quite a hike to get there and even further if you want to reach the peaceful lagoon perfect for swimming and snorkelling, but definitely worth the effort.
We also took a short water taxi ride to a different (fancy) part of town with another very nice beach and Las Grietas. They are some very swimming lagoons with crystal clear water, perfect for snorkelling and seeing some huge fish. The kids loved jumping of the platform. We always wanted to go back there but didn’t manage unfortunately.
That day, and most others really, we strolled through the beautiful Puerto Ayora. Lots of little shops (you wouldn’t believe how many different “I love Boobies” T-Shirts there are!) and restaurants, tour operators AND a local craft beer brewery with a decent IPA and APA. I think I will write a craft beer blog post at one point, watch this space 🙂
One highlight of Puerto Ayora was certainly the fish market. In the morning and in the afternoon the local fishermen bring in their catch (mainly tuna it seems at this time of the year) and then the action starts. Sea lions, frigate birds, pelicans and plenty of other birds want to have some piece of the action and show not the slightest sign of restrain. What a show, which we watched a few times!
Here we go, that concludes our first week in the Galápagos Islands. I warned you – this one will be a long one…
Island Isabela is a two hour speed boat ride from Santa Cruz. The kids (with some travel pill help) and Jennifer survived the bumpy ride and we moved into our apartment for the next few days. Another really nice accommodation and, now having spent 5 days there, Isabela is our favourite island for sure. We read similar comments on Tripadvisor etc. and completely agree. The wildlife is even more impressive here and Puerto Villamil just has a nice, relaxed feeling to it, has a long beautiful beach to walk along and watch eagle rays in the surf, iguanas of course and plenty of birds again. The off power cut didn’t bother us at all, just added to the feel of the place. As was the volleyball game in front of our accommodation every night. This seems to be the favourite sport here with plenty of teams playing each night, from very social to very competitive. Cool to watch really. In short, we could have easily stayed another week…
We got greeted by sea lions and blue footed boobies darting into the sea when we arrived and even enjoyed a nice sunset with a beer and cocktail or two at a nice bar straight on the beach. Perfect start to an eventful week really.
The next day was all about Los Tuneles. We read raving reviews of this tour and decided that this one is the tour we do as a family. It is a half day tour driving by boat to a lava rock formation, spending an hour snorkelling, followed by a lunch and then exploring the lava rocks on foot. And it was just wow! We swam with turtles (lots of them), saw plenty of colourful fish, white tip sharks, sea horses, eagle rays, …
The kids did amazingly well and didn’t even need a vest, and they absolutely loved it as well.
After a short but pretty yummy lunch break, we made our way onto the lava rocks and saw blue footed boobies and their chicks from close up. More turtles swimming past us, even a large eagle ray making its way through the tunnels and more birds like the lava gull close up. On the way back we stopped at another rock formation and saw the Nasca boobie as a nice wrap up. An unforgettable trip!
The next couple of days we spend exploring different (and free) parts of the island. First stop was a set of lagoons where we saw flamingoes again. We saw them first in Argentina and now here – and again, not expected and somehow they don’t fit into the landscape. But beautiful birds, no question. We saw more (and different again) giant tortoises, lots of new birds, and then discovered another gem of Isabela – Concha de Perla. This is a small, sheltered bay in easy walking distance from town and perfect for snorkelling. We went there at least once every day and always saw and swam with turtles, eagle rays, sharks (Jennifer was not amused), and of course plenty of sea lions and iguanas. The sea lions especially are very playful and swim around you and want to play really. One went even so far to pull Jella by her foot (she was not amused as well but no harm done). We saw penguins every time there as well and one day I was really lucky and at the right place at the right time as a couple of penguins swam around me and checked me out. One wanted to pick on my goggle I think, that’s how close they were. Absolutely amazing! On our last visit straight before the ferry back to Santa Cruz we had our final stop there and it was different again. This time a large school of fish was in the bay and under it swam a few sharks, boobies diving in from top and when we had to leave, the penguins joined the action as well. I am sure it was a very eventful afternoon in the bay with the sea lions joining later, but sadly we had to go.
We also did a bike trip to the Wall of Tears. In the 40s and 50s prisoners had to build a wall out of lava rocks. Pure time wasting activity under very tough conditions and many of them died constructing and then deconstructing the wall. A sobering place to visit but with nice outlooks on the way and we encountered numerous giant tortoises as well. They literally blocked our way as they were using the path also. One of them was chewing away on a cactus as if it was a nice, juicy fruit. I guess for them it is.
The ferry ride back to Santa Cruz was very smooth without any issues and we saw lots of sea birds again, topped by a waved albatross. Really incredible to see and it showed again that you can encounter new wildlife at any corner in this special place. We managed to book our favourite accommodation for our last night and had a good rest before we headed to the airport this morning. I have to say, it is never nice to wrap up a holiday but this must be the place I least wanted to leave. Seriously considered to just scrap our flights and stay for another week or two… But Machu Picchu is calling, we are catching up with Gesa in Cusco tomorrow – so here we go again.
Well that’s it really. If you guys have the chance to get here, just do it.
