Blogs from Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador, South America

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South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora June 13th 2019

Our day started off early with lots of travel ahead of us. We were up, ready and fed by 6:50 when Ramiro picked us up and took us to the airport. Traffic was pretty brutal but we made good time. And just like in the states, by the time we got to our gate, the flight was delayed. It wasn’t as bad as when we left Houston, only an hour late. We flew from Quito into Santa Cruz Island which is the most populated island We deplaned and made our way through their customs and had to pay $100 each to get into the Galapagos. It was fast and painless. Waiting for our luggage wasn’t as bad as it could have been either, plus we had great entertainment. Some dude had on quite the disarray of ... read more
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South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora July 20th 2017

A friend of mine and her boyfriend recently made up the term "cocktail diving" while in Indonesia. Cocktail diving refers to the kind of diving where you leisurely roll into the dive shop mid-morning, slip into a 3mm shortie wetsuit, dive among colorful fish and coral in clear turquoise 29°C bathtub-like water, before sunning yourself on the boat on the way back to dry land. This is by far the type of diving I enjoy most, and I rarely deviate from it. But I do make a few exceptions, one of which is hammerhead sharks. The Galápagos are famous for their friendly land-based animals, but among divers they are also famous for one thing in particular: schooling hammerheads. There are only a few places in the world where you can see them and the Galápagos Islands ... read more
Whale shark
Sea lion
Mola-mola or sunfish

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora July 17th 2017

"The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands." Sir Richard Burton The goal for this year long trip as a whole was to find cool places to hang out as a family, rather than sightseeing. Therefore, we have mostly visited places we've been before, not wanting to make ourselves crazy by rushing around seeing something new every few days. When we made the decision to leave Indonesia early to fit in The Galápagos Islands, we were definitely excited. Not only are the Galápagos one of those legendary places you hear about but never think you'll go, but they are also completely new for both Scott and I. If you're like me, you probably think the Galápagos are a ... read more
Puerto Ayora's ocean-front playground
Lava lizards are all over the waterfront!
Seals in the harbor (view from the supermarket cafe)

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora December 9th 2016

Guayaquil was a pleasant step off to the Galapagos archipelago but it is time to go, the airport was only a short distance away and we were soon standing in front of the Galapagos window to get an immigration pass before we could check in our luggage. The airport is new so it is clean and comfortable and our two hour flight left on time, no entertainment though. Ruth took some photos from the air as we approached the airport island of Baltra and soon we were on terra firma, first step immigration followed by the national park fee then onto a bus for the short ride to the ferry. Here we saw our first Sally lightfoot crabs, our first marine iguana, frigate birds and brown pelicans. We then boarded the ferry for the three minute ... read more
Spitting Sally lightfoot crab
Yellow warbler
Vegetarian Finch

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora April 24th 2016

Columbia...... Bogota 2300 meters above sea level, so it takes a couple of days for you to adjust to the altitude. Bogota was totally great but tourist and visitors unable to go many areas in the city, mainly because of crime. People in the city are so proud of their town and are so impressed when you say that you had a great time. Although travel to other parts of the country is probably only safe via plane. We hope to return to Columbia in a couple of months to Cartagena and the national park. So Bogota such a large city the same as most, a huge university city. The mountains that surround Bogota are green and fertile. This time of year we experienced three to four seasons in one day like Melbourne. We needed warm ... read more
Bogota, Columbia
Bogota, Columbia
Bogota,Columbia

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora February 24th 2016

The Galapagos Islands, Darwin and evolution are closely connected in most people’s minds. The truth, however, is far more mundane. The breeding of dogs by English dog-breeders and pigeons were what inspired Darwin. The Galapagos and its wildlife on the other hand hardly features in his book, ‘The Origin of Species’. In fact when Darwin came to the Galapagos he was far more interested in its geology than its wildlife. Though presumably he became more interested in its wildlife once he was there. You can hardly not become more interested in its wildlife. He seems to have ridden on the back of one of the giant tortoises, so clearly he had a bit of fun while on the islands. Evolution also had very little to do with me coming to the Galapagos, and neither did geology. ... read more
Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora December 26th 2015

We hope you're all having a fantastic Christmas! We have to be honest and say that we have missed our families a lot... but if you're going to be away from home for the festive season, this is the place to be! The Galápagos Islands are simply spectacular, and the wildlife that we've seen here has blown our minds. We spent yesterday at Tortuga Bay - one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen, and then had some amazing Galápagos seafood for our Christmas dinner! Today has been a very lazy Boxing Day spent wandering around posh tat shops in Puerto Ayora and planning the next leg of our trip, to Chile and Argentina. We'll write a (far too detailed) blog about The Galápagos in the next few days, but for now, Merry Christmas everyone! ... read more
Spot the crabs

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora September 20th 2015

Die Reise von Dallas nach Galapagos war nicht ganz einfach. Wir flogen zu erst von Dallas nach Miami, Flugzeit ca. 2 1/2 Stunden. Dann ging es nach einer Stunde Aufenthalt in Miami, weiter nach Guayaquil, Flugzeit ca. 4 1/2 Stunden. In Guayaquil mussten wir 9 Stunden überbrücken bis zu unserem Abflug nach Galapagos. Allerdings wussten wir bei unserer Ankunft in Guayaquil noch gar nicht, ob wir die Einreise nach Galapagos überhaupt genehmigt bekommen würden. Im Internet und auch im Reisebüro wurde uns empfohlen, nicht auf eigene Faust nach Galapagos zu reisen, sondern immer über einen Reiseveranstalter, da es Bestimmungen auf der Insel gibt, die das Reisen für Einzelpersonen schwierig machen. Wir hatten auch von Deutschland aus schon versucht, uns für Galapagos registrieren zu lassen, aber das hat erst Monate lang nicht funktioniert und als es endlich ... read more
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South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora June 29th 2015

GORDON ROCKS Promptly at 6:30 a.m. we gathered at the dive store, then walked to the pier and boarded the boat. It was a small cabin cruiser, like most of the others in the bay. Somehow I thought everything would be gilded in the Galapagos. The boat was unexceptional. The dive masters and captain were knowledgeable and the divers were friendly. We all got in the water where our boat was anchored to test our weights because it was imperative that we could submerge quickly when we got to our dive site, due to strong currents and rough seas. Then we snorkeled for a while because two young people were doing an open water course before our dive. We snorkeled close to the rocks where sea lions were playing in the surf. Unfortunately I am not ... read more
BUMPHEAD PARROTFISH
TURTLE
HAMMERHEAD SHARKS

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora June 28th 2015

GALAPAGOS – ARRIVAL One evening in the Dominican Republic, Michael and I were wondering where I would go after Puerto Rico. I was unsure. I knew I was eventually going to Buenos Aires for tango, and Patagonia for some hiking. But what was I going to do in between now and then. I casually threw out Galapagos. I had no idea where it was or how I was going to get there. I knew it was off the coast of Ecuador and Ecuador was on my route to the rest of South America. Michael loved Ecuador; he had spent almost three months there on one of his trips. We looked up the Galapagos on the internet, and the information was so exciting I would have left right then if it had been possible. I realized I ... read more
ARTISTIC ARCH
GETTING THERE
THE LOCAL FERRY




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