Blogs from San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos, Ecuador, South America

I awoke about 7 and worked on blog entries on the phone for an hour before Sarah woke up. We got ready and walked down to the tour shop to try on our equipment for Sundays trip. Sarah quickly had fins, mask and snorkle in order while I struggled to try on the biggest wetsuit they had. It was super tight, but most of the time they are for me. I asked if they had something a little bigger but no luck. They said they would look around during the day and asked us to come back at 6. So, after another basic continental breakfast we walked with our rented snorkel and mask to the Interpretation Center, which turned out to be a far superior visitors center than the one on Santa Cruz. The Center covered ... read more

Galapagos osa 1 Me julkaistaan blogi Galapagossaarilta kolmessa osassa, jotta saadaan mahdollisimman paljon kuvia. Isla San Cristobal Saavuttiin maanantaina San Cristobalin –saaren pienelle lentokentälle, missä matkatavarat roudattiin traktorilla ihmisten poimittavaks. Jouduttiin maksaan vielä passin tarkastuksessa 100 dollarin kansallispuistomaksu. Pakettimatkojen myyjät oli varotellu meitä turhaan, että saarilla on ruuhkaa pääsiäisloman takia, sillä onnistuttiin jo toisesta kierretystä hostellista löytään meille käypä huone käypään hintaan. Lähdetttiin heti tavaroiden tiputtamisen jälkeen tutkiin lähietäisyydellä olevia kohteita. Suunnattiin eka rantaboulevadille, jossa törmättiin ensimmäisenä sankkaan joukkoon siestaa viettäviä merileijonia (ei rantaleijonia). Ne toivotti meidät vähän laiskanlaisesti tervetulleeks saarille, mutta ei se ... read more

We have just got back to mainland Ecuador after spending just over a week in the Galapagos. Its a pretty amazing place with wildlife everywhere, as you would expect. We first flew into San Cristobal island, where we spent the majority of our week. We organised a taxi to take us to some of the sites around the island. First stop was El Junco, a lake at the top of a volcano. It was a bit of a mission to get up there in the humid heat but a great view nonetheless. Then we went to visit the Giant tortoises. These animals grow so slowly but some of them are massive, 80-200 years old!! The final stop was a well earned swim at a nice white sand beach, Puerto Chino. All in all, it was a ... read more

Santa Cruz Arrival in Baltra felt like we had just landed on the moon, rather than a tropical island in the Pacific. During the ride to Puerto Ayora we mostly saw rocks, bare trees and cactuses. We visited the Charles Darwin centre where giant tortoises are bred, bringing them back from the brink of extinction. Christian was very lucky to sneak into the last spot on dives to Seymour and Gordon Rocks, while I went on a bay tour which involved some snorkling. The dives were quite amazing and Christian was able to see loads of different sharks (even hammerheads), sea turtles, sea lions and plenty of fish. One of the highlights of the island was our trip to tortuga bay, a paradisical beach where we were encircled by 1m-long white-tipped sharks. On another day we ... read more

At the crack of dawn the Queen set off for Cerro Brujo and Kicker Rock, about 90 minutes around the island. In the shelter of the coast, the water was as flat as a pancake. Large seabirds with what looks like a red testicle descended from their neck cruised overhead. These are the famous Frigate birds, the males have this bright red inflatable bag which they show off to their prospective one night stands. Once they've got the job done, they bugger off looking for their next prize. Sounds like London on a Saturday night. We arrive at beach for a 'wet landing', which means the panga drops you at the beach and you get your knees wet. First, though, we cruised around the cliff, spotting some sea lions, brown pelicans and blue footed boobies, which ... read more

The longest journey in the World to arrive at a holiday destination is over. After what seemed like a human version of Walt Disney's Incredible Journey, we finally made it to San Cristobal, the capital of the Galapagos. Our bedroom onboard the Galapagos Queen cannot be understated. We have a king sized bed, another sitting room and an ensuite with bath and shower. We even have a large TV!!! No sooner had we got onboard and we were whisked back to the shore on a Panga (dinghy), loaded onto a bus and driven across thhe island to see some of the famous Giant Tortoises. This guy is a youngster at about 70 years old. They live up to 180 years. There is an increasing population of 25,000 that are being carefully managed back to sustainable numbers ... read more