The Galapagos Islands -- 4 Main Islands

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The Galapagos has been a dream destination of mine for a long time, and I thought the experience of up close encounters with unique animals not found anywhere else and pristine island paradise scenery was unparalleled.

The animals and birds are remarkably tame -- no fear of humans. This sea lion hangs around the fish market & the employee feeds it scraps. I walked right up to a Blue Heron without it flinching.

At the beginning of the island adventure I spent 2 days on the main island, Santa Cruz then 3 days each on Isabela & San Cristobal. I did not visit the third island, Floreana. It takes approximately 2 hours by speedboat between these inhabited islands. I did a bunch of snorkeling & saw an amazing amount of sea turtles, sea lions, sea horses, and thousands of fish. I got an early boat (2 hrs) back this morning to my main island (Santa Cruz) where I dropped off my laundry last Thursday and traded it for dirty duds which I will pickup when back on Thursday. I took the late boat (3 hrs) to San Cristobal on Monday, back to Santa Cruz on Thursday & Friday heading to San Bartolome on a single day (purchased) tour.



The Galapagos islands are the destination of a lifetime. The shear numbers of wildlife & I have been snorkelling with sea lions, huge rays, sea horses, sea turtles, penguins & fishtank varieties of fish. A lot of people are turned off by rumoured huge cost but I found a gal online who described how to do it on the cheap. You can do it by boat which means floating around and doing visits to each island -- this method is insanely expensive. Or, you can go to the 4 habited islands & go down to the dock & negotiate places to go. Apparently a lot of people have seen that blog because I have encountered dozens of new friends travelling like that.

Isabela

This seahorse-shaped island is the largest of all the islands in the Archipelago. Isabela was initially named Albemarle Island after the Duke of Albemarle. Historically this island was a refuge for pirates, whalers, and buccaneers. It is the largest island of the Galápagos with an area of 4,640 square kilometres (1,790 sq mi) and length of 100 kilometres (62 mi) almost four times larger than Santa Cruz, the second largest of the archipelago. Puerto Villamil is the main town on the island.



1) I hiked to the edge of the caldera on Sierra Negra volcano. It’s a great walk of about 4km each way to view it. Generally starts in mist and cloud, then clears as you walk the side of the volcano. You can’t see it until you hit the clearings, but when you do it’s spectacular! The caldera is 9km by 6km and is steaming because it is located near a hotspot. The Sierra Negra like the other volcanoes on Isabela is believed to have been created from a mantle plume which has created the hotspot. The age of Sierra Negra and the other volcanoes on Isabela is hard to determine as they are in a North-South line to the east of the hotspot, which is believed to be under Fernandina volcano, and the Nazca plate is moving east. It last erupted in 2005.



2) Took a boat tour to the lava tunnels that included a 1-hour snorkeling stop near a mangrove forest around a maze of underwater lava tunnels. Probably the best place we went snorkeling. Swam with sharks, long-tailed green sea turtles, manta rays, sea horses and loads of fish. Definitely a highlight. The water around this area is like an aquarium & as you get into the tunnels the water gets shallow and displays an amazing turquoise color.

San Cristobal

Only bought one on SC. Rather than book an organized tour, I arranged with Pepe Spent the 1st day touring the island with the family I'm staying with, Pepe & his son-in-law -- amazing foliage in the interior. Its a whole different world on the Equator. Eg) its hotter than hell during mid-day but the sea water is the place to be during those hours. The mornings & evenings are NICE and toasty warm. The coast is littered with snoozing sea lions. They even find an escape from the hot sun under whatever they find. Also, 2 giant tortoises doing the nasty.

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