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We have just returned from our 5 days in the Galapagos Islands and our time spent there can be summarised in one word: Amazing! Since beginning to plan our trip we were looking forward to the Galapagos as one of the major highlights and we were not disappointed. There are many ways to go about organising a trip to the islands. After much research and careful consideration we decided to book a 4 day cruise with Dreamkapture travel in Guayaquil. There is no way of getting around the fact that a trip to the Galapagos is going to be expensive but in the end we feel that it was money well spent. We flew in 1 day before the tour started and stayed in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. We spent the day walking around the seaside town. The animals in the Galapagos do not see humans as a threat and allows people to get incredibly close to all sorts of animals. There was a mix of sea lions and pelicans waiting eagerly as fisherman sorted through the days catch. The animals were completely unbothered by tourists snapping photos and posing next to them. The morning before our tour started we visited the Charles Darwin Station. The entrance is free and you are able to wander around on your own and see turtles of all sizes. Its amazing because its not like a zoo where the turtles are in cages and you can just look at the from afar. Instead, you are able to actually walk through the turtles living area and really see them up close. They just go about eating or sleeping, completley unbothered by your presence. The Charles Darwin Staion is home to Lonesome George. He is the last living turtle of his species. He currently lives with 2 females genetically similar to him in hopes that he will breed but so far it is unsuccessful. Our tour started that afternoon, and we met up with the other 6 people that would be on our boat, the Merak. We were taken to the highlands on Santa Cruz were we viewed more turtles, in a different environment. We had some free time before boarding the boat so the group went to an outdoor patio, over looking the water and had some drinks. Unlike some previous groups we have been with on tours, we were pleasantly surprised to find that with this group everyone got along and really enjoyed each others company. The rest of the tour followed a pattern, breakfast, walking tour of an island, lunch, snorkel, siesta while we travel, dinner and then a couple drinks. The days were so busy and we did and saw so much that noone on the boat stayed up past 930 pm. Again, the trip can be summed up by just saying that it was amazing. Our guide was very passionate and knowledgable, the food was all really good, and we saw everything that we were hoping to. The pictures speak for themselves and will do our trip more justice than my words could ever.

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