Advertisement
Published: September 2nd 2010
Edit Blog Post
Our next journey was a two hour flight from Guayaquil to the Galápagos islands. Our flight landed on one of the main islands, Isla Santa Cruz. A lofty sum of $100 USD is required before entering the Galápagos and we paid this through gritted teeth, assuring ourselves it would be worth it in the end. We checked into a cheap hostel and went out straight away to check out the sights, sounds, flora and fauna on the island. First stop, the Charles Darwin Research Centre, to pay a visit to Lonesome George and the other giant tortoises. The first time we spotted them, we thought they were statues. They are so slow moving and gigantic. To see them up close is like looking at something pre-historic and truly astounding. Giant tortoises can live up to 200 years, which teaches us all a lesson; that we gotta relax, take things easy and slow down to live a long healthy life. The Darwin Research Centre is very large with plenty of areas for the tortoises to roam around. Also, another point of note is that it is free, which is a rarity on the Galapagos islands. After our mini excursion, we walked down
to the pier to take in some of the marine life. We remarked on the size and amount of crabs scurrying about the outer edges of the pier, also dozens of marine iguanas clung statuesque to the side of the pier. And to top it off, sleepy seals mopped there way up to the platforms to get some shut eye. I was beginning to like this place a lot already.
The following day, we booked a morning snorkelling session, which took us out to a beautiful land locked blue canyon, filled with a mix of sea water and fresh water. The colour of the canyon was a striking blue, so inviting to dive into. As we were snorkelling, taking in the sights of all the fishes, we heard a thunderous crash from the water and saw that a guy had just jumped 15 metres into the water from a cliff above. Simon couldnt let this pass and followed in his footsteps, an exhilirating, 3 second freefall. Nerves of steel!
In the afternoon, we got a boat trip over to Isla Isabela, and drank a concocotion of cocktails, whilst watching iguanas panned out on the rocks taking in the sunset.
Male Frigate bird
With red pouch inflated These guys know how to relax. The following morning, we had an early start with a trek up one of the larger volcanoes on the Galapagos - Sierra Negra. As we trekked up this volcano, it was easy to see how the entirety of the islands was initially formed from volcanic action, there are volcanoes everywhere. When we reached the top of Sierra Negra, our guide showed us the crater. Initially, I didnt even recognise it as a crater, as it was huge, it went on into the clouds, but I noticed the outer edges of it at one side and could make out a crater shape. Apparently, Sierra Negra has the largest crater of an active volcano in the world. After lunch, we set sail for another snorkelling adventure, this time with reef sharks and turtles. We swam down a channel, where the water is warmer so the reef sharks can sleep and we swam right above them. The reef sharks are about a metre in length and are exactly how you would picture a shark, but, apparently, they are vegetarian!! One of the guys in front of me, accidentally hit his flipper off the shark and suddenly the
Blue footed booby
He looks like he's going to a festival! shark began to circle beneath him, very scary! After our close encounter with the sharks, we snorkelled with turtles, a truly magical experience to see these giant turtles glide so effortlessly in the water.
We got a boat back to Isla Santa Cruz and were only on the island for a couple of hours before we shipped off again, this time on a 3 night cruise around the islands. We boarded the Princess of the Galapogas and were introduced to the rest of the group that were going on this adventure with us. The group consisted of backpackers of a similar age to us and we knew it was going to be good fun. We dumped our bags in our cabins, the smallest sleeping quarters I have e'er seen. First stop was on Isla Santa Cruz to a giant tortoise colony. Although, we had previously seen the giant tortoises in the Charles Darwin Research Centre, it was nice to see them in their natural habitat. We were still in awe of the size of these creatures and how similar they looked to dinosaurs. Next we trekked through a tunnel formed by lava, that involved twisting and crawling to reach
Female booby
In her nest, surrounded by excrement. Delightful! to the other side.
The following day, we visited North Seymour island. This island has the largest colony of Frigate birds in the Galapagos. What makes the Frigate bird unique, is the fact the male has a large red pouch that is inflated during breeding season to attract a mate. There is also a population of blue footed boobies (yes, that's right, boobies!), who perform an amusing courtship dance. We were lucky enough to take in one of these spectacles. The male spreads his wings and calls out to his female mate, in an attempt to attract her attention. In this particular instance, the female stood back nonchalantly, while he continued to dance around her. Finally,the female, turned her back and moved on to another male, who in turn did exactly the same mating dance. The first male stood there dejectedly and then looked up to us, his accumulated audience. The humilation must have been unbearable! Another point of interest about the boobies, is that the female nests on bare black lava in a small dip in the ground. The female will turn to face the sun during the day, so the nest is surrounded by excretion and the
territory is marked. Interesting choice of fencing!Later that day, we went snorkelling just off a smaller island near to North Seymour island. We snorkelled with schools of fishes that seem to go on forever, aswell as starfish. An unending display of marine life beneath us to marvel at.
The following day, we visited Sante Fe island, where the Sante Fe iguana lives. This type of iguana is only found on this island. Before we went to the island, we went snorkelling with sealions. The sealions come up and play with you while youre snorkelling. Such magnificent, graceful and playful creatures in the water. As we were shipping out, we saw a small penguin colony of Galapagos penguins, cute little birds in suits.
On our final day, we stopped off at Isla San Cristobal and went to the local museum to get an overview of the Galapágos islands history. The most interesting bit of information I picked up was from our guide after our trip to the museum: The first man to ever live on the Galapagos islands was an Irishman - in 1807. Patrick Watkins arrived on the island of Floreana marooned at sea. He lived there for
two years, growing vegetables and trading them with passing whaling ships for rum. He eventually stole a longboat from one of these passing ships and sailed to mainland Ecuador.
Besides the visits to the these fantastic islands, our cruise ship was good craic. It was Galapagos on a budget, so the cabins were cramped, but the group was fun and friendly, as was our bilingual guide. After our trip to the San Cristobal museum, we left from the airport to fly to Quito. So it was goodbye to the Galapagos, after an unforgettable week of magnificent sights and great memories.
Onwards to Quito, Ecuador.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.083s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 11; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0487s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb