Blogs from San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos, Ecuador, South America - page 3

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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 meitä haitannu kun oltiin ihan ihme... read more
Järvimaisemia a la ecuador
Herkkusuu
Snorklausmesta


Today started unexpectedly early, which is something we really should be expecting, given the past week. We were woken by The Voice of Paula telling us there were dolphins at the prow. Stumbling into appropriate public wear, I stopped by the kids’ room to rouse them for the experience and was greeted by their less than enthusiastic grunts and groans. Leaving Paul to deal with them, I ran up to the deck and was thrilled to see dolphins frolicking within spitting distance. There were dozens of them, breaching and racing along with the boat. You could hear them squealing, like Flipper. Having never been accused of being a morning person, I felt very smug realizing that I was the only animal lover willing to brave the early air to appreciate these dolphins but when I paused ... read more
Bay
Swiming with Sea Lions
Nazca Booby


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
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South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » San Cristóbal Island December 8th 2011

After our one and a half days of volunteering work, we badly needed a rest. The best thing to do, I thought, was to leave Santa Cruz for a week and go to San Cristobal. By an amazing stroke of coincidence (your correspondent does not believe in luck unless it involves getting the last cold bottle of beer in the shop) that is exactly what happened. To go from one island to another you need a boat. As there are usually fifteen other people who have tickets, you need a biggish boat. As San Cristobal is roughly 60km away, you want a biggish but fastish boat and that dear readers is what we got. A sort of speedboat that could hold up to 20 people that smashed into each wave like a boat smashing into waves. ... read more
chase me, chase me
a shocked looking Catalina
several thousand coffee beans

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » San Cristóbal Island September 21st 2011

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

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » San Cristóbal Island September 6th 2011

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

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » San Cristóbal Island September 5th 2011

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


I am already back in Quito but since I did not have a chance to update about the Galapagos while I was there I am going go back in time and do so now. First of all, the islands were amazing! I was by far the youngest on the trip. There was only one couple, and the rest were single travelers which was nice for getting to know people. There were two Swiss women and a German woman all in their 30s, a couple from the US in their 30s, two cousins from Australia, a Canadian woman, an Australian woman, and an Australian man all in their 40s. We arrived on San Cristobal Island Sunday July 24th in the afternoon and were met by our guide, Oswaldo. We had enough time to eat lunch and get ... read more


Jooooooo everyone! hoe ist ginder? Dat we nog geen regering hebben is ondertussen geen nieuws meer, dus schrap dat al maar uit de berichtgeving. Wij zijn net terug van een cruise naar de Galapagos eilanden, was SCHITTEREND!! Goeie deal gevonden en dik genoten! Nu, als je de Galapagos op voorhand boekt, geen last minute dus, en vanuit Europa, met massas commissie erbij, dan kost dit extreem veel geld! Dus niet geheel ontverwacht dat wanneer we op het vliegtuig achterom keken om te checken wat de gemiddelde leeftijd was, 9 van de 10 hoofden met wit of geen haar bedekt was. We waren opgelucht wanneer we onze groep te zien kregen, grotendeels jongeren, vanuit Australie, Zwitserland, Duitsland en de US. Voldoende tegengewicht voor de 2 oudere Hollandse koppels aan boord :) De Zwitserse Andrea verdient extra aandacht ... read more
Flying red eyed bird
Sea lion on the bench
krabbers!


We headed up to the field station at Jatun Sacha on sunday afternoon by pick up... and the only way to travel is in the back! The girls had a great time travelling in local style. We got allocated to the dorms, and then had a orientation of the charities aims before we spent the next week working hard! The work included clearing an area of mora blackberry) by machete, digging out the roots, and replanting the area with native and indigenous trees. We also had duties in the kitchen, and the girls all mucked in and helped out each day - the field staff were very impressed by the group and have invited them back! As Jo said "the hard work is really satisfying". The evenings were spent playing a card game called Cuarenta - ... read more
planting trees
On the hike to the Pampass zone
At the top of the island




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