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Published: January 17th 2016
My excitement as we flew into Santa Cruz Airport on the Galapagos Islands meant that I could barely stay in my seat. Visiting Galapagos was the culmination of childhood dreams fed by naturalists including David Attenborough. My mind was racing through hopes and wishes. Would I see the Giant Tortoises? The Blue Footed Boobies? What would I make of the landscape? I hoped against hope that I would not be disappointed.
The flight landed then it was a bus ride, a ferry and another bus and we arrived in Puerto Ayora where within moments of arrival we saw blue footed boobies, frigate birds and pelicans (completely different to home pelicans) diving beak first into a bay where sea lions played. I was speechless.
We wandered from tour agency to tour agency in search of the best prices for day excursions to the outlying islands. To my dismay I discovered very quickly a fact that became increasingly more apparent each day we spent in Galapagos. Everything related to tourists is expensive, VERY expensive. Eventually we found an agency that combined excellent customer service with the best prices for tours on the island. Here we narrowed down our day tour options
to two, Santa Fe and Isabela. What eventually decided it for us was that visiting Santa Fe would allow us to snorkel for at least three hours. With the advice of my work colleague Michelle and avid diver ringing in my ears (“when you visit Galapagos you MUST snorkel!”) we made our choice. Santa Fe.
We then sought the advice of the lovely agent about where was the best, cheapest place to find Almuerzo and made our way there. To find some of the only well priced delicious food on the island, other than at Highland View. Shortly after this we found a taxi which took us up into the highlands of Santa Cruz to our home for our stay in Galapagos Highland Views where we were welcomed whole heartedly by the owners and Ben an Australian volunteering there as a guide and general helper. They provided us with advice regarding transportation on the island that ended up saving us hundreds of dollars. (Flag down cars, share taxis with locals and ride the Civa into Puerto Ayora. If you are a tourist they expect you to pay far more than locals but if you travel like a local you
Highland View swing
Even more exciting than Casa del Arbol, and definitely more peaceful no line to be found.can avoid the exorbitant cost.)
Highland Views turned out to be an excellent find by Tommy. We had hoped to camp on Galapagos believing we would have more chances of seeing the less frequently seen wildlife if we camped. But we never expected it to be this good. Our tent was set up in a tall rotunda in the middle of a forest with panoramic views of Santa Cruz it was breathtaking. We coated ourselves in insect repellent, enjoyed the campfire and once the sun set went to bed to the tantalizing sounds of nocturnal birds invisible animals.
There are so many highlights of our visit to Galapagos. If I was to go into every moment in detail I would have to write you a novel dear readers so I will provide you with the outstanding moments.
El Chato Turtle Reserve Our visit to Rancho Primicias Tortoise Reserve (which we elected to complete ourselves rather than paying for a tour bus or taxis choosing instead to take the civa, bus and walk in) provided us with several advantages as well as a saving of at least $50 to $100 USD it provided us with
a uniquely memorable experience. As we made our way towards Rancho Primicias having disembarked in Santa Rosa having been the sole occupants of a local bus we quickly realised that we might have underestimated the distance to the reserve. This was not a problem I just mention it so that if you were to choose to visit the reserve in this manner you are aware of the facts. Anyway we began our walk through the village of Santa Rosa where we were greeted by friendly locals and I being an avid horse lover got to make friends with a horse and an initially unfriendly donkey before we continued on our way. What was particularly enjoyable about the walk was being able to see the details of the way that the vegetation changed as the amount of birdlife increased the further we went. When you look at paddocks you normally expect to see cows and yes they were there... at first but as we walked down the tree lined road we noticed what on first sight seemed to be really big rocks. But these were definitely not rocks these were giant tortoises! Moving at snails pace through paddocks grazing on the
bountiful vegetation. A little further on beside the road we had our very first close encounter with one of these prehistoric seeming giants. The tortoise who had been snacking on roadside flowers quickly pulled his head into his shell when he noticed our arrival however upon recognising that we were not going to do anything as uncouth as attempt to pat his head or god forbid ride on his shell he slowly slowly slowly extended his head and resumed his snacking. Taking big mouthfuls and chomping blissfully unconcerned about our presence. We would never have had this moment had we sped past in a loud tour bus or taxi. Determined we continued our walk eventually arriving at the reserve whose employees seemed suprised to see us without aforementioned transportation. We paid the entrance fee, donned gum boots and entered the reserve. Initially we followed clearly marked people paths but as we got deeper into the reserve these became increasingly difficult to recognise and I believe we ended up following tortuga paths as well and ended up in the guide required El Chato by accident. We saw seemingly hundreds of Giant Tortoises whose slow movements and old faces combined with the
location in which they were situated reminded Tommy of Morla from the swamps of sadness in the Neverending Story. She giggled and said "we don't care, go away" in a funny voice as a particularly grumpy looking tortoise lifted it's ancient head and met our gaze. As we made our way back we met some very animated extremely funny Smooth Billed Ani's whose strange calls, funny looking beaks and hilarious interactions with one another made me laugh aloud.
We arrived back to the reserve entrance with very muddy boots and in my case very muddy feet which we washed as best we could before beginning our return journey. This turned out to be exhausting. Luckily, just as I was on the point of sitting down in the middle of the road to have a proper two year old who is too tired tantrum a taxi ute stopped and allowed us to hitch a ride back to Santa Rosa in the tray. More luck followed in Santa Rosa when we were joined by several locals at the bus stop who agreed to split costs and share a taxi back in to Puerto Ayora (in Galapagos locals get different, lower prices
for transportation than tourists. If you make friends and are happy to split costs you can get seriously good deals with transportation!) In no time at all we arrived in Puerto Ayora where we celebrated our highly enjoyable day with two sea food Almuerzos at an excellent restaurant off the main drag.
Snorkelling Santa Fe Our much anticipated tour to Santa Fe dawned with a blazing sunrise. We made our way in the early morning light to Puerto Ayora arriving with enough time to enjoy the company of Marine iguanas sunning themselves on the docks whilst sally light foot crabs waved their arms in a strange dance and a young Galapagos Fur Seal frolicked in the warm shallows. Tommy was entranced by the iguanas with their strange faces and the confidence of their gaze. I of course was drawn to the seal enjoying its revels in the water and clumsy ascent to lie seemingly exhausted in the sun gilded sand.
As the sun rose further into the sky we made our way to the agency and were quickly escorted to the pier where we met others on our tour before embarking with our guide, firstly onto a
water taxi and then to our boat. We raced through the bright blue water watching it shift and change before lifting our eyes to glimpse Santa Cruz´s landscape first changing and then fading into the distance. In seemingly no time we reached Santa Fe where we were introduced to a wide variety of mostly endemic birdlife including Blue Footed Boobies, Frigate Birds and Nazca Boobies. Our guide described how to identify each species and explained how the birds live together in harmony as each prefers a different type of territory. The landscape of Santa Fe consisted of volcanic rock which formed contorted cliff tops scattered with cactuses, birds’ nests and a solitary sea lion.
Then bouncing joyously through the water we reached our first snorkelling location. We donned our snorkelling gear and looking like a cross between a seal, penguin and alien we launched into the water. Initially Tommy struggled with breathing having never snorkled before. I struggled as well because I had failed to fully rinse the soap from my mask, a very uncomfortable 5ish minutes ensued. However our difficulties were quickly overcome and forgotten in the wonder of the reef. We snorkelled barely lifting our heads above
the surface as schools of fish swam directly towards us. The sheer variety of fish was astounding I was fascinated by Pacific Creole Fish, King Angel Fish, schools of Yellow Tailed Surgeon Fish, Galapagos Grunts, Parrot Fish (these were incredible Tommy swears that one looked like it had human teeth!), Trumpet Fish (I thought that the long thin yellowy strangeness of this fish was pretty special!) just to name a few. The richness and variety of species was absolutely astounding.
Tommy who had swum away from me was observing a school of Galapagos Grunts and just as they made their way past a rock formation out of the corner of Tommy´s eye one of the rocks turned into a sea turtle which swam directly towards Tommy! Seizing this as an invitation Tommy promptly followed the turtle out towards the deeper ocean until it disappeared into its depths.
When a second sea turtle appeared Tommy attempted to get my attention but it had already been seized by a Black Tipped Shark. I marvelled at the way its lithe body cut gracefully through the water. Light grey and smooth with a little black spots on the top and bottom of
its tail it swam less than a meter underneath me. At one point I swear it glanced up and noticing me sped forward and down. I followed until unable to match the grace or speed of its movement it shot past me and the reef effortlessly into open ocean.
We continued to enjoy the reef for the best part of an hour before returning to the boat which transported us to our next destination a sea lion colony. I followed one of the guides swimming alongside a gigantic male sea lion who was far bigger and more muscular than I. The casual strength of his movement impressed me and I felt that I was both observer and observed. He eventually came to rest submerged on a rock in the shallows as we swam onwards to meet other members of our group including Tommy who confident in her abilities was playing with a young and equally adventurous sea lion. As she dived down and flipped the sea lion followed, copied and added new tricks. It seemed to me almost a friendly game of one up man ship as the flips became more elaborate. The sea lion seeming amused swirled around
Tommy at one point ending up face to face before flipping backwards and down into another acrobatic trick. Meanwhile the gigantic male watched on lazy gaze never moving from the ballet between human and sea lion. Believing that discretion was the better part of valour having been keenly assessed by this powerful mammal I elected to swim elsewhere to find my own sea lion playmates.
Several meters away near the rocks they joined me. First a pup clambered off the rocks before swimming directly at me. Face to face with its deep brown eyes we met each other’s gaze for what seemed like eternity before the pup circled my body and swam down around and upside down through he water. This continued for some time before the pup was joined by an older female. She seemed more wary of me at first but seemed to grow in confidence possibly recognising my graceless distinctly non seal like movement as the mark of someone who couldn’t possibly be a predator. As her confidence grew so did her playfulness and we played until I realised that nearly everyone was returning to the boat and so reluctantly I bade them farewell.
Back
on the boat we ravenously devoured tuna in a curry sauce with rice and salad before moving on to our final destination a completely empty incredibly stunning beach. We had an hour of free time in which we watched Marine Iguanas swimming towards the shore and explored mangroves. Tommy fulfilling the statement ¨fortune favours the brave¨ was lucky enough to swim with stingrays, four White Tipped Sharks and a Marine Iguana. Whilst I was stalked by several small, highly curious Guineafowl Puffer Fish before finding my own White Tipped Sharks to swim with. They were as fascinating as and graceful as their black tipped counterparts and I felt privileged to have been blessed with their company. Tommy and I swam together for a while before walking out onto the beach to find Marine Iguanas scattered amongst the succulents sunning themselves lazily. Our only regret for our snorkeling adventure was not having a waterproof camera to capture everything with. Our memories and words will have to be enough.
As we sped back to Puerto Ayora we began to realize that our sunscreen application had been woefully inadequate but we agreed that this was a small price to pay for the
wonders we had seen.
Tortuga Bay Our second last day on Galapagos was spent visiting Tortuga Bay. We walked 2.5km through a cactus (Opuntia) tree forest populated with Lava Lizards and an astounding array of birdlife. Before arriving at Playa Brava a surf beach with all the rugged beauty of the best Australian Surf beaches minus the flags, life savers, ice-cream stands and tourists devouring fish and chips. Playa Brava is absolutely pristine. The pure white sand stretched onwards banked by sand dunes coated in succulents its beauty enough to bring the most hardened surfer to tears.
We continued along the beach of Tortuga Bay and as we neared a mangrove cluster we saw hundreds of dark Marine Iguanas sunning themselves in the sand and swimming in the shallows. They barely acknowledged our existence as Tommy excitedly snapped photo after photo these fascinating creatures. Onwards we walked following the white sand path through more cacti to a rocky lookout over the sea. Scattered with enormous cactus trees and volcanic rocks of all shapes and sizes and dotted with Marine Iguanas the beauty of this place and feeling of absolutely serenity means that this place will remain etched
upon our hearts for the rest of our lives.
We then followed the sandy path through more cacti to another a lookout over the peaceful waters of Playa Mansa. It´s calm waters in direct contrast to the washing machine of Playa Brava. We wandered into the cove finding the beach populated by incredibly relaxed people and equally relaxed iguanas as well as evenly spaced, highly ingenious man made ¨trees¨ in which to hand belongings. We picked a spot near to an Iguana casually lounging on a water worn tree stump. Before offloading our belongings onto our own ¨tree¨ and plunging into the crystal clear waters. I lost track of the amount of time we spent at Playa Mansa but at some point we made our way back along Tortuga Bay towards the cactus tree forest with relaxed smiles on our faces and a deep feeling of peaceful happiness.
A Magical Encounter Our final day on Galapagos was short as our flight was in the early afternoon and we wanted to ensure that we reached the airport in plenty of time. We were warned by our wonderful hostess that if we wanted to travel there in the style
we had become accustomed to (Busses and Civa) we would have to wake up before the sun. Dutifully we set the alarm rising before dawn. How lucky we did this dear reader as when we stumbled sleepily from our tent we experienced the most miraculous of all our miraculous animal encounters. It began with the soft whisper of wings brushing over us and the gentle thud of feet landing on the edge of our lookout. I looked up and locked eyes with the reflective gaze of an owl. Barely able to breath and terrified that a murmer would scare it away it took me a moment to find the courage to whisper three words ¨look.. over.. there.¨ Tommy turned and as astounded as I stared in wonder. With slightly more presence of mind Tommy silently reached for her camera and headlamp hesitantly turning on the red light (nocturnal animal friendly) she set her camera to long exposure and lifted it fearful that the owl would flee. It didn’t. On the contrary it flew slightly closer seemingly curious about the people who were in its habitat. We held our breath as Tommy pressed the button on the camera once, the owl
did not move. Once the image was captured we waited to see what else the bird would do. It flew over us again coming to rest on the railing of the stairs. Tommy lifted the camera and again we held our breath as she pressed the button one more time the owl remained perfectly still apart from blinking its large eyes wisely at us. We remained in silent contemplation of one another for quite some time until as the sky began to lighten the Owl flew in a whisper of wings off into the forest. I looked at Tommy and whispered a lump in my throat “I think that was a barn owl.” I now know this is true having done my research. We did in fact have the honor of meeting the entirely nocturnal, rarely seen Galapagos Barn Owl. Galapagos provided us with a host of unforgettable fauna meetings but this meeting on our final morning on Galapagos is for me the most unforgettable.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of firstly a local bus then an early morning civa, another bus, a ferry another bus and a wait in the airport. The entire time
Barn Owl Galapagos' parting gift
difficult to photograph magnificent to observe my thoughts kept drifting back to everything we had experienced on Galapagos, my dreams had been fulfilled.
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Archi
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What a Wonderful Trip!
I'm almost there with you, Tuppence! Keep safe and travel well.