Blogs from Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador, South America - page 7

Tuesday 1/1/13 – We were bleary eyed but excited this morning as we took the hotel shuttle to the airport. After some unsuccessful attempts at small talk with the driver, we arrived and went through the monotonous motions of airport travel. Eventually we were on the plane and flying towards the Galapagos Islands (located about 1000km from the Ecuadorian coast), where we would spend the next 10 days. As the plane landed and reached the end of the runway, we spotted a huge iguana sitting on the side of the runway – we weren’t even off the plane yet and we were spotting wildlife already. After collecting our bags, we jumped on a bus which took us down to the waterfront. From here we could see plenty of birds and even a sea lion sunbaking on ... read more

We departed Colonial House at 6 AM for the airport in order to catch our flight to Isla Baltra where the main airport for the Galapagos is located. After a bit of confusion regarding how to purchase transit tickets and where the security line started, we made it to the gate with plenty of time to spare before our flight departed at 7:40. After a short comfortable flight connecting through Guayaquil to Isla Baltra, we met up with the guide and the rest of the passengers on the yacht. From there we took a bus to a small pier, hopped on a Zodiac, and boarded the Floreana. Our first stop on the Floreana was the Island of North Seymour, which it is tiny island just North of Isla Baltra/Santa Cruz. On the way to the island, ... read more

We got up early this morning to watch the sunrise, and observe the boat pulling into the spot where we would spend today. Justin and I argued over whether the island was called ''Chinese Hat'' Island or ''Chinese Hut'' Island, until the capitan came out, pointed to the island and said ''Sombrero China!'' HA! I win Chinese Hat Island We had a wet landing on this island, jumping out into the surf on a gorgeous white sand beach. We then walked over lava flows around the island, spotting more Sally Lightfoot Crabs, Galapagos Sea Lions kissing, and an American oystercatcher. On the other side of the island there was a cliff down to the water, and right after we got over there, several huge waves hit, spraying up 20ft into the sky. One was bigger than ... read more

Sarah and I were up and on the deck at 5:30 to watch the sunrise. It was a bit cloudy so we did not get a spectacular sunrise. Still, it was nice to look out over the glass-like ocean as the colors changed. To the north we could see Chinese Hat and the new lava flow on Santiago. It feels like ages since we were there, yet at the same time it was like yesterday. We motor east now, for our last visit, a dinghy tour around Daphne Major. It is a pretty small island so the boat tour did not take long. About 10 years ago it was possible for small groups to do a land visit, but not any more. It sounded like there are a ton of blue footed boobies that nest in ... read more

Blog on Santa Cruz - our Galapagos extension. The extension was easy enough... Think they are glad to have people stay on....extra revenue and all, at Galapagos prices!!! We only had to pay $10 to change that was all and it would have been free but we changed our destination to Guayaquil instead of Quito. So the six of us (Lisa, Andeas, Hanita and Archna) headed back into town (bus-boat- bus... About an hour and a bargain at only about $3) and began our search for a hostel.... After looking at almost all of them, including 'The Red Footed Booby', which at $80 per night there was no way in the world we could ever afford, but we tried our luck for a deal nevertheless, we plumped on 2 triples at 'Hotel Gardner', which had a ... read more