Galapagos Islands

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AHHH, the Galapagos! A magical place where all the inhabitants live in almost perfect harmony. There are very few predators - man NOT being one - so you could casually walk and stand side by side and they’d either stare back at you with interest or ignore you! Birds, small penguins, mammals, reptiles - all free and fearless, most different from any others found on the planet. In 1835 Charles Darwin visited the islands and found living proof for his theory “origin of the species”.

This was an unforgettable trip we felt privileged to have experienced. Coming face to face with the ancient giant Galapagos tortoise was the trips highlight for Mary. Snorkeling daily with a multitude of colorful fish, sea lions, a shark, and sea turtle did it for Bill.

The “green” cruise ship housing 20 passengers and 10 crew members sailed mainly at night through the islands. We had 2 daily landings, sometimes wet other times dry - where we hiked around the islands interacting with the inhabitants and receiving lectures from our guides, Ivan and Fatima. Ivan, I must add was a frustrated entertainer so we also had music and one night dancing aboard the boat! Also, daily on one of the island excursions, we’d have time for snorkeling and beach down time. The beaches were incredible - different colored sand on each island from stark white to volcanic black and golden, and the texture of flour. Our small group was ALWAYS the only one on the beach! The weather was warm and breezy if not downright hot sometimes when hiking on lava.

A group of green minded individuals, we created an instant bond. We met so many interesting fellow passengers from the US, UK and Australia. Our travels paled in comparison to some of theirs.

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Comments

[Maddy]

Amazing!!!
Thank you so much for this post! I dream about going to the Galapagos Island for years! I decided to make my dream come true and go there next summer, after volunteering in an environmental quest in Ecuador for 3 weeks with United Planet (http://www.unitedplanet.org/environmental-ecuador-volunteer/). I already have some contacts with their country coordinator and they help me to organise my trip but I would also like to have your advices. What do you advice me to do to have the best time possible?

[Gump]

The Galapagos are amazing and you will not believe how you interact with the wildlife and you are up close and personal. We chose the tour we were on (the boat is the Eric) because there is a max of 20 people and 2 naturalists. I would recommend this trip but it will be $7,000.00 approx. That would include the week on the boat all meals and soft drinks, the air flight to the Galapagos from Quito or Guyaquil your choice, and all of the park fees. We also negotiated a night of lodging in Guayaquil on the start of the week and a night in Quito at the end. Both hotels were 4+ stars and excellent. You will see trips advertised for $2,000 to $2,925 for a week but then the add ons strart so be careful. The other option is to buy your own air fare to the islands and then find a boat for the day to take you around to the sights. We met people who did this on a budget and they were fine. In fact they found lodging once they arrived on the islands. What ever way you decide it is a once in a lifetime trip and worth it. We enjoyed the week and was fun.