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Published: July 22nd 2011
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After five flights through Madrid, Lima (overnight stay), Quito (overnight stay) and Guayaquil we finally arrived in the Galapagos Islands. We had already regretted not learning any Spanish as we had an interesting time in Lima trying to order from a Spanish only menu… Acting out a chicken got us some cold minestrone soup and some rice and beef! We also got swept up in a transvestite carnival in Quito which gave us an interesting first impression of Ecuador.
After arriving at San Cristobal Island we were taken aboard our floating home for the next 8 days; a Catamaran called the “Galapagos Vision”. After a quick introduction to the crew (5) and fellow shipmates (8) we were off sailing to Isla Lobo for our first introduction to the fearless and curious Sea Lions that inhabit these islands in their thousands. Our first quick walking tour takes us through a colony of these fascinating creatures along with some nesting Blue Footed Boobies. We are totally amazed by how close you can get to all the wildlife and their indifference to us being there. Only by nearly stepping on a nesting Boobie did we get a warning squark. This allows you to
observe them in a completely different way and we realise immediately why these islands are so unique. After the walk we get our first taste of snorkelling and are completely blown away as we are joined by three young Sea Lions who want to play chase and a Sea Turtle which we manage to take some amazing underwater photos of thanks to the camera Matt & Nat bought us. We sail back to port for dinner and a movie (a hooky copy of Hall Pass on the 15” galley TV) and take our sea sickness pills in anticipation of a full night of sailing to our next Island, Espanola.
Our bedroom was based in the front right hand side of the Catamaran’s hull which we found out doesn’t minimise the effect of the waves and to say it was a rocky night wouldn’t do it justice. It was definitely the most action our bed had seen since we had been married! After waking up for the umpteenth time, we finally made it to breakfast, however we were still sailing as one of the engines had packed up during the night. Breakfast on the move was the last straw for
Cat’s stomach and she disappeared back below deck to feed the fishes.
On Espanola we encounter our first Marine Iguana colony making their way down to the sea for their breakfast of seaweed, sneezing out the salt from the seawater as they go. The rest of the day was filled by another interesting walk where we see lots of different endemic birds and snorkel from the boat to a beach besieged with Sea Lions. After sunbathing with them for an hour or so, we set off for another long sail at around 4pm. On our way to Santa Maria we are joined by two schools of Dolphins who play in the wake of the Catamaran. A beautiful sunset finishes off another amazing day, however we forget to take our seasickness pills on time and dinner is a struggle.
On Santa Maria we climb to a viewpoint on the Island in the morning and then spot some Galapagos Penguins before getting a closer view of these funny birds from the dinghy. The afternoon was filled with a visit to the “Post Office”, a barrel that was used by British Whalers to send letters to and from England. The tradition
continues, and we leave a letter for Simon & Kelly to pick up if they ever visit. We also get a very close up view of 4 flamingos in a nearby lagoon.
Another evening sail takes us to Santa Cruz where we spend the next day ashore visiting the highlands and the national park which is home to numerous Giant Tortoises. In the afternoon we swap shipmates for the remainder of the trip and visit the Charles Darwin Centre to see its most famous resident, “Lonesome George”, a frigid giant tortoise and last of its kind from Pinta Island. We are told about the efforts to get him to mate. However we have a feeling they don’t want him to breed as he won’t be famous! They told us that they first tried to clone him, then the second option was artificial insemination (surely the second option is easier)… anyway they electrocuted his penis for 3 months to stimulate his gland, then the visa of the woman who was doing it ran out… apparently they got no semen and haven’t tried since.
We travelled overnight to Santiago where we spent the following day snorkelling with Sea Lions and
had our first Shark encounter. The highlight of the day was watching a older slightly rotund American lady in a wetsuit being mounted by an amorous male sea lion in the shallows. We sailed further round the island in the afternoon spotting a Tiger Shark on the way and did a walk around some rock pools and saw a colony of Bear Faced Seals.
We sailed to the other side of Santiago for the next day and walked up 300+ steps through what looked like a “moon landscape” to the best viewpoint in the Galapagos Islands. We spent the rest of the morning snorkelling with Penguins which proved difficult to capture a photo of since they are so fast underwater. The afternoon was spent watching dancing Blue Footed Boobies (mating dance) and Frigate Birds displaying their impressive red balloons on their throats to attract females.
The next day we spent the morning spotting land Iguanas on Isla Plaza before sailing on to nearby Sante Fe where we snorkelled with a Sea Turtle and a couple of 6ft White Tipped Sharks.
The final morning of our trip involved an early snorkelling session through kicker rock, an amazing rock
formation just off San Cristobal. The water was very deep and we were informed there would be a lot of sharks. Needless to say Cat chickened out of this one and as I jumped in I was amazed and a little overawed by the number of sharks swimming beneath me. I could see at least fifty 6ft Silky and White Tipped Sharks and was told their were Hammerheads in the deeper water. It was an exhilarating experience to finish an unforgettable trip.
We spent one more day on San Cristobal chilling out and getting back our land legs before flying back to the mainland for the next adventure.
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Matt
non-member comment
Hello
Glad to hear the camera is doing the business! The underwater pictures are great. Looking forward to hearing all about your other adventures via the blog.