While flying over the Galapagos Islands it appears to be barren. We were very excited to finally get a chance to experience Darwin's legacy which we learned in high school.
The Galapagos Iguanas were there to greet us as we walked off of the tarmac onto the sidewalk. They were everywhere.
We tried to collect our bags but Dax's replacement bag with all of his new clothes was missing. It took roughly 30 minutes to locate his bag and the workers had literally left it on the tarmac. We celebrated when we heard the good news with a few high fives and whoops. We boarded the 5-dollar bus which took us to a small 1-dollar boat ferry which took us from Baltra Island to Santa Cruz Island.
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| My blue hard-sided bag precariously sitting on the bow of the boat. |
This tiny boat was a bit of a laugh and completely overfilled with people and luggage. The trip is swimmable so I wasn't too worried. You get off the boat and you have to hire a 25-dollar taxi for the 45-minute ride to Puerto Ayoro the only town on the island. We arrived at our hotel got the lowdown and walked to Darwin's Research Station. Ecuador uses US dollar currency, who knew? |
| Hundreds of Galapagos photos make up a huge poster of Charles Darwin in the interpretive center. |
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| Galapagos whale bones of a mammal that is now extinct |
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| Topographical map of Galapagos Islands. |
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| Killer tree endemic to the Islands. |
We toured the Center watched a quick video and learned a bit more about Galapagos.
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| Strange endemic Galapagos plant. |
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| Cactus tree endemic to the Galapagos. |
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| Galapagos Crab are illegal to hunt. |
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| The famous Galapagos Marine Iguanas |
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| Smaller yearlings at the breeding center. |
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| These Cactus trees have a trunk-like bark and are the tallest trees on the islands. |
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| A close-up photo of the Marine Iguana. |
We signed up for a 10-dollar tour of the Tortoise breeding center. These relics are huge and Galapagos Tortoises have very long necks and huge elephant-like feet.  |
| These Tortoises have about a 5-foot shell on them. |
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| Close-up photo of one of their feet |
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| Galapagos Tortoises with their long necks drop their head to the ground to sleep. |
On the island of Floreana, the tortoises were hunted to extinction. They were easy prey because they did not have predators until Man came. On one ship alone they hauled in 700 Tortoises for food and oil. Whaling ships, pirates etc plundered the defenceless tortoises. George was the last survivor of his species endemic to Floreana and he is now memorialized on many street corners. Scientists believe that these tortoises can live up to 200 years. |
| Statues of George are everywhere in Puerto Ayoro |
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| This is the real George who is kept in his own air-conditioned building at the Charles Darwin Center. |
We made our way to a small beach off of the Darwin Center. This was the first time we spotted the Galapagos Sea Lions and they are ever so cute. There were 3 lazing in the shade and the bigger one had plopped himself down onto someone's flip-flops. He did not appreciate the wake-up and bawled out that person. The Sea Lions are not remotely fearful of humans and cohabitate along the beaches, rocks, piers, and gardens frequented by humans.
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| Lava stone is everywhere as these are Volcanic islands. |
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| A sea lion asleep on a life jacket. |
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| Not happy to be woken up |
We walked to the main pier to find even more Sea lions and we wondered what the allure of the pier with humans taking pictures of them and constantly waking them up. It can't be a restful nap but they seem to like being around people.
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| This guy was curled up in a tree well. |
We made our way to a restaurant with a Happy Hour had a great meal and made our way back to the pier. At night they turn on blue lights and shine them at the water. The pier becomes the platform to watch a huge aquarium of shark species such as white-tipped, black-tipped and hammerheads.
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| Puerto Aroyo town |
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| Puerto Aroyo shopping is really good. |
The next morning we were provided with a lovely breakfast and our intention was to reach Playa Tortuga Beach but we ran out of time because we booked a lame half-day tour that took time and then they don't really accept credit cards so Darren had to run to the ATM. By this time it was too late and we decided to shop and have a nice relaxed lunch.
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| The next morning the Sealion was still sleeping in the same spot in the tree well |
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| Hungry pelicans waiting for their breakfast. |
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| Some spectacular tagging. |
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| While waiting to board our boat for the tour, these two Sealions were taking advantage of human seating. |
The afternoon tour began with a boat ride to a pier to unload and walk 15 minutes to the other side of the island to see Blue Footed Boobie Birds. We saw a juvenile with white feet and they turn blue at 1 year of adulthood. |
| While in our boat we noticed 2 Sealions sleeping on the stern of this boat. |
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| First stop on the tour. |
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| Lone juvenile Blue Footed Boobie. |
The view was pretty. We took a different path to see Shark Alley where zero sharks were spotted. We returned to the boat and then dropped anchor and snorkelled. We were hoping to snorkel with the sea lions but not one was spotted. The snorkelling was subpar due to the simple fact that there is no reef. We boarded the boat and set out for the Twin Craters and I did not even get in the water because I was not leaving our passports, CC and mula behind while I frolicked in the water. The other 5 went in but said I made a good choice not to go in. Darren slipped twice and fell in and sliced his foot and ankle superficially. This tour should be stopped because it is a rip-off and not worth the 40 that we paid. Standing on the pier was a much better show and it was free. However, we did see a humungous turtle swim towards us while we were loading back onto the boat. He swam under the dock and kept surfacing again and again. Our friends had booked the same tour for 75 dollars so they felt even more ripped off. |
| Last stop of the lame tour. |
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| Views were pretty though of the water and cacti. |
An early night was in the cards because we had been operating on little sleep with early flights etc.
The next morning we had purchased a round-trip ferry ride to San Cristobal Island. It was a high-speed boat that sat 30 people. The trip took 2 hours each way and there was a lot of ocean to look at where the 4 Ocean currents collide which can create big swells and unpredictable tides. The only interruption in the blue water was Santa Fe Island as we cruised by. |
| One dollar taxi ride to our Ferry which would take us to San Cristobal Island. |
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| On the larger ferry which was just a large speed boat. We were protected from the sun, wind and ocean spray while inside the boat. |
We proceeded to the Interpretive Center to learn more facts about the Galapagos Islands. It was bloody hot and humid and we decided to walk the 2 km trek to a beach and a few lookouts. The last lookout had Blue Footed Boobies in the rocks but I needed a gigantic zoom lens to capture a photo. Darren had his monocular device so we could see them and their big blue feet. North Seymour Island has numerous Boobies on it but we ran out of days in Galapagos. We were satisfied to see the big blue feet and call it a day.
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| Huge stature that we came across on our 2-plus km trek. |
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| Ancient lava flow |
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| Beautiful views from the lookout points. |
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| One of the 13 finches endemic to the Galapagos Islands and only on these islands. |
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| Large tree flowers that looked like Hibiscus flowers but were not. |
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| People were swimming in this cove with Sealions but we were running out of time and then we spotted the Blue Footed Boobies in the rocks. |
We walked back to Playa D'Ora Beach to swim and nothing felt better after a Galapagos hot humid walk than that crystal clear water. Later we spotted some Sea Lions that entered the water and we followed them in. You have to keep your distance which we did but they don't have to. They love to play and swim in between people. Most people begin to scream and flee the water. For some reason, one of the cuties decided that Al was interesting and almost tried to kiss him. Al laughed his head off and I wish I had it on video. We begrudgingly left the beautiful waters frequented by Sea Lions but we had to get ready to walk another 15 minutes back to town and sign in for our ferry ride back to Santa Cruz Island. |
| Young pups playing in the shallow pools. |
The excitement was not over. At the pier, it must have been play-time as most of the young pups were out riding the waves at high tide, playing with sticks in the water, bothering their Moms to nurse or frolicking in the water appearing like dolphins. You quickly realize how fast and agile these beauties are as they ride the wave in and summersault in the water just before they hit the large black lava boulders. We chose to visit San Cristobal for the Galapagos Sea Lions, they provide free entertainment.
We took the 2-hour boat ride back to Santa Cruz and everyone flaked out except for me. I had a lot of blogging to catch up on.
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| Large fish served for Virginia's dinner. |
The next day we had another early start to catch a 7:00 am taxi back to the top of the island, a water taxi and bus ride later and we were back at the airport but not before the Galapagos Iguanas were out in full force to say Adios to us. They created an obstacle course for the bus driver who manoeuvered around them as they warmed themselves on the asphalt road. Even though I am not interested in reptiles, as I am with mammals, they were quite an eye-full as their barrel-chested light pumpkin-coloured tones shone in the sun.
Galapagos Islands are rugged and beautiful in their own way isolated off of the South American coastline by 1000 km and these islands were able to create their own species of flora and fauna. We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to visit this intriguing land.
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