Day 1
Our flight landed on Baltra Island. We were surprised at how dry the island was, with lots of drooping cacti, wilted bushes and tons of rocks. It looked like a desert surrounded by blue and turquoise waters. We rode a bus across Baltra, took a small ferry to Santa Cruz Island, and then one more bus to the port where we joined our boat, the Galapagos Adventure II, and met our guide Julio.
In the afternoon our guide took us to the highlands of Santa Cruz. First we hiked, and also crawled, through a large lava tunnel. At one point, the tunnel became extremely narrow (I wish I got a picture of when Minh got stuck). Next, we visited a tortoise reserve where we saw lots of giant tortoises. At first, we were a little afraid of them as some of them they can weigh up to 500 lbs. We got over it though. It was amazing to see these large, slow-moving creatures so up close!
Day 2
We awoke to find a sea lion hanging out on the back of our boat! This would be the first of many sea lion encounters.
Later in the morning we snorkeled in two different areas of deep ocean. We snorkeled near sea lions, a shark, a sea turtle and tons of colorful fish. The visibility was incredible! Unfortunately, the water was very cold and Minh got worried when he noticed that my lips were turning purple. I decided to rent a wet suit for the rest of the trip – it helped a lot in keeping me warm.
In the afternoon we visited Punta Cormorant, where we encountered a small group of napping sea lions.
There we hiked a trail to a beach with enormous sting rays.
Our guide had us stand in the ocean with our legs spread apart and warned us to stay very still so that the rays would not sting us. Each time the waves came in they brought tons of sting rays near the shore, which swam between our legs.
Our guide indicated that on this beach sea turtles come to lay their eggs in the evening. We did not get to see this, but did see trails left by sea turtles that had come ashore to lay their eggs.
Day 3
In the morning we visited Gardner Bay, home to a large sea lion colony. We were greeted by some mocking birds that began to inspect our bags for bottles of water. Our guide explained that in the past, visitors were allowed to give water to the mocking birds. As a result, in about 10 years, the mocking birds had begun to lose their ability to drink water by pecking at eggs. Visitors are no longer allowed to give water to the mocking birds.
The sea lions were all over the beach, sleeping, eating, nursing and playing in the ocean. The little ones were adorable, but all of them smelled and barked very loudly.
It was amazing to be able to get so close to them. After taking tons of pictures of the sea lions, we walked to a section of the beach where we first saw marine iguanas crawling along the rocks.
We then snorkeled from the beach. We found this to be difficult because there was a strong current and we did not see much because of low visibility. However, Minh and I did encounter an enormous sea lion that barked angrily and scared the hell out of us when it swam straight at us. I tried to swim away quickly; Minh assumed the fetal position. Thankfully the sea lion swam away. Later that day we snorkeled by a small rocky island with an underwater cave. We snorkeled near the cave and saw sea lions, sting rays, a sea turtle and more colorful fish.
In the afternoon we visited Española Island where we saw tons of marine iguanas. There were so many that you had to be very careful not to accidentally step on one.
Our guide explained that the males were larger and more brightly colored, whereas the females are small and black. On Española we also saw blue footed boobies, including a mother with two baby boobies. One of the babies looked a lot smaller and weaker than the other. Generally only one of the babies survives because the stronger of the two prevents the weaker one from getting any of the food provided by the mother.
On Española we also saw lots of different other types of birds including frigates, Galapagos sea gulls, albatrosses, golden warblers, and other types of boobies.
Day 4
In the morning we rode the dingy to Tortuga Bay, a mangrove where we saw baby sharks, spotted sting rays, and sea turtles. We also saw frigate birds, herons, and golden warblers.
Afterward part of our group spent some time hanging out on a private beach while our guide accompanied the people who were heading home. It seemed like a great idea at first, but there was no shade and the water was too cold for swimming, so we basically baked on the beach for 90 minutes (I wish we had taken a picture of all of us huddled underneath our beach towels). In the afternoon new people joined our group. We went snorkeling and saw some sharks, huge schools of fish, and some sea lions.
After snorkeling we hiked on North Seymour Island. There we saw land iguanas for the first time, which are yellow in color.
We also saw a male frigate bird attempt to lure a female frigate by puffing up the red pouch on its chest and calling out to her. However, she rejected him.
We also saw a sea lion with a shark bite injury, though our guide thought the injury was not too bad and the sea lion would likely survive. We also saw a baby blue footed boobie and some swallow tailed gulls. Our guide explained that these gulls eat by stealing food away from other birds. Also, here's yet another picture of a cute, baby sea lion.
Day 5
In the morning we hiked on an island called the Chinese Hat.
Chinese Hat is covered with lava tubesIn the afternoon we hiked around lava pools.
We also visited a section of the island that had fur seals. Our guide explained that compared to sea lions, fur seals are smaller, have smaller ears, and thicker necks and fur. They also prefer rocks whereas sea lions prefer sand.
Day 6
In the morning we hiked over pahoe hoe lava. Our guide pointed out small chimneys formed by the lava, and the limited plantlife that is able to grow in the lava, including some small cacti. Later we snorkeled near the Pinnacle Rock. We saw a sting ray, flounder, pirate fish, porcupine fish and some starfish.
Our guide explained that Pinnacle Rock used to be one big rock but became separated because it was used for target practice by the U.S. Military during WWII. The U.S. set up bases on Baltra and Isabella islands during WWII to defend the Panama Canal and the Pacific.
In the afternoon we hiked up to a lookout point on Bartolome Island where there is a small lighthouse and from where we had a great view of other islands in the Galapagos. During our hike we saw lava tunnels, cacti growing in the lava, and a lava lizard eating a grasshopper.
Day 7
In the morning we hiked on South Plaza island. I found this to be one of the most beautiful islands we visited because it was covered in bright red and orange shrubs and the cacti plants had yellow flowers. Our guide indicated that on this island land iguanas and marine iguanas live in close proximity and sometimes interbreed. Unfortunately we did not get to see any of the hybrid iguanas.
We visited more sea lion colonies, including a bachelor colony. Our guide indicated that the bachelor colonies are located on stretches of islands that are considered least desirable by the sea lions. Next we walked near cliffs where we saw nests with adult swallow gulls raising baby swallow gulls.
On our way back to the dingy we saw two male marine iguanas fighting. Minh got some great shots of them butting heads.
In the afternoon we went snorkeling near Santa Fé Island. It was one of the best and most exciting snorkeling trips we did! We saw sharks, eagle rays, other large rays and sea turtles. In the afternoon we hiked through a tall cacti forest on the island.
We saw a different type of land iguana from the type we had seen before with red, beady little eyes.
We also saw another sea lion colony. I promise, this is the last cute, baby sea lion photo.
Day 8
On our last morning we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station, located on Santa Cruz island. There we saw pens where baby giant tortoises were being raised.
We also saw different sub-species of giant tortoises from the various islands, including lonesome George who is the last tortoise of his kind.
Lonesome George (he's a little shy)
Some closing thoughts and tips
Eight days was a little too long and expensive, but the alternative of four days would have been too short. We heard that some agencies may start offering 6 day tours, which allow you four full days on a boat – we think this option would be ideal.
If you have flexibility in your schedule, book a last minute trip in Quito, or for an even better deal fly directly to the Galapagos Islands and book your trip in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. We were able to save over 40% by booking last-minute, but of course, you’re taking a risk that there might not be any vacancies. However, you should have no problem doing this if you are traveling by yourself or as a couple. For example, our boat always had four extra slots available.
We booked our trip through the Happy Gringo agency in Quito, which found us spots on a cruise run by Gap Adventures. We thought both companies were excellent and highly recommend them.
The snorkeling is phenomenal so invest in a good underwater camera (Hayley, thank you very much for sending us your fantastic underwater photos!). Bring plenty of sunblock (we went through two SPF 45 bottles), sea sickness pills, and some warm clothes because it can get chilly on the boat at night.
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