Well now. It has been all of 2 days since we left the Galapagos archipelago and we are still reeling from the excitement of it all.
Thanks to a timely tax return, some good budgeting and a generous donation from my sister and her fiancé we decided that we had just about enough cash to get ourselves a last minute deal to those hallowed lands. We had spoken to so many travellers who had been there and told us how incredible it was that we were quite prepared to eat two minute noodles for the rest of our trip in order for us to be able to afford it! Thankfully, that doesn't have to happen.
On arrival to our hostel, Dreamkapture, in Guayaquil we immediately started looking for late deals on cruises. Not long into our search we stumbled across a 6 day cruise on a 1st class boat, well within our budget, leaving in a matter of days. The only problem was cash. We had the money in our bank accounts but if we paid by card there would be a total of 25% worth of charges added, taking it beyond our reach. To overcome this problem we had to get enough cash out over the next 3 days to cover it all. Easier said than done, but a few phone calls to our banks at home and the next thing we knew we were rolling in 20 dollar bills! Actually, we only just managed to get out the right amount of money in time, it took us all of the 3 days before our flights left to do so!
To kill time while we were giving all our money to the cruise operators we took ourselves walking around the city. Over the last few years Guayaquil has had a lot of money invested in making it a safer place and you can really see this development along the seafront. Unfortunately, due to the smog, it was still a bit of an ominous place to wander round. It does have a very excellent small park near the seafront called Parque Bolivar. This park is home to a lot of urban iguanas who happily roam free in the park. It was a good warm up spot for the Galapagos. Aside from this, Guayaquil doesn't have too much to offer other than being a large, fairly westernised city, and we were far too excited to take much of it in anyway!
When the day finally came we boarded our flight at 9am to Baltra, one of the 13 major islands in the archipelago. From there we were whisked off, along with our 14 other shipmates for the week, to our boat, Galaxy, by our guide for the next week, Janet. Just walking onto the boat was an amazing experience and set the tone for the the trip to come. It was so luxurious I almost felt guilty we were on it! We were treated to an excellent lunch on board and a briefing about what we were to expect for the next 6 days. In summary; snorkelling, walking, snorkelling and some more walking. If you weren't a big fan of either of these then your trip had just taken a turn for the worse! Fortunately, we had absolutely loved snorkelling along the Great Barrier Reef and couldn't wait for our first dip into the ocean.
We didn't have to wait long. As soon as our food went down we hopped in a Panga (a little speedboat) and whizzed off to Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island carrying our snorkel, goggles and flippers. Even though it was quite overcast it was still really warm and the sea was an amazing turquoise colour around the bay. Jumping off the panga and wading knee deep to the shore was our first experience of just how cold the sea was. In Australia it was like getting into a bath, here it was the same bath but had just been left to cool down for 6 months. Still, no need to hire the overpriced wetsuits, a few knees to chest and we would warm up just fine!
It was a beautiful white sandy beach with lava rocks surrounding it, covered in the vividly coloured Sally lightfoot crabs. Their bright multi coloured shells stood out beautifully against the black of the cooled lava and if you looked closely enough it looked as though the lava was moving but in fact it was hundreds of black baby crabs crawling all over it. When they are very small they are black in colour for protection against the birds of prey in the area. After enjoying the beach for a while we made our way into the water. We didn't have to venture out too far before we were greeted by a multitude of multi-coloured fish. There were thousands in all different shapes and sizes swimming all around us. We stayed out for around 45 minutes until it was too chilly to continue and then we took the panga back to the boat for much needed hot showers in our private double cabin. That evening we were treated to a free welcome cocktail and a delicious 3 course meal. What a start, we went to bed even more excited about what else was in store.
Every morning we were treated to a wake up call at 0645 via the tannoy system. It usually consisted of a minute of soft pan pipe music (covering the likes of Abba's dancing queen, or Celine Dion's titanic theme!) followed by Janet letting us know that breakfast will be served in 15 more minutes and that we should have a beautiful day! Breakfast was a buffet style deal with fresh juice, and what a buffet it was. There was bacon, eggs, pancakes, fruit, bread, cereal, you name it and it was there. They varied it each morning and it was always excellent. As much as I knew that we would be walking or snorkelling soon after it, I still filled my boots at breakfast every morning!
In fact, mealtimes on the boat were always exemplary. It was usually a buffet style lunch, and at dinner they served you your own individual plate. Both were always preceded by a very tasty soup. It reminded me a lot of our Inca trail as when we weren't doing any activity we were eating or sleeping, which works perfectly for me.
We started with a small trek up to a lighthouse on Bartolome island through lava fields thought to be around 800,000 years old and were greeted by black marine iguanas, tiny lava lizards, and a Galapagos hawk which hovered around us on our way up. The view from the top was incredible. In one direction, the island looked like the cratered, barron surface of the moon, while in the other you could see lush green foliage and white sandy beaches surrounded by turquoise waters. We could even see where we would be snorkelling later that morning.
The sun had come out for us on the second day and as we headed to a beach near pinnacle rock we were all looking forward to getting in the sea to cool off. Before we got there though we took a quick panga ride around the rock to see blue footed boobies and crabs chilling out and sea lions playing in the water. As soon as we got to the beach we all raced into the sea and spent the next hour swimming around the pinnacle. It was even better than the day before, we were joined by a small group of penguins who swam around with us for a while before jumping out and and watching us from the sides, we swam over 3 scary looking white tipped reef sharks hanging out very close beneath us, saw some huge starfish and sea urchins on the rocks below, swam through great hoards of colourful fish feeding all around us, and played with an adult and a baby sea lion for a while before heading back to shore. So exhilarating and it wasn't even lunch yet! When we got back to the boat we were greeted with iced tea and nachos served by our barman, José. We really were living it up.
That afternoon we headed to Bachas beach on Santa Cruz island for a short walk and a bit of a snorkel off the shore. Along the walk we passed by marine iguanas, Sally light foot, ghost and hermit crabs, as well as some great blue herons and brown pelicans. We were also lucky enough to see some extremely pink flamingos in one of the lagoons. There are only about 700 in total and they mostly live on other islands so to see some here was extremely lucky. The water was a bit choppier this afternoon so visibility while snorkelling wasn't great but we were still treated to a wide array of tropical fish as well as some pretty large rays right beneath us. If all those sights weren't enough we were treated to one more sight that afternoon. A large group of old german people were sharing the same beach as us and rather than wait until they got back on the boat to get dressed they decided to bare all there and then. A lot of big pasty white bums were on show, nice!
The first walk on the third day was on North Seymour island. This is where we got to see one of the most famous birds endemic to the Galapagos, the blue footed booby. We were treated to a very amusing courtship dance by one of them and as we walked along the path we were surrounded by them. They were not bothered at all about the presence of humans and walked around us as though we weren't there. We also saw a lot of magnificent frigate birds puffing their huge red chests out in an attempt to get a mate. At every turn we were surrounded by new, unknown to us wildlife who were more than happy to share their space with us. Janet was extremely knowledgeable and gave us a really interesting narration as we walked around the island.
Following some juice and cookies back on the boat we were quickly off to do our first bit of deep water snorkelling. This meant jumping off the panga into the deep, cold unknown. When we got to our spot it was really choppy and didn't look inviting in the slightest, but we were told this was a great place to see sharks so we all tentatively jumped in (why the promise of sharks got me in I do not know, but I was assured I wouldn't get eaten, probably). After about 5 minutes of battling the currents we were all back in the panga heading to somewhere a little calmer. Janet quickly realised that despite all our frantic efforts we were going nowhere, fast. Our second drop off point was much calmer and we all jumped in and spent the next half hour swimming along the cliff line. We were lucky enough to spot a few more reef sharks but Gen got fairly badly stung by a jellyfish in the process. Fortunately they're not like Australian ones and so we didn't have to rush off to hospital.
We spent the whole of that afternoon enjoying not only the sun but the hundreds of sea lions on the white sandy Mosquera islet. They were everywhere we turned and, much like all the other animals we had come into contact with so far, they were not bothered by us at all and we wandered happily amongst them. Along with many animals we had seen before we caught a glimpse of a few oyster catchers nesting on the shore line as well.
That night we were going to be sailing for about 8 hours towards our next destination and we were all advised to take sea sickness tablets. Before we came to the islands we bought some over the counter at a pharmacy in Ecuador. They gave us two different pills and no instructions, and considering that you can buy nearly any legal drug over the counter we warily took these pills after dinner that night. They were brilliant. We were asleep within about 15 minutes and didn't wake up until breakfast! No sea sickness for us.
Our walk that morning was along the lava fields of Genovesa island. This was a momentous occasion for us as it was the first time since leaving home back in September that we had been in the northern hemisphere. We walked up the Prince Phillip steps, so called duet his visit there back in 1965, and enjoyed beautiful sunshine as we went in search of the diurnal short eared owls. Like the flamingoes, we were told that it would be quite unlikely to see any as they are quite small and camouflage themselves well but, just like the flamingoes, we were in luck and saw 2! We even saw one of them flying which is extremely rare as they are known for their patience in sitting next to the home of petrels, awaiting their return. We also saw the two other types of boobies endemic to the Galapagos; the red footed boobies and the nazca boobies, along with mocking birds and Galapagos doves. These doves are the Galapagos version of pigeons. I have yet to visit a country, or even an area in a country that doesn't contain a pigeon of some sort!
Following the walk we jumped in for some more deep water snorkelling. Not long after we had started
Gen grabbed me and pointed down below us, I couldn't see what she was pointing at so we tread water for long enough for her to tell me that a hammerhead shark had just swam right beneath us! Amazing! As we carried on we saw that it was closely followed by some more white tipped reef sharks. I know these sharks aren't dangerous, but they sure as hell look it!
That afternoon we headed to another part of Genovesa island, Darwin Bay for a lovely walk round the bay, seeing more of the wildlife we had seen in the morning as well as some herons. We snorkelled off the beach after the walk and were joined by a reef shark comfortably bigger than me! Rather than swim frantically to the shore as some members of our group did, some of us decided to follow it as it gracefully glided out to sea. It was such a beautiful calming sight to see, it gave me a whole new appreciation towards sharks.
That night we were off on another long overnight voyage, this time for about 10 hours towards San Cristobal island, and yet again the pills worked a treat! Rather than a walk to start the day we went on a panga ride around Cerro Brujo. We saw turns nesting in the cliffs, blue footed boobies, sea lions swimming next to us and sea turtles sticking their heads up for air. The sun was shining, the water was crystal clear and we were even joined by a fur sea lion. We spent the rest of the morning enjoying the most beautiful white sandy beach we have seen, surrounded by ghost crabs and marine iguanas. It was so picturesque and calm, with only the sound of the waves to listen to. We even saw some turtles close to the shore. We headed out for a snorkel near where we saw these in the hope we could see them up close but they all scarpered by the time we got in. We were not disappointed though as we still got to swim with a lot of beautiful fish.
That afternoon we took a trip to Kicker rock (aka Leon Dormido) and went around it in the boat taking in the magnificence of this island with it's sheer faces and barron landscape. Unfortunately the sun had gone in and it was time for our last deep water snorkelling of the trip. We jumped off the panga to be greeted by turtles swimming serenely around us. It was beautiful to watch these huge creatures swim effortlessly through the water. We were also joined by a magnificent and huge speckled ray who literally flew through the water past us. To top it all off we saw 3 black tipped reef sharks. Incredible. What a way to finish our last full day of the cruise.
The next morning was just a case of heading to a visitor centre on San Cristobal island which gave us a lot of information about the decidedly murky and murder filled past of the Galapagos and then saying goodbye to everyone before going our separate ways. Gen and I were staying on the island an extra night so that the following morning we could get small boat to take us across to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island. It was a very small boat and we were on it for 2 hours across choppy seas. I was not feeling tip top by the end of it and was very glad to be on solid ground again. The reason we were staying the extra nights was because we wanted to go to the Darwin Centre and see if we could look at some Giant Tortoises, including the famous Lonesome George. We were not disappointed, they were ginormous! After having worked with what I thought were some pretty big tortoises while volunteering in La Senda Verde I was bowled over by the size of these fellas. We even managed to time our visit to feeding time for George and got to see him walking around and everything. Incredible. Their feet remind me of elephant's feet and watching them haul their massive shells around is a sight to behold. In complete contrast to these giants, they had hundreds of tiny baby tortoises of similar species that they would raise in the centre until they were large enough to be released back onto their respective islands. All this was necessary as thousands of tortoises had been decimated by humans on their first encounters on these islands.
We left the Galapagos with heavy hearts. After having such an amazing week it was tough to fly back to the mainland but our time in this amazing continent is running out and Ecuador has a lot more to offer us before we head home.
I make no apologies for the amount of photos we have uploaded, count yourself lucky we have only included a fraction of them! We did have a disposable underwater camera which we will upload the photos of when we have them developed, but this will not be until we are back in England as we have heard that it's a bit of a dodgy practice over here. I bet you can't wait!
Now the Quins have conquered all, my confidence rests firmly with the England football squad and Andy Murray. Both of whom have it in the bag.