The Galápagos Islands

After two days of doing absolutely nothing in Cuenca and getting way too comfortable at Mi Casa Hostel, it was time for new adventures. I caught a 5 am bus heading for Guayaquil, only to catch a flight to one of my dream destinations in South America. I was treating myself to a week in the Galápagos Islands. I had been going back and forth for weeks wondering whether it be worth it spending so much money in one place over one week. Eventually I decided that I might only be in Ecuador once, and that this was something I really wanted to do. As I also decided against spending additional money on a cruise, I realised this week might not kill my budget after all.

The flight from Guayaquil to Baltra was short and sweet, but even before exiting Baltra airport the costs started adding up. In your departure airport you need to pay a 20 USD tourist fee (little tip: this has to be done before checking in your luggage. Get this right right away to avoid queing twice, like I may or may not have done) and when you arrive you're being charged an additional 100 USD as a national park fee. Bring cash as it is not possible to pay with card. Getting from Baltra to Santa Cruz Island, where a lot of people choose to stay, is easy, but also done in several legs. First you get a free airport bus from the airport to a ferry. This takes 5-10 minutes. You then get the ferry over to the island for 1 USD. Once you've made it to the other side you have the option to choose between a 25 USD taxi or a 2 USD bus to the town of Puerto Ayora. I obviously opted for the latter and it took about 45 minutes. It was already late afternoon when I finally arrived at my hostel, so for my first night in town I just wandered around, visited the Charles Darwin Research Centre and appreciated the sights of birds, iguanas, sea lions and baby sharks. They're all so chilled as if the island belongs to them, and I guess it really does.

I started my second day in Puerto Ayora by meeting up with Julia, who arrived back from Isla Isabela that morning. We had decided to visit Las Grietas, which in Spanish means "the cracks" as it literally is deep cracks in the volcanic landscape filled with crystal clear water, and also only short water taxi ride and hike away from Puerto Ayora. On our way we came across a pink, salty lake and Playa de los Alemanes, before making it to the beautiful cove. I went for a swim and spotted fish swimming underneath me as I made my way through the water. We then had a brief pit stop at the hostel, just in time to welcome more friendly faces to our dorm. Stewart and Priyanga returned from their cruise and with that four out of seven from our Quilotoa hiking group had reunited in the Galapagos. Not a bad accomplishment. We spent the afternoon in the beautiful Tortuga Bay (which didn't have any turtles), just sunbathing and enjoying, for my part, forced dips in the ocean.

The morning after Julia left for her cruise, while the rest of us caught a speed boat to Isla Isabela. We had been warned that seasickness wasn't uncommon as the ride gets very bumpy, but we all made it across the ocean alright. In Isabela we met up with our host for the next two nights, a guy Julia had randomly met on the beach and put us in touch with, and who was kindly offering us the top floor of his self-designed house. We were trading beds for hammocks and walls for, well, no walls, but couldn't help but admit that it was a pretty cool place to stay. The boys even invited two more friends to come stay with us, and apart from freezing nights we had a great time in Isabela. The first day we rented bikes, and took on the 20 km trail to Muro de las Lagrimas. Along the way there are several places you can stop, to visit miradors, caves, beaches and so on. The 100m-long wall made out of lava rocks is the only remaining evidence of the penal colony that held convicts under harsh and abusive conditions between 1945 and 1959. The wall is said to have caused thousands of deaths during its construction. On the way back we stopped by a flamingo lake and a tortoise breeding centre, before returning the bikes and meeting up with our two other roommates, our host and a few of his friends to enjoy a family style meal. Being in the company of locals is always good, and we were taken to cheap but good restaurants we definitely wouldn't have found on our own. The night ended with a few beers and a bonfire in a pit right outside the house, because why not.

The following morning we were up around 7 am as we had booked a guided tour to Volcán Sierra Negra and Volcán Chico, where we were hiking about 10 km each way. Compared to the hikes I've taken recently the terrain was fairly easy, but the long walk in the burning sun was tiring nonetheless. Walking on top of volcanoes is really cool and we were rewarded with some pretty decent views. After the tour we were all shattered, and ended up trading beaches for hammocks for the next few hours. We then had to break in to our host's friend's house to shower, as our house lacked water that day (the struggles of staying in home-made houses), before having yet another good dinner.

Another cold night in the hammock was followed by yet another early rise. We had booked a snorkling tour to Los Tuneles, and were picked up at 7:30 am. Los Tuneles is known to offer the best snorkling in Isla Isabela, and it was quickly confirmed that lots of different species awaited us that day. As I hadn't done much animal sightings yet, it is safe to say that I was excited. Unfortunately it was a cold day, so we had to dress properly for the boat ride and wear wet suits for snorkelling. The cold water made me enjoy the snorkelling a bit less than I would otherwise, but it was still pretty amazing to swim amongst turtles, sharks, sea horses, stingrays and other types of fish. Our guide was knowledgeable and seemed to know where all the different species were hiding. We also had a quick guided tour by land, where we were introduced to the blue footed boobie that is very typical for Galapagos. Despite the chilling temperatures it was a great tour.

When the tour finished we headed back to the house to collect our stuff, as we were catching the afternoon ferry back to Puerto Ayora. Our return to Puerto Ayora called for another interesting living arrangement. The other four had booked a room for four people in advance, before knowing that I would be there as well. We decided that I'd go with them anyway, to see if we could trade their room for one that would fit five people. We quickly learned that they had no such room, but in my poor Spanish I still managed to convince the receptionist to let us stay five people in the four bed room. We just figured we’d sleep three people in the double bed. In theory a good plan, only the double bed turned out to be tiny even for two people. In the end the boys literally picked apart the two single beds and laid the mattresses on the floor so the three of them could sleep there while Katie and I, being the two smallest out of the five of us, slept in the double bed. Definitely not the easiest solution, but I appreciated them making such an effort to have me staying with them. It was also quite interesting having to deal with getting electric shocks from our shower as we couldn't notify the staff about its broken condition when we had turned our entire room upside down. It definitely gave us a few laughs and luckily we all survived.

We woke up to what was going to be my last full day in the Galapagos, while the others were all catching a flight that day. I waved them off and set out on a day trip to Santa Fe, where I was hoping I’d get to snorkel with sea lions. I got slightly stressed when I turned up to the travel agency that I’d booked the tour with and it was closed, but after waiting for about 15 minutes a guide turned up to get me. For once it was a warm and sunny day and the time spent on the boat was truly enjoyable. I was eager to work on my tan, so I spent the entire day on the sunny parts of the boat while the rest of the group for some reason remained hiding under the roof.

When it was finally time to get in the water the guide asked the group which ones who considered themselves decent swimmers. To my surprise it was only myself and a Dutch couple who raised our hands, while the remaining seven were wrapped up in life vests and got handed floating equipment. It definitely wasn’t an ideal situation. Us three decent swimmers were told to stay together and basically went off on our own, as the guide had to help the others into the water. Snorkelling wise the conditions was so much better than the day before. The water was amazingly clear and there were fish and turtles to be seen everywhere. That the water was also a lot warmer didn’t hurt and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed myself. I am usually not the biggest fan of snorkelling, but the first hour in the water flew by and suddenly we were called in for coffee and snacks. We were then taken to a different part of the island for more snorkelling. The sea lions were waiting. Unfortunately most of them were too lazy to come out and play, but we got to swim around with a few and it was amazing. They are so cute and playful, and definitely not afraid of humans. We even spotted the Alfa male; an angry, barking guy that was probably bigger than me. We were told to be careful around him as he gets protective of the kids and females, and I was perfectly fine with just watching him from a distance.

We ended the day at the beautiful Playa Escondida, and even though I at first didn’t see why we would bother to spend time watching iguanas on a beach, I understood once we got there. It is probably one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever visited. We spent a good hour strolling around, watching the spitting iguanas and taking in the scenery before returning to the boat and heading back to Puerto Ayora. The sun was with us the entire day, for the first time during my stay in the Galapagos, and I’m pretty sure this was my favourite day there. Even though I wished for more time to explore, I spent the evening getting ready for an early departure and a long day of travelling the following morning, a trip that didn’t exactly turn out the way I’d imagined.

Even though I didn’t do a cruise, I am pleased with my stay in the Galapagos. I ended up seeing almost all the same animals as the people that I’ve spoken with who did do a cruise, and as I only had five full days on the islands I definitely got the most out my stay by doing it this way instead of spending time searching for last minute deals, travelling back and forth to the cruise and so on. A five day cruise, which is what I would have had to take, does in fact only include three days of activities, as the first day is only spent on the boat and you get back very early on the fifth day. Spending 1000 USD on that just didn’t seem worth it to me. The people I know that did five day cruises did however seem happy about that, so I guess it’s a matter of personal preference.

If I were to do anything differently, I would rather make sure that I’d stay for at least ten days. Five days simply wasn’t enough. If I was to return to the Galapagos I would probably also choose a different month than September, where the weather is more stable and the temperatures slightly higher. Then again, I’ll most likely never go back. I feel like the Galapagos is the kind of place that I’ll only visit once, but I sure am glad that I did.

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♥ Erica