Ecuador: The Galápagos Islands
Traveling 600 miles west of mainland Ecuador is worth the trip just to visit the “origin of species.” The Galápagos Islands were popularized by Charles Darwin after he spent 5 weeks in the mid-19th century studying the unique fauna and flora of this volcanic archipelago. The classification and description of the 13 distinct species of Galápagos Finches living across the islands came out of his research, including the Warbler Finch (below), which was a cute one that we found on our first island.
Darwin subsequently came up with his theory of natural selection and published pivotal books decades later that would provide the foundation for the theory of evolution.
It is a must-visit for science-buffs, and for anyone who more broadly wants to enjoy one of the most biodiverse places in the world! Unlike our African Safari where we could only view wildlife from the safety of our vehicles, we were able to get up-close and personal with the animals at the Galápagos National Park and the Galápagos Marine Reserve. These two areas encompass all the land and water throughout the area.
Most visitors can either see the islands by water, by land, or with a mix of both. Water is definitely the best way to see it, so most people end up booking an expensive cruise for their entire stay. Ideally, you’ll want to book a cruise for about 5–6 days that can deliver you to about 3+ islands. You could easily spend $3000+ USD per person on just a cruise by itself, but with our handy-dandy travel blogs to guide us towards the best deals (e.g. Galapagos For Less, Thrifty Nomads, Globe Treks, Practical Wanderlust), we were able to visit the islands without breaking the bank. Thus, we decided to maximize our time there for a total of 12 days with a mix of both with 7 land nights and 5 sea nights, and we flew into one island airport and out of another to maximize our sights. More great tips to heed are to pre-register for entry into the islands before getting on your flight into the Galápagos at Guayaquil or Quito airports. After pre-registering, you’ll need to pick up a physical TCT card, pay the entrance free, and then get your bag scanned even further for items you can’t take into the islands. Since this is a double World Heritage Site with land and sea protected everywhere, Galapagueños take extra precautions to care for and preserve the area.
With a 12,000 foot elevation change and 3 flights later (from Cusco to Bogota to Guayaquil, including sleeping overnight in the GYE airport terminal), we finally arrived in the Galápagos Islands. Below you’ll find a description of our path around the most popular place island-by-island.
Santa Cruz Island: We landed on Baltra Island at the South Seymour Airport, which is the most modern airport on the islands. There’s not much to see on Baltra besides the small airport, an arid desert, and the bus to the ferry over to Santa Cruz Island. The most interesting part is crossing the terrain of Santa Cruz Island. The drastic weather changes from the western to eastern part of the island turns the terrain from a sunny, arid desert into a cloudy, wet rainforest. These opposing weather patterns have a lot to do with the large craters that were once active volcanos called Los Gemelos, twin craters across the road from each other along the route from Baltra to Puerto Ayora. One place we would highly recommend is El Chato Tortoise Reserve, a sanctuary for Galápagos Giant Tortoises next to Los Gemelos. Weighing an average of 250 kg (550 lbs.), these land reptiles were sprawled out everywhere on the reserve.
It felt almost as if we were hunting them in the wild! It would have been an unfair hunt though because these guys are slower than dripping molasses. No wonder why they live to over a century old! Slow and steady wins the race after all.
A handful of these giants also gathered in a small pond crowding each other out. While one even let a Great Egret sit atop its shell for a long while.
A very unique sight was of two male Galápagos Giant Tortoises fighting over territory. It was pretty funny to watch with each sluggish attack and retreat looking like it was playing in slow motion.
One thing we missed out on while visiting the reserve was seeing Los Tuneles due to the chilly weather and our prescription sunglasses — which prevented us from seeing in the pitch black of below. These lava tunnels were created as air cools the lava forming a crust on top and insulating the lava below it to create an insulated tunnel. They can get big enough to accommodate hundreds of people, and the only other place we’ve seen anything like this in the world is on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Puerto Ayora is the main town to stay at on Santa Cruz Island. It’s a small beach town with a few interesting things to do in the area. Ash took a solo outing in the town to visit Las Ninfas Lagoon. And, then I joined up for an adventure to Tortuga Bay Beach. To get to the beach, you have to sign into the national park registry and then embark on a 50-minute walk towards the beach passing by Giant Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia) and Scalesia trees (part of the daisy family).
We got there too tired to enjoy the beach or walk further to a smaller bay with warmer water and better snorkeling around the corner. Instead, we sat for a bit on the white, sandy beach next to some of the volcanic rocks and enjoyed our hard earned rest time.
When we were on Santa Cruz, we also booked day trips to Santa Fe and Isabela Islands with Victor at Nature of Galapagos Tours who gave us great insights into each of the tours along with his recommendations. We also walked around this small beach town surveying how blessed the locals were to lead such a simple life.
Santa Fe Island: Our day trip to Santa Fe Island was our first experience in the Galápagos, but it was our least favorite looking back on it now. After a crowded 40-minute boat ride to the island, we arrived to cloudy, chilly weather. During the first snorkeling opportunity, the water was ice-cold to the point that when Ash jumped in it shocked his system so much he was ready to jump out a few seconds later. Although an older Turkish man onboard received a round of applause from the crew and passengers alike when he jumped into the freezing water donning only his swim trunks while everyone else wore wetsuits. Lucky for us warm-water aficionados, the next snorkeling spot was a bit warmer — but still way too cold for me! Even though we were able to see and swim with the Galapagos Sea Lions who jumped off the rocks into water around us, I was shivering too much to enjoy it. At the last stop on the day trip, we made a wet landing onto a secluded beach called Playa Escondido, which was technically back on Santa Cruz Island. It was my favorite part of the day because the sun finally came out to warm us up and the water was a lot warmer and turquoise off the milky, white sand beach.
During our exploration of the area, we walked past a few Marine Iguanas, learned about the Salt-tolerant White Mangroves and their sea-dispersal reproduction methods, and saw a plethora of Sally Lightfoot Crabs — many of whom shed their exoskeleton leaving it strewn on the beach, which look like crab carcasses. Overall, we had a good time for our first outing, but it was nothing compared to the experiences we would have next...
Isabela Island: The 2-hour boat ride to get to Isabela will test your stomach and your patience, but it was well worth it to experience what was waiting for us when we arrived. Las Tintoreras is an area on Isabela Island that is one of the best places to see wildlife anywhere in the Galápagos Islands. We first walked the area to find a vast amount of juvenile marine iguanas littering the island almost everywhere we stepped. We also spotted Blue-footed Boobies and Red-footed Boobies loitering about. Boobies are a type of bird that were originally named “bobbies” by British pirates who frequented the islands in the 17th century and thereafter. They were thought to be dumb enough birds due to their weird mating dance that their name was changed into “boobies” to reflect their perceived lack of intelligence.
In addition to the air and land wildlife, we found ample marine life. In a very special canal teeming with unique sea life, we found a huge amount of White-tip Reef Sharks sleeping and swimming aimlessly throughout the day. They always seem to congregate in this area to rest and only venture out at night to hunt.
To top off the morning part of the day trip, our guide Sebastián was all-around awesome! He was just as excited about showing us the beauty that his island holds and described everything with such wide-eyed enthusiasm it seemed as if he was seeing it all for the first time — even though he was born and raised on the island. That’s what passion does to you: It infects the people around you with the same positive energy. It was the best snorkeling experience not only due to the care of our guide, but also for the sheer volume of wildlife we saw! At first I was scared of jumping off our small boat into the cold water, but I was assured that everything was going to be well as Sebastián fixed my goggles, put on my life vest, and led me snorkeling around the bay on a ring buoy. I really felt taken care to the point that I could finally relax and enjoy the moment.
My surrender must have rippled through the water because we got the experience of a lifetime: swimming with sea turtles! Measuring approximately 8 feet in length, the Galápagos Green Turtles are some of the most phenomenal creatures on this planet! The epitome of grace and beauty underwater, they’ve become my new favorite marine animal.
As Ash ventured further out and deeper into the water, he spotted a Spotted Eagle Ray flapping its wings in the water like a bird in the air.
When we got back on land, we were handed off for lunch and then met up with another group and guide. Not a very seamless transition of events, but at least we were in the right place at the right time to see the other sights on the island. Our first stop with our new group was another turtle preserve called Isabela Tortoise Breeding Center. Unfortunately, these Galápagos Giant Tortoises weren’t able to roam free like those in El Chato Reserve. However, we got to sea them in each stage of their development from a weeks old to fully grown adults. Additionally, each pen housed a different species found on each of the islands around the Galápagos — which was pretty cool to see the variations in their phenotypes.
Moreover, we found the Greater Flamingos standing pretty in pink in the Isabela Wetlands and Estuaries. As we were leaving 3 of them put on a show for us by flying over the water and landing back in the green lagoon. Not to mention, we spotted this pretty little bird, the Mangrove Warbler, earlier at the Isabela Tortoise Breeding Center.
After finishing off our day trips, we rounded out our days on Santa Cruz Island where we finally met up with our cruise tour group and guide. First, we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station where we got to see some more species of iguanas and tortoises in captivity. The most famous of the latter was Lonesome George — the last tortoise of his line found nearly a century ago on a deserted island after pirates had kidnapped and cooked all of his brethren. After George passed away, he was honored with his own viewing room, which is temperature-controlled to preserve the taxidermy mount of his body on display. His legacy lives on — not through his lineage though (as breeders had unsuccessfully tried to propagate the species for years) — but through the enduring story of his survival and the preservation of his body on Santa Cruz Island.
We finally boarded our cruise for the next 4 nights, and boy was it eventful! First off, we have to give major props to the Treasure of Galápagos for providing such a luxurious, first-class catamaran for our sailing pleasures. The ship was all-around beautiful with modern updates on the main deck and in our cabins making our stay as comfortable as possible. What’s more is that the sun deck had a nice overhang with outdoor sofas and a jacuzzi! It was a beauty to behold and even better to call home over the next few days. There were only 14 passengers and 11 crew members to make the ship all the more exclusive. Moreover, we lucked out with the company we kept onboard. The passengers we met on our cruise were really nice people. We met a duo of Aussies, Scots, Swiss, Brits, and Swiss-Thai, while Ash and I filled the quota for Americans. It felt like we convened the United Nations on the seas of the Pacific, and it was a joy to swap travel stories since all were so well travelled we had to take the opportunity to compare notes.
Santiago Island: After setting sail the morning after boarding, we saw our first signs of life at sea when we spotted Bottlenose Dolphins swimming a long distance away yet parallel to the ship. A good omen from our point of view! Our first stop was at Sullivan Bay on the southeastern part of Santiago Island. The area is covered by solidified lava that has a wavy or accordion formation. The former volcano used to be active during the late 19th century, and was therefore one of the youngest lava flows geologically-speaking. The magma formed is flat in appearance, but the underground lava movement along with rapid cooling and other eruptions led to break in places that make this place look like the surface of the Moon. The differences in age are based on the rock color with older lava and more recent lava creating red and black rock, respectively. Critters like locusts fluttering about also added to the foreign feeling of the place. It felt as if we were geologists exploring a new uninhabited planet in a galaxy far, far away!
Bartolomé Island: The same day we got to snorkel around Pinnacle Rock and landed on the beach at this neighboring island. Snorkeling around we saw a bunch of tropical fish, that I won’t even bother naming because there were far too many!
We even got to experience one of biggest highlights of our trip, which was swimming with a humongous Manta Ray. At about 13 feet wide with a 10-foot long body (not including its thin, wire-like tail), this beauty is rare to find in the wild and even rarer to swim with in the ocean. It sort of freaked me out when Ash got closer to capture it on video. But, we’re both grateful we had that experience of swimming in the wild with this beautiful creature.
In addition to our awesome experience in the water, we had a great time on land, too. On this Bartolomé Island you can see interesting formations of lava and cinder cones. We also spotted the most unique birds living at the Equator: Galápagos Penguins. They are the only species of penguin found in warm climate at this latitude and are the second smallest penguin in the world. These guys were adorable on land and fierce fisherman in the water.
Ash got really lucky when he was the only person in our group to see a penguin in the water. When we were snorkeling, he noticed a school of fish next to him suddenly jolted away, and suspecting something important just happened, he turned towards the opposite direction of the fishes’ path. Out of nowhere he saw a penguin darting through the water at lightning speed towards the school of fishes. It was quite a sight and even better that we caught him on candid camera!
Meanwhile, back on land after snorkeling, we embarked on a 30-minute climb up a wooden staircase leading to the top of Bartolomé Island. There we were met with beautiful views of the nearby beaches as well as the most visited and photographed vista on the island: Pinnacle Rock.
North Seymour Island: On this island you can find a bunch of birds, including many Blue-footed Boobies, colonies of the Great Frigatebird, Swallow-tailed Gulls, and many more avian species that we failed to find that day (e.g. Fork-tailed Gulls, Galápagos Terns, Galápagos Doves, etc.). One unique adaptation of the Great Frigatebird is that this large seabird displays an interesting mating adaptation where the male is able to swell its gular sac on its throat and chest to a bright, red color in order to attract a female soaring over the sky above. This huge neck swelling can last for weeks at a time as they prepare for the mating season.
Birds weren’t all we saw on North Seymour though, since we also found the resident reptiles, such as the Lava Lizards and Galápagos Land Iguanas hanging out.
We also took the opportunity to get up-close and personal with Galápagos Sea Lions. This area served as a very busy sea lion nursery with a colony of pups and their mothers lying out everywhere around the island.
We even found a pup jumping up the rocks towards us in search of his mama. And, a kindergarten of pups playing just off shore were as entertaining as can be!
Mosquera: An islet located between the islands of Baltra and North Seymour, it looks like a thin sandbar with most of its perimeter consisting of lava rocks — evidence of a past volcanic uprising. We ended up skipping the visit to this island in favor of spending some downtime on the ship.
South Plaza Island: After a dry landing, we found that this island was full of life, including colonies of sea lions and land iguanas. While you walk along the banks, you’re also able to see a lot of birds, including nesting tropical birds and Fork-Tailed Seagulls. You can also find seabirds like Blue-footed Boobies, Nazca boobies, Herons, Great Frigatebirds, and a variety of shorebirds, too. The beautiful view from the top of the steep banks would have been more enjoyable if it weren’t for the strong wind coming up from the cliffs. The flora of the area was also very interesting covering the island with Giant Prickly Pear Cactus and Galápagos Carpetweed, which looks like dense red mat of carpet on the dry terrain. On the way to our final destination, we passed by one of the most famous landmarks in the islands: Kicker Rock. Getting there just in time for sunset, we found it to be quite a beautiful place to enjoy the golden hour.
San Cristobal Island: After a wet landing at Cerro Brujo Beach located on the north coast of the San Cristobal Island, we arrived on the beautiful white coral beach. Unfortunately, the tranquility on the beach didn’t last long because we had a rough time trying to snorkel out from the shore. The waves were so strong that I kept getting dragged back to the shore each time I tried to depart for the snorkeling spot. Ash was able to go out without a hassle, and while each of us paired up with our Aussie counterparts I really couldn’t swim strongly enough to make it through the current and around the shore to another beach. So I waved down the lifeboat down and headed back to the beach. At least I got to recover on the beach before Ash arrived with stories of his own difficulty getting onto shore having been pinned by the current up against the rocks with no visibility. Whew — glad that was over with for the both of us! On the beach, however, we had the chance to catch our breaths again, and get intimate with more sea lions lying out in addition to Ghost Crabs scurrying around the beach.
Our last stop on the cruise was at the San Cristobal Interpretation Center. This place is an educational information center about the evolution of the Galápagos Islands and all of the animal life it holds. It’s probably not worth the trip unless your just starting your journey, but it held a nice summary for us to close out our time on the islands. We said our goodbyes to our fellow cruisers, then stayed the duration of our visit in the small, beachside town of San Cristobal. This town was comparable to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, only with a bigger dock.
Overall, we had a phenomenal time exploring the Galápagos Islands. The catamaran, water and land activities, and the other passengers made for a phenomenal experience on our cruise. It was very cool to be on a small boat with great amenities, but the biggest issue we had was the rocky ride we had throughout the voyage. Even though it was a catamaran and thus was more stable, we still found the ride to be quite rough at times. But, of all the places we have visited, it’s definitely up there as one of our favorite locations and experiences throughout our entire world trip. We would highly recommend that anybody who wants to enjoy the diverse ecosystem of the area with all of its marine life and land activities visit this amazing place.
