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After breakfast we donned our snorkeling gear one last time and headed to the beach on the island. We chose to do the dune walk first, which was a short hike over a hilly and sandy terrain.
At the beach on the other side of the dune, the colors of the landscape were just gorgeous. We saw lots of neat little critters along the shore.
We also watched birds pecking through the wet sand to pick up little crabs with their beaks. It was actually pretty cool because it seemed as though they were just randomly digging their beaks through the sand, but every 30 seconds or so they would come up with a tiny squirmy little crab that they would gobble right up. We also saw the shadow of a shark swimming back and forth near the shoreline though we didn’t get a good view of it.
After heading back to the other side of the dune, we jumped right into the water and began snorkeling around Pinnacle Rock.
Here we saw tons of starfish of all sizes and colors. There were black and red ones, sandy beige ones, and my favorite, the chocolate chip starfish, which are yellow and sprinkled with what looks like chocolate chips on top.
The highlight of this snorkeling trip, however, was our second encounter with a shark underwater. This time it had white marks on its fins so we were able to identify it as a white tip reef shark. We were also close enough to get a picture of it, and chased it for a while before it disappeared out to sea.
We made it all the way around Pinnacle Rock, then rushed back the same way to shore to pick up a zodiac that would take us to the glass bottom boat. The glass bottom boat is an option offered so that people who don’t snorkel can still see wildlife underwater. Even though we snorkeled at every opportunity, we were curious to see what the glass bottom boat was like so we signed up for the very last outing. It turned out to be a worthwhile time, as we saw a huge stingray swimming underneath the boat. It really is a great alternative for non-snorkelers.
After our busy morning, we headed back to the ship for our departure briefing and lunch. We had some down time before our last hike in the Galapagos, which was on Santiago Island. We had a nice leisurely walk along the shore and saw many of the animals we’ve been seeing all along on our trip. There were piles of marine iguanas…
Cutie baby sea lions with big puppy dog eyes…
And little lava lizards climbing over the rocks…
At one point all of the different hiking groups converged and there was a big commotion in a tidal pool down below us. Apparently someone’s hat had blown off into the water and one of the naturalists was climbing down the rocks to retrieve it because he didn’t want any sea lions to eat it or get caught on the string. He eventually did get the hat, but not before jumping into the water and getting totally soaked because he couldn’t climb back up the rock wall.
After all the excitement, the naturalists gave us some free time and wander around the vicinity. Josh and I ended up sitting on some rocks and just watched the sun start to set and the waves crashing all around. It was beautiful and peaceful, and a totally bittersweet moment for us as we knew it was our last day to experience the islands.
We hiked back to the zodiac landing sight and came across the most touching moment – a mother sea lion reuniting with her pup at the edge of the water. The female sea lions leave their pups in search for food and can be gone for days at a time. During this time, the pups basically starve because other females won’t share their milk. If a mother sea lion dies out at sea, her pup will die as well because no one else will feed it. We watched in awe as a mother waded in from the water calling for her pup, and a baby sea lion running down the beach to meet its mother, barking excitedly. They reunited on the shore and snuggled for a bit before the mother laid down, exhausted, and allowed her pup to nurse. As we piled onto the zodiacs and pulled away from the island, I turned around and saw the mother and pup walking inland together just as the sun was setting. It was a moment I’ll never forget, and the perfect ending to our last day in the Galapagos.
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Moving inland, we walked through a forest of giant prickly pear cactuses. The color of the cactuses against the blue water and blue sky was just stunning.
We saw lots of different birds hopping about and playing in whatever little water there was during this dry season. While I couldn’t tell the difference between finches and mockingbirds, the one bird that stood out most was the yellow warbler, a tiny bird with bright yellow coloring.
Throughout our walk, we would catch glimpses of land iguanas in the distance or hiding under trees. However, our hike was halted when we came upon the most incredible sight – IGUANA FIGHT!
These two land iguanas were really going at it, right in the middle of the trail path. All of the groups from our ship ended up converging at this point and we were totally mesmerized by the fight. It was pretty brutal, as each tried to bite the either on the tail, leg, or neck. Whenever one got hold, he would shake the other violently. We could hear the loud CHOMP as they bit into skin, and both iguanas were bleeding from bite wounds. We stood there watching for about 20 minutes before we had to leave to finish the hike, and they were still going at it after we left. To see video footage of this incredible fight, go here to the daily expedition report on the Lindblad Expeditions website.
We returned to the ship, quickly donned our snorkeling gear, and headed straight back out on a zodiac to do some deep water snorkeling at Guy Fawkes. We saw lots of colorful little fish but the walls of the rock underwater was the real highlight. It was a mix of bright reds and oranges and greens, and there were fish darting in and out little crevices. We just floated next to the wall and observed this amazing underwater world.
After lunch we had another round of snorkeling near Sombrero Chino in a bay surrounded by craggly rocks. It was here that we had our first up close view of Galapagos penguins. They were just sitting calmly on the rocks, and occasionally one would jump off and dart through the water. It was kind of mind blowing to know that a place on the Equator, where it’s hot and there are sandy beaches and flamingos, also has penguins.
We also saw our very first shark on this snorkeling trip! It was a shock to see it swimming past us underwater, but then we got over the shock and tried to follow it to get some pictures. It was way too fast though and soon went out of our view. We didn’t see any white tips on the fins though, so it might have been a Galapagos shark but we’re not exactly sure.
After snorkeling we immediately did some kayaking, as it was the last day to do so. We were kayaking in the same bay where we had been snorkeling and were able to get really close to the rock where all the penguins were sitting.
We circled the bay, getting a good view of the “Chinese Hat” and scoping out a bull sea lion barking at one end. We were much more successful in navigating the kayaks this time around and it was relaxing yet still a good workout.
After a jam-packed day, we ended it with a delicious bbq dinner on the pool deck. It was cool and breezy and the perfect night to dine alfresco. Too bad it was cloudy that night so we didn’t get a good view of the stars but it was a nice evening nevertheless.
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]]>We walked around and our naturalist guide told us about the different breeding programs that the CDRS manages, and how the scientists from the station gather information about the islands to bolster their conservation efforts. We visited Diego, who came from the San Diego zoo and has helped restore his species from near extinction. We also saw Lonesome George, the only one of his kind, whom they’re trying to breed with females of a different but similar species. However, he doesn’t seem too fond of his “girlfriends”, and it’s said that he hates them with all his heart.
All the baby tortoises that are hatched at the CDRS are kept in cages until they get bigger. These babies really are tiny, considering how much bigger they will get later on in life. Giant tortoises can live for over 100 years.
There were also many giant tortoises that were once people’s pets and now have a home at the CDRS. They are unable to fend for themselves so they are kept at the station. We were able to watch them during feeding time and because they’re so used to humans, we were able to approach them face to face.
After we left the CDRS, we walked back through town and did a little shopping along the way. We passed the fish market and it was quite a sight to behold! There were pelicans everywhere, trying to steal the fish, and there were sea lions trying to get in on the action as well. There was one sea lion standing up against the counter just watching the fishermen clean the fish, hoping for a handout. It was absolutely hilarious and adorable at the same time. It reminded me of a dog standing up and begging for scraps.
Back in the center of town we hopped on buses that took us to a restaurant called Altair that is located in the highlands. It’s a cute family-run place with a swimming pool, volleyball, and hammocks available for their guests’ use. We had a fabulous meal there that was some of the best food we had on the entire trip.
After lunch they gave us different options on how to spend our afternoon. Josh and I chose Option 1, which was do it all. First we swapped our shoes for tall Wellington boots (it’s a lot rainier in the highlands so the paths are muddy) and headed to Los Gemelos, two pit craters that were formed when lava collapsed. These were gigantic craters that are now covered in trees and plants.
The endemic scalesia trees that surround the pit craters were really pretty to look at, even though they’re just trees. Something about the shapes of their branches and colors set against a brilliant blue sky just made them seem so incredibly beautiful.
After Los Gemelos, we went to search for wild giant tortoises. We drove to a private property that is on the tortoise migratory route. It has a large wide open field with plenty of grass and plants for tortoises to munch on so there is generally a good chance for tortoise sightings. We saw about a dozen spread out all over the field. Since these are wild tortoises you have to approach them from behind, otherwise they will hide inside their shells and you won’t be able to see their heads. These tortoises were HUGE and they look so prehistoric, with wrinkly faces and ginormous feet.
We spent some time taking pictures of the tortoises, then headed back into town. Josh and I opted to stick around town and do some more shopping, had a drink at a local bar, then took the last zodiac back to the ship. It was a long and tiring day but so worthwhile. We learned a lot about the Galapagos conservation and restoration efforts and got to spend some time observing more amazing creatures.
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After breakfast we took a zodiac ride around Punta Vicente Roca. As soon as we ventured out we ran into a huge group of sea turtles swimming around our zodiac.
On the rocks of the island we saw some flightless cormorants fluttering their short stubby wings. These birds can’t fly but they can sure swim! We saw a few diving in the water. We also saw sea lions, fur seals, and marine iguanas perched on the rocks.
We ventured into a cave where some sea lions were frolicking about, then headed toward to the open sea in search of the elusive mola mola, or ocean sunfish. Unfortunately that wasn’t successful either, but it was relaxing to zoom around on the zodiacs rather than hiking rocky terrain.
Right after the zodiac ride we donned our snorkeling gear once again and headed back out to the area where we saw all the sea turtles. There were about a dozen in our immediate vicinity and some were quite large. This was when Josh almost ran into one, as he was chasing a diving cormorant trying to take a picture of it. He was concentrating so much on the bird that he didn’t see a turtle coming straight at him and had to flail his arms about to prevent himself from running into it. We all had a good laugh at his expense.
After a delicious Ecuadorian buffet lunch that featuring a whole roasted suckling pig and two of the best desserts I’ve ever tasted, a sandwich cookie filled with caramel and a sinfully moist tres leches cake, we took an afternoon excursion to Punta Espinosa. We trekked over the solid black ropey lava that covers this part of the island and saw more sea lions, flightless cormorants, and tons of marine iguanas.
At one point we saw the massive remnants of whale bones, though those were brought to that particular area, not because a whale had actually died on that spot. Still, they were pretty cool.
Josh thought the ropey lava reminded him of the glaciers in the Alaska. I could see the similar characteristics but they were a much smaller scale on the lava. The cracks in the lava were nothing like the crevasses that you could fall into in the glaciers. As we prepared to take the zodiacs back to the ship, we were treated to yet another beautiful sunset.
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]]>In keeping with the tradition, we all wrote postcards to place in the barrel and hope that they will arrive at their destinations one day. The naturalists also went through the postcards already in the barrel and yelled out the names of cities in the addresses. People who lived in/near whatever city, or planned on visiting it soon, would raise their hands and take the postcard. Several postcards were matched, including one that we volunteered to take to the upper east side. It was really fun and exciting to take part in such an old tradition.
After depositing our postcards in the barrel, we headed back to the ship for a quick breakfast, then we donned our wetsuits and gear for some deep water snorkeling near Champion Island. It was here that we encountered our very first sea turtle, which was almost surreal. The turtle just swam about his business while we clustered around and tried to get a few underwater pictures. The other fish were pretty cool too, but there’s nothing like seeing your first sea turtle up close and personal.
In the afternoon we had a wet landing on the sandy beach at Punta Cormorant. It was a relatively easy hike next to a large lake that was filled with pink flamingos. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get very close to the flamingos, who were on the other side of the lake from us, but it was pretty cool nonetheless. We watched them feeding in the water (they get their pink color from the small crustaceans they eat) and even saw a few birds taking flight.
We headed to the beach on the opposite shore where we saw the large indentations of sea turtle nests. My hat almost blew off on top of them but I was able to trap it before it would disturb the nests. Phew!
We spent a while just watching birds flying over head before heading back to the zodiacs. The sun was starting to set at that point and it cast a beautiful pink glow to the sand and the rocks. It was really such a peaceful moment to be standing on the beach looking out at the sunset and hearing the waves lapping against the shore. It really made me appreciate all the beauty that nature has to offer.
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After we hike a short distance along the beach, we saw a massive pile of marine iguanas just laying on the side of the path. There must have been at least a hundred of them just clustered together, some lying on top of others.
Further along the path we saw a family of blue footed boobies, with a father sitting on top of two chicks and a mother standing guard nearby.
We were so close to this family yet they were totally unperturbed and sat there peacefully. I really can’t describe how amazing this is.
Then our next sight was two sea lion pups playing together and snuggling next to each other. It was just too cute for words.
As we moved inland, we came across the nesting grounds of the waved albatrosses. These birds are huge! Their chicks are the size of turkeys and not much more attractive. They’re brown and fuzzy and move clumsily across the ground.
We saw many adults though soaring gracefully overhead; the area is known as the albatross airport. We had some incredible views as we hiked along the cliff, watching the waves crash into the rocks and a blowhole spurting water high into the air.
The albatrosses weren’t the only birds nesting. We came across a Nazca booby (the green footed booby) incubating an egg.
After we returned to the ship and had lunch, we headed to Gardner Bay, a beautiful stretch of beach where more sea lions were lounging. This was our first opportunity to snorkel so we opted to practice from the beach first before taking a zodiac to a large rock off the shore.
The more experienced snorkelers went deep water snorkeling at another location, but because this was my very first time snorkeling, I wanted to try in shallow water first to see how I would react to it. Water, as many of you know, is not my friend. However, I loved snorkeling from the beginning and we soon ventured out to the deeper rock. The very first thing we saw? A gigantic stingray sitting on the floor, half covered by a rock. It was HUGE. We also saw tons of colorful fish and it was absolutely thrilling for me. I’ve been bitten by the snorkeling bug.
As if the hiking and the snorkeling wasn’t enough, Josh and I also signed up for kayaking for later in the afternoon. The ship keeps six inflatable kayaks that are built for two people. They’re much wider than normal kayaks, and you sit on top of it rather than in it, so it’s much safer as there is less chance for the kayak to tip over. However, they’re also harder to maneuver. We went in circles for a bit before we finally got the hang of it.
We kayaked around a small island, even venturing into a cave to see some of the rock formations. All in all it was a tiring and activity packed day but we saw some truly incredible things.
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You really had to watch where you walked so you didn’t step on one. And they paid us absolutely no attention; we were an arm’s length away from them snapping pictures and they simply didn’t care. It was astonishing.
Our tour, which is organized by Lindblad Expeditions, is partnered with the National Geographic Society. There are naturalists on board who accompanied us everywhere, giving us detailed explanations about what we were seeing and the history of each particular island in the Galapagos. It’s really a well-put together tour. Even though the Endeavour is a true expedition ship, it did have some some nice amenities, like a large lounge and library to hang out in. There was also a small gym, as well as a small pool out on the sun deck. It’s not one of those gigantic cruise ships that are basically floating hotels though. It’s definitely a bit more rustic, but also more intimate and homey.
After a brief orientation, we had our first lunch on the ship. Lunch is served buffet style, and there aren’t that many choices. Each day there was usually a soup, some salads, and two or three entrees and sides. Our first lunch, a vegetarian cannelloni and some sort of chicken cooked in a tomato sauce, was actually pretty bad. I was a bit worried about how that would bode for the rest of the trip, but luckily the food improved vastly after that meal.
After lunch we had an abandon ship and safety drill, then later in the afternoon we had our first excursion of the cruise. We took zodiacs from the ship to the southern shore of North Seymour. Ships in the Galapagos don’t actually dock at each island so you have to take a zodiac from the ship to the island and have either a dry landing (where you can step from the zodiac straight onto land) or a wet landing (where you land on a beach and need to step out into knee-deep water). North Seymour was a dry landing and as soon as we stepped out we were greeted by more sea lions.
My first impression of the Galapagos is that it’s actually very arid. There are cactuses and the land was pretty barren looking. These are not tropical islands, though in the spring and summer there is more green on the trees. While we were there, however, all the trees were bare and dry.
The highlights of North Seymour are the blue footed boobies and the great frigate birds. It’s mating season for the frigate birds so the males have these huge red pouches under their beaks that they can blow up into big balloons. The sit on the ground and look up at the females, hoping to attract them with their red pouches.
The blue footed boobies are really beautiful, with bright blue feet (duh) and intense eyes. Josh and I are immature so we got a big kick out of the naturalist saying “look at the boobies” or “watch the boobies dancing”, which happened numerous times.
We saw frigate birds swooping down trying to steal food from the boobies and they would fight back. It was just incredible being in the middle of everything and being able to observe the wildlife up close.
After we returned to the ship there was a cocktail party in the lounge where they introduced us to the captain and the staff. There were cocktail hours every night of the cruise where we’d gather in the lounge for some snacks and drinks (alcohol is extra on the ship) and one of the naturalists would recap the day and Paula, our expedition leader, would tell us about the next day’s activities. It’s a nice time to unwind from the day and whet our appetites for dinner.
Each day the dinner menu is posted after breakfast and you sign up for which entree you want. That way they don’t waste food and can prepare exactly what is needed. I’m sure though that if you changed your mind when dinner came, they would accommodate you. But reducing waste is a big part of their conservation efforts.
Dinner is served by the waitstaff, and everyone kind of just sits wherever there is room. Our dinner companions changed every night, though there were some people we ended up eating with more often than others. It was really quite pleasant and a great way to get to know most of the people on the ship.
There were always three entree options for dinner, and Josh and I would pick the meat entree and the fish entree, ignoring the vegetarian option. Appetizers and desserts were the same for everyone. We would each eat half of our entree and then switch plates, so we could taste both dishes. The food was better on some nights than others, but overall it was pretty good. The fish entrees were consistently good and properly prepared. The meat entrees were more inconsistent but aside from one incinerated duck, nothing was inedible. Plus we were so active each day that we were absolutely starving by the time dinner rolled around. Lets just say that despite all of the hiking, snorkeling, and kayaking that we did, our bellies remained fat as ever!
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]]>Josh thinks I’m weird because I hate old places but love ancient places. Visiting old palaces and mansions freaks me out but I couldn’t get enough of the ancient temples and ruins in Egypt and Greece during our honeymoon. It’s probably just because old houses are always musty and I feel confined, whereas pyramids and temples are so majestic and grand. Either way, we were all set to plan our Peru trip this year when we happened upon a deal to the Galapagos Islands that we couldn’t pass up. So Peru will have to wait, but we were in for a trip of a lifetime.
Our trip was from September 25 through October 4. We flew first to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where we stayed the night, then we flew to Baltra in the Galapagos. After cruising through the islands for seven days, we flew back to Guayaquil and stayed one last night there before heading home.
The Galapagos Islands are just incredible. It’s like being in the land that time forgot. Everything just seems so pristine and pure, and the wildlife is simply amazing. The animals show absolutely no fear of humans, allowing us to walk up close to them and observe them basically face to face. We were able to snorkel with playful sea lions and Josh almost ran into a huge sea turtle underwater. We have countless memories from this trip, plus over 3,000 photos and a video summary of our expedition. Don’t worry, we won’t bore you to death with all of our pictures but we’d be happy to share them with anyone who wants to see!
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