Evolutionary Equatorial Magic: The Galapagos

Note to our Readers: We apologize for the massive delay in our posts.  In an effort to try to bring you up to speed, we’re going to skip posting about our adventures in Peru and go straight ahead to Ecuador!  We promise to write about our travels in Peru eventually.  

We spent two and a half incredible weeks on the Galapagos Islands. I never dreamed of having such an opportunity, but we heard amazing stories from other Overlanders and figured we couldn’t miss the chance. After thinking about it for a couple of weeks we decided to take the plunge to go to these incredible islands, we also figured we might as well go for as long as we could. We spent 10 days independently visiting the islands of Santa Cruz and San Cristobal and we booked a “last minute” 8 night cruise that focused around Isabella Island.

In order to get to the Galapagos you must fly or go by cruise ship.  Flights are much shorter, so we gladly hopped on a comfortable 2 hour flight.  Upon arrival the heat and humidity instantly hit us.  So, the first thing I wanted to do was get into the ocean.  Of course we tried to seek out the prettiest beach around for our first dip.

Enter Tortuga Bay.  After a gruelingly hot, 45-minute walk in the sun we had arrived.  As soon as our backpacks hit the ground, I donned my brand new snorkeling mask and walked towards the water.  The water was surprisingly warm.  I let go of most of my inhibitions and took the plunge, submerging my head under water.  Wonderful salty water.

After a couple of minutes of being submerged, searching for fish, my shoulders began to relax and I began to comfortably bob with the waves.  And then, it suddenly hit me, we had made it!  We reached the world renowned Galapagos and we were experiencing it!  The place that teems with hundreds of colorful fish, turtles, rays, seastars, sponges, and seaweed…simply put, we made it to another universe. As if, a beautiful parallel universe.  Again, I was reminded of how extremely fortunate we are to be able to do this overlanding journey.

Neither of us are crazy animal enthusiasts, but it’s hard not to become one while you’re in the Galapagos. We saw many many many sea turtles, giant land tortoises, blue footed boobies (another one of my new favorite animals), masked boobies, penguins, flightless cormorants, sea lions and pups, fur seals, marine iguanas, lava lizards, red land iguanas, Darwin’s finches, yellow warblers, Great frigate birds, Majestic frigate birds, parrot fish, angelfish, 5 types of colorful seastars, and many other fish which I have yet to properly identify.

Then there were creatures we saw less of and made me SUUUPER excited: flamingoes, a SUN FISH, again a SUN FISH!!!!, white tipped sharks, Galapagos shark, Hammerhead sharks, hawks, cornet fish, lobster, sea cucumber, manta rays, eagle ray, round rays, and balloon fish.

That’s 28 animals and sea creatures that I can name just off the top of my head.

Over the course of our Galapagos expedition we saw lots of wildlife, check out some videos on our YouTube channel.

While exploring the islands on our own, we hit up many beaches as well as a couple of museums and tortoise reserves. There was plenty to see!

Each day we tried to make it to one natural feature. The rest of our time was spent cooling off from the heat and after eating. We had hot soup for lunch and dinners (almuerzos and meriendas). I have never been more grateful that Mamusia and Babcia fed me hot soup when we came back from school (when every kid is sweating and tired)…this was a routine I could get used to if I put my mind to it, at least for a short while.  Thank you Mami and Babciu!

After speaking with other travelers, we realized others also have a difficult time adjusting to the intense sun and heat.  It wasn’t just the hot soup lunches that were wearing on us.

After a couple of days of solo exploring we booked a last minute cruise at a local agency.  Once we began our 8 day-7 night cruise, things got really comfortable, really fast.  First of all, we were excited about the boat, a luxury motorized catamaran, with A/C in each cabin! We also had an incredible on board naturalist guide, Roberto.  Each night, just before dinner, he casually explained the beautiful locations we would be seeing the next day.

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Eating prepared meals was awesome. No planning or shopping necessary.

Most days on the cruise were started with gorgeous hikes to a remote beach or walks along the coastline. We experienced MASSIVE crashing waves surrounding basalt holes and caves. Sea lions strewn about. After a 2 hour reconnaissance we would be sweating in the hot equatorial sun and NEEDED to get into the water.

Thankfully we had been prompted to bring wet suits with us, so we changed into wet suits and jumped into the cold water.  Of course, Roberto had perfectly planned our itinerary and we just happened to be nearby another great snorkeling location to see sharks, rays, seastars, and colorful fish. This was the life.

I’m not writing this to impress you, but rather to help Todd and I remember what an incredible place the Galapagos is. The cruise portion of our trip was definitely a huge splurge (the “last minute” price was more than we have spent on any 8 day vacation, ever), but it allowed us continuity for understanding the geology of the islands, an incredible naturalist guide, and incredible access to snorkeling locations that are otherwise too far on day trips.

The geology we saw was really neat.  Learning about the land features painted a more complete picture in my mind. The Galapagos are a chain of islands that have formed and eroded due to a hot spot that is between three plates. They are littered with extinct volcanoes, hardened lava, different forms of ash, and some sparse vegetation. The youngest island, Isabela, is just 1 million years old and actively rumbling. This place must be a volcanologist’s dream.

Except for rats, dogs, cats, and some other home dwellers, all animals on the islands arrived on their own. The theory is that if they didn’t fly, they arrived on vegetation rafts.

The converging water currents (Humboldt and Northern Tropical) are the main reason for this richness and biodiversity of the waters. I strongly believe every human being should be granted the opportunity to visit the Amazon or the Galapagos islands.  It is imperative to appreciate how incredible our Earth is. Visiting these super bio-diverse areas redefines the need for conservation and how insurmountable of a task it is, if done alone. I still remember listening to my science teacher read “The Great Kapok Tree” in my elementary school. These places are as magical as the storybooks, and they’re real.

The vegetation (sparse as it seemed) was actually quite rich.  We got to see new adaptations for plants that helped them survive in this hot, dry climate, but also helped them fend off hungry animals.

Somehow between all the excitement, I managed to journal about our experiences on an almost daily basis. I recorded some additional names of animals we have seen:
the American Oystercatcher, flightless cormorants, Sally Lightfoot crabs, Longtail Stingray, Blue and Gold Snapper, Black Tip Cardinal fish, Blue Banded Blenny, Damselfish, Blue Chin Parrotfish, Cortez Rainow Wrasse, Mexican Hogfish, Diamond Stingray, King Angelfish, Gold Rimmed Surgeonfish, Barberfish, White tipped Reef Shark, Golden Grouper, Giant Hawkfish, Panamic Graysby Cabrilla, Panamic Surgeon Major, and 4 types of sea urchins: purple, pencil, needle, and green.

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I’m impressed with all of the creatures we saw. But on Day 5 of our cruise something incredible happened, even by a non-nature lovers standpoint. We spotted 12 (or more) ORCAS swimming in a line! Fishing. It was so incredible to see these massive beasts. I couldn’t believe my eyes. And it all happened in less than 5 minutes.

They appeared for us 3 times, and then suddenly they were gone. My photos just captured a tiny line of black and white, but my mind is still there on the catamaran.  A cloudy sky above us, massive ocean around, and these massive beasts just breaking the surface.

As for trip logistics, planning daily activities and finding lodging were a big priority for this trip. There are many costs to visiting the islands, but by far, the actual arrival is what is priciest. Somehow we managed to score round trip tickets from Guayaquil for $370, paying up to $500 is normal. Then there is the $20 airport tax before you depart the mainland. Once you arrive in Galapagos, you must pay the $100 National Park fee to actually enter the islands. So just to step on the islands, we shelled out $490 per person!

Lodging and food is usually twice that of the “continente.” A local cab driver told us that it is very expensive for him as well. Even sacks of potatoes are marked up to 5 times the cost on the Galapagos! But if he works for several months on the islands, he can live comfortably on the mainland.

The Ecuadorian govt. is working very hard to try to preserve these pristine areas and they have restricted produce growth and livestock rearing to certain areas of the islands. It’s incredible the damage rats, dogs, and cats have on the marine iguanas, turtles, and bird populations. It truly made me stop and think about how species have out competed one another on the mainland, not to mention human influence with its breeding for desired animals. However these strict regulations greatly affected food costs, typically we spent a minimum of $20 per person per day. This may seem cheap, but on the “continente” you would be spending half that. We also brought a big shopping bag full of snacks, breakfast items, pasta, 10 cans of tuna, and a bottle of rum! (All of which was consumed)

Prices aside (there are some awesome blog posts on how to do this nature sanctuary on the cheaper side) we had an incredible time. If life ever grants you the opportunity to visit this extremely rich place in the world, take it.

General Activity Advice on Visiting the Islands

Money Saving Tips: Food, Ferries, General Deals

Here are some additional photos, just in case you wanted to see some more.

 

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We traveled to the Galapagos, Ecuador from January 11th thru January 28th, 2018