Galapagos Islands

"And I think to myself, what a wonderful world" What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong

Hola

We are back in Quito studying Spanish after a 4 night/5 day tour of the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Islands are historically, geographically and scientifically important. Unique, beautiful and expensive to get to. We had debated for a while about whether to go and how much we would pay,it is not cheap to get there. For the record we paid $900US each for our boat and hotel, $400US for flights from Quito to the Galapagos, $100US park entry feeand a new $10US charge for an ID card! Was it worth it? Well read on to find out.

Sunday February 24th
Before we went to the Galapagoswe had one more day in Quito.We had breakfast in the new town,suffering from a bit of a fruit overdose as I ordered a fruit shake,a fruit salad and muesli,not realising that the muesli came with it´s own fruit salad! We settled our bill at our hostel - Crossroads, a very reasonable $108US for 5 nights,laundry and one days breakfast.

We headed to the Old Town to check out the Secret Garden Hostel that Scott and Caitlain had been raving about the day before. It lived up to expectations, a beautifully converted old town house with a rooftop bar with splendid views of the old town. that also offered 20 hours of Spanish lessons for only $100US each. As the Spanish lessons also came highly recommended from Scott,we decided to book in for our return from the Galapagos.

After that we wandered up the hilly to the huge gothic church called the Basilica. We climbed the tours and took in the views of the old town and then got the trolley back to the new town and had a quiet night reading and eatingpizza in bed. We are so romantic!

Monday 25th February
Our alarm call at 5am consisted of the night porter knocking on our door. We ran under the shower and then into a taxi to the airport. Our flight was at 7.30am and flew to Guayaquil first and then on to the Galapagos. We got our bags and met our guide called Billy and the rest of our group. 3 Canadian guys called Trevor, Carson and Devon. 3 American girls called Felisa (your stereotypical loudmouth American), Della (very nice,like most Americans) and Laura who was very moody. 1 German woman called Ushi, 2 Japanese girls - Yoko and Marie and 5 Equadorans I can´t remember the name of.

We got in a bus and then a small boat to our bigger boat called Spondylus. We had lunch and set sail to a nearby island for some snorkelling. The visibility wasn´t great, so we spent most of our time on the beach. Saw sea lions and loads of bright red crabs.

We went back to the boat and headed to our destination for the night, having dinner on the way. The food was excellent,as were the staff,boat cleanliness and appearance and we were glad we didn´t go on a cheaper boat. The sunset and we watched the stars with a beer up top before an early night at 9pm.It had been a long day.

Tuesday 26th February
We sailed through the night to a small island in the north called Genovesa. Breakfast was at 7am and at 8am we were on a dinghy to the Prince Philip steps. We had an hour walk around the island catching close up views of red footed boobies, the odd blue footed booby and loads of masked boobies. After that we went back to the boat and got changed for more snorkelling. It was decidedly better than the day before and Ushi, Yoko and Marie were lucky enough to snorkel with 3 hammerhead sharks.

After lunch we had a siesta and at 3.30pm we caught a dinghy to Darwin Bay on the island of Genovesa and went on another bird watching tour.Not usually the thing we get up to but you can´t avoid it in the Galapagos. We saw more birds and got incredibly close to them, they are unbelievably tame/not bothered by humans. We went back to the beach to wait for our dinghy and watched sealions playing on the beach and in the surf.

We went back to the boat and set sail for Isla Santiago. We had dinner and then had a beer watching a stunning sunset from up top.

Wednesday 27th February
We had breakfast at 7am and at 8am we were on our way to Isla Santiago. One of the unique things about the Galapagos, and there are many, is that they were all formed by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, millions or hundreds of thousands of years ago. Isla Santiago has amazing flowers and flaura as a result and also has volcanic rock - baked hard lava. We walked over the rocks,marvelling at the patterns and saw the inevitable birds in the bushes - so to speak.

After a walk we got the boat to Isla Bartolome to climb up a hill that offered spectacular views across the island and down to Sullivan Bay, where we were heading to. We got our snorkelling and swimming gear and headed to the beach. The snorkelling was the best yet. A sea lion swam right beneath me at one point, but the best part was when a little penguin swam beneath Lynn and then popped up to the surface beside her. After lunch we snoozed and read as we sailed to Isla Santa Cruz. We had a few beers watching another gorgeous sunset and after dinner went on to the island for a walk about the shops, it is one of the few populated islands. We were pleased to hear from other people that our boat was a palace compared to theirs.

Thursday 28th February
The Americans and the Ecuadorians left early to get their flight. We had another day to look forward to. It started, after breakfast of course, with us meeting a new guide called Juan. He took us, the Canadians and Ushi to a beach. I decided to buy a football on the way as snorkelling was not allowed off this beach. After a swim in a lagoon we played football. It started with Scotland and Ecuador teaming up. Me and Juan against the 3 Canadians. We took the lead through me scoring with a Ronaldoesque flick after good work down the wing from Juan,but the extra man told and the young Canadians stormed into a 3-1 half-time lead.

After a refreshing dip we made a shock signing.Lynn was to be our keeper for the second half. Juan pulled one back instantly but the Canadians scored two,meaning they only needed one to win. Both sides had chances and Lynn made a great save to keep us in it. I set up Juan for one and then scored another,5-4 to the Canadians. Unfortunately the game ended shortly after with Juan stubbing his big toe. It was a great game, I have really missed my weekly five-a-sides. Lynn made three great saves!

We went back to town and checked into the Hostal Mainao Inn,a lovely Morrocan style building. After lunch we met Juan and got a couple of jeeps to the Giant Tortoise sanctuary in the Highlands,20 minutes drive. As I had a pet tortoise as a kid this was what I had really been looking forward to. I wasn´t disappointed,we saw several giants and got really close to them. Check the pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/murrayandlynn

Tortoises are like dinosaurs. Their shells are beautiful and I still find it amazing that shells grow with them. They look like dinosaurs and watching them in the ¨wïld¨ was a great experience. On the way back we stopped to walk through a 500 metre lava tunnel.It was pretty cool. We have seen some beautiful caves on our travels.

At night we went for dinner and beers with the Canadians and Ushi. The Candians are only 19 and 20,what a great experience to be travelling at that age. They were a good craic and we had a great laugh with them.

Friday 29th February
We got up at 6am and Juan met us at 6.45am to take us to the Charles Darwn Centre. The Galapagos Islands are where Darwin came up with what would eventually be his theory of evolution back in the mid 1800´s. We saw more giant tortoisesand learned about how they were endangered but several successful breeding programs pointed towards a good future,all but for one.The most famous tortoise on the Galapgos - Lonesome George. George was the last giant tortoise tobe found on his tinyisland, surviving hunters and logging. Unfortunately George won´t breed with any other tortoises,despite plenty of opportunities, hence his nickname.

After a quick stop to buy postcards and tshirtswe were off on a bus, then ferry, then bus, then plane back to Quito. Due to severe weather our plane was diverted, we changed planes, waited on the runway and eventually got to our new hostel at 8pm, in time for dinner and a beer on the rooftop bar.

So was the Galapagos worth it? Yes and no. It is an amazing place with stunning scenery and wildlife, but it is also very expensive. If you like bird watching it must be like heaven. Still,typing this blog has made me realise that we had a good time and experieced a truly unique place. I would say that the snorkelling wasn´t as good as the Whitsundays or Great Barrier Reef in Australia and that you should think carefully before deciding if you really want to spend so much money. That said,if you are in Ecuador, when are you going to ever get the chance again?