The Galapagos Islands

Friday 11th November –Galapagos – Day 1

Today I flew to The Galapagos Islands.  A lifelong dream come true. Elisha and I made our way to the airport in Quito and the first thing I needed to do was get money at the airport but the ATM machine was broken.  I’ll sort that when land.  Or so I thought.  I thought that finally a flight had gone smoothly.  Upon landing in the Galapagos you have to pay a $100 entry fee which, due to the broken ATM at Quito, I did not have and they didn’t have any machines at the Galapagos airport nor did they accept card.  Another flight mess up.  Asked to step aside I’m now wondering if they’ll let me in.  They did, but only after confiscating my passport.  While traveling my most important item is my passport and now I’m going to be without it for a few days until I can make my way to some office somewhere on these islands to pay my fee and be reunited with it.  This is not a comfortable situation, but I have no choice.  I’ll have to sort it later.

After meeting William and finally being allowed on the islands we get transported to our boat, the Valkiria.  We get a brief welcome from our guide Pato, a quick bite to eat and off on our first activity – snorkeling in a deep water-filled fissure.  After getting back on land and walking for less than 100m we meet our first Galapagos creatures, sea iguanas  It’s hard to believe that we see something so quickly.  They look like prehistoric creatures bathing in the sun and completely unfazed by humans so we can get as close as we want. So close I almost step on one before someone warns me to watch my step.  After this we continue onto the fissure where I have my first go at snorkeling.  I have no idea how to do this so Elisha, who at this stage is fast becoming my own personal outdoor instructor, shows me.  It’s very strange because normally I don’t feel very comfortable in deep water, but with the snorkel mask on it all feels very natural.  Which is a good thing because going by our itinerary over the next seven days there will be a lot of it happening.  Unfortunately we don’t see very much in the water, but at least now I’m ready for what’s going to be happening in the coming days.  After an hour or so we make our way back to the pier to get the dingy to the boat and while standing looking into the water a sea lion swims by.  This is my first day and I already feel like I’m in the middle of a David Attenborough documentary.

My only real worry about this trip is sea sickness.  I’ve never been on a boat for any length of time before so have no idea if it will affect me.  After getting back onboard and having dinner, we prepare ourselves for an overnight trip to the next Island, Isla Isabela. While I’m falling off to sleep, the engine starts and we begin to move.  This is not what I expect – it’s like a rollercoaster – and I hate rollercoasters.  But I’m surprised as it actually rocks me off to sleep.  Hopefully I’ll avoid the sea sickness over the next week.

Saturday 12th November –Galapagos – Day 2

The overnight travelling is great.  I went to sleep in one place and have now awoken to a completely different sight, Isla Isabela.  The first thing we do today is horse riding, another new treat for me.  The horses are pretty placid which is good as I’m a bit apprehensive about it.  The horses take us to Sierra Negra, the second biggest caldera in the world.  It’s an amazing sight – 11km in diameter.  Well those were the facts told to us by our guide.  Personally, I don’t believe it is the second biggest, or even in the top 10 for that matter.  But I may be wrong.  There have been a few eruptions in recent years which has made the surface and sides unstable, so we are not allowed to go into the caldera.  On the way back on the horses, I’ve picked up a little bit of bravery and want my horse to pick up a little bit of speed.  The horse has totally different ideas about this.  No matter what I do he just doesn’t move.  At one point I was going to get off and walk to get back quicker at which point one of the other horses decides he’s the boss.  Every time mine gets close to him he runs my horse into the bushes.  My horse, obviously not liking this, decides that instead of using the path to get passed, he’ll just charge through the bushes, seemingly forgetting that I was on his back.  Ducking and failing to avoid getting whacked by trees I try and fail to get him back on track.  I find the best policy is to just give up and let him do what he wants until we eventually arrive back.

In the afternoon, we went to a bay for more snorkeling.  On the way we stopped and saw flamingos feeding in a lagoon.  It just seems that no matter where go we will see something new and exciting.  Once we got to the bay, we went snorkeling.  There was a chance to see turtles but none were about, but we managed to see plenty of tropical fish and it’s yet more practice for me.  I think I might be becoming a bit of a water baby as I love the snorkeling.  As we were making our way back to the boat and about to board, we spotted turtles in the water close by and were able to get the dingy to go very close to them.  There were three of them, mating. 

Tomorrow we have been promised that we will be swimming with turtles. 

Sunday 13th November –Galapagos – Day 3

Our first stop today was to The Wall Of Tears.  Part of the island used to be a prison camp.  While the prisoners were on the island they were made to build a wall from stones – just to pass the time.  The wall is huge in height and obviously pointless due to its location on the island.  Many prisoners died as a result of building the wall, the rest eventually made a break for freedom and some of them made it, with one still surviving on the island to this day.  But most importantly, we saw a tortoise there.

Next it was off to see white-tip sharks.  We made our way onto another part of the island and after walking through some jagged lava formed landscapes, we came to a channel where sometimes the sharks come to rest.  We were very lucky as today as there were 60 to 70 sharks there - all just relaxing.  In the past it was possible to swim in the channel, but as a result of this the sharks stopped coming there, so we couldn't.

But next it was time to swim with turtles.  After going out into the sea a bit and close to a rocky island, we dawned our wetsuits and snorkel masks and jumped in.  Within a few minutes I was swimming beside a turtle.  I was so amazing I forgot to breath properly and almost drowned.  They are so graceful and majestic.  Then Elisha calls me over as she has spotted an eagle ray.  I just about get over on time to see it swimming off in the distance.  Swimming for the next 30 minutes I see about another four or five turtles all feeding on the rocks under the water.  Thinking I won’t see any more I jump back on the boat.  But just as I’m changed a group that stayed in a bit longer spot a turtle, sea lion and white tip shark all swimming together.  I’m a bit gutted, but hopefully in the next few days I’ll be swimming with sea lions and sharks as well or at least that’s what I have been promised by our guide.

Before dinner in the evening we sailed around Turtle Shell island to see a few native bird species, before sailing overnight back to Isla Santa Cruz.

Monday 14th November –Galapagos – Day 4

On our way to Tortuga Bay we stopped off at some lava tunnels.  These were huge tunnels created underground by ancient lava flows and in areas where the roof has collapsed we were able to walk along them.  Then we hit Tortuga Bay.  After kayaking out to deeper water (another first for me) we jumped in to snorkel again and immediately came across white tip sharks.  We had been informed by our guide that they were not dangerous at all and only ate small fish, so I had no fears of featuring in a news bulletin back home.  When I first saw one though I had the same reaction as when I was swimming with my first turtle and swallowed a mouthful of water and almost drowned.  But they were very placid and just rested at the bottom of the sea bed, giving plenty of time for photographs.  After about 20 minutes we made our way back to the shore and Elisha and I spotted lots of turtles swimming in the bay.  When we finally reached the shore again, the rest of the group were out in the water, so we went to investigate what they were looking at.  As we waded out we came across a bunch of more white tip sharks resting in shallow water and swimming at our feet.  One seemed to be constantly swimming around the others, and each time he came straight at me (regardless of what our guide said) I was getting out of the way!

In the afternoon, it was time to go and see our first Giant Tortoises in the wild.  We went into the centre of the island by bus and then jumped onto mountain bikes to reach the area where they feed.  Me on a bike quite often ends in tears.  I tend to lose all self-control and decide that the best way to go is as fast as possible.  Not a good idea on the Galapagos Islands.  While hurtling down a dirt track I have to slam on the brakes and with some very quick reactions jump to the other side to avoid a major collision with a giant Giant Tortoise.  Now let’s face it here, it’s not like the tortoise all of a sudden dashed out on to the road in front of me, I just didn’t see the thing until much too late.  I dread to think what would have happened if I had hit it.  First I don’t pay the entry fee, next I kill a Giant Tortoise.  I think I would have been sent to continue building that Wall of Tears.  And the tortoise wasn’t happy about the whole situation either.  He made a very loud hissing-threatening noise before retiring into his shell.  After this near miss, we all continued on to see more of the Giant Tortoise, and they were massive.  They are very bizarre creatures to see in the flesh.  Like the iguanas, they look very prehistoric and mostly unfazed my humans.  Everything they do is slow – move, eat, hiss.  Definitely the strangest creatures I have ever seen.

Today two new people joined our tour group, Madeline and Stefan from Norway.  After discovering a guitar on board and that Stefan could play, we had a great guitar session in the evening over a few drinks.

Tuesday 15th November –Galapagos – Day 5

Today was a pretty relaxed day.  In the morning we visited the Charles Darwin Center where breeding programs are happening to help bring back a few species of animal on the islands from the brink of extinction.  Some species were down to as low as 12 individuals, but they have now been brought up to over 1000 due to the success of the programs.  The highlight was seeing Lonesome George – the very last reaming species of Giant Tortoise from Pinta Island in the Galapagos.  They have attempted to mate George with tortoises from other islands, but the offspring are born infertile (as is the case when they have tried to cross breed most tortoises from different islands).  So once George goes, so does his species.  Very unsurprisingly, the demise of most of the species on the islands is down to the past behaviour of humans – killing the animals for food, introducing new species that affect the indigenous species, trophy hunting.  But it is now good to see that humans are finally realizing their past mistakes and helping the species get back on their feet.

On leaving the Charles Darwin Center I was reunited with my passport after paying the entry fee at the main National Park Office.  What a relief.

In the afternoon we went kayaking in a bay.  Although it was fun, it got boring and just seemed a bit pointless.  I want to go swim with sharks again!

During the night we sailed to out next island - San Cristóbal.

Wednesday 16th November –Galapagos – Day 6

Today is a day I will never forget.  We wake up at San Cristóbal and after an early shout, we get on a speedboat and make our way to Sea Lion Island.  It’s an experience that defies explanation – but I’ll try.  After getting in the water and thinking I’m not going to see any sea lions, Elisha swims passed and tells me she has just been swimming with them.  I head towards a beach and in the distance in the water I see a young sea lion swimming towards me.  It glides passed, closely followed by what must be its parents.  The mother is always close by making sure the cub is ok, the father is always close by letting me know who is boss.  Every time he swims passed he blows bubbles – I’m taking this as a warning to be careful.  Then the three sea lions do what I can only describe as a dance, swimming around each other, standing vertical in the water, blowing bubbles.  After a few minutes they all swim away.  But very soon the cub comes back on its own.  It’s directly in front of me, swims straight at me, keeping eye contact the whole time.  Just as it gets within about one metre of my face, he turns upside down and glides underneath me, almost touching me.  Then it comes back and swims in circles around me.  I had goosebumps.  Finally he swims off into the distance after Elisha. A few minutes later the father appears again, making his presence felt.  Time to leave them to their own business – I have heard that the fathers can get aggressive and very protective and have been known to bite so I head back to the boat.  I don’t think anything will top this experience during my time in the Galapagos Islands.

After this we sail to Kicker Rock, where there is a chance to see Galapagos Sharks and Hammerheads, but only occasionally does this happen and we don’t see any, only a few more white-tip sharks.  Kicker Rock is out in the middle of the ocean and the water is freezing, so we don’t stay in too long.  But it was good to be snorkeling in the deep ocean and we do see a few turtles.  The highlight of this part of the day was a school of dolphins swimming alongside the speedboat on the way back.

After dinner back on the boat and a few drinks in the local port with a couple of guys we meet during the day, Ben and Andi, we set sail during the night for out final island, Floreana.

Thursday 17th November –Galapagos – Day 7

Today was kind of a strange day.  We went on to Floreana Island and went to a place where a German family own a lot of land that they acquired when they arrived many years ago.  I can’t remember the full details of the story, but there seems to have been some sort of feud between some woman and some man and then lots of people (and pet chickens) died in mysterious circumstances, including (I think) someone’s disabled son who’s dead body washed up on a beach in the Galapagos, but he was last seen in Germany.  It was all really bizarre.  After this we went to see some tortoises which had been introduced to the island as the native species had become extinct.  I found this a very odd thing to do as all the tortoises here are mixed species offspring so cannot breed as they are infertile.  It just seems to have been done for tourist purposes.  Disappointing.

Then it was time for our final snorkel.  This would have been very straight forward except for the aggressive sea lion that patrolled a beach nearby.  While doing my best to avoid this area I got totally disorientated having to constantly pop up out of the water to try and find the beach we started the snorkeling from.  At one point I popped my head up, realized where I was, popped my head under the water again and got the shock of my life.  The biggest turtle I had seen during the whole last six days was about one metre from my face - swimming directly at me.  Knowing that these things can bite, hard and to the bone, I scrambled, spitting out my snorkel, swallowing water, floundering in the water until I was sure I was out of its way.  In the commotion I tried to get a photo, but failed.  But I did manage to get one of it swimming away.  After that episode I decided it was time to head back on shore – in the process swimming amongst large shoals of tropical fish and managing to get one final swim with another turtle.

The end of our final full day in the islands was spent sailing back to Santa Cruz with the hope that we would see dolphins on the way, but they didn’t appear.

Friday 18th November –Galapagos – Day 8

Time to leave the Galapagos.  On the way to the airport we stopped off at what I can only describe as a massive hole in the ground filled with a mini forest.  Our guide said that no one knows what formed the hole.  This is something I will have to investigate as I’m sure there is some reason or explanation behind it. Then it was off to get the flight. 

NEWSFLASH: Mark experiences a completely incident free flight. 

I left the Galapagos Islands and got to The Secret Garden Hostel in Quito without one incident!  Long may it continue.

What a fantastic eight days.  It is at this point the second best experience I’ve had, only beaten in top spot by Iceland.  It will take something very special to beat Iceland.

To bring myself back to reality, I spend the evening out with a few of the volunteers from The Secret Garden in the La Ronda area of Quito.  A cool area with a lot of local bars.  Somehow the locals thought that an Australian guy along with us was famous.  From that point onwards he got free drinks, food, had to sign a painting belonging to the bar, and many requests for photographs and dances.