Gorgeous Galapagos

The Galapagos were everything that we expected and more.  After and uneventful but delayed flight from Lima to Quito, we arrived in the capital of Ecuador.  We were not recommended to leave the hotel at night so we stayed in and considering we had to be up at 5 am to catch our flight to the Galapagos we were not in the mood to travel around. 

The Galapagos Islands are roughly 1000 km west of South America and basically right on the equator.   Charles Darwin is the main reason these islands have become a major tourist destination.  Each volcanic island is unique and has equally unique species of plants and animals. 

We visited 8 islands in our 5 day adventure aboard the yacht Daphne.  Included in this blog are numerous pictures of the various animals that we literally ran into. (More on this later)  We have also included a few videos of the underwater adventures during our snorkeling.  The videos include sea turtles, rays, sea lions and marine iguanas.  We didn't include the sharks or the penguin as they were difficult to see clearly on the blog.

Being on the various islands was like taking a step back in time.  The animals definitely have no fear of humans as they were quite comfortable with our presence, including the nesting birds where some of the trails took us extremely close.  They sea lions even sunbathe on the same beaches as some of the locals.  The sea lions are so numerous that you have to be careful not to trip over them as we found out.  If you’re not paying attention they will slide up right in front of you and when you go to take a step, well you can figure out the rest.  The various iguanas were everywhere and to see their adaptations was very exciting.  We particularly liked the marine iguana that swims and eats in the ocean.   

Some of the islands were so volcanic that it felt like being on the surface of the moon.  How animal and plant life could exist in such harsh conditions is incredible.  Each island also seemed to have its own micro climate and even varied from one side to the other.

Each day consisted of nighttime travel from one island area to the next.  Thankfully the seas were relatively calm (2 meter swells) and we were able to get some sleep.  It was interesting to wake up and see the new views as we ate breakfast.  After an early breakfast we usually went for a hike then some snorkeling.  Later morning had us back on board and heading for our afternoon island where we repeated the hike and snorkeling routine once more.  The hikes were uneventful.  Snorkeling on the other hand was incredible.  Having marine iguanas swim right up to the camera was unbelievable.  The sea lions were playful and some of our group had them playing with their swim fins.  When the penguin raced past us it was only when we checked the camera that we really believed it.  The various rays and sea turtles seemed to just float effortlessly as they lazily swam by.  The Galapagos reef sharks came very close as well as Lisa found out.  One swam just under her as I was videoing a marine iguana.  She was startled and will never forget that moment (just ask her). 

On the last morning just before we left we took a zodiac ride into a mangrove area.  It was uneventful until we noticed something moving in the waters just behind us.  We stopped and watched as two sea turtles were “wrestling” in the water.  What a spectacular way to leave the islands. 

The Galapagos Islands were incredible and our only regret is that we didn't get a chance to see the giant land tortoises (they were not on any of the islands that we visited) and the seas were too churned up and we missed out on seeing the hammerhead sharks.  I guess this gives us a reason to go back.

This was the last stop on our tour and it is back to our family and friends and reality.  We will post a summation blog with some of our outtake and blooper photos.