Galapagos Cruise (July 30-August 6, 2006)

:: July 30 – Day One ::

We left Quito bright an early on a Tame flight to the Galapagos Islands, via Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. It was a clear day and we had great views of Cotopaxi volcano from the airplane. Snow-covered Cotopaxi is the second-highest active volcano in the world and it is surprising that there is snow on it considering it is right on the equator. We had read that Guayaquil wasn’t a very nice city to visit, but it looked pretty good from the air, and isn’t very far from the ocean, so we decided it might not be so bad after all. As we approached our final destination our excitement started to build as we started to see islands below, the turquoise coloured crystal clear waters, eventually the landing strip on the barren island of Baltra. We had booked our cruise back in January and had been looking forward to it immensely ever since. We were to be sailing aboard the Encantada, which means “enchanted” in Spanish. We had chosen this boat because it was small (takes only 12 passengers plus the crew), looked like a proper sailboat, and most importantly because it had scuba diving services. As we got off the plane we put on the stickers with our names on them so our guide could recognize us. Every person landing at the airport (except the local inhabitants) have to pay a park fee of US$100 per person. It is a very steep price to pay, but most of the money goes towards preserving the islands so it is worth it.

We quickly spotted our guide who introduced himself as Walter and he told us to go wait on the corner while he collected the other people on our cruise. We had a great group of people to sail with – Dave and Heike from England, Miriam and Kris from the Netherlands, Verity and Matthew from Australia, Sal and Karen from Israeil, and Ann-Sophie and Christian from Sweden. We took a bus from the airport to the port, which was only about five minutes away. Just as we left the airport, a land iguana ran across the road in front of the bus – our first wildlife spotting! At the port there were sea lions sleeping on the benches – the first of many that we would see on our adventure. They are so adorable and unafraid of humans it is amazing. We piled our luggage up on the dock for the crew to bring to the boat, and as we were leaving in the dinghy to go to the boat we saw a sea lion climb up onto the dock and onto our luggage! We loved the Encantada instantly. Walter told us that it is the most photogenic of all the boats that sail in the Galapagos because it is red and is a sailboat, and we certainly didn’t disagree. We met our friendly crew – the captain John, the first mate César (also the dinghy captain), Ruben the cabin boy/waiter/divemaster, Josephat the cook, and Gustavo the mechanical engineer. We were brought to our cabins, which we also liked. They are small & cozy, had bunk beds and each one had a little bathroom.

The first activity was lunch on board, and we were treated to the first of many delicious and filling meals, each consisting of two or three courses. After lunch we pulled up anchor and started sailing for Black Turtle Cove on Santa Cruz Island. There was a change in itinerary from what we were originally told. We were supposed to go to Genovesa island, which is further north in the archipelago, but because of bad weather sailing there and back the past two weeks (the dinghy and César were almost lost overboard during the storm) the captain decided he did not want to sail there this week. We were disappointed, because Genovesa has good diving and is the only place you can see the red-footed booby, but since it was our safety at stake we figured we couldn’t complain. Instead of Genovesa we were going to Black Turtle Cove and Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz.

When we arrived at Black Turtle Cove we piled into the dinghy for a trip through the mangrove forests and small ponds. On the way to the cove we saw a huge flock of blue-footed boobies decide to dive and feed all together. Walter said it is only his second time seeing such a large amount of them feed together like that – normally they dive for food alone. After feeding, they flew right over us, just above our heads. Wow. We also saw a sea lion, which was a novelty at the time but we would see hundreds more later. In the cove we saw a white-tipped reef shark in the shallow water below the boat. We sat quietly in a secluded pond watching green sea turtles stick their heads up for air every few minutes. On the way back to the boat we got very close to brown pelicans sitting on the rocks and fishing. And today was only day one.

Back on board we had a welcome cocktails with the crew so everyone could meet each other properly and then dinner. We were all pretty tired from such an exciting day that we hit the bunks early while the crew sailed us to Dragon Hill during the night.

:: July 31 – Day Two ::

Every morning on the cruise we were up early (6:00 – 7:00) to do land excursions, either eating breakfast before or after our first excursion. This morning we went to Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz Island, which is known for its land iguanas. At first we didn’t see any, then one way off in the distance, and Walter told us that we may not see any closer. As we continued on the trail though, we kept seeing more and more of them, closer and closer to the trail. Our group must have good karma, because whenever Walter said we might not see anything, or the group last week didn’t see much, we would inevitably get a good show of whatever animal he was referring to. The land iguanas were quite bit – growing to lengths of four or five feet – and looked like little dragons (hence the name of the place). These species of land iguana are endemic to the island they live on and don’t exist anywhere else in the world. We also saw a cactus forest and a few lava lizards. There were always birds flying around – usually frigate birds and blue-footed boobies, which are very funny to watch diving into the water for fish (they can dive to depths up 2 metres and then pop back up).

After our walk we went snorkelling in the bay and saw three big white tipped reef sharks sleeping below a ledge, a green sea turtle, spotted moray eel, and a lot of fish.

We sailed to Bartolome Island, had lunch on board the boat and then went for a walk on the island to the other side where a secluded bay (boats are not allowed to go into the bay) allows the sharks to come right up close to the shore in the surf. We saw around twenty of them in the surf, and also a Galapagos shark, which is rare to see here. While we were looking at the sharks, a sea lion decided to come zooming in on the surf and did a little show right in front of us – rolling around and posing for pictures – then he disappeared as quickly as he had come. On the island were also marine iguanas and the usual blue footed boobies. On the rocks on the edge of the beach were three little Galapagos penguins (the second smallest in the world – the smallest are the fairy penguins in Australia). We went snorkelling and got very close to the penguins, but by the time we got there one had left so there were only two. Today was our first day playing in the water with the sea lions – they loved to come right up to our masks and look at us. One also decided to zoom towards Deb’s face really fast and then turn at the last minute – it was kind of scary! They liked to roll around underwater and if we rolled they would copy us, same with blowing bubbles in their face – they would blow bubbles back. It was loads of fun and a never-ended source of amusement.

We also went for our first dive near Bartolome. There were four other divers on board, and we had all paid for two dives each, but we had the option to do more dives if we wanted to (for an expensive price, of course). We all had to do this first one though, because the divemaster wanted to get a feel for how much experience everyone had. Most of the divers were new, with Deb having more experience than all the others put together. It was great to be diving again, since the last diving we did was in St. Lucia last year. We saw a lot of fish and some more white tipped reef sharks and turtles, and of course sea lions (they are everywhere).

Nope, our day was not over yet. We went for another walk on Bartolome that took us to the summit of the island, with probably the most famous lookout point in the Galapagos. On the way to the top we went through a volcanic landscape, saw some lava cacti (small cactus that grows out of the lava), and more lava lizards. The view from the top of the hill was beautiful, and we watched most of the sunset from up there. Tourists have to be off the islands by 6pm though, so we had to leave before the sun completely set (around 6:10).

Back on board we ate dinner, and then went outside to enjoy the stars and some night air. We went to bed early again though, and sailed to Santiago during the night. The engine seemed to be right in front of our heads (we were nearer to the front of the boat), so Deb had to sleep with ear plugs in, but other than that the rocking of the boat was very soothing and we slept well.

:: August 1 – Day Three ::

Puerto Egas on Santiago Island had some of the most interesting landscape that we saw. The lava formations had made small pools of water that you could look down on, with underwater tunnels connecting them to the ocean. Often the pools have sea lions playing in them, and in one we saw a big green sea turtle. Here we saw the Galapagos fur sea lion, smaller and more shy than the Galapagos sea lions, and it is one of the few places in the archipelago that they can be found. There were lots of marine iguanas and we had to watch where we were walking so we didn’t step on them; their black colouring blended in very well with the lava rocks. We also saw all three types of herons that can be found in the Galapagos – the blue heron (common in Canada as well), the yellow-crowned heron (medium-sized), and the lava heron (a small one).

We were back on board by 10am and sailed to Rabida Island, where we had lunch and had some time to relax before we went onto the island at 2pm. Rabida had a red sand beach (so far we had seen golden & black beaches also), and a beautiful, although barren landscape. It is covered in Palo Santo trees (also called incense trees because they smell nice and are used for incense), and doesn’t have many animals living on it other than lava lizards, whimbrel birds (the ones with the red feet in our pictures), and of course a sea lion colony.

There was another dive option at Rabida, but I decided not to do it because I was going to dive at Gordon Rocks in the morning. Gordon Rocks is an advanced dive because it goes deep and there can be a strong current, so Ruben thought that I was the only diver on board that was experienced enough to do it. It is also the dive that has the highest chance of seeing hammerhead sharks (other than Darwin and Wolf Islands, which are far and expensive to get to), and the one dive that I wanted to do the most.

Lincoln dove at Rabida since he couldn’t do Gordon Rocks in the morning (he was very disappointed), and saw sting rays, more reef sharks, sea lions (of course), scorpion fish, parrotfish, and lots more different kinds of fish. I snorkelled with the rest of the group and saw mostly all the same things (the dive was in the same spot as the snorkelling, only deeper). The snorkelling got cold after a while, and as we were on the beach trying to warm up while waiting for Cesar to come and fetch us after getting the divers back on board, Josephat suggested a run down the beach and back. I have always wanted to go running barefoot on a beach but have never actually done it before, so I was definitely up for it. I’ve missed running a lot while we have been travelling. It was yet another magical moment for me to be running along the red sand beach, past groups of sea lions who barely opened an eye as we passed. At the end of the beach (it was only about a kilometre) we had a bit of rest and looked at colourful crabs before running back to meet the dinghy. By the time we got back we had warmed up and done some exercise to boot. It was nice to be running again, even if it was just a little bit.

:: August 2 – Day Four ::

Overnight we had sailed to South Plaza Island, which is close to Gordon Rocks. I woke up early, excited about my dive. I was up on deck and getting ready at 6am because I was supposed to go diving before César brought the rest of the group on land at 6:30. The plan changed though, and he brought the rest of the group to the island before taking Ruben and I diving. During the first ten or fifteen minutes of the dive we didn’t see much and I was starting to lose hope that we would see any hammerheads. I started to amuse myself with little blue sparkly plankton that disappeared if I reached out to touch it, and then our luck started changing. First we saw a big turtle, and then one hammerhead off in the distance. A few minutes later we saw a school of around ten hammerheads go by about fifty metres away. Wow! I was grinning ear to ear. We saw an adult sea lion gracefully chasing a school of fish. Towards the end of our dive, as we were slowly ascending, a lone hammerhead came within about 20 metres of us to check us out. He actually circled around us once before deciding we weren’t that interesting. I was so ecstatic when we surfaced! It had been the best dive I had ever done. I smiled all the way back to the boat and gushed about the dive to Lincoln, who was very jealous.

Then he broke the bad news to me – he had slipped and fell while visiting the island, hurt his arm, and completely smashed the camera lens. I had been worried about him taking the camera with him; it was the first time he had been the one to carry the camera. Of all the places to break the camera, in the middle of our Galapagos trip was not ideal. Luckily the body of the camera still worked, and except for a crack in the rear display it seemed to work. The only positive thing about it happening today was that we were visiting Puerto Ayora this afternoon (the main town in the Galapagos) so we had aspirations of finding a new lens there, or possibly buying a new digital camera.

After breakfast Deb went onto the island with Walter while the others went snorkelling, and then we sailed to Puerto Ayora. We ate lunch on the boat before going ashore to visit the Charles Darwin Research Centre where we learned about the various programs that the Galapagos Park Service is working on. They are slowly trying to eradicate all foreign-introduced animals on the islands (goats, pigs, dogs, etc.) to try and protect the endemic animals. They also have programs where they re-introduce animals (iguanas, tortoises) to islands where they had become extinct because of human interference. The highlight of our visit to the Research Centre was walking amongst the huge Galapagos tortoises as well as seeing the cute little baby ones.

After visiting the Centre we had some free time to wander around the town of Puerto Ayora. It is a typical small beach town, and we could easily imagine ourselves living here (no new people are allowed to move to the islands, but several ignore the rules and stay anyways). We went to the information booth to find out if there were any photo shops in town that sold digital cameras and the guy told us of a small one on one of the back streets. We were not hopeful of finding a lens, but as luck would have it the owner of the store had a Canon camera himself and offered to sell us one of his used lenses. The auto focus didn’t work on the lens, but we figured it was better than nothing and bought it. It was not as good quality as the lens that had broken, but it would do the trick until we could get somewhere we could buy a better one.

We met up with the rest of our boat gang at a bar to say goodbye to Ann-Sophie, Christian, Sal and Karen who had only signed up for the five-day option and were leaving us today. We were getting four new people tonight (Cheryl from Minnesota, Catherine from Wales, and Gunther and his wife from Austria). César picked us up shortly after sunset to take us back to the boat, but as we were crossing the bay I was talking to him and he didn’t notice the minibus that we were approaching. Yes, that’s right, a minibus in the middle of the water! It was being floated on a small barge to the land and we came very close to hitting it. After that I told César I couldn’t talk to him any more while he was driving.

After dinner on the boat we discovered that the entire crew, including Walter, had disappeared and left the boat to go into town. The only time they get off the boat is when they are docked in Puerto Ayora on Wednesdays. Otherwise, they work for three months straight (no days off) and then have one full month off. It must be hard for them to have normal lives, but at the same time it is a pretty nice life to be sailing around these beautiful islands all the time (and meeting lots of foreign ladies!). Josephat and César had mentioned to us that we could all go into the town and go to the disco tonight, but the only person left on board was Josephat and he said he could take us to shore but he had to come back and watch the boat because everyone else had left. We figured what the heck – something to do other than going to bed early. We went to a bar called Café Limon and had a couple of drinks watching the locals Salsa. Josephat came back to pick us up at 11:00 and when we got back to the boat the crew still hadn’t returned. Josephat made us a bucket of slushy Capiriñas (a Brazilian drink, not sure of the spelling) that we sipped under the stars. He also called a radio station to dedicate a salsa song to us on the Encantada but later he realized that the radio wasn’t tuned into the same station he had called so we probably missed the dedication! Eventually the rest of the crew managed to make it back on board and we set sail shortly after midnight on a choppy ride to Floreana Island.

:: August 3 – Day Five::

The journey to Floreana Island was very rough last night, and at times we felt like we would roll right out of our bunks and onto the floor. Nobody slept very well, and a couple of people got sea sick. Luckily Lincoln and I were both okay.

We went ashore at 8am and visited the Post Office Barrel, and old tradition that started with the pirates and explorers that used to visit these island hundreds of years ago. Since there was no mail service back then, the sailors would drop off mail in the barrel and other sailors passing by that were heading home would take the mail and deliver it for them. Today tourists still use the service as a fun way to send postcards to friends and family. We took a couple to deliver in Canada and London, and also dropped one off for Deb’s parents – we’ll see how long it takes to get delivered! Walter said that sometimes it only takes a couple of weeks but sometimes it takes months.

Continuing on the trail, our next stop was to climb down into a huge lava tunnel that had formed when the outer crust of lava had hardened but inside the lava still flowed into the sea. When the lava stopped flowing, the tunnel was left hollow in the inside. The first part of the tunnel was very narrow but as we got deeper in we came to a huge chamber that stretched up about 20m over our heads. The tunnel goes right out to the ocean, but gets very narrow and eventually is filled with water so requires scuba equipment to explore further. We walked a little ways down through knee-high water that was very cold. When everyone turned off their flashlights it was completely pitch black and very quiet.

Back up on land, we went snorkelling and saw six turtles all along the edge of the rock face. Just off to the edge of the beach is a flat area that has been turned into a proper soccer pitch with nets. The boat crews use it sometimes to have a game. After snorkelling, Josephat and I went for another run along the beach. The sand here was softer than the other beach and it was quite a workout trying to run with your feet sinking a few inches into the sand on every step.

We then sailed to Punta Cormorant, a nice sheltered bay where we ate lunch. In the afternoon Lincoln and I went diving at the Devil’s Crown, which gets its name because it is an underwater mountain with only the tips of its jagged peaks showing above the water, looking like a crown. The current here was quite strong in places so we had to hang onto some rocks here and there. We saw billions of fish though – more large schools than anywhere else. We saw two huge manta rays hanging out underneath rock ledges. There was one area where we saw seven sting rays resting and feeding on the bottom, and we also saw a couple of turtles as well.

After the dive (the rest of the people snorkelled), we went ashore to see the pink flamingos, bahama ducks, more incense trees and beautiful landscape. Across on the other side of the point was a beautiful white sand beach where turtles nest and lay their eggs. Walter told us that now was the time that the baby turtles were hatching and making their way to the water, usually at night. There were a couple of frigate birds hanging around though, and diving at something in the sand. We rushed over to check it out (couldn’t get too close though because we weren’t allowed to go off the trail), and the birds were actually diving into the sand and snatching up a couple of baby turtles and eating them. Poor turtles! We didn’t actually see the turtles but we could hear them being crunched in the bird’s beak.

Just after dinner we started sailing to Española, approximately seven hours away. The seas were rocky again and drinks were sliding around on the table. I tried to play cards with Josephat for a while, but I was getting progressively more and more ill from the rocking of the boat. Eventually I had to give up and go outside for some fresh air. Josephat joined me for a while and we had a nice chat and he told me about his life as a sailor, but I was having trouble keeping my dinner in and went down to the cabin where I spent some time in the bathroom! Lying down in bed I felt a bit better, but certainly did not sleep very well at all. Tonight was our roughest sail by far, and I wasn’t the only one who got sick.

:: August 4 – Day Six ::

Española is known as the best island to see many different kinds of birds and animals. In the morning we went ashore at Punta Suarez and saw the huge waved albatrosses, some of then doing their mating dance which is very funny to watch. There were also some cute little fluffy baby albatrosses being guarded by their parents. Other birds were the Española mocking birds, Nazca boobies, and swallowtail gulls. We also saw lots of the Española marine iguanas and the Española lava lizards (if the species has the name of the island as part of their name, they are endemic to the island and don’t exist anywhere else). There were of course the ever-present sea lions too. The rocky cliffs along the shore provided beautiful views, and there was also a big natural blow hole that shot water about 20m into the air when the waves crashed in.

After lunch we sailed to Gardener Bay. The crew was having trouble with the anchor and the automatic mechanism that raises the anchor was broken, so every time we had to raise the anchor, the entire crew got together and pulled it up, which was amusing to watch. They then had to secure the anchor to the side of the boat so it wouldn’t knock around too much. During the process of securing the anchor, César hit his head on it and ended up with a bad bump on his head. He really wasn’t having very good luck this week!

At Gardener Bay we went snorkelling just off the coral beach, played with the sea lions again, and saw more turtles. The beach at Gardener Bay was absolutely gorgeous, and is known as the best beach in the Galapagos. Its soft white stand stretches on for one or two kilometres and is covered by adorable sea lions. We had about 1 ½ hrs to wander along the beach and soak up the magic. There was a group of young children playing in the surf with a baby sea lion which was really cute to watch. The kids were being very careful not to touch the sea lion, but the lion kept trying to sniff them and play with them. Lincoln and Matthew were standing around watching the baby when all of a sudden it decided to charge at Lincoln and sniff him out – Lincoln got scared and ran away! The sun started to set so sadly we had to leave and go back on board for dinner.

After dinner tonight, Lincoln, Cheryl, Josephat and I played cards for a while – Josephat and Walter taught us how to play the Ecuadorian card game called “40” that is often played in bars for rounds of drinks. The boat ride was getting rough again, and Lincoln and I were pretty tired after not having good sleeps the past few nights, so we decided to go to bed fairly early.

:: August 5 – Day Seven ::

The landing for this morning was on Isla Lobos at 6:30am. Sea lions are called “lobos del mar” in Spanish, so needless to say this island had lots of sea lions on it – baby ones in particular that are soooo cute! We also saw a few more blue footed boobies, marine iguanas, and frigate birds flying with their red chest puffed out. When we came back on board we found a young sea lion lounging on the back lower deck of our boat, looking at us like we were disturbing him.

After breakfast we sailed to Kicker Rock, a huge rock formation sticking up around 100m. It was a beautiful sunny day and the sailing was great. I could definitely get used to a life like this. Since we had been unsuccessful getting cash out of the bank machine in Puerto Ayora, and had to buy the lens for the camera that was an unexpected expense, we didn’t have enough cash on us for both Lincoln and I to dive at Kicker Rock, as initially planned. There was a small chance of seeing hammerhead sharks on this dive, so I told Lincoln he could do it and I would just go snorkelling. In the end I was glad, because the visibility was bad for both diving and snorkelling, and I ended up seeing all the same things that Lincoln saw – a few Galapagos sharks, a couple of turtles, a big manta ray, and sea lions playing with us of course. The surge going through the gap in the rock was a lot of fun too – it felt like I was flying in the water when it pushed us forward.

Back on board we sailed to Santa Fe Island where we ate lunch and went snorkelling again at 2:30pm to play with the sea lions, sadly for the last time. At 4:30 we went for a walk on Santa Fe to see the cactus forest and the Santa Fe land iguanas. The cacti on this island are much bigger than on the other islands we have been on, and the land iguanas are a slightly different colour and smaller. As we were walking down the path heading back to the beach, we came across an iguana heading in the other direction, right in the middle of the path. He checked us out for a minute and then decided that we should get out of his way and he would continue past us on the path. It was very funny. We followed his trail all the way back to the beach and Walter said it was unusual for an iguana to travel that far all at once, and that they usually didn’t go to the beach.

Before dinner the crew had a farewell cocktail for us – it was really very sad that it was our last night on the boat and we had to say goodbye to our new friends. We had all collected money for a tip for the crew and since I was the only one who spoke good enough Spanish, I was volunteered to give a little speech thanking them, as well as write in Spanish on a little card for them all. I stumbled through the speech and I think the understood what I was trying to say. Our last dinner was delicious of course, and for dessert Josephat had made us a big cake with a picture of a sad chef on it – very cute! After dinner, Josephat wanted a rematch in rummy, but there were four of us that wanted to play cards (us and Cheryl as well) so we played 40 in teams of two instead, and unfortunately Lincoln and Josephat beat Cheryl and I more often (3 games to 1), something that they would continue to rub in the following day.

:: August 6 – Day Eight ::

During the night we had sailed to North Seymour Island, our last island visit before leaving. I had trouble sleeping and was up at dawn to watch the sunrise for the last time in this magical place. It’s hard to explain, but I was very sad to be leaving and was feeling down all day. We ate breakfast at 6:45 and went ashore at 7:30 to see the frigate birds nesting with their babies and the males with their puffed out chests trying to attract females. There were some more blue footed boobies, also with some fuzzy babies, another cactus forest, incense trees, and the ubiquitous sea lions. At 9:00 we started sailing to Baltra, which was only ½ hour away.

We had to pack up our cabins and get our bags up on deck so the crew could transfer us and our bags to the pier, where the sea lions were still lounging on the benches. We said goodbye to Josephat, Ruben and John on the boat. César brought us to the pier in the dinghy, and came back again with Gustavo and our bags. A bus was waiting to whisk us off to the airport, and the crew was busy getting ready for the next round of tourists that was arriving on the plane we were leaving on. I don’t know what it was – the peaceful and calming sea air, the fearless animals, our hospitable guide and crew, or the dreamy feeling of sailing around beautiful tropical islands – but the whole package combined to make the best week of our trip. As our plane took off and we had our last views of the islands, I felt an overwhelming desire to return again someday.

Back in Caracas, we returned to Hostel Chicago and waited for a while before we could find someone to open the office so we could collect the bags we had stored there and repack them all again for our flight in the morning. We returned to Papayanet to eat dinner and check our email. We used the bank machine in the Plaza, but Lincoln’s bank card was sucked up by the machine and not returned. Luckily the machine gave us our money before it decided to eat the card, and I still have my bank card, so all was not lost. We immediately called our bank to cancel Lincoln’s card.

After dinner we repacked our bags for our flight to Caracas. We reminisced about our time spent in Ecuador and vowed to return again someday to see all the places that we missed like the jungle and the coast. The Ecuadorian people really are super friendly once you get to know them and there are so many beautiful areas to explore in this tiny country.  Hmmm...I sense a trend here...wanting to return to all the countries that we have visited!