The Galapagos Islands

We have just returned from the most unbelievable experience in the Galapagos Islands and one that definitely rivalled our experience in Antarctica. It genuinely surpassed all of our expectations, and the guidebook is not wrong when it describes the islands as the 'Greatest Wildlife Show on Earth'. How sad it was to leave such a spectacular and special wilderness.

We arrived over a week ago on Baltra Island and after a connecting ferry and bus journey we arrived at the small port town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. From this point we boarded our small boat (fit for 16 people), the GAP III, which was to be our home for the next 8 days. We met our superb guide Luis, were introduced to the crew, welcomed with cocktails and set sail! We were again fortunate to have a really nice group, from many different countries and all different ages.


We usually followed the same itinerary each day, travelling overnight in between the islands. The first half of our trip took us to the southern Islands of Floreana and Espanola, and in the second half we visited Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Bartolome, North Seymour and Rabida. Each day we would have a morning land excursion, followed by an hour's snorkelling, and the same in the afternoon but in a different location on the island. Galapagos really is two worlds... the underwater and the land. Neither of us had expected to see so much in both, and we were like kids at Disneyland! We were also really fortunate with the weather... perfect blue skies but also very hot and humid. Only on the day of our arrival did we have a brief but torrential downpour. From our airport bus we spotted local kids lying in the flooded drains to cool off!!! However, the rain was very quickly forgotten when before setting sail, we were taken on a trip into the highlands to see the giant tortoises in the wild.



Galapagos really is unlike anywhere else on Earth that we have been to. The abundance and diversity of wildlife is staggering, and with no natural predators for the animals (while they are on land) they are totally unafraid of humans. This meant we were able to get right up close to everything. It was like our own private wildlife show.

There is so much to tell. We have gotten up close and personal with scores of land and marine creatures. On our landings, we had the privilege of lying on beaches littered with sealions and their cubs and walking amongst land Iguanas which was amazing! We have seen blue footed boobies diving all around us like torpedos into the water to pick out fish, we have sat with nesting gulls, we have watched male frigate birds putting on an amazing courtship performance as they desperately try to attract a female and we have had countless close encounters with pelicans and watched flamingos move gracefully across the saltflats.












We have taken zodiac boat trips through tropical mangrove and crystal clear waters watching eagle rays, golden rays, galapagos sharks and turtles swim below and around us. Each and every one of the Islands we visited was so very different which is amazing considering they are all subject to the same environmental conditions. The Islands had red beaches, white beaches, black beaches, green beaches. Some were completely volcanic with little vegetation except lava cactus while others were quite green.



Both during the day and in the evenings the seas are alive. On one longer crossing a large school of dolphins followed our boat, jumping clear of the water and bow riding with us. We have seen rays regularly jump 6 feet clear of the water, somersaulting back into the water. We would harbour up for 5 minutes and there would be sharks circling around the boat! We saw a hammerhead and several galapagos and white tip reef sharks. At night the skies were so clear, and with the total lack of light and air pollution the night sky was simply electric. From the galapagos we were treated to a crystal clear view of the Milky Way, the Southern cross, the Plough and Orions Belt... not something you can see unless you are on the equator which was a treat. We would often just lie back on deck in the evenings and stare up, spotting shooting stars as well.

For us, the underwater world of Galapagos was just amazing, perhaps the highlight of our trip. It was by far the best snorkelling we have ever done and that was not just for the fact that we would be roasting after our land excursions and dying to jump into the 30 degree water! Every day would present something different to see and Ash was so glad he brought his underwater camera case (thanks for that sis!).


Our first snorkel was with a whole colony of sealions. What an introduction... they are so much fun and we were both giggling through our snorkels at how they would swim around us, tug at our flippers and generally get up to mischief. The sea around Galapagos is absolutely full of fish of all sizes and colours... you get bored of swimming through schools of fish.. that's how spoilt we were! On two occasions we swam with penguins which was fabulous. They are proper little torpedos in the water, picking out fish left, right and centre! We also swam with sea turtles and marine iguanas which was a fantastic treat. Bi was always on shark watch however, and we swam with quite a few!! We were all absolutely beside ourselves with laughter when Luis, our guide, caught a yellow puffer fish and it puffed up to the size of a basketball. It looked so stupid... like a really fat Tweety Pie!



There are two other really memorable underwater experiences that were quite contrasting. On one occasion we swam with two manta rays. The larger of the two had a wingspan of 4 metres... it looked HUGE underwater and seemed to really enjoy swimming around us. They were just so graceful, swooping and slowly moving through the water. At one point Ash was in hot pursuit (camera at the ready) and the large ray accelerated really quickly and the force of the water was enough to knock Ash backwards!

The other memorable moment was one Bi was very glad to not be involved with. She had had a bit of a dodgy tum so decided to miss the snorkel and rest up.... boy was she glad she missed it! On the snorkel Ash stuck with the guide, Luis (a good plan as he spotted everything). Three of us had swum out quite deep and had gone past the edge of the reef. Suddenly Luis put his head up and shouted 'SHARK!'. I looked in the water and saw this big dark shadow disappear into the depths. Luis then shouted 'BULL SHARK! DANGEROUS!' and I put my head back under and the shark was approaching FAST. It was huge. 3 metres long, looked just like Jaws and it had it's mouth open and teeth bared. Not only that but both Luis and I were wearing dark clothes and somewhat resembled sealions, the bull sharks favourite food! It was coming in to attack! Luis shouted 'kick it!' and we kicked out with our flippers. I then turned and have never swam to the shallows so quickly in all my life... my heart was racing! I was glad to have our guide with us and was very glad to be back in the shallows. Phew! But what an experience, and apparently a rare one at that.


On our last day we ended the trip with a visit to the Charles Darwin research centre on Santa Cruz Island. While there we were introduced to 'Lonesome George', a 95 year old Giant Tortoise. He is named so because he is the very last of the Pinta Island tortoises and the last of his kind. The centre have not been able to get him to breed despite him living with 5 female tortoises!!! We are so lucky to have experienced another real trip of a lifetime whicih will sit there alongside our truly memorable trip to Antarctica.


We are now back in Quito and making the most of a night in the 5 star tour hotel which has cable tv and room service and a bath..... wooooah.. we are sooo happy!! This is the last we will be seeing of such luxury for the rest of the trip!