My favorite Galapagos Island

Trying to determine which of the Galapagos Islands was my favorite is really difficult.  While there is a lot of similarity between the islands, they are also unique too. 

So, on our trip, we visited 6 islands:  Bartholomew, James Island, Fernandina, Isabella, North Seymour, and Santa Cruz.  We would visit one island in the morning and one island in the afternoon.  Our last day, we visited the islet, Mosquera.

Bartholomew, the first island that we visited, was probably the best view that we had where we climbed to the top of the island.  We saw few animals like lava lizards, iguanas, crabs, sea lions, and supposedly there was a dolphin sighting.  So, during our hike, our naturalist pointed out native plants and talked about the island formation.

Later that afternoon we visited James Island where we saw abandoned structures and the remnants of salt mining.  The island has much more vegetation than Bartholomew and we saw much more wildlife … sea lions, iguanas, crabs, a hawk, and several birds.

The next day we visited Fernandina Island.  This is the island of iguanas.  At our landing we had to carefully navigate through a multitude of iguanas, sunning on the rocks.  We actually got to see a dispute over territory (an iguana fight).  We also got a close view of flightless cormorants.  Sea lions and crabs are ubiquitous.  We also learn about lava flows, which are identical to the ones found in the Hawaiian island chain.  We also unexpectedly see a sea turtle.  The wildlife is active and varied here.

Isabella was our afternoon island where we took a dingy tour and did not actually land on the island.  I was a little concerned about the dingy tour and what we would see, but this tour was really interesting.  We even visited a cave.  We saw a multitude of blue-footed boobies perched on the cliff walls.  There were several sea turtles and stingray sightings and other birds.  Of course, there were sea lions, crabs, and iguanas.  It is amazing that sea lions are as adept at climbing as they are.

Our last full day in the Galapagos, we started the day by visiting North Seymour Island … one word incredible.  The main wildlife was birds:  blue- and teal/green-footed boobies and frigates who were mating and nesting.  There were active sea lions too.  The island also have quite colourful vegetation.

No visit to the Galapagos would be complete without a visit to Santa Cruz to visit the giant tortoises and the lava tunnel.  Pictures do not do these animals justice.  Depending on your perspective, we visited at the right time.  The tortoises were mating.  They are a little skittish, but you can get quite close like centimeters.

Our last day, we take a dingy tour to the islet Mosquera.  The highlight was a mating frigate and the geology of the islet.  Along the ride, we saw sea lions and crabs.

I suppose I would have to say North Seymour is my favorite because the birds were so active and plentiful and didn’t fly away when they saw us.

Cruise ship or yacht for the Galapagos …

One of the major decisions that we had to make regarding our visit to the Galapagos Islands was how do we want to visit the islands … by land or sea.  The land based option would mean that we would need to stay on one of the islands with a hotel, which subsequently would mean that we would be geographically limited in what we could see.  The choice between land and sea was easy for us, because we wanted to see as much of the Galapagos as we could.

  Now, the decision for us was whether we would visit the islands via cruise ship or yacht.  Until I started researching our options, I did not know there were so many options from 16 passenger yachts to 100 passenger cruise ships.  Given all these options, I tried to read as many comments and blogs from other travelers as possible. 

There are strong feeling on both sides.  Some of the compelling arguments that the cruise ship side make is that “you get to travel comfortably” without really compromising the experience of visiting the Islands and seeing the wildlife.

  The yachts make many compelling arguments too.  They refer to their accommodations as cozy or intimate.  They say that your experience and contact with the naturalist is more flexible with you being able to make requests.  Yachts are also less expensive and are allowed closer to the islands, and in some instances the only vessels allowed to some islands … supposedly.  The National Park Service actually determines where each vessel goes.  Perhaps, most compelling is that yachts have less of an impact on the environment than cruise ships. 

Given the two, we decided to take the cruise ship option.  Our ship, the Explorer II was excellent.  We had great service like clean towels and room service daily, there was a physician aboard, there were social and educational activities, we had access to the naturalists, the group sizes on our ship were no larger than the groups on the 16 passenger yachts, we could even change groups if we wanted, conservation seemed important [the Explorer II talked about the 3 R's - reuse, reduce, and recycle], passengers could snorkel and scuba dive, the ship’s size minimize swaying and motion sickness, the food was good [the buffet breakfast was okay, the buffet lunch was good, the menu dinner was excellent], most importantly, we could avoid passengers that we did not like … hard to do on a small ship or yacht.  Believe me there were many passengers that would have made me abandon ship had we been on a 16 passenger yacht. 

We had the best of both worlds, an ecologically friendly way to see the Islands without giving up too many comforts.  Admittedly, cruise ships are more expensive.  For instance, we could have taken a 7 day, 6 night adventure on a yacht that would still have cost less than our 5 day, 4 night cruise.  In fact, the yacht option I looked at would have been at most 60% of the cost of our cruise.

The true choice between cruise ship and yacht is not really which is better, but a matter of taste.  Service and comfort are important to us.  The thought of being trapped for days with a small group of people that I do not like scares me.  The yachts and smaller ships may get closer to the islands, but a few minutes longer on a dingy is okay with me.   

For some, a yacht or small ship would be the best option, but I am glad that I did my research first … for us, cruising was the best option. 

Confessing my ignorance … Galapagos Islands

As I was planning our trip to the Galapagos Islands, I learned a lot about the country of Ecuador and the Islands themselves.  The Galapagos Islands are world famous, but it is one of those places that you know about without knowing a lot about.

I knew the Galapagos Islands are a series of islands.  The Islands were important to Darwin and his theory of evolution and survival of the fittest.  The Islands were separated from the mainland and the animals adapted differently.  The Islands are protected and an ecological venture.

What I didn’t know …

• The Galapagos belong to Ecuador … by default since no one else wanted them.
• The Islands are about 600 miles west of mainland Ecuador.
• There are over several large islands and around 40 islets.
• There are two airports in the Galapagos that accommodate commerical sized jets … I think Airbus.
• There are over 20,000 natives of Galapagos and several hotels including the five star Palms.
• There are two ways to see the Islands … cruise ship/yacht or hotel.  [My preference is cruise ship.]
• The Islands are on a geological hot spot like the Hawaiian Islands which are way further west.  There are still volcanic eruptions.
• There were multiple attempts to colonize the Islands.
• The natural beauty of some of the islands rivals the uniqueness of the animal populations.

I am sure that there is even more that I do not know, but that’s all I am willing to confess. 

Flying the friendly skies

I’ve flown through many different airports on many different airlines and have to say that for the most part they are all bad!  Bad in different ways, but bad all the same.

We recently returned from a visit to Quito and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.  The Galapagos Islands were spectacular and Quito was filled with colonial history, not to mention to history of the indigenous people.  Before I digress too much … this post is about air travel.

Quito’s airport is probably one of the most confusing airports we have ever flown.  Johannesburg wins the prize for the most confusing and worst airport.  We arrive at the airport at 7:15am for our 9:40am domestic (National) flight from Quito to the Galapagos Islands … so far so good.  We used a guide to help us navigate luggage screening, which you have to do when you are traveling to the Galapagos.  This was a little confusing, because you do this before you check-in and then you get your bags back and wait in line to check-in … so you can stuff all your illegal plants and seeds back into your bags … joking.  But, I suppose you really could.

So, we are waiting at the TAME counter, one of Ecuador’s airlines.  I would say TAME lines, but they were more like loosely formed lines.  Then, we are told to wait a few minutes because we are early and there are other departing flights.  We are eventually after only a few minutes allowed to approach the counter and get our tickets.  So, this time we get to leave our bags with the gate agent.

Then, it dawns upon us … where are the gates.    They were behind us and not well labeled.  We make it through security and look for Gate 0.  There is no Gate 0.  This is apparently a generic Gate.  So, using my poor nascent Spanish, I ask and the gate agent tell me that they will call the correct Gate number when we are ready to board.  So, we sit and wait and wait in a very small gate area for all domestic flights within Ecuador.  The gate area had to be at capacity.

Because my Spanish is unidirectional (which is my problem and not Ecuador’s), I watch the monitors for Gate information only to learn that the monitors are more often incorrect.  So then, I start to listen for airline, flight number, and gate number.  That’s a lot to listen for when the gate agent is speaking fast, probably normally, and I am listening slowly.  Sometimes there would be English information and other times there would not be, but hey we were in Ecuador.  After about two hours of wondering, I finally hear flight number 195 and Gate 1!

We finally get to board.  So, as we are sitting in the general gate area, I am thinking that this airport must be really small … no.  We had a very long walk to the actual airplane, and there seemed to be several jet-ways!

Despite the confusion, most of the staff seemed to be friendly.

Galapagos Explorer II … now that’s one fine ship

I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about exploring the Galapagos Islands on the Explorer II.  The ship is owned and operated by Canodros who markets themselves as ecotourism providers.  There were a couple of things that I was concerned about like how comfortable would the ship be, would we get motion sickness, what would the food be like, what about the facilities [the toilets], how would we get to the islands.  Translation I was mostly concerned about comfort.

First, our arrival at Baltra and navigating the arrival process was absolutely confusing notwithstanding the language barrier.  My Spanish is minimal at best and almost totally unidirectional.  I can communicate somewhat in Spanish, but do not expect me to understand much of what you say … if you speak in Spanish.

When you land in the Galapagos, you have to declare [on a form] that you are have nothing that might impact the ecology of the Islands, but that’s a blog for another day.

Once we finally arrive on the ship we are greeted by the crew and a very persistent ship photographer, Fernando.  So far so good … the crew very carefully made sure that we safely got from the dingy to the ship.  A crewman carried our carry-on bag and took us to our room … a Deluxe suite … and showed us the room. 

The room was very nice … similar to a hotel room in terms of accommodations and size.  We had a nice bed, two chairs, a sofa, and cocktail table, as well as a minibar.  We had a lockable drawer and plenty of space to store our clothes.  Given that we were on a 100 passenger ship, the largest that the national park service allows now, the bathroom was okay … the shower and sink were fine. 

The toilet was our least favorite, it was filled with water, but the flush was a vacuum flush like what you find on airplanes.  Additionally, you were supposed to dispose of your toilet tissue in a waste basket … at least it was sealed.  I kept saying to myself that this is good for the ecology of the Islands.

Overall, this is one fine ship … the accommodations, the service, and the experience.  If you are going to the Galapagos, consider the Explorer II.

Galapagos Island … arrived finally!

After some concern about actually making it to the Islands, we arrived!  We were supposed to have arrived in the afternoon, but we did not so there goes our first day … I am just glad that we made it and was transported to our ship the Explorer II [excellent ship].

  Since we were on a large ship [the Legend is the other 100 passenger cruise ship], we had to take a dingy boat to our ship and board … this was a little different, but no mishaps … that would be bad for business.  The crew takes care of their passengers.  They even transported our luggage from the airport to the ship.  So far so good.

  Our itinerary for the Islands included two excursions per day, except the first and last days where we would have one excursion.  Since our flight was delayed, we did not have an excursion that first day, instead we circled the Island that we were supposed to visit … this was a reasonable and good gesture [probably the only option].  Of course, we did not see anything, but the park service controls which islands ships can visit. 

Galapagos Islands or bust …

Okay, we have been in Quito for three days and the temperature has been cool and it has rained periodically, but that’s okay, because we have gotten to see much … the old colonial city, the Otavalo Indian market, and other small towns.  The churches and cathedrals in the colonial part of the city are absolutely magnificent and ornate.  The most unfortunate aspect of Quito and the surrounding cities is the poverty and the conditions in which a lot of indigenous people live.  We have come across few beggars, most people are either trying to see some craft like scarfs or phone plans where you buy according to how much you plan to talk … seriously.  The city is also a bit dirty, but the poverty was the worst. 

After three days in Quito, we depart for the Galapagos Islands, where only one of the two airports are working … the one on Baltra.

So, we arrive at the Quito airport on our fourth day for our flight to the Galapagos Islands and waited and waited and waited.  After waiting at the airport for four hours we finally board the plane to fly to Baltra.  I have to admit that the airport process was one of the worst that we have ever experienced [which I will blog about later], but we finally arrived in Baltra about two hours after we were supposed to arrive.  I fully expected that we would miss our cruise ship, the Explorer II. 

The wait … totally worth it!  More to come …