My Guide to the Galapagos Islands
Written: Nov 11 '01 (Updated Apr 08 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: You will see things you can't see anywhere else.
Cons: Expensive to get there; not for everyone
The Bottom Line: If you like eco/adventure type trips, these islands are a must see.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Galápagos Islands |
When I wrote a review on A Traveler’s Guide to the Galapagos Islands I promised I would write a review of our itinerary and that is what I am doing. Just a brief summary first. The Galapagos Islands are a group of 15 islands off the coast of Ecuador. They are a National Park and as such are highly protected. Only authorized boats are allowed in the area and you can’t just “take a walk on an island.” You must go with a guide and on a boat through one of over 100 tour operators. We chose a boat called the Reina Silvia. There are well over 40 areas or visitor sites on these islands. I will call them trips, but you can think of them as visits or hikes. Actually the nature of what you do on each island depends on the geography and animal life that exists there. My husband and I were very happy with the 12 sites we visited. At each stop we made two trips but those trips may not have been trips to an island or site. We may have gone on a hike in the morning and snorkeling in the afternoon. We didn’t feel as if we missed anything, although admittedly I would have spent another week touring this incredible area. What follows are the sites we visited and a brief summary of what we saw and did there.
1. We flew from Quito, Ecuador into Baltra Island where our journey began. From there you will find your way to your boat which is a bus and ferry ride away. Our boat was waiting for us on the island of Santa Cruz and our first stop was South Plaza. South Plaza is the only visitor site on what is actually a pair of isles off the coast of Santa Cruz.
For your information, there are dry landings and wet landings. A dry landing is just that. You land on something other than water when your feet come off the boat. It could be slippery rock, a ramp or lava. What it is not is water. That is a wet landing and for that you will get into a small boat and get out in what you hope isn’t water that is really deep!
This was a dry landing and I remember it so well. Not just because I am looking at a picture of it in my photograph album but because we were greeted by sea lions on the dock. This walk is mostly on sea cliffs where you will see cactus (I can scan in pictures if anyone really wants to see anything, e-mail me.) birds and sea lions.
2. and 3. Our next 2 stops were on the island of Tower, which is less than ½ a degree north of the equator. This was a long trip. Some stops will be longer than others and this one was one of the longest. It took all night actually to get there. Darwin Bay is a wet landing onto coral beach and a trail. All these trips are on a trail and veering off of it, even a bit, will get you scolded. On the trail you’ll see frigate birds and red-footed boobie birds. I had never heard of any of these creatures before I went there and this might sound boring, but it was anything but boring. It is amazing. The second stop on this island was Prince Philip’s Steps with a dry landing onto a rock staircase. I do remember it as being very slippery but it is worth it. Really you won’t be doing this trip if you are worried about slipping. I do believe this is where we saw an owl during the day. I have a picture of him, believe it or not, though he is very hard to see in the picture he truly was there.
4. Our next stop was Tagus Cove, which I remember very well because it is a hike! It is part of an island called Isabela, which is number 5 on our itinerary. It is a dry landing and I remember a lot of uphill walking. There was a man on out boat who was 72 and in amazing shape. No matter your age, if you are in good shape, you can do this trip. It really is worth it. You’ll see a salt water lagoon and I remember stopping and looking around while our guide told us about animals such as goats which have been introduced (rather than being indigenous to the area) and what is being done to ensure that animals are not introduced to the Galapagos.
5. From Tagus Cove our next stop was just across the way to an island called Fernandina with only one visitor site on it and that is Punta Espinosa. (I am also looking at a map that I have from our trip with the islands numbered.) Here you will see penguin, sea lions, flightless cormorants and lots of marine iguanas. I have amazing pictures of them up close – really close! This walk is partly on a beach and partly on lava rocks.
6. Our next visit was to Punta Moreno on the island of Isabela. This is a rough hike because the lava rocks can be sharp in areas but you’ll see great blue herons, penguins and in some cases land that if I described would sound not terribly interesting – this stop is a case of you have to see it to understand! A must stop but if some people in your party are not up for the trek, it is ok, stay on the boat. You’ll see the beautiful rocks with the shore birds on it and can take pictures from the boat.
7. James Bay was next. This one hopefully will sound like fun. It is a wet landing and we spent much of our time here swimming as well as seeing amazingly large crab! But back to the swimming – we weren’t alone – we were with sea lions and lots of them. They are harmless but very, very scary- looking when you are swimming next to them because of their size. Don’t miss doing this.
8. Just off the coast of James Bay is a tiny island we stopped at called Bartolome. We visited this in one day but went there two different times. The first time was a dry landing where we learned a lot about volcanoes. What we were told is Pinnacle Rock is the most photographed scene in the Galapagos and I do have several pictures of this volcanic structure. Later we had a wet landing to an area on the island where we swam and snorkeled.
9. We spent the next day on the island of Santa Cruz, in the city of Puerto Ayora, which is where about ½ of the population of Santa Cruz live. I would have been happy just spending the day in this far away city people-watching but we did go to the Charles Darwin Research Station. This is really the only place to see giant tortoises which can be touched unlike other areas such as the Tortoise Rearing Center where attempts to revive this almost extinct species is taking place and you cannot go near them. They are being very protected! It is an amazing must see. Unlike any “turtle” you may ever have seen, these tortoises are the real thing and in the Darwin Research Station the attempt to bring them back in commendable. There is an area to buy souvenirs and – just as a plug for what I think is a worthy cause- buy something. The Darwin station depends on contributions. I have the mugs we bought there.
Back to Puerto Ayora where you can souvenir shop and buy drugstore-type items. Just as an aside, our guide lived in this town and met his daughter there; we also got a chance to meet her. Many days together in a small boat with a small group makes either for enemies or cohesiveness and we were lucky that we formed the latter.
10. and 11. These two stops were on the island of Floreana. If you go to the Galapagos buy a book called Floreana by Margret Wittmer. It is really very interesting. If you don’t buy it before you go, you can buy it in the tiny gift shop in Punta Cormorant, one of the visitor sites here. A member of her family will autograph it for you. This is a wet landing onto green sand. The green comes from volcanic material. In the same day you will also do a “touristy thing” in a place that isn’t known for its “tourist” attractions. The visitor site is Bahia Post Office and is a wet landing. This was a real “post office” – really just a barrel where ships leaving would pick up mail from ships that had been there. We are talking a couple of centuries ago. What they now have tourists do is pick up mail if they want, perhaps from people in your own state, and mail it to them when you get home. You also leave a postcard or two and send it to friends from home. See when they get it. I sent one to my mom and sure enough she did get it. Someone picked it up and mailed it to her!
12. Our last stop was the visitor site of Punta Suarez on the island of Espanola. This was probably the most beautiful of the islands since the island aren’t tropical you wouldn’t put them in the category of Aruba. Here you’ll see amazing waved albatrosses and masked boobies. There is even an incredible blowhole here, which is a hole, literally where the ocean sprays water into the air. In this case about 100 feet into the air!
In spite of this review taking me over 3 hours I enjoyed revisiting this trip through my pictures, my videotape and the notes I took on the ship. Seeing flamingos in a natural habitat and an iguana whose home you are invading is extraordinary. This was a trip of a lifetime as I have said many times before and if you are planning on going and have any questions or want to see any of my pictures let me know. There has been a documentary on television on the Galapagos Islands and you may be able to request videotapes from tour companies.
Cayo Beno Park A must do along with this trip!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Singles
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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