After two years of extensive planning, we finally reached the Galapagos Islands on January 24, 2023. The journey was long but entirely worth it. Our first stop was Quito, the capital, from where we flew to Baltra serves, Santa Cruz Island, and finally arrived at Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galapagos. If you plan on visiting, research the entry requirements beforehand. You will need to pay a $100 national park fee and a $20 transit fee in cash, so be sure to have that ready.
After arriving at the airport on Baltra, you must take a bus, which costs $5.00, to the Itabaca Canal and then a water taxi, $1.00 cash, across the canal to Santa Cruz Island. Afterward, you can catch a bus or taxi into the town of Puerto Ayora, which is about a 40-minute ride. On the way to our hotel, we take a private tour to see the giant tortoises and the Los Gemelos craters.
After briefly stopping at Los Gemelos, we continued to El Chato Tortoise Reserve near Santa Rosa. At this reserve, one of the things they do is breed and raise tortoises for the National Park. When it’s time to release the tortoises, the particular breed of each one determines which island they are released on.
Though this is a tortoise reserve, it is important to note that the tortoises are not caged in. The ranch is approximately 30 acres, and the tortoises can roam at will. We saw dozens of tortoises bathing, sleeping, strolling around, and sleeping. They ranged in size from approximately 2 feet to 6 feet in diameter. Enjoy the following brief video.
After visiting the tortoise ranch, he headed to our hotel in Puerto Ayora, a bustling small town and gateway to many Galapagos tours. We spent two full days here before leaving for our cruise aboard the Celebrity Xploratiion.
Our first stop was the Galapagos Verde Azul Hotel, where we spent three nights. The hotel is a quaint, off-the-beaten-path hotel in a residential area within walking distance of downtown. Our room was on the 5th floor, with no elevator, and had views of the town. It included a delicious poolside breakfast of fresh fruit, bread, and eggs made to order.
After settling in, we spent the evening and parts of the next two days exploring Puerto Ayora and the surrounding areas. Below are images of Puerto Ayora.
We went on two excursions over the next two days. The first was to Pinzon Island, hoping to see the Galapagos White-tipped Reef Shark. On our way there, we cruised along the cliffs and saw many blue-footed boobies hanging out on the cliffs. We seemed so close that we could almost reach out and touch them! As we reached the area where the sharks usually are, we donned our snorkel gear and jumped in. We saw several different types of fish and a couple of turtles, but no sharks. After about an hour of snorkeling, we headed towards a place called La Fe, where we snorkeled some more and then went on a nature walk where we saw more blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas and walked through mangroves to see different types of cactus and other types of plants.
The second was a half-day bay tour of the Gulf of Santa Cruz. The first place we visited was a small islet called La Loberia, named for a colony of sea lions. We also visited Punta Estrada, where we took a short hike to observe Darwin’s finches and other shorebirds and vegetation. This is also the site of the Canal del Amor (Love Canal) for a photo opportunity and a chance to observe rays and white-tipped sharks in their natural environment. Finally, we visited La Playa de Los Perros. Here, we could hike to Las Grietas, a swimming area at the bottom of an earth fissure. However, due to the hike’s difficulty getting there, we decided to stay at a local bar for snacks, drinks, and shopping. Overall, it was a great day, and we highly recommend it.
On the morning of Saturday, January 28th, we arranged for a taxi, packed our bags, and headed back to the airport. There, we waited in the “VIP lounge,” which was nothing more than a cordoned-off area of the terminal, to await transport to our ship. After waiting a couple of hours, our fellow shipmates finally arrived, and we headed off to our ship, the Celebrity Xploration, for the Northern Loop Galapagos tour.
Once arriving at our ship and settling in, we were informed that after a short sail, we would be heading out on the first of our excursions, all of which were included in the cost of the cruise. Our first stop was Black Turtle Cove, Baltra Island. We took a panga, a rigid inflatable (RIB) boat ride through the marsh. We observed several types of birds and numerous sea turtles, some mating! Afterward, it was back to the ship for dinner and a chance to get to know our fellow shipmates.
Before dinner, a briefing was held to explain the following day’s itinerary and activities. This would be the routine for the remainder of the cruise. See the schedule below for our first full day. The day started with a nature walk on the lava fields of Santiago Island. The last eruption was in the early 1900’s. Being relatively young, you could see all of the details and variations in the lava. It was very interesting.
Following the lava field visit, we cruised to Bartolome Island. The large free-standing rock in the foreground is known as Pinnacle Rock. It and the surrounding area are often seen in movies. The view from the top of Bartolome Island (380 steps) plays an important role in the 2003 movie Master and Commander.
Afterward, we set sail for our next stop, Isabella Island, to visit Urbina Bay and Tagus Cove. Isabella Island is a seahorse-shaped island and home to five active volcanoes, one of which last erupted in May 2015. The day started with a nature walk followed by snorkeling off the beach. In the afternoon, we snorkeled off the panga boat in search of white-tipped reef sharks and giant manta rays. The afternoon concluded with yet another short nature walk. As you can imagine, everyone was exhausted by the end of the day.
Today, we crossed the equator six times while at sea! I have officially joined Teresa as a “Shellback” (crossing the equator via boat). This morning, we visited Punta Espinosa for another hike across the lava rocks to see the largest colony of marine iguanas in the Galapagos and a nesting ground for flightless cormorants. Then, after more snorkeling, we headed out to Punta Vincente Roca, where we crossed the equator for more snorkeling and hiking.
The exciting event of the day was a tortoise rescue. The Galapagos tortoises are land animals. On this day, as we explored the coast, we saw a tortoise bobbing in the water offshore. The waves kept pushing back towards shore, but the rocky shoreline prevented him from returning to land. Of course, you cannot assist or touch the wildlife, so we had to leave him to his fate.
When we returned to our ship, we notified the head guide, Gustavo, who then sent my video of the tortoise to the National Park rangers. With their approval, the captain, our naturalists, and several crew members set off to the last known location of the tortoise, where they met with the park rangers and rescued the tortoise!! The rangers said it was about 25-30 years old, and it was lucky that we happened by. We named him Lucky!
As Gustavo tells it, they located the tortoise, and he thought they would devise a plan to rescue it, but, Captain Johnathan, followed by another crew member, just jumped in and swam to it. Gustavo shouted to the captain, “I thought we were going to make a plan!” I wish I had recorded it when he was retelling the story, it was hysterical!
The following day, we visited Puerto Egas and Buccaneers Cove on Santiago Island. Puerto Egas had a sandy beach and black lava where we saw many marine iguanas and sea lions hanging out and sunning themselves. In addition, we saw several very large green sea turtle nests. Afterward, we re-boarded our ship and went to a different area of the island to snorkel, where we were fortunate enough to see a Galapagos Penguin. He was gracious enough to put on a show for us right before my camera! Check out the video below.
On Day 6, we returned to Puerto Ayora, which we had visited for three days before our cruise. Despite being familiar with the place, we were able to explore more attractions, including the Charles Darwin Research Station and El Manzanillo Tortoise Ranch. Not only did we witness the giant tortoises, but we also savored lunch while enjoying a cultural dance performance. We also had ample time for shopping and shared our recommendations with fellow passengers before returning to our ship.
On our last full day, we had the opportunity to climb Prince Phillip’s Steps and visit Genovesa Island. Here, we took a two-hour nature hike to view all the Galapagos wildlife. As we reached the top, we were greeted by a seabird colony of Nazca and Red-footed Boobies. On the winding trail through the Palo Santo forest, we saw many other types of birds, including juveniles still in the nest. These birds included Galapagos Doves, Mockingbirds, and Short-eared Owls. One particular;y interesting occurrence happened when one of the small birds was attracted to the camera lens of one of our shipmates. The bird flew in and out of the lens hood as we all stood there in awe. It was quite a sight to see! Unfortunately, the camera couldn’t focus on an object that close, but we did get pictures of the bird in the lens! This was one of the main highlights of the trip.
After a morning of hiking and bird watching, we re-boarded our ship and cruised to Darwin Bay, on the other side of the island, for an afternoon swim. It was a beautiful beach. After we got off the boat and put our things down, we discovered a baby seal sleeping behind a rock. While we were in the water, another seal came swimming between a group of us, stopped at the beach, and began barking as if calling to her child. The baby seal did not move; perhaps it was asleep. The adult seal swam back and forth between the ocean and the beach, repeating the process over and over. It was quite fascinating! After a few hours, we returned to the ship for our final dinner together.
This morning, we had the option of one final nature hike at 7 AM! A few people went, but most preferred to sleep a little later and pack for home. After an early breakfast, we saw a final presentation on the Galapagos, followed by a movie of our trip made by Gustavo. Then, they gave us each a flash drive containing pictures and video of the trip. Afterward, at the request of our shipmates, we headed to the upper deck for a group photo, which is what you see below. Finally, it was time to depart. Some were going directly home, and others were going to spend a day in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, before flying home. We had other plans, though. We would spend the next two days in Quito, then head up into the Andes mountains for two more days. I’ll share more about that in another post. It was certainly the trip of a lifetime, and we highly recommend this trip to anyone who loves nature and wildlife.
Safe travels!!
