After a very confusing morning at the airport and getting onto the Galapagos Islands, we were excited to finally be welcomed at our hotel very warmly. We were showed to our room and got set up for the week. But after that first day, the staff seemingly vanished. They were nowhere to be found at any point during our stay. They cleaned our room, the common areas were kept clean and tidy, but if we needed anything, we couldn’t find anyone to get any service. That wasn’t a bother for us, we didn’t actually require them for anything. We were a short 10 minute walk from downtown, which was nice because we were there during the Christmas holiday and we didn’t want to deal with a lot of noise and partying of being right in town. Though as we soon found out, tourism is pretty restricted on the islands, so it’s never really overcrowded. There was always space in a restaurant we wanted to eat at, room to walk on the sidewalks, availability for tours, ferries and taxis.
The weather was lovely, about 80˚F and a little humid, the air conditioning was a wonderful addition in our room, however, we could also have done with just a fan, but definitely preferred the a/c on the really humid days. It helped to dry out our clothes.
We took the short 10 minute walk down to the malecon, and the first thing we noticed was that the sea lions rule the beachfront. They are everywhere. They are on the sidewalks sleeping under shade trees, on park benches and on the docks. They are so used to people being around, they don’t even seem to recognize that anything is happening around them. It is a requirement to give them space, and 3 meters is recommended. They will chase you if they feel you’re a threat.
The very first day we were on the island, we were treated to visits from giant sea turtles, tons of sea-lions, crab, marine iguanas and the red-breasted frigate bird. Truly a spectacular experience.
On day 2 we headed to the Darwin Museum to learn more about the islands and the Theory of Evolution. We didn’t know that we had to have a guide in order to actually see the entire area. So we walked around, checked out the little museum and some of the plants they’re growing to restore some of the nearby forests, and ate some ice cream and decided to take a tour on another day. Instead, we hired a taxi to take us to Los Gemelos which are two giant sink holes right off the highway that you can take a short, guided walk around and El Chato, the giant tortoise reserve.
Driving up to El Chato, everywhere you look, there seem to be these random huge boulders jetting up from the tall grass. Except, they’re not boulders, they’re giant tortoises. Honestly, GIANT tortoises that are over a hundred years old and smaller ones that are only about 25 years old. I mean, the shells of the giant tortoises are so huge, we humans can fit inside of them. It reminded me of a scene from “The Neverending Story” where Atreyu gets stuck in the bog and Morla the huge tortoise pops out of the mud. We finished our tour and headed into the onsite lava tubes. They were very short tunnels. The longest one was 100 meters but it was a nice little hike through the property. We grabbed some lunch at the onsite restaurant and then headed back to town to book a snorkeling tour.
By the way, tours here are NOT cheap and they all charge around the same amount. If you really look around you might save yourself $10. If you can find other people to take the tour with you, you might get a bigger discount by asking for a family rate. Could save about $20/person.
On day 3 we took a snorkeling tour out to Pinzon. We were able to book it with another couple and they gave us a small discounted rate of $15/per person. The tour ended up costing about $170 per person. It was a half-day tour and we were taken to a beautiful area where we saw reef sharks, giant sea turtles, seahorses, numerous colorful tropical fish and even penguins. Lunch was included as was the boat, the captain, an English/Spanish speaking guide, wet suits and snorkeling gear if you needed it.
After spending about half an hour exploring that area, we ventured to the snorkeling area where we were enamored by big black tip reef sharks, sting rays, playful sea lions, colorful fish and marine iguanas, it was time to head back to shore.
After all the fun in the sun and salt water, we took a much needed break the next day to catch up on some homework and just relax. We strolled along the malecon, checked out the local shops and the food scene.
The following day we went back to the Charles Darwin Research Center and took a tour to find out more about the islands. We were taught about the numerous different types of finches, their survival and food sources. We learned about the different zones of the islands and their ability to grow food and the introduction of species on the island such as cows, chickens, domestic animals and such. We were taken to the tortoise research center where they are currently in the process of re-populating endemic tortoises from each island. The researchers travel to each island and take the eggs, bring them to the research center, where they’ll eventually hatch. They are kept there up to 6 years and then taken back to the island they had come from. We got to see Lonesome George, who was the last surviving Pinta Tortoise. He was found in 1910 and for the last 40 years of his life was taken care of by the same caretaker, until George’s death in 2012. He was the last of his species and the Pinta tortoise is now considered extinct.
The final day, we took a short boat ride from one side of the harbor to the other, literally a 1 minute boat ride and took a guided tour out to las Grietas. Yes, just about everything on all the islands must include a guide. There are a couple of places outside the Research center on Santa Cruz Island that don’t require a guide and one of the beaches but you have to schedule a taxi to come pick you up and hope they’re on time, or that you’re not running late. So, as you can imagine, the cost stacks up. The cost for the tour to Las Grietas was only $10 per person and included an English speaking guide and a swim in the Grietas.
Arriving at Las Grietas, you’ll be provided an opportunity to rent snorkel gear. If you didn’t bring your own, I suggest you rent some gear. I think it will cost between $5-$10. But when you get to the water, if you look in the cracks of some of the lava walls, you’ll be amazed to find moray eel, beautiful tropical fish and anemone. You only get 45 minutes to swim before you have to turn back.
This island was great, but probably our least favorite and most commercial. It was a good starting point for us, but our favorite experiences will be posted in future blogs, so stay tuned.
If you want to see more of our snorkeling tour and Santa Cruz Island, click the video below.