San Cristobal Island

Fresh off the airplane.

At last landed on the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago off the coast of Ecuador.

600 nautical miles away from the mainland, sits a group of small islands,

born from long ago volcanic eruptions.

And, after twenty years of dreaming about it, I finally got there.

Our guide, Wilson, a local from the Galapagos, got us settled into the hostel, then it

was off to explore San Cristobal, the island nearest the mainland.

These are frigate birds. Note this for later. The frigates will come back.

Saw some tsunami signs right away.

Yeah, I guess there would be a risk of tsunamis out here.

The main village is very walkable.

And, incidentally, the Galapagos is one of the safest

places in the entire world.

There's a risk for petty theft, but violent crime is basically unheard of,

and tourists are quite safe walking around the villages.

One of my first meals here was the daily special menus from

a small restaurant.

The set menus are perfect for visitors. 

They are inexpensive, and because they are made in advance,

they arrive to the table very quickly.

Lobster was the catch of the day, so my pescado entree included a 

lobster soup, lobster curry with rice, and a glass of orange juice.

Delicious, filling, and only $6.00!

After lunch, we picked up some fins and masks from a rental shop and made our way to our first stop.

A museum, which was also along the way to a spot for some snorkeling.

I'd never snorkeled before.

I'm a good swimmer though, so wasn't too concerned.

There was a non-swimmer in the group, but he was still able to 

join us on the snorkels. The guide had his son along to help out and

navigate the life-ring buoy for the non-swimmer to hang onto.

He was also given a life-vest to wear, so he felt more comfortable in the water.

In the center of town is a tribute to Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle,

which was the vessel he was on while visiting the islands. It was that

visit, and his observations of the beaks of finches and other animals that he

developed his idea for the theory of evolution.

Darwin famously disliked being onboard the ship.

The commentary from his time aboard is somewhat hilarious.

Fortunately, he avoided seasickness long enough to formulate his idea.

May i shake your hand, Mr. Darwin?

The partially open-air museum on this island talks about the 

history of the Galapagos, important people who discovered it, nations who

tried to hammer it into their own image, and finally, people who worked to

conserve and protect this amazing place. 

The whole set of islands is now a protected National Park,

and most tourists are only permitted to move around with a guide.

Also a desert region, so lots of cactus and scrub plants grow here.

Prickly pear, candelabra, and lava cactus are the three main species to grow here.

Our snorkel spot!

The museum was interesting, but as a group, I think we were tired and hot,

and it was somewhat difficult to maintain our attention.

The water here though was brisk and refreshing and we all felt better after the swim.

In a separate post, I'll show my underwater photos.

I had taken my Olympus digital camera (that's been with me for many years now,

and is rugged, dependable, and waterproof, but I didn't want to risk an underwater

wreckage), but I'd also brought an underwater camera, specifically to take some

underwater photos.

After the snorkel, where I figured out the whole snorkeling thing,

we walked to a nearby restaurant for drinks and some dinner.

I had a lobster empanada and fried plantains with cheese.

Plantains are used a lot on the Galapagos (and in Ecuador)

My first sunset on the islands.

Stunning.

View from the hostel.

It was fine. Beds were comfortable enough and the wi-fi worked,

and breakfast was included in the morning. 

My only suggestion would be to ask for some hooks to hang

towels or clothes.

We were here for two nights.

Had a few minutes before the day's activities to visit the sea lions on the harbor.

The second day on San Christobal, some of us were meant to

take a boat ride out to Kicker Rock.

I was scheduled for the second boat, which ended up being broken, so

no Kicker Rock for me.

Ya gotta roll with the punches, though, and our guide

had set up a second option for those of us meant for the broken boat.

He arranged a taxi to drive is into the interior of the island for a volcanic hike.

El Junco is home to frigate birds, and there's a trail that circles the rim.

Trail to the top of El Junco

Start walking.

Altitude was such that clouds were hanging around near the top.

Not the tallest peak though, so after about 30 minutes, we'd reached the top.

The caldera had filled with water over time, so it was now a nice lagoon.

Frigate birds.

They are so named because they tend to rob and steal food from other birds,

like pirates, so they were named after the ships pirates sailed.

Frigates are large birds, with black wings.

Male frigates have a red pouch at their neck, which can inflate

while trying to attract the attention of a female frigate.

A beautiful view from the top.

So, I wasn't too heartbroken about not getting to Kicker Rock.

Still ended up with a good adventure.

A side trail to the lagoon from the main trail was

more of a jungle. I am glistening from sweat.

This whole trip was a good workout.

After walking all the way around, we headed back down to meet the

trucks. We'd negotiated an additional taxi fee to get us to another great

lookout spot, which happened to be on private land. From this lookout we

could see Kicker Rock, which didn't look too far away.

Our guide gave us a few oranges 

snack on. They were more yellow than orange, but quite tasty.

I think that's also why the orange juice at lunch was yellow.

Yellow oranges.

Our day wasn't done yet though.

After a quick costume change into swim gear, we headed out

again in another truck to a spot with an enclosed beach.

More snorkeling!

I had the hang of it now. So I knew what to do.

Fairly sheltered from the big breaker waves.

A beautiful day for a snorkel.

The water was clear and brisk, but not cold.

Lots of sea lions on this beach.

One even tried to nibble on the guide's swim fins.

And it was breeding season, so I saw a lot of little baby sea lions.

We had a great time swimming around and looking at

the turtles and fish and sea lions under the waves.

So beautiful. The turquoise water against the black lava is a gorgeous sight.

We returned to the village, got our orders for the early morning

departure, and had the afternoon and evening to explore the village at our leisure.

I tried another set meal, because I hadn't had a meal since breakfast,

and then got a delicious iced coffee to slurp on while walking around,

browsing the souvenir shops and walking along the harbor.

Mann Beach. A gloriously beautiful sunset, sipping on a mango smoothie.

Ecuadorians use US currency, with their own minted coins mixed in,

so I didn't have to go through any money exchanges for this trip.

It was a weird feeling to get old US coins back as change.

I used most of them, but brought a few back home,

plus, one or two Ecuadorian coins.

Local brew.

There was an expelled placenta next to this sea lion,

and a freshly born baby sea lion.

We'd just missed the birth of a baby.

Baby and mother.

The animals on the islands are protected.

You can watch them all you'd like, but you can't touch,

and all visitors and locals are advised to keep 2 meters distance.

As a result, the animals are very relaxed around people.

You can get quite close. Just keep your grubby hands to yourself.

After another empanada dinner and some extra walking around, 

most of us headed back to the hostel to prepare for a very early morning.

We had to be at the dock to get on the speed boat ferry in time for a 6AM departure.

There was a security line, baggage inspection, and taxi boats to get us to

the larger boat that would take us (ten plus Wilson), plus at least twenty other passengers 

to the next island on our itinerary: Santa Cruz.

 The adventure continues.