Day 1: From Guayaguil to Galapagos, Paradise on earth
We love animals. A lot. One of our highlights was visiting Galapagos islands – of course. We finally made it to there after a short bus ride from Canoa to Guayaquil. We stayed in an Airbnb in Guayaquil which was an amazing experience itself before we left. We got picked up by grandma with her nephew and grandma was a quite a character. She was shouting commands to her grandson during the ride and it was raining a lot. He had to open the door for us with the baby while grandma was shouting: “open the door, the baby, the baby”.
When he showed us the room and he had to come back for some more explanations, I made the joke that I would not tell his grandma that he forget and the poor fellow replied only that we should not be telling his grandma the fact that he forgot to explain how the TV works.
Grandma dropped us off at the airport next morning (without her grandson). She tried yelling at Tom how he should put the Mountain Buggy in her tiny car, but he ignored her. ( not surprised. :)) and she managed to tell a taxi driver that he was blocking the entrance parking at the airport. We just instantly loved grandma and her attitude. She was definitely someone you needed on her team.
The flight to Galapagos was unspectacular and smooth. The thing about Galapagos and everybody warned us about is the fact that they make you pay for everything.
Anais was great all the time. She slept, played and behaved like an angel. She did really well all the time. She enjoyed every part of the trip I think.
Galapagos itself is a dream. You have seals taking benches and space at the pier where you board boots, you got Pelicans diving for fish in the waters – the nature and the symbiosis of tourism, people living on the islands and unique wildlife is just amazing., It makes up for the attitude of the people.
So we were stuck the first day on Santa Cruz and we had the choice to go to Darwin beach or to Tortuga Bay. We chose the latter one and it was a great choice. I think I have not seen such a great beach in my life (and I did seemany beaches).
I called it Torture Bay as the journey to the beach is quite a hike. In total 7 km. The way towards the beach is like walking through Alice in wonderland landscape with white trees cactuses. It was late afternoon and it was hot. We came quite late and the guy at the entrance warned us that we have little time so we hurried and it was a torture physically.
We arrived at the beach and it was fine white sand – but not one animal. Ok, we saw Pelicans and sea lions at the pier when we missed the boat and waited but we expected wildlife after the torture hike at the beach. Nope. Not one.
So after that endless hike through the dunes and white tree wonderland we crossed the whole beach to see our first wildlife: Big and fat Lizzards!! Not one but more than a dozen. And we took a great swim with Pelicans in clear tropical warm water.
Our first day on Galapagos came to a good end. We were the last persons to leave the beach (Tortuga bay closes at 5 pm and there is a guard chasing you off the beach). The guy walked all the time behind us making sure we were leaving.
We had dinner at the main street and, by chance, we met Sonja from the taxi again. We had some drinks and the electricity was down for at least 30 minutes at the end. We left early as Anais had to sleep and we were to catch our boat to Isabella at 7 am next morning.
Day 2: From Isla Santa Cruz toIsla Isabela
Here we are next morning – waking up early and at the meeting point to discover that there was not one person there. Again we were just bluntly lied to by the travel agent. So off we went with all 5 bags and a toddler in the kangaroo carrier to the pier. We found the group after some investigation but I must say that I wasn’t amused about the fact that the travel agent overcharged us and then does not make sure we catch the boot or give us correct instructions.
The boarding of the boot was quite a challenge. You have to know that they check your bags at the airport and when you switch islands all the time to make sure you do not bring alien organic stuff that might endanger the natural wildlife.
And then there are those small taxi boots you need to board and pay first before boarding your speed boot. So off we went with five gags and a mountain buggy on a taxi boat to our speedboat to Isabela.
I think we never had a sleep-in day on Galapagos. We always were up before the crack of dawn. The speed boat was – like the name says – fast., We arrived 8 am at Isabela and the ride was good. I wonder what people thought of us (maybe they thought we were migrating to the island as we had as much stuff as the rest of the 10 people). Some people were really tried and there was this Spanish lady chatting really hard in nonstop. I found it very funny but many people on the boat were quite annoyed about it.
Anais slept nearly the whole journey on the boat, in the baby carrier on Tanja’s breast. I was worried and signed Tanja all the time that she had to told her neck. So she did.
Isabella was a good choice – let me tell you straight away. Once we arrived we immediately saw sea lions at the once again taxi boots (yes, you need to take all your stuff again to another boat…). We checked into our hotel (which was on the top floor – just imagine all our stuff being moved all the time from boats, airplanes, busses, taxis. At times I felt like a mule.
We rented a bike straight away (after first searching half the town for a bike with a child seat just to discover that the guy renting it was out surfing and not to return before darkness) and we had a nap at a beach spot in hammocks before 🙂
We went to see the wall of tears which we did not reach due to a flat tire. On the way, my flip flop ripped so I walked back with a flat tire and one flip flop while Anais and Tanja took the bike back. Luckily we could call a taxi half way so it wasn’t too bad.
We saw a giant turtle crossing the road on the way back and we did see some great nature. All in all bad luck but there are worse places on earth to have a flat tire and a brokend flip flop
Day 3: Snorkling on Tuneles and beachtime with Anais
I spend half the day with Anais at the beach and it was great. Tanja left early in the morning to go snorkeling at Tuneles. I had a great day at the beach with Anais. We were surrounded by legumes. Those creatures from a million years ago. It was just surreal to be at the beach and all the wildlife just a meter away from you. Anais lost all her fear from the sea and she was just having the best time of her life.
There was a pool of water with a lot fish in it and Anais was playing with her toys in it and we were surrounded by sea birds and lizzards. Just amazing.The thing about the sea is also that Anais just sleeps very tight at the beach. The air, the sounds, and the climate make her sleep like a princess.
Tanja returned late afternoon and she was really happy about her snorkeling trip to Tunels. She swam with huge sea turtles, sharks, large seahorses and many fish. I was really looking forward to take the same trip next day.
Wewent to see the turtle center that afternoon and on the way we saw flamingoes, many birds and of course many turtles at the center. They raise turtles in captivity and they are released once they are 85 years. That means the humans who take care of the turtles most likely never get to see them getting released into freedom. It was quite interesting.
Day 4: Snorkling again
I left early to Tuneles and must say that the trip – which costs USD 140 – is just amazing. It is a speed boat ride of about an hour and once you are there you get to see all the beautiful wildlife of Galapagos. Sharks, turtles, many big fish. I just love it. I was like just a few centimeters away from a giant sea turtle. They seem to smile under water and I just love being around them. They make you feel good. We took two snorkeling trips – one with all the wildlife & animals and one through the Tunles (the tunnels). It is a natural lava underwater landscape with lots of tunnels (whatś in the name?).
On the way back we stopped and saw blue footed boobies. That was so far the biggest highlight of the whole South America trip. Seeing all that great wildlife and a dream come true. Discovery channel live. Ok, maybe Natural Geographic channel or BBC nature documentary live. I am anyway a nature and sea lover and especially the turtles stole my heart. I am so happy that those creatures are still out there and did not get eaten by mankind. It made me feel very good. Also seeing people taking good care of them and not seeing them as another food item.
Isabella is an expensive island and not very developed touristically speaking. There are no real souvenir shops and the island seems empty at times. Very unlike Santa Cruz where you find many shops and restaurants.
We went out for dinner a few times and the prices are more like Amsterdam. We did have cheap basic lunch every day at the main street.
Plus, the main road is still under constructions which makes Isabela seem like a dusty island.
Day 5: Hiking the Volcano
Again a day we did get up before the crack of dawn. I made the crazy decision to go on a 16 km hike up the second largest active volcano in the world. The crater is an astonishing 10 km in diameter and the most recent eruption was only a year ago. The hike was absolutely worth the time. It reminded me that all the Galapagos islands are made by volcanoes (there are like 6 of them on Isabela itself and many more for the other islands).
Tanja stayed home with Anais and had a great beach day. We did not do any more activities as we had to get up (again) at 5 am the next day to catch the speed boat to Santa Cruz.
We spend quite some time at the beach bar opposite our hotel at the end of the road. We actually ate the best ceviche there ever. The prices are very steep but that holds for all Galapagos. The location itself is like paradise. It is a full beach bar with hammocks, a rope you can try balancing on and a great sunset. It is definitely worth the 8 cocktails (USD 6 during happy hour).
Day 6: Back to Santa Cruz and Darwin Centre
We transferred to Santa Cruz with the first boot and we arrived at 8 am. We had breakfast and found a hotel. Galapagos dreams for USD 50 a night. So off we went to search for a nice beach (we were not in the mood to take another torture hike to Tortuga bay). Which was a complete mistake as we found only a really small beach just before the Darwin Center.
It was so hot that day that we just jumped into the sea at the library at the darwin center which provided some refreshment.
We did take a short walk around the Darwin center but we had seen many breeding turtles already and it was very hot so we just made our way back to the harbor and took a taxi boot to the opposite beach. The beach (German beach) is very good for kids as it very shallow without any waves. Anais again enjoyed it very very much.
Unlike the first day when we arrived, she now became a real fan of the the sea and the beach. In the beginning she really screamed and cried as soon a we came near to the sea. But she got more and more used to it while we were in Canoa. The sea there was a dangerous for her, with strong currents and we had to watch her all the time that she didnt run away to go into the water.
The beach adn little bay was ideal, with shallow waters and no current. She played a lot with her little bucket and the other toys and she was all over the beach again.
We had dinner at cave hotel overlooking the harbor and Anais got the best meal so far in Ecuador. She ate it to the very last bit.
Day 7: Beachtime at Playa Alleman & Ceviches
We were not in the mood to make a big fuzz and we just went to the German beach again. The thing about that beach is that there is no natural place for shadow. Everybody tries to get in the shadow of the small bushes at the beach which are not providing any protection against the sun before the late afternoon. It was very hot and the water did not provide any real protection as well.
We moved around quite a bit upgrading our shaw places every time a family left and we happily shared the small space with Ecuadorian families who joined us. Anais again had the time of her life with her blue bucket and her toys at the beach. After the beach we had dinner at Lo&Lo which we got recommended which was nice.
Tanja lost her sunglasses there – at least we think and Anais fell and got a bloody lip. She cried really short and that was it for the day. Next day was Tanja’s big day.
Day 8: Snorkling trip & Scuba Diving
Our last full day on Galapagos. Tanja went Scuba diving at place called Bartholome / Seymor at the northern tip of Santa Cruz. I leave it to her to describe her dive trip more extensively but it was amazing.
I went with Anais on a snorkeling trip (3 bays trip) and while I was snorkeling Anais was playing for captain on the boot (steering that boot….). Snorkeling was fun but not spectacular as on Isabela. We did snorkel with sharks and sea lions and Anais got to see the blue footed boobie as well. Afterward, we went to walk on an island (Perro beach) and see the groves of armor.
We finished the trip at the la grieta and walking through the salinas (which are again on the main island). It is a cave with colder water you can snorkel in if you have space as it is usually very crowded.
We ended our last day at the grill restaurant on the main street which is highly recommended. They gave us like 3 pieces of tuna steak for free. I have never eaten that much Tuna in my life. It was like half a fish and still feel a bit sorry as Tuna is endangered species.
Anais really enjoyed the trip and she also finally got to see the real Galapagos with lots of animals. Anais did like the fish market as well with sea lions and pelicans and other big birds fighting for the fish guts that get cut out there by the fisherman.
Diving on Galapagos:
I havent been diving since 4 years. In total I have done just 8 dives. 4 during my PADI course in Brazil, which was 13 years ago. It turned out that they never registered this and I didnt get a PADI certificate. So 4 years ago I decided to do the course again on Gili Islands. This was also the last dive I did. I haven’t done any dives after the officcial course, so I was really nervous. I hesitated and thought about it for a couple of days and then I decided to take the adventure and dive with sharks on Galapagos!
We left Isla Santa Cruz taking a big sailing boat to Seymore Island. We were with a group of 10 people in total and 2 dive masters. When dive master explained the Diving plan and when everyone introduced themselves and told how many dives they had done, I got even morenervous.
First of all, the depth of our first dive on the deepest level was about 25 meters and the length of the dive would be 50 mins ( the deepest dive I have done so far is 12m and the longest 35 mins.)
Second, we were to about to see a lot of hammerhear sharks. Even though they say that they have never bitten anyone, I still think they are intimidating and scary.
And third everyone was a very experienced diver with more than 100’s of dives.( This later turned out to be my biggest luck.)
One guy from Canada was also a Dive Master and another girl from Australia was a Marine Biologist. Then there was this elder man, he was sort of retired and enjoying traveling while diving all around the world.
Then there was this overenthousiastic and fairly loud family from Los Angelos, US. The mother of 57 but she more looked like 40 was really funny. She had taken her first dive 3 years ago and then she got hooked, her son a very muscled tattood guy and their 2 best friends. They had been taking dive trips all over the world in the past 3 years and really really into thrill seeking. ( The mom told me later her whole life stroy , as most of the Americans do, she had been a drug addict and had now changed that habit for other thrills such as diving and roller coaster parcs.:))
I started having doubts, where I should cancel and just go snorkling. But that would be a shame and probably I would never dive anymore. So I decided to stick with the plan. When everybody stated checking and preparing their gears, I no clue what to do and what all the gear to supposed to be used for. The dive master helped me getting the oxygen bottle and my geat ready. Then we had to move a a small rubber boat to be transported to the dive spot.We were now in a smaller group, the elder German guy, the Canadian Dive Master and the Austalian Marine Biologist, who was my Dive Buddy but she seemed to be not amused at all to have a beginner diver as her Dive buddy. She asked me if I knew what all the gear and equipement was for. So luckily the the Canadian guy explained me quickly what I should do with it, how to hold the mask, breath into the oxygen mask and how to get into the water with the backwards flip from the rubberboat. The dive master helped me getting on the weight belt, and the jacket with the oxygen bottle. I was the last one of the group and then we had to make the backwards flip all together. It went all very fast so I just did as he said: Hold the mask and regulator and flip backwards. I flipped but got stuck under the rubber boat as I wanted to go back up. I could breath with the regulator but still I kind of panicked as it is really weird to breath the compressed oxygen with the regulator. It feels like being short of breath and not being able to breath in properly. Then after I got detangled from under the rubber boat, the rest of the group had already stated descending and the instructor signed me to descend as well after giving the OK sign.
I did but felt really uncomfortable. While being at -5m, I panicked more and thought it would be better to abort the mission. So I signed the dive instructor that I wanted to go up. He helped to ascending slowly. When we reached the surface it turned out the boat was already gone and we were in the middle of the wide sea with very high waves. There was nowhere to go. The other guys were still down in the water and waiting. So I decided to go back and continue the dive. I was holding the Dive instructors arms while we swam. In the beginning I didn’t really enjoy it as I still got the feeling that I was running out of breath and while being a bit in panick you can breath slowly. And I had all sorts of thoughts like: What if I have to puke in the water, what if I get a pannick attack and want to go up fast. You can t because you need to ascend slowly and depending on the depth you may need 5 mins.
But after say 20 mins I got more used to it. We say already a lot of hammerhead sharks and big stongrays. But to be honest, actually I couldn’t care less about the hammerhead sharks, because I cared more about paying attention to my breathing and swimming against the current. There was a really strong current, which they hadn’t told me about. The german man must have noticed that I was paying attenttion and signed me to look at nice fish and sharks. It was nice, I started to relax a bit more and got more used to the breathing. Then the Australian girl gave the sign that she only 50 bars left to we had to end the dive and go back. I was totally fine with this and also glad that it was not me who had first run out of air.
Then back on the big sailing boat, everyone was so entusiastic about the dive and the hammer headsharks. The canadian guy was really nice and explained the gears again and gave me a quick refreshment course. They said that normally I would not be allowed to dice at all, after so many years of not diving.
Then after lunch we went to the second dive. Again I hesitated if I should go. But then I went and this time it was a really great experience, I enjoyed it a lot more. Saw so many sharks and stongrays at the same time. The sharks come really close, but like to all the ( sea) life on Galapagos, they are really not bothered or scared by humans. They are so relaxed and really amazing creatures, with a big hammerhead and eyes on the side.
All together a great experience and I’m really glad that I went. Already looking forward to the next dive!
Would we recommend visiting Galapagos? Yes, you will never ever see that much great animals in your life. It is a unique place on earth.
If you have the chance going and the money – do it as soon as possible! The best destination we have been to so far!