More boobies than you can poke a stick at
Trip Start
Dec 25, 2007
1
21
30
Trip End
Feb 17, 2008
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
We had 12 passengers (after the 5th night, I was the only passenger to remain with another 11 coming on board), 5 crew, and 1 naturalist guide on board at all time. The boat was most definitely not a luxurious boat, but had the charm of only having 12 passengers. It sure was small. And taking the dinghy to the boat (just about every time), I would wonder how so many people could fit on there. But fit on there we did. The cabins had bunks and a small bathroom (a shower within which you were not able to turn around due to its size), the dining room was small, but cozy, and there was plenty of space on deck to relax (though a couple of deck chairs would have been a nice addition). Typically, we would cruise (despite having sails, we only used them once, all other times it was solely diesel power) at night, and wake up in the morning to a new destination.
The day would typically consist of either a quick walk on whichever island we arrived at, or breakfast followed by a landing on the island. We might then cruise a bit more to the next island, have a siesta, lunch, more relaxing, and then typically one or two landings in the afternoon for either a walk plus snorkeling, or just a walk. That would be followed by dinner, a couple of beers, and usually a relatively early night (it is amazing how tired one gets from not doing very much).
Although this will not mean very much, I figure I will rattle off the names of some of the islands we went to, just to sound impressive: my trip started and finished in the town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz, but we also visited Espanola, Baltra, Genovesa, Lobos, Bartolome, South Plazas, Rabida and a wonderful snorkeling spot called Devilīs Crown. Each island was unique in its own way: from the landscape, vegetation, and of course the animals. Depending on the island, we might land on a beach covered with hundreds (literally) of sea-lions, spot dozens of huge land iguanas, see sea iguanas swimming by the rocks, or spot birds nesting their young. January seems to be a very good time to be there in terms of it being mating season (or nesting season) for so many animals.
The most amazing thing about all the animals was not the number (though that was impressive), or the variety (sea lions, dolphins, sharks, seals, penguins (tiny ones, and apparently we were very lucky to see them), humongous sea turtles, land iguanas, sea iguanas, crabs, red footed boobies, blue footed boobies, masked boobies, frigates, finches, petrels, tropic birds, and others I canīt remember off the top of my head), or the fact that so many different species live so close together (a boobie sitting on a pelicanīs head in the water, a sea-lion being told to move out of the way by a bird, crabs and sea-lions resting on the rocks together, it was endless), but the fact that you could get so close to the animals and they did not mind. If it was not for the 1m distance rule, you could touch as many animals as you could imagine. Typically it was the animals, not the humans, who broke the rules (sea lions coming to investigate the tourists, or birds nesting in the middle of the walking path).
I have never been a huge fan of birds, but seeing nesting boobies up close was amazing. By up close I mean walking within 1m of the birds and the birds barely caring. Seeing them incubate their eggs, watch their young, feed their young, have the parents share duties and actually see that in action. And not just one or two here or there. Depending on the island, would be hundreds of them.
The sea lions on the beach and rocks were something else. Not only do they have the face of a Golden Retriever, they have the same temperament. They pretty much spend their days sleeping, and going for a swim. Sometimes they would get curious about the visitors and bend their neck backwards while lying in the sand, or edge a bit closer to see what was happening. In the water they were truly in their element. While snorkeling, they seemed to love to perform around people. They would swim nearby, flap out of the water, do somersaults in the water, and then look back to make sure you were watching! An experience you could pay lots of money for, and here it was in nature, not captivity! It really brought smiles to everyoneīs face.
On the third last day we could a glimpse of some dolphins swimming not far from the boat. Apparently not overly common in the Galapagos. So we hopped in the dinghy and went for a closer look and jumped in to swim with them. Unfortunately, they didnīt seem to like performing as much as the sea-lions and just continued doing their īthingī. So we followed with fins and snorkels. After a good 15 minutes of playing chasey, the few of us in the water were buggered, but got some good views of the dolphins.
The other amazing creatures in the water were the shark and the turtle. On the cruise we only saw the white tipped reef shark, both from the boat and while snorkeling. A slightly nerve inducing animal, but very interesting none-the-less. The turtles on the other hand were in the middle of mating season, so not only did we see these giant (~1.5m diameter) swimming around, but we saw them mating, in the water - definitely one of the more curious sights to behold!
The landscapes too were something else. From white sand beaches 'almost' on par with Australia, to a red sand 'martian' like landscape, to a forest full of Holy Stick trees which looked totally dead but were simply waiting for some rain, to cactus forests. It really was spectacular. So much in such a small area, it is hard to believe it is all one chain of islands (albeit formed over a few million years, some from volcanoes and some from tectonic plate movements).
We had a variety of people on the boat, with Germans featuring particularly prominently. Although there were not many 'young' people on the boat, compared to the walking stick brigades on some of the other boats, we were all babies. Everyone got on well, and I donīt think anyone did not have a good time. The downside to the boat (whether this applies to all the boats or not I have no idea) was the engine noise. It was as if a 747 engine was in the next door cabin when trying to fall asleep at night. First night I went kinda crazy, but I mostly got used to it after that. Occasionally I would wake up from the noise, and occasionally from feeling like I was about to roll out of bed - this is definitely not something that people prone to seasickness should do in a hurry! (Well, not without some good seasickness tablets).
The weather really was the only bad thing about the trip, and probably just because I like to whinge about something. I have no idea what the temperature was most of the time, but I imagine it got to the mid 30s with humidity close to 100%. The killer however was when the sun came out, equatorial sun can be extremely strong, and even 30 minutes after sunrise, when standing in the direct sunlight, we would all sweat like crazy.
The long and the short of it: this can definitely be classified as a trip of a life time, and something I would recommend to just about everyone I know. It is most definitely worth the money, and it is not something you are likely to experience anywhere else in the world. There is a large variety of ships, from the small ones like the Encantada, to the luxury 90 passenger liners - something for everyone. Happy Gringo, the Quito based agency I booked through definitely receive 5 stars in my book when it comes to price, service, and helpfulness.
