Swimming with Sea Lions, Snorkelling with Penguins
Trip Start
May 20, 2010
1
151
195
Trip End
Sep 05, 2011
Where I stayed
Jungla Hostel
What I did
Exploring Isabela Island
Puerto Villamil, Galápagos, Ecuador
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Day : 328
Temperature : 30 degrees
Weather : Sunny
So the Antarctic Austrians finally arrived in the Galapagos!! Christian and Sylvia arrived on the day of our last blog and after spending a couple of days in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island we caught the speed boat to Isabela Island.
One of the first things we saw as we approached the Puerto Villamil were penguins....oh how excited we were! We found ourselves a cheap hostel on the far side of town, and for $25 per night we had a good sized room, private bathroom, fan, and television with 2 spanish channels....oh, and great views of the beach and the sea. The owner was a bit whacky and despite our best attempts at speaking spanglish she didn't really grasp the concept that we had no idea what she was talking about and every day she continued to ramble away in rapid Spanish.
Isabela is very different than Santa Cruz and San Cristobal. Firstly, the town is smaller and the roads are made simply from sand. There is a beautiful beach which runs down the length of the town and off into the distance. The port is full of sea lions and penguins, and you can find the occasional giant turtle (the biggest we have ever seen) and if you are lucky an eagle ray will randomly swim under the boats (however, I couldn't get the camera to switch on fast enough and so didn't get a picture...so does it really count?!) On the downside, we found the town to be rather run down and tired. Like all the other towns in the Galapagos there is litter and plastic bottles lying around the streets and in the sea....it's such a shame! The other downside is that the food in the restaurants is EXPENSIVE! The local dishes are cheaper, but the quality of the food is mediocre. Two small pizzas, a beer and two waters....$53! Yikes!
So what had we come here to do? Well, we spent three wonderful days in the water with sea lions and penguins. This was the most amazing snorkelling and swimming that we have EVER done! The penguins are generally shy when they are on their own, but occasionally we would find them in groups of three or more, and then it's a completely different story! In fact, they came so close that the camera wouldn't focus as they pecked our masks and then swam around to inspect our fins! Then there were the sea lions. The more excited we became laughing and giggling, the more boisterous the sea lions became. As we dived down to the sandy bottom a few metres below us so the sea lions dived down also. They swam around and around, blowing bubbles, swimming straight for us then darting away at the last minute. As we swam up to the surface so they swam up to the surface as well...except then they would jump out of the water and over our heads, then dart back down below again and swim around and around us once more, before leaping out of the water and jumping over us again. For hours the sea lions kept us company, never seeming to tire! What an amazing experience!
Like all fast swimming animals they are incredibly difficult to photograph or video. However, we do have some snaps from our underwater camera for you, although unfortunately the camera kept fogging up underwater and so they are not ideal! The vast majority of the shots ended up being one flipper, or half a head of a sea lion or penguin, but we managed to get half a dozen ok ones. We also have some video which I will try to upload when we are back in Quito, I don't think the internet is fast enough here. Anyway, enjoy the photos, it was SOOOO amazing!
Comments
I'm going to do a live-aboard cruise in August.
I want to extend my stay in the Galapagos, just like you guys, by a week before and a week after. So thanks for the listing of what goes on in each city! If you could write up a list of where to get cheap food, almacens/minimercados/whatever - that would be great!
Also, if you can - go to Los Tuneles (on Isabella). I heard it's amazing!
Hi Alan
You will have a great time in August! In Puerto Ayora there is a Supermarket near the harbour. There is a fruit market on the road to the bus station, about half a mile away....there is seldom fruit in the supermarket. About two blocks back from the main road which runs along the sea front from the hospital and every evening there are cafes which have tables and plastic chairs on the street...this is the best place to buy cheap food, and it's delicious. I wouldn't bother with San Cristobal unless your liveaboard departs from there. It's very expensive to eat, the food isn't great and there are few choices. Isabela is fabulous for snorkeling with sea lions and penguins....the sea lions seem to interact much more when you snorkel and dive down compared to when you are diving. There are a couple of small shops there selling very basic supplies. Food is expensive but better quality than San Cristobal. Accommodation is cheaper than Puerto Ayora and there is a lovely beach right in front of the town. You can visit the Tunnels but we didn't so I don't know how much this is.
Anyway, enjoy,
Dominique and Kevin
Great!! Thank you for this, very helpful.
I'll probably skip San Cristobal, then!
Have you done any land-based diving except that first "test" dive?
What about equipment rental? Did you rent it in Pto Ayora and take it to San Cristobal? What sort of prices will I be seeing there? Did you rent all of the equipment, or just parts of it?
(Being a mochilero, like you guys, I am aware it's impossible to carry the equipment with me for 6 months prior to actually diving =])
Hi Alan,
The only equipment that we took were our mask and our dive computers. Equipment rental is about $45 US per day for everything. If you are doing day dives from one of the towns the cost of the dive doesn't really come down much if you have your own equipment anyway...but we only did diving in San Cristobal and on the liveaboard. You can rent your equipment on any of the islands.
If you can I would try to get a liveaboard that goes to Darwin and Wolf....if you don't have it booked already.
I would recommend that you check how long your dives are if you are going on day dives. We repeatedly saw time limits on the boards in the dive schools which say 1st dive max time limit 40 mins, and 2nd dive max time limit 30 mins.....which is insane! The cost of doing day dives is anywhere from $120 - $150 US for the "one and a half" dives!!
Good luck
Dominique and Kevin
Awhhhhhhhh
one each of the seals for both my boys please .. we have a paddling pool that will be fine for them :o) xxx