Galapagos by Denise

After visiting Ecuador I started my Galapagos adventure with a quick morning flight from Cuenca to Guayaquil, a thorough bag check (no nasty seeds or food) and then we were whisked off to join our small boat – the M/V Santa Cruz at San Cristobel Island.  

By 3.30 we had chosen our snorkelling gear, had lunch, had a briefing about life aboard the ship and were making our first wet landing and swimming with sea lions and seeing blue footed boobies – what a thrill!

We usually had 2 landings a day, each for a couple of hours and each involved a little walk on the sandy or volcanic beach with the marine biologist and all involved great wildlife viewing. We always maintained our distance from the wildlife, but clearly they hadn’t listened to the briefing and regularly came far too close to us… This was one of the very special experiences of being up close and personal to these wonderful animals and birds who are incredibly curious and not the least bit scared of us.

The Boat…

The staff on board the M/V Santa Cruz were fantastic and the 86 passengers were grouped into small teams of 12 – 14 and named after the birds and wildlife.  Each night we were given a programme for the following day and each day was different as far as terrain, wildlife viewing, birdlife and activities.  The boat had an Open Bridge so we were welcome up there at any time.  The food was excellent and offered a wide variety of choices including 5 course meals at night.  The water temperature was 18-20 degrees.

Santa Cruz Island

We disembarked and the and naturalists completed their jobs by giving us a tour around the Charles Darwin Centre and escorted us through the cute town of Puerto Ayora, to the jetty, panga for 5 minutes and then boardwalk to Finch Bay.   The town has some funky restaurants and souvenir shops and a neat handicraft shop with expensive but beautifully made weavings, woven baskets and other fabulous goods - well worth a look, located at the Charles Darwin Foundation end of town.

Finch Bay

I could easily have stayed several days here for a relax after the cruise.  There are lots of activities available – eg scuba diving, horseback riding, hiking, sea kayaking, birdwatching.   While staying at Finch Bay a visit to the farm in the highlands and National Park to see the giant tortoises in the wild is an absolute highlight.   

The Galapagos Islands portion was a real highlight and an experience never to be forgotten.  A visit to Ecuador should include these wonderful islands so rich in wildlife and fantastic landscapes.