4-20 through 4-22-10: We left Cusco, Peru en route to Quito, Ecuador. We spent a few days in Quito attempting to line up a good deal on a land-based tour of the Galapagos Islands. We decided a land-based tour would be better for us and that it supports the local economy of the islands better than cruises do. We would travel to 4 islands over an 8-1/2 day period staying in hotels and going out on daily excursions by land or boat to various attractions. This was going to be the grand finale for our year abroad and we were thrilled to end it this way.4-23-10 (Day 1 San Cristobal Island, Galapagos): We flew from Quito to San Cristobal to begin our adventures on this beautiful, hot, humid archipelago. Interestingly, the Galapagos Islands are the only place you can see penguins north of the equator, submarine reptiles, and cormorants with flippers. Our guide met us at the airport and transported us to our hotel. After lunch we visited the Charles Darwin Interpretation Center and from there we stopped at Playa Man so we could play in the ocean the rest of the afternoon.
4-24-10 (Day 2 San Cristobal Island, Galapagos): Today’s agenda included a boat tour to Isla Lobos, Kicker Rock, and Manglecito Beach. On the way to these various sites we saw blue-footed boobies, Galapagos penguins, and frigatebirds. At Isla Lobos, we were able to snorkel with friendly sea lions swimming in our midst as we looked for interesting sea life. The sea lions were very curious and would swim right up to you then swerve away at the last minute. We moved on to Kicker Rock named for its shape; two large barren rocks rising out of the ocean that resemble a boot. Here, Mike and a couple of other members of the tour went scuba diving while the rest of the group snorkeled the channel between the 2 rocks. The bottom of the ocean was 65 feet below us (where the divers went); this was the deepest water the kids have snorkeled! We saw lots of colorful fish, a school of eagle rays traveling together, Galapagos sharks, and sea turtles. In addition to what the snorkelers saw, the divers were able to see hammerhead sharks and also an octopus. We ended the excursion at Manglecito beach were some of us walked the beach while others snorkeled in the bay looking for baby sharks that like to rest along the ocean bottom there.
4-25-10 (Day 3 San Cristobal Island, Galapagos): Today we headed into the highlands by car to La Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado; a tortoise preserve where these gentle giants roam free. Next we visited El Junco, a freshwater lake located in the crater of an old volcano; it is the only freshwater lake on the island. We learned that frigatebirds’ feathers don’t have the oily protection that most sea birds have so they must either skim the surface of this freshwater lake or fly up in the clouds to wash off accumulated salt from their feathers. We saw a couple of frigatebirds flying over the lake going through the cleaning process. Another interesting fact about frigatebirds is that they can’t dive for their food like other seabirds (due to not having the oily protection on their feathers) so you will see them trailing other birds, like the boobie, waiting for the moment to steal their catch. We also saw how introduced or invasive plant species like the blackberry compete with the endemic plants and overtake the land. The last stop was Frigatebird Hill (Cerro de las Tijeretas) and snorkeled in Tijeretas Bay. We saw sea turtles and a purple octopus. There was a statue of Charles Darwin above the bay marking the spot where he first landed in the Galapagos on September 15th 1835.
4-26-10 (Day 4 Isabela Island, Galapagos): The family flew to Isabela (the largest island which has the shape of a seahorse) were we met our new guide, Zolange. We took a boat ride to Tintoreras where we snorkeled looking for reef sharks resting along little nooks on the sea floor. We also spotted marine iguanas and sting rays. Upon returning to town, we rented bikes and rode to the tortoise hatchery then to the Wall of Tears. This wall was erected by convicts in the first half of the century when that area served as a penal colony. Many prisoners died during the work and the construction earned its infamous name Wall of Tears or Muro de las Lagrimas. We returned to town after a long day of sight-seeing and biking. The dirt road had several sandy spots along our route that caused Gaby and Luke to each take a tumble near dusk, ouch. Accidents aside, the ride was neat because we saw several wild tortoises and a couple of marine iguanas next to the dirt road.
4-27-10 (Day 5 Isabela Island, Galapagos): Today we rode on horseback to Sierra Negra Volcano. Sierra Negra is the 2nd largest volcano in the world. Our horses weren’t well-trained at all though. We had a horseman at the rear of the group that would fling his rope at the horses’ rumps to spur them on which would cause the rear horses to ride up on the lead horses that weren’t maintaining a good pace. Gaby and Luke enjoyed it when their horses would begin galloping ahead but then Dad would tell them to keep the horses from passing his ‘lead’ horse. Mike told the guide they were great vacas (cows) because they acted more like cows being herded from the rear by the rancher LOL. On the return trip from the volcano, we passed 2 men who had been out hunting wild pigs and had them in bags on their horses. After returning to our hotel, the kids and I relaxed and swam at Playa Grande which was immediately in front of our hotel. We enjoyed playing in the surf and building sand castles/structures on the beach. The beach was protected from the open sea and the sea bottom was level for a good distance so I wasn’t worried about the kids getting dragged out to sea.
4-28-10 (Day 6 Isabela Island, Galapagos): We traveled south of Puerto Villamil and headed by boat towards the southern tip of Isabela to an area known as Los Tuneles (The Tunnels). This is where the hot molten lava reached the cool Pacific waters and cooled instantly to form a series of tunnels, bridges, and other interesting lava formations. It is one of the most interesting snorkeling destinations in all of the Galapagos. To get to Los Tuneles, our boat had to surf large waves as it entered a narrow channel to reach the calm waters beyond. We walked along some of the lava formations and saw blue-footed boobies performing a mating dance among the numerous cacti. We snorkeled and saw various fish, sea turtles, a shark, a huge manta ray, and sting rays.
4-29-10 (Day 7 Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos): We traveled by ferry boat (our guide included) to Santa Cruz. A trip to the highlands was in store for us; we visited another tortoise reserve followed by an underground hike through a lava tube. At one point, we had to crawl on hands-and-knees to get through the narrowed opening. The lava tube formed when the outer lava layer cooled off 1st while the molten lava continued to run its course through the middle thus leaving behind an empty chamber. Another attraction was Los Gemelos (The Twins), 2 large sinkholes where the earth collapsed secondary to a chamber located beneath likely filled with gas. Next we went on a boat tour of Tortuga Bay. Everyone went snorkeling again except Gaby who wanted a break from the constant snorkeling! After snorkeling we hiked to a local, popular swimming/diving spot called Las Grietas. It is a small canyon no more than 25 feet wide with a deep pool filled with cool brackish water. Divers would jump from varying heights to land in the pool; if their nerves and skills allowed them to. We saw a brave or dumb diver, depending on how you think about it, jump from the top (about 65 feet) and land effortlessly into the water. Mike and the kids managed to jump from an astounding height of 10 to 15 feet!
4-30-10 (Day 8 Floreana Island day trip, Galapagos): The kids and I traveled about 2-1/2 hours to the island of Floreana while Mike stayed behind to scuba dive at Gordon Rocks. He was lucky enough to see several sea turtles and hammerhead sharks up close(see videos). During our boat trip, Gaby, Luke, and I were fortunate to see 2 dolphins jump out of the water; the kids definitely thought that was cool. Upon arriving at Floreana, we took a car up to the highlands to see more tortoises and old pirate caves. After lunch on the island, we went by boat to look for penguins, sea lions, and birds at various rock islands in the ocean. Our last stop was at a little bay called Champion so we could snorkel with sea lions and their pups. We had a wonderful time swimming with them; it is amazing how curious and unafraid they were of us (I should have bought one of those cheap Kodak underwater camera the day before because the photo ops were awesome!). Gaby would retrieve a shell from the bottom of the bay, drop it, and watch a sea lion retrieve it and continue playing with it; this is why they are known as the golden retrievers of the ocean.
5-1-10 (Day 9 Santa Cruz Island then return to Quito): The family visited the Charles Darwin Research Station in the a.m. The station featured an info center, a museum, and a tortoise enclosure where you were able to meet these Galapagos giants face-to-face. Lonesome George was also found here with the 2 females that they want him to breed with to salvage his sub-species (there are a total of 11 Galapagos tortoise sub-species). He is the last of his line and the 2 females are of a sub-species that are the closest to to his DNA makeup. So far Lonesome George has been unsuccessful in breeding attempts and it is unknown why he isn't interested in mating. Afterwards a car drove us across the island to take the ferry that crosses the canal to Isla Baltra where the airport is located. After a short bus ride to the airport, we boared our return flight to Quito. We spent the night in Quito and prepared our luggage for our flight tomorrow to Orlando, Florida.
A CHANGE IN ITINERARY: We decided that the Galapagos would be our last trip in South America instead of staying through the end of May as originally planned. Mike and I chose to take the kids to Disney World in Orlando the 1st week of May as a reward for being awesome world travelers. Next we would visit both sides of the family before returning to normal life in Colorado June 1st. A great way to end a wonderfully amazing, sabbatical year!!! THE END/FIN
