Our time in the Galápagos was a blur of jaw-dropping scenery and exotic wildlife. We decided to do a cruise as we realized this would allow the greatest amount of time spent in the most eclectic regions. The islands are fairly spread out, so traveling on a cruise boat is easier than day trips via the public ferries.
Also, many islands are restricted and can only be accessed by small dinghies with a naturalist guide who has permission from the National Park Service. So, even though we aren’t the biggest fans of cruise boats, we opted for 5 days and 4 nights on the Sea Star Journey boat.
Our boat took the route below:
The cruise was intimate as there were only 14 guests total, including ourselves. Sailing this way meant loads of time together, and luckily, we got along great with everyone!
Our group consisted of a French family of four and eight Chinese women. We ate every meal with the French family and got to know them well. The dad, Olivier, was fluent in English and his wife, Valerie, had a warm personality and spoke better English than she gave herself credit. Their two boys shared Mike’s love of snorkeling and the six of us enjoyed conversations ranging from politics to the possibility of us moving to Paris to Thanksgiving traditions. The Chinese ladies were incredible photographers, and they sent us all of their photos each night (most of the wildlife pictures in this post came from them...shoutout to Yu and Cally!) and they invited us to visit them during our time in China next spring.
With a day on each end of the cruise dedicated to getting on and off of the boat, we really had three full days to explore. Each night, our naturalist guide broke down the next day’s itinerary on a whiteboard so the guests were all on the same page. They kept us busy!
Day 1 - Santa Cruz Island
Highlights: seeing blue-footed boobies for the first time, getting up close and personal with the sea lions, and having our dinghy breakdown in a cove while watching sharks swim beneath us.
(click the right side of the photo carousel below to view more photos —>)
Day 2 - Genovesa Island
Highlights: fur sea lions, thousands of birds (so many that Mike got pooped on), snorkeling with too many sharks, and kayaking.
(click the right side of the photo carousel below to view more photos —>)
Day 3 - Bartolomé Island
Highlights: Mars-like scenery, snorkeling with hundreds of starfish, and a penguin sighting.
(click the right side of the photo carousel below to view more photos —>)
The final day involved an early wake-up call to go see the giant tortoises back on Santa Cruz Island before heading to Baltra airport for our flight back to Quito.
The giant tortoises were as promised...GIANT!
Galápagos tortoises can weigh more than 600 pounds and can live for over 200 years, and the population of tortoises in the Galápagos is critically endangered. Unfortunately, explorers and pirates tended to take the smaller of the tortoises because they were easier to transport, but in the end, the smaller ones happened to be all of the females, making reproduction a mechanical difficulty. The islands now have strict laws about the tortoises; for example, even if a tortoise is on private property, the tortoise itself belongs to the National Park Service.
We have to admit they were a bit anticlimactic and considering we were watching them at 6 a.m., we were craving coffee and thinking of our upcoming flight, but the tortoises shelled out their fair share of entertainment nonetheless.
Our trip to the Galápagos Islands served as a healthy reminder of two surprising things: one, it’s fun for the two of us, as English-speaking Americans, to be the odd ones out every once in a while; and two, the more we can do to protect the oceans, the better.
When (not if) we do it again, here are three things we would do differently!
Minimize the number of trips between Baltra airport and Puerto Ayora (the awesome, quaint town on Santa Cruz island). Getting from the airport to the city involves a bus/taxi to a ferry to another bus/taxi, which takes at least an hour. It’s just a bit of a hassle, and we did it one too many times.
Visit during the “hot” season, from January through May. Although we were comfortable during the land excursions, the water was COLD! We wore wetsuits while snorkeling and still had a blast, but we would’ve liked to stay in the water longer than we did.
Instead of going so far north to Genovesa island, we would probably explore the western islands that are closer together. Our cruise spent a lot of time sailing, and quite a few people on the boat were seasick. Plus, the less time you spend sailing, the more time you are on one of the 15+ islands!
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