Americas in 71 days - Galapagos

Galapagos – Back to Nature

Exec Summary

Galapagos islands, the place that inspired Darwin to come up with the evolution theory, is likely going to be the highlight of our 71-day trip. Almost 2 weeks of sailing on a lovely catamaran, exploring stunning islands, diving with seals, sharks and penguins while feeling like a photographer for National Geographic. :)


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Thorough Preservation

Galapagos take your breath away. Before that custom officers take away from your luggage any food that may contain seeds not native to Galapagos. Ecuadorians take protecting Galapagos very seriously and so far they have been quite successful considering 160k visitors last year. They are even eradicating some animals and plants that have been previously introduced here by humans. You quickly learn that almost every other species here is endemic – i.e. only present here. My whole Galapagos experience was dramatically enhanced by insightful commentaries of Klara who is a keen biologist and environmentalist (sometimes almost too keen J)

I Love Boobies
eru - that custom officers take away all your seedsAmerica and US can easily to miss your flight on Friday afternoon. a month a by  

Good chance for this champ :)

Likely not much action ahead :(

To protect my ever balder head J, I bought a hat here that reads “I love boobies”. Though also true, this time, it is not so much about human anatomy but rather biology. Blue-footed boobies are super-cute white-grey birds whose strikingly bright-blue feet demonstrate how well nourished/fit they are. During the mating period, the males are patiently waiting on the ground showing off their blue feet while females fly around and pick. The bluer the feet of a male, the greater his chance to have some action with the girls.

Diving and Meeting the Highness Lonesome George

Diving on Galapagos is one of the best in the world. Not so much for corals which you should rather see in Red Sea or Caribbean, but for the animals. There are not too many places where you can dive into caves with sharks, pet turtles, chase rays or annoy lobsters in one dive. Klara has managed to get her scuba diving license in 2 days and we had a couple unforgettable dives together. We also made friends with owners of a local scuba diving school who took us inland to see giant turtles - some live up to 200 years and weight over 300 kg. We have also seen a local celebrity “Lonesome George” who is the last living member of his turtle tribe – that’s where the “lonesome” comes from. There is likely a good reason why his family is dying out – he is told not to be friendly with anybody except a guy who feeds him for past 20 years. Recently he also got a company of 2 turtle ladies though with not many tangible results yet.

Sailing Again

Despite the challenges of Caribbean sailing I wrote about in the previous blog, Klara charmed me into another one on Galapagos. It turned out to be half the price and at least twice as much fun. Only about 20 people aboard on a lovely catamaran, pretty much everybody international and under 35. We got a nice captain’s cabin, but clearly not everybody was as lucky. A Dutch couple learned a meaning of a term “economic cruise” the hard way. Their cabin leaked the first night during a storm to the point they even tried sleeping in the shower - which – not surprisingly did not work too well. We also met here a crazy German girl who had a talent to become missing after just walking down the beach – because she “did not feel like turning back” she walked for 2 days, drank rain water from leaves and ended up in hospital due to dehydration. However, for all of us, the 5 day sailing around Galapagos islands was stunning – unforgettable landscapes, myriad of animals and 2x daily snorkeling that beats most of dives elsewhere.

Tame Animals

The animals and birds here are so tame that you can take photos almost touching them with your lenses. Interestingly, 30-40 years back, when hunters were still after the seals, visitors had about 5 seconds to take pictures before the seals spotted them and ran away to the sea. It took generations after the hunting seized for seals to get friendly. Apparently, their tameness took on special dimension - the seals now even penetrate towns. They were lying all over the ferry terminal including the benches for passengers when we arrived. Passing became a challenge for several travelers as the seals in a pack became quite territorial. Eventually, a 2m/120kg brave local guy pushed his way through while shouting and waiving his cap heavily, dramatically increasing chances for others to get to their boats.

Spanish Gurus

Unlike most other travelers here, to this date, our Spanish skills are pathetic. Other than learning numbers, we really don’t speak much which sometimes results in somewhat awkward situations. Clearly after couple weeks, Klara has felt that she has picked up the lingo. Last night, to my surprise, she confidently stepped forward to help my struggling conversation with an old hostel owner. After Klara’s “free habitation agreemento” intervention, the lady looked more puzzled than a dear in the headlights. After trying hard for couple more minutes, we eventually capitulated with combination of polite smiles, diligent nodding and “manana” (tomorrow) keyword.