Featured Image: The most famous Galapagos land animal — the Giant Tortoise

You Need to be Rich to Travel to the Galapagos (NOT)

The rumour is that travelling to the Galapagos is reserved for the super-rich — tour companies will say that you must take a cruise ship around the islands and tender off to individual islands for day trips. I decided to prove them all wrong and just fly (solo) to the major airport, stay in AirBnbs on the habitable islands and take day trips. The result was one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. What an adventure! First landed at Baltra island airport (GPS) on an airstrip built by the US during WWII to service the S. Pacific. Baltra is a tiny island resembling the Mojave but you take a ferry across a narrow waterway to the main island of Santa Cruz where I pitched up for a couple days ($20 / night — Hostel El Paraiso ## — the manager, Diana, is from Santiago de Cuba). Here is a good breakdown on the costs of a land-based Galapagos adventure

The giant tortoises of Galapagos are among the most famous of the unique fauna of the Islands. While giant tortoises once thrived on most of the continents of the world, the Galapagos tortoises now represent one of the remaining two groups of giant tortoises in the entire world — the other group living on Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean. The largest living species of tortoise, the Galápagos tortoise can weigh over 250 kg (550 lb) and live for over a century. The Galapagos Islands were named for them; the old Spanish word galapago meant saddle, a term early explorers used for the tortoises due to the shape of their shells. There are only 6 mammal species (that can be found on land) that are considered native to the islands.More detailed information on the Galapagos Islands Perhaps our first association with the word “Galapagos” is the name “Darwin.” Darwin’s visit to the Galapagos Islands had a resounding impact on the formation of his Theory of Natural Selection. He was somewhat surprised to determine the tortoises on each island are different — same species but different physical traits — here’s a great article related to this subject. The islands are believed to be home to between 552 and 614 native species of native plants and approximately 825 introduced species, the majority introduced by humans. More than 100 of the introduced species have become established in the wild, with many of them extremely invasive and of major concern. Three introduced plant species have been eradicated. [rev_slider GPSlife] One of the first animals you will encounter is sea lions — there are 50,000 of them. Then there are Galapagos Fur Seals that are much less abundant in Galapagos than Sea Lions, but their population numbers are similar. Fur Seals typically prefer more rugged, rockier, and shadier shores than sea lions in areas that less likely to be frequented by people. Whereas the Sea Lions hang out on beaches, docks, streets, hotel pools, etc., the Fur Seals can be viewed in places like Kicker Rock (below). Many species of whales hang out in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, including the Sperm Whale, Killer Whale, False Killer Whales, the Pilot Whale, as well as several species of dolphins. There are two dolphin species that I encountered off Pinnacle Rock — Bottle-nosed Dolphin and the Common White-bellied Dolphin. More Reasons to travel to the Galapagos my way

The center of Santa Cruz is much more lush than the coastal areas because highlands catch the rain clouds. You could take a taxi from the arrival point on the north side of the island but I chose a government bus to the bustling town of Puerto Ayora — it is the biggest town on the islands and reminds me of a Mexican resort. There are 4 inhabited islands of which I visited and stayed for 3 nights on 3 islands: Santa Cruz, Isabela & San Christobal — the fourth island, Floreana, is inhabited by 110 1/2 (February, 2018) people but is a slightly longer boat ride from Puerto Ayora (my gateway). Galapagos Slideshow

The Galapagos archipelago is located at a point where major ocean currents come together, mingling nutrient rich cool waters from the south, warm currents from the north, and a deep cold current from the west. This convergence of ocean currents has combined flora and fauna from contrasting environments, and given rise to unique marine species. Nearly 20% of marine life in Galapagos is endemic, found nowhere else on earth. This level of endemism is rare for marine species, which tend to migrate and intermingle to a much larger degree than terrestrial (land-based) species.

Blue Footed Boobie The creatures on the islands don’t seem to have any fear of humans. You don’t need a fancy zoom lens to take amazing pictures. Mockingbirds, warblers and sea lions come right up to you, and in places, it’s hard not to step on the marine iguanas: they don’t get out of the way. It’s weird.

Yellow Warbler taking an interest in my pancake The Galapagos is a “hot spot”. Hot spots occur when one of the Earth’s plates moves over an unusually hot part of the Earth’s mantle. These hot areas are usually relatively stationary and result in large amounts of magma rising up, piercing a hole in the plate to form a volcano. As the plates move, a series of volcanoes can form. This is how the Galapagos Islands were formed. The islands are covered with volcanoes. The South American plate collides with the Nazca plate with a southerly movement of 11cm per year. Over thousands of years volcanoes are created in a different but close proximity to the older ones (Note the 6 volcanoes on Isabela on the map above where Sierra Negra is the newest one which last erupted in 2005 (which I hiked around — see below). Video– Lava Tunnels on the south shore of Isabela Video– More Lava Tunnels on the south shore of Isabela

Lava Tunnels on the south shore of Isabela overgrown with organ cactus The Galapagos Islands are home to the world’s only marine iguana and the most northern-living penguin. Coral beds share the same waters as fur seals. Galapagos is one of the only places where pelagic species (species that live neither close to the bottom of the ocean nor near the shore) such as tunas, manta rays, and hammerhead sharks can be seen close to shore. No other site in the world showcases such a diversity of marine life forms.

Marine Iguanas are not pretty creatures Additionally, geological and biological processes in Galapagos have helped create a high variety of habitats relative to other marine areas in the eastern Pacific. Coastal areas include vertical cliffs, sandy beaches, rocky shores, mangroves, coral reefs, lagoons, and salt flats. Submarine mountains, plateaus, ridges, and valleys provide habitat to an array of marine communities, while the open ocean waters attract stocks of pelagic fish.

Snorkeling

I had never done any serious snorkeling until I visited these islands. The water is so clear and the sea creatures so abundant you just don’t want to get out of the water. One person described it as jumping into the aquarium in your dentist’s office. I snorkeled in several places on different islands eg) the lava tunnels on Isabela, Kicker Rock off San Christobal and San Bartolome (among others). Here I am Chasing a Sea Turtle near the lava tunnels (video taken by 2 new friends from Cordoba, Argentina — Victoria & Sebastian): Chasing a Sea Turtle

Kicker Rock is the remains of a volcanic cone about 2 hours from San Cristóbal. Snorkeling along the rocks and through its channel, we encountered numerous sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, spotted eagle rays, porcupine fish, and numerous white- and black-tipped reef sharks cruising around.

It was definitely the best snorkeling near San Cristobal but just look above the waterline for various Blue-Footed Boobies, Frigatebirds, California Sea Lions and Red-billed Tropic birds.

Isabela Island

My favourite island for snorkeling was Isabela because you do not have to find someone at the dock to take you to a location or find an organized tour. Just rent a bike, pack a lunch and water, grab a towel and head south beside the ocean inside the National Park. The area is pristine, the sea is stunning and you can easily find beach spots where it will be just you and the marine iguanas and sea lions. (ps…you can also hire a taxi to take you and hope he’ll actually return when he says he will). Another location is along the boardwalk that meanders thru the mangroves and where the launches arrive on the island — that area is just full of life. Snorkeling near the lava tunnels I encountered a huge ray, sea lions, sea horses, sea turtles and thousands of colourful fish. [rev_slider GPSscenes] Puerto Villamil is the only town on the island with hotels and guest houses. I stayed at the Hostel Las Brisas at $20/night but you can find better accommodation than that. In addition to incredible beaches, lagoons and the lava tunnels (about an hour away by boat), the other close attraction is the Sierra Negra Volcano, rising nearly 4,500 feet high. It is one of 6 major volcanoes on Isabela. Just grab a cab and go the trailhead and climb to the edge of the caldera to peer into its massive crater; with a diameter of 6-plus miles, the crater reigns as the second largest on the planet. Though the volcano remains active today (it is still steaming), there hasn’t been any recorded activity since 2005.

Rim of the Sierra Negra Volcano (Ecuadorian tourist from Guayaquil)

San Cristóbal

You may be surprised to be greeted by desert-like vegetation on the islands – you might be expecting to experience the lush greenery that appears in the equatorial zone like mainland Ecuador. In fact, the majority of the archipelago’s land area is covered by the brown and grey vegetation often found in deserts — remember I mentioned above Baltra looked like the Mojave to me. The Galapagos Islands are situated in the Pacific Dry Belt, and in average years only the highest altitudes of the larger islands receive enough rainfall to support tropical plant life. San Cristóbal is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, as well as one of the oldest geologically. So, San Cristóbal has deeper soil and higher elevations than the other islands. Around the shores of the island is dry zones but the interior is very lush and green and a humid zone with Scalesia trees and dense with their branches adorned with mosses, liverworts, and epiphytes—non-parasitic plants that use larger trees only for support. The humid zone is only found on San Cristóbal and the larger, higher islands. Baltra Island is like the majority of islands in the archipelago that do not rise in elevation above the arid zone. I stayed at a AirBnb that I call Pepe’s place (actually Palma del Mar). It was a superb 2nd floor apartment (Video below). Pepe had a pickup truck and he, his son-in-law and I toured the whole island — it would be impossible to hire a taxi to take you on the tour these guys took me on. Pepe owns 39ha (96 acres) of lush highlands where he grows mangos, Papaya and mostly coffee — an incredible piece of property. (Video) My Accomodation — Pepe’s Apartment on San Cristobal

Pepe Admiring Touring his Property

Bartolome Island

Some of the most incredible views in the Galapagos, and some of the most famous wildlife around and best snorkeling are on Bartolomé Island. There are no accomodations on Bartolome so the only way to get there is by boat (one-day cruise) — I took a one-day catamaran tour with about 25 other travelers to the island. A stairway was built to take you to a viewpoint on the island to view the lava cones and sparse landscape on one of the youngest parts of the archipelago. It is a volcanic islet just off the east coast of Santiago Island.

Pinnacle Rock Snorkeling offshore around Pinnacle Rock we encountered a whole range of sea life including dolphins, sea turtles, penguins and sea horses. Pinnacle Rock was the only place i saw penguins — they are the northern most species of penguins about the size of a sparrow — I tried to follow them underwater but discovered they move like a rocket.