Galapagos
Galapagos Islands weren't on my original travel plan. But once you get to Ecuador and you are so near (less than 1000 km, 1.5h flight), you start to think about it and this thought doesn't leave you till when you buy an airplane ticket. My big concern was the cost of this trip. Galapagos are expensive even if you try to travel on the budget. But once you buy the airplane ticket and you pay 100$ taxes to land on the islands, there are many options to visit the islands without a guide.
I arrived at the Baltra airport, on Santa Cruz island. A bus was waiting for the new tourists just in front of the airport for a short ride to the ferry to cross the sea. On the other part, we took another a bus to Puerto Ayora, the only city of this island. The ride to the city was spectacular, with lot of endemic trees. You realise immediately you are in a very unique place. Finding a hostel was quite easy. As soon as I got off the bus, some women offered me different room options, most of them at 15$/night. I took one room near the Malecon (promenade), I immediately wore my bikini and I went to Tortuga bay, a white sand beach where they told I could see iguanas, pelicans and crabs. The first beach you come to is the surfers paradise, with big waves and blue-green water. In this period of the year the water is quite warm and even if it wasn't a very sunny day, I really enjoyed swimming in this water. Then I walked till the second beach, where the water was very calm and you can see many animals. While walking I saw an iguana and I took some photos of her (let's say that I made her a photo book) , but just turning around I saw dozens of iguanas, many pelicans and millions of red or black crabs. Iguanas are very quiet, you can easily get near, sometimes they look at you and then they turn showing their most photogenic profile to the camera. I swam next to some pelicans, they weren't afraid at all, and sometimes they were just flying over my head. Crabs get easily scared, as soon as you try to get near, they run away from you. They way they walk is just so funny and when they do it all together it seems like a dance.
On the beach something funny (or terrible, depends from the point of view) happened. I was talking with a local guy in Spanish and after few minutes he told me "sababa". I didn't understand immediately, then he asked me if I am Israeli. I asked him how he did know and he told me I do have Israeli accent! How is that possible? My Spanish is a mixture of Italian and Spanish, no Hebrew at all! The guy also told me that all the israelis come here in February, so I arrived in time ;-)
I spent the first evening with a guy I first met in Bolivia. It was his last day at the Galapagos, so he could give me lot of travel tips. On the second day I visited the Charles Darwin centre , where many researchers work. The centre hosts many turtles and iguanas of different species. Here they also collect turtles eggs from the different islands to protect them from predators. Seeing the famous giant turtles is just another wonderful experience of this trip. I could stay observing them for hours, even if they don't really do much. Almost all of them were still. There was a couple that gave a pretty good show... Soon the centre will have new little giant turtles!
On the third day, I took a day tour to another island, San Cristobal, to snorkel at the Leon Dormito (Kicker rock). This is one of the best places to snorkel and see marine life. You can easily see thousands of different fishes and if you are lucky enough also sharks, manta rays, sea lions and turtles. While swimming some sea lions came to play with us. They love playing with people, swimming together, making some aquatic acrobatics and imitating your movements. They are so awkward on dry land, but very agile in the water. Sometimes they also try to bite you, so it's better to keep at least one meter distance from them. Swimming with sea lions was absolutely the best part of this tour. At the second position I would probably put swimming with turtles. I saw only one, but he came very near to us and it was an amazing experience. Sharks swam far away, but we were able to see some in deeper water. And then hundreds of fishes...On the second part of the tour, they took us to Manglesito, a beach were sea lions and marine iguanas come to rest.
After the tour, I spent one night in San Cristobal island. The town is very little, with lot of souvenir shops and restaurants. In just one hour or even less, I visited all the town. The day after, I woke up early and I went to the Loberia, a beach full of sea lions. The truth is that there were more sea lions in town. They think (and most probably they are also right) the town is theirs. They lie down everywhere they want : at the port, on the boats, on the benches, on the beach, on the street. Walking around in the town you just need to be careful were you put your foot. Sometimes you are just distracted looking around, that you don't see that right in front of you there are some fat sea lions. But don't worry, they will scream at you before you get too near. Sometimes they also spit or sneeze right in front of you. And then, they smell, they really smell bad... It's better not to sit on the bench where a sea lion lied down just before! At the beach instead I wanted to take a picture of a sea lion that was swimming in the sea. I was quite distant, at least 8-10 meters, but he didn't really appreciate and he started running after me! Fortunately on the beach he was very very slow, so I could just walk away from him. Then I was lucky enough to see two blue footed boobies (Piqueros de patas azules). Simply beautiful. Then I visited the Interpretation center, a museum about the history of the Galapagos Islands and the evolution theory. The historical part was very interesting, because I didn't really know much. I didn't know for example that many different countries wanted to own the islands. At the end, Ecuador got them but it almost rented the islands to the the US for 99 years at 15 millions dollars. They also built a jail in one of the islands, one of the cruelest of Ecuador (but with a beautiful landscape).
In the afternoon I took the boat to come back to Santa Cruz island. As soon as I arrived I went to talk with the agency where I bought my tour, complaining that we didn't visit all the places I paid for. They checked with the agency on the other island and when they realised I was right, they soon offered me a free tour for the day after. I was very happy, because every tour here is very expensive. The morning after I woke up very early, I took a boat taxi to get to Las griettas, a water channel created between volcanic rocks. I got there at 7:30 am after 30 walk. No one else was there (of course, tourists at that time still sleep), so I could enjoy of this natural swimming pool with crystalline water alone. After swimming for a while, I got back to town for my tour. They took us to snorkel at the Loberia, the sea lions beach. Snorkel here was simply amazing, full of fishes of different colours and sea lions. Then they took us to an excursion in the mainland, but the captain of the boat told me that the place wasn't that beautiful and if I wanted he could take me to swim with turtles, while the group visited the island. Of course, I went with captain and the place he took me was full of turtles, manta rays, fishes and snakes (or anguille, not sure). The next stop was at the Las Griettas, the same place I visited in the morning. But this time was full of tourist and very noisy. I'm really happy I visited this laguna early in the morning. After one morning in the water, we spent the afternoon in the upper part of the island, where tens of giant turtles live freely. Some of them are 100 years old or even more. Then we visited Las gemellas, 2 twins craters created by the collapse of volcanic rocks, and the Tunnel de lava, a tunnel formed by the lava flow.
I can't leave the Galapagos without diving in its waters, so I booked for today a diving tour at Seymour Norte. The water there is green and crystalline. Even from the boat was possible to see the sea bottom. After some explanations, we wore all the equipment and we jumped into the water. Unfortunately the instructors weren't really good and diving with them wasn't a really good experience. First of all we went down too fast, with no enough time to compensate. My ears started hurting me. I made a signal to the instructor, but nothing. Then we dived all together, but I didn't really feel safe. They didn't really look after you during the dive. At some point I just wanted to end it soon. It was my second dive, the first one was at Cesarea with a friend of mine, diving instructor. That time the dive was really good, no pain at all, no fear, really safe. The instructor makes the difference. Besides this we didn't see anything, only few fishes. Then we had some free time to snorkel and this was absolutely the best part. I don't know why before they took us in a spot without fishes, while where I snorkeled, just 200m distance, was full of life : sea lions, sharks, turtles, manta rays, marine stars and thousands of fishes. While swimming, next to me a group of 10 sharks passed (they are not dangerous here). Then I saw a sea lion that wanted to play with a shark, but it just swam away from him! Very funny!
Now I'm at the hostel, outside it's raining... Last thing I expected to see here is the rain, but it rained almost every day since when I arrived. I hope I will be luckier in the next days... But I can't complain, I'm already very lucky to be here!
I arrived at the Baltra airport, on Santa Cruz island. A bus was waiting for the new tourists just in front of the airport for a short ride to the ferry to cross the sea. On the other part, we took another a bus to Puerto Ayora, the only city of this island. The ride to the city was spectacular, with lot of endemic trees. You realise immediately you are in a very unique place. Finding a hostel was quite easy. As soon as I got off the bus, some women offered me different room options, most of them at 15$/night. I took one room near the Malecon (promenade), I immediately wore my bikini and I went to Tortuga bay, a white sand beach where they told I could see iguanas, pelicans and crabs. The first beach you come to is the surfers paradise, with big waves and blue-green water. In this period of the year the water is quite warm and even if it wasn't a very sunny day, I really enjoyed swimming in this water. Then I walked till the second beach, where the water was very calm and you can see many animals. While walking I saw an iguana and I took some photos of her (let's say that I made her a photo book) , but just turning around I saw dozens of iguanas, many pelicans and millions of red or black crabs. Iguanas are very quiet, you can easily get near, sometimes they look at you and then they turn showing their most photogenic profile to the camera. I swam next to some pelicans, they weren't afraid at all, and sometimes they were just flying over my head. Crabs get easily scared, as soon as you try to get near, they run away from you. They way they walk is just so funny and when they do it all together it seems like a dance.
On the beach something funny (or terrible, depends from the point of view) happened. I was talking with a local guy in Spanish and after few minutes he told me "sababa". I didn't understand immediately, then he asked me if I am Israeli. I asked him how he did know and he told me I do have Israeli accent! How is that possible? My Spanish is a mixture of Italian and Spanish, no Hebrew at all! The guy also told me that all the israelis come here in February, so I arrived in time ;-)
I spent the first evening with a guy I first met in Bolivia. It was his last day at the Galapagos, so he could give me lot of travel tips. On the second day I visited the Charles Darwin centre , where many researchers work. The centre hosts many turtles and iguanas of different species. Here they also collect turtles eggs from the different islands to protect them from predators. Seeing the famous giant turtles is just another wonderful experience of this trip. I could stay observing them for hours, even if they don't really do much. Almost all of them were still. There was a couple that gave a pretty good show... Soon the centre will have new little giant turtles!
On the third day, I took a day tour to another island, San Cristobal, to snorkel at the Leon Dormito (Kicker rock). This is one of the best places to snorkel and see marine life. You can easily see thousands of different fishes and if you are lucky enough also sharks, manta rays, sea lions and turtles. While swimming some sea lions came to play with us. They love playing with people, swimming together, making some aquatic acrobatics and imitating your movements. They are so awkward on dry land, but very agile in the water. Sometimes they also try to bite you, so it's better to keep at least one meter distance from them. Swimming with sea lions was absolutely the best part of this tour. At the second position I would probably put swimming with turtles. I saw only one, but he came very near to us and it was an amazing experience. Sharks swam far away, but we were able to see some in deeper water. And then hundreds of fishes...On the second part of the tour, they took us to Manglesito, a beach were sea lions and marine iguanas come to rest.
After the tour, I spent one night in San Cristobal island. The town is very little, with lot of souvenir shops and restaurants. In just one hour or even less, I visited all the town. The day after, I woke up early and I went to the Loberia, a beach full of sea lions. The truth is that there were more sea lions in town. They think (and most probably they are also right) the town is theirs. They lie down everywhere they want : at the port, on the boats, on the benches, on the beach, on the street. Walking around in the town you just need to be careful were you put your foot. Sometimes you are just distracted looking around, that you don't see that right in front of you there are some fat sea lions. But don't worry, they will scream at you before you get too near. Sometimes they also spit or sneeze right in front of you. And then, they smell, they really smell bad... It's better not to sit on the bench where a sea lion lied down just before! At the beach instead I wanted to take a picture of a sea lion that was swimming in the sea. I was quite distant, at least 8-10 meters, but he didn't really appreciate and he started running after me! Fortunately on the beach he was very very slow, so I could just walk away from him. Then I was lucky enough to see two blue footed boobies (Piqueros de patas azules). Simply beautiful. Then I visited the Interpretation center, a museum about the history of the Galapagos Islands and the evolution theory. The historical part was very interesting, because I didn't really know much. I didn't know for example that many different countries wanted to own the islands. At the end, Ecuador got them but it almost rented the islands to the the US for 99 years at 15 millions dollars. They also built a jail in one of the islands, one of the cruelest of Ecuador (but with a beautiful landscape).
In the afternoon I took the boat to come back to Santa Cruz island. As soon as I arrived I went to talk with the agency where I bought my tour, complaining that we didn't visit all the places I paid for. They checked with the agency on the other island and when they realised I was right, they soon offered me a free tour for the day after. I was very happy, because every tour here is very expensive. The morning after I woke up very early, I took a boat taxi to get to Las griettas, a water channel created between volcanic rocks. I got there at 7:30 am after 30 walk. No one else was there (of course, tourists at that time still sleep), so I could enjoy of this natural swimming pool with crystalline water alone. After swimming for a while, I got back to town for my tour. They took us to snorkel at the Loberia, the sea lions beach. Snorkel here was simply amazing, full of fishes of different colours and sea lions. Then they took us to an excursion in the mainland, but the captain of the boat told me that the place wasn't that beautiful and if I wanted he could take me to swim with turtles, while the group visited the island. Of course, I went with captain and the place he took me was full of turtles, manta rays, fishes and snakes (or anguille, not sure). The next stop was at the Las Griettas, the same place I visited in the morning. But this time was full of tourist and very noisy. I'm really happy I visited this laguna early in the morning. After one morning in the water, we spent the afternoon in the upper part of the island, where tens of giant turtles live freely. Some of them are 100 years old or even more. Then we visited Las gemellas, 2 twins craters created by the collapse of volcanic rocks, and the Tunnel de lava, a tunnel formed by the lava flow.
I can't leave the Galapagos without diving in its waters, so I booked for today a diving tour at Seymour Norte. The water there is green and crystalline. Even from the boat was possible to see the sea bottom. After some explanations, we wore all the equipment and we jumped into the water. Unfortunately the instructors weren't really good and diving with them wasn't a really good experience. First of all we went down too fast, with no enough time to compensate. My ears started hurting me. I made a signal to the instructor, but nothing. Then we dived all together, but I didn't really feel safe. They didn't really look after you during the dive. At some point I just wanted to end it soon. It was my second dive, the first one was at Cesarea with a friend of mine, diving instructor. That time the dive was really good, no pain at all, no fear, really safe. The instructor makes the difference. Besides this we didn't see anything, only few fishes. Then we had some free time to snorkel and this was absolutely the best part. I don't know why before they took us in a spot without fishes, while where I snorkeled, just 200m distance, was full of life : sea lions, sharks, turtles, manta rays, marine stars and thousands of fishes. While swimming, next to me a group of 10 sharks passed (they are not dangerous here). Then I saw a sea lion that wanted to play with a shark, but it just swam away from him! Very funny!
Now I'm at the hostel, outside it's raining... Last thing I expected to see here is the rain, but it rained almost every day since when I arrived. I hope I will be luckier in the next days... But I can't complain, I'm already very lucky to be here!
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