Ok, so I am finally taking the time to blog on this trip. After sorting through over 400 photos, I chose some favorites and viola...
It's really hard to describe our experience in the Galapagos. It was "exciting, amazing, beautiful, challenging, and surreal". We had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. In fact, we were preparing for it long before we even set foot in Ecuador! Back when we were spending our year in DC to prepare for this move, I recorded a documentary on the Galapagos Islands. Over and over, the kids would ask to watch it and I even started to worry that what they were seeing on TV is what they were going to expect to see on a daily basis in Quito! They were amazed by the beauty, and fascinated by the volcanic formations. It was fun to see them get so excited at the thought that they might get to see all these things they had learned about- "As seen on TV"!
We decided that with a 6 month old baby, the easiest way to see these islands would be by cruise. Thankfully, Brendan had the opportunity to visit the Galapagos for work back in March. During that time, he got a little bit of a feel for how things would go if and when we visited. Some of the islands are separated by great distances and the inter-island ferry rides can be long. The cruise ended up being the perfect thing for us with 3 little ones. We didn't have to think about organizing excursions, planning meals, and the trips to and from the islands were short and sweet.
Day 1- We landed at Baltra Airport. There isn't much on Baltra except for the airstrip and a small terminal. It was dry and dusty. Not much vegetation except for the occasional cactus. We were picked up at the airport in a bus and transported down to a little dock on the coast. We threw on life jackets and boarded a small zodiac boat that took us out to the ship. We cruised on the Galapagos Legend- a 100 passenger ship. To our surprise it was only about 1/3 full so we had a lot of the ship to ourselves and it was much easier to do everything with the 3 kids.
Santa Cruz- Highlands/Pit Craters
Our first excursion came shortly after lunch on the first day. The zodiac took us over to the island of Santa Cruz to see the giant tortoises. During the dry season, the tortoises have to migrate up to the highland in search of food and water. They took us by bus to a reserve where we were amazed to see these giants walking all over the place. They can live to be up to 200 years old! We walked around bit and then our guide took us to a lava tube. This was Shay's favorite part. Brendan and I had seen lava tubes on the Big Island in Hawaii, but this one was really impressive.
We were pretty tuckered out after a long day of travel but we enjoyed this beautiful sunset as we travelled back to the ship!
Day 2- Santiago
The morning excursion on this day was one of our favorites purely because we got to see SO much! In the days leading up to our trip, the kids started making lists of all the animals they hoped to see. The trip to Santiago delivered and we were able to check off a lot on their list! We landed on a black sand beach which was something very special for the kids to see. Once we landed, we saw a family of sea lions taking a morning nap.
It was hard to tear ourselves away from the sea lions but it was time to begin the hike and our guide assured us we would return to the beach later. We hiked along the jagged volcanic rock that lines the coast. It reminded us so much of Hawaii. We had to tread carefully so as not to stop on all the marine iguanas! They were everywhere! Marine iguanas are fascinating. They are able to dive down into the water to eat the algae that grows on the rocks below the surface of the water. No wonder Darwin was so intrigued with this place!
This picture was so funny and our guide said she had never seen anything like it. This sea lion is sitting in the middle of this huge group of iguanas and it looks like he's holding court!
Shay really was hoping to see a Galapagos Hawk and here he is!
Is that Shay or a crab?
Malia shows the group the shell that was shed by a crab.
Sally Light-foot Crab
Galapagos Fur Seal
Lava Lizard
Galapagos Owl
Lava arch
On board the ship, the passengers were divided into an English speaking group, a French speaking group, and a Spanish speaking group. This little girl was vacationing with her family and was the only other young child on board. She spoke no English, but Malia did her best to communicate in the Spanish she knew and they became fast friends!
Back on the black sand beach, we had more time with the sea lions. It allowed time for those who wanted to snorkel as well. Shay really wanted to learn but the water was so cold that he wasn't able to stand to swim for more than a few minutes at a time. Most of the people who did snorkel were wearing wetsuits. They reported seeing all kinds of fish, a couple of sharks, and even a baby sea lion came to play with them.
Bartolome
After lunch on our second day, they took us to the island of Bartolome which is home to the Galapagos penguin and the well-known Pinnacle Rock. Our guide told us that we weren't guaranteed to see a penguin but that she would try to spot one. We saw 3!
We hiked all the way to the top of a very high volcanic cone. The landscape was almost what you would picture walking on the moon. It was hot, dry and windy, but we made it to the top and were rewarded with an incredible view!
Lava cone
After the hike, they took us to a golden sand beach for a little relaxing an another opportunity to snorkel. Christian was very happy to get a break from the carrier!
Oyster Catchers
Blue Heron
By the end of Day 2, we were all pretty exhausted. We enjoyed every excursion but the schedule aboard was rigorous especially for these little ones. We decided that we would skip the morning excursion on Day 3 and just relax on board the ship. The kids got to enjoy the pool on deck, Mom and Dad enjoyed a tropical drink from the poolside bar, and we all enjoyed the show that the Frigate Birds put on soaring and diving in the wind above the ship!
Day 3
North Seymour
Refreshed from a morning off and ready for another adventure, we headed to North Seymour Island to check out a great site for nesting sea birds. We saw many Land Iguanas, Blue Footed Boobies, Albatross, and Frigate Birds.
It was mating season for the Frigate Birds. The males balloon out their neck and put on a show for the females.
This was a Swallow's nest on a cactus.
A furry brand new frigate bird.
One of these iguanas crossed our path and we had to wait for him to clear the path until we could move on- our guide warned us they can be aggressive. He met another male iguana on the other side of the path and the two of them had a stand-off. It was pretty interesting to watch. Eventually, one of them walked away but we were all set with front row seats to witness the fight!
The Blue Footed Boobies were a definite favorite. Why? Well, have you ever seen feet that color?
This brand new baby Blue Footed Booby was trying so hard to fly! He was so cute walking around flapping his wings.
Just wait a little bit longer, big guy!
Back on board, we caught this beautiful sunset to end our last full day in the islands...
...and again enjoyed the show that the Frigates put on soaring along with the cruising ship.
Day 4- Santa Cruz (Bachus Beach)
The morning of our last day, we took one more excursion. This time we returned to Santa Cruz to explore Bachus Beach. It was a beautiful, cool, overcast morning. The kids enjoyed exploring another sandy beach. This time we saw stingrays and eagle rays in the shallow surf. Bachus Beach is also the home to many sea turtle nests so we had to be careful where we stepped.
These metal fragments are left from a structure dating back to WWII.
Malia's picture of a stingray
The frigate birds put on another show dive bombing into the water to catch their breakfast.
Not far off the beach was a peaceful lagoon where we spotted a few flamingos. Malia's list was now complete:)
The Galapagos Legend
Back on board, the kids relaxed while Mom & Dad got the last of our things packed up. And after one last call on the loudspeaker for our group, we boarded the zodiac for a ride back to Baltra Airport.
It was sad to say goodbye to the beautiful islands that we had had so much fun exploring. This truly is a special place. It was such a gift to see these plants & creatures in their natural environment, that cannot be found anywhere else in the world! What an incredible Creator we have, and what a beautiful world He gave us!
