Galapagos, Part 2

Santa Cruz

While researching the Galapagos leg of our trip, Michele and I learned that there are two primary ways to visit, each with its own pros and cons: stay on the main island (Santa Cruz) and do day trips to other islands, or stay on a boat and travel among the islands the whole time. With option 1, you’re more limited to which islands you can see and I think there are fewer excursions in the same amount of time, probably because the boat has to take you home in time for dinner every night as opposed to being able to cruise the entire time. But with option 2, if you get seasick, well, that sucks. And you’re stuck with the same few people for the whole five days, which is great if you like them….. You are also limited in food choices and have less comfortable accommodations overall, because you’re on a boat. Option 2 is also a little more expensive, if I’m remembering correctly.

Hello, friend

Based on these broad-strokes differences, I liked option 1 better and Michele liked option 2 better. I’m stubborn, while Michele is easygoing. Guess which option we selected? I was able to convince her that I would get seasick and make her life miserable if we stayed on a boat for five days, plus I pointed out all the bars and restaurants we could explore at night if we stayed on Santa Cruz. (At the time I thought that was a legitimate argument.) So despite wanting to show off her amazing yacht hair for five days, she graciously accommodated my preferences. We started reviewing the day trips we could take from Santa Cruz, mainly based on what animals we could see where.

Practical Details for Future Travelers

Fish market in Puerto Ayora

We found out when we reached Santa Cruz that people can just fly in and book their excursions from Puerto Ayora very easily, despite everything we read in advance that said that approach was risky and people often spend their entire vacation stuck on the main island because all the tours are booked. We didn’t want to risk it, so we booked a package through one of the many tour companies. I’m happy with how it worked out, but the warnings were extremely overhyped; we could have saved quite a bit of money by waiting to book excursions when we arrived in Santa Cruz. For anyone willing to risk it, I’d recommend that approach.

Pinnacle Rock

We booked through Galapagos Travel Center, and we did the Island Secrets package:

Day 1: Arrive in Puerto Ayora; take a bay tour by boat; see iguanas, seals, and blue-footed boobies; snorkel with a giant turtle; and be serenaded by a crazy boat captain (unexpected bonus)

Marine iguanas

Day 2: Land tour of Santa Cruz island, including lunch at and walking tour of a giant-tortoise preserve; walk down lava tunnels; chill on an isolated beach (Garrapatero); drive around the Highlands and Cerro Mesa; see Darwin Station and a tortoise breeding center; and visit a local coffee roaster and bakery (another unexpected bonus)

Day 3: Yacht to Santa Fe (cacti and cliffs for birds)

Day 4: Yacht to Plazas and Bartolome (Pinnacle Rock and penguins, but no)

Day 5: Fly back to Quito

That's me with a giant turtle!

Island Sights

We got to snorkel for free on days 1, 3, and 4, which was a lovely surprise because the company made it sound like we’d have to pay extra for snorkel gear. I had never been snorkeling before and I’m worried that doing it in the Galapagos for the first time ruined me for all other snorkeling. Over the course of those three days, I swam with a giant turtle, saw a sleeping shark, frolicked underwater with playful seals, held a sea anemone, and followed marine iguanas as they dove down to feast on algae (the only iguanas in the whole world who go underwater for food!). The penguins weren’t on Bartolome as promised, but I was so enchanted by all the other animals I saw up close that I wasn’t too disappointed.

Sea lions and birds

We also did some very light hiking (aka walking for people who just did the Inca Trail) on Plazas and Santa Fe to see Pinnacle Rock and cliffs where a vast array of birds fly in and out (and baby birds sleep in nests on the ground! They have no native predators!). We also saw sea lions splayed out on rocks almost everywhere we went. They smelled terrible and occasionally got aggressive with each other, but I loved watching them laze around and bark like dogs. They reminded me of my Sam.

Food and Drinks

The first day we arrived, Alexandra (our intrepid tour guide/coordinator/second mother) shuttled us to the dock to meet our bay-tour captain and then ran out to get us lunch. We ate on the dock that day, and we had a fancy lunch at the giant-tortoise preserve on the second day. Days 3 and 4, when we were yachting around the Galapagos (I’ve wanted to write that phrase forever!), a cook prepared lunch for everyone and we ate in the little dining room of the yacht.

Yacht life

Breakfast was included with our hotel, but it took us a couple days to figure that out, so we a few breakfasts in town. Dinners were also included in our package, but we had to eat at the same mediocre restaurant every night. We played along the first two nights but then decided to branch out and try other places. Our waiter at the preordained restaurant kept trying to flirt with Michele, but her patchy Spanish and his age (60+) just made things awkward.

There was no veggie food here :(

Overall, the food in Ecuador was just okay. Lunch at the tortoise preserve was the highlight (no, we did not eat tortoise); the rest was really just sustenance. Honestly, we were both disappointed with Ecuadorian food, especially compared to the really good meals we had in Peru. And Ecuadorian beer was awful! We each bought one on the yacht one day­—because how do you not?—but I actually threw mine away because it was so terrible. If you know me at all, you know I don’t throw away booze easily.

Nightlife in Puerto Ayora was interesting. The city’s vibe brought to mind a place where cruise ships stop during the day and leave (with all the tourists) before nightfall. There were bars and restaurants, but not many people to visit them. And the Galapagos in general seemed like a destination for older folks, so the few bars we went to were pretty deserted. And we found only one bar/restaurant overlooking the water the whole time we were there! As native Austinites who are used to quality patios and don’t see much water, that seemed like sacrilege to us.

Puerto Ayora

Nevertheless, we valiantly attempted to barhop each night after dinner (the sacrifices you make on vacation), but the places either felt like a TGIFridays or an empty club. On the plus side, we got plenty of rest while we were there.

Retirement Already? Okay!

El Garrapatero

Overall the Galapagos were beautiful and relaxing, which is just what I needed after our slog through the Andes. I feel like I got a glimpse of what my retired vacations will be like, and not just because 75% of the other tourists were retired. We woke up at a reasonably early hour each morning, had active but easy sightseeing trips every day, ate bland dinners in mediocre restaurants every night, and were usually in bed by 10. If being retired means hanging out on beaches like Garrapatero, then sign me up.