The Galapagos Islands - Part 2

I hate boat trips!

Getting in line at the markets.

Baby tortoises at the breeding centre.

Having survived the 2 hour, sweaty and sea-sick inducing boat ride to Cristobal, I next went on the hunt for a room. I've mentioned before that this place isn't cheap, and I will say it again. Anywhere else in Ecuador I can get a room for less than $10 - here the cheapest I found was $15 with a fan (that didn't do anything in the heat apart from make a noise) and $20 with air-con. I know they do it here because they can - what other choice have you got? The cost is not only for rooms, but food and drinks as well as transport - there are no buses to get around on, so you either walk it (and die) or catch a cab for $20. I tired to save as much money as I could but also see what I wanted to and make my trip really worthwhile. I checked in to the hotel, which at least had WiFi to keep my busy while I sweated away at night unable to sleep, and went out for a walk. San Cristobal is smaller than the other two main islands,  but there is plenty to see. A quick walk from the town are many beaches, and the they are lovely - nearly Caribean in appearance. Palm trees, golden-white sand, light blue water... but with seals and iguanas everywhere! The seals usually lay around during the day, sunbathing like the tourists, and get a little friskier in the mornings and evenings - you can see them playing with anything they find in the water, or rolling around in the shallows, letting the waves crash all over them. There are a few good snorkelling spots here too, but I used the 2 days I had here to chill out and relax at the beaches.

This is my bridge!

A baby seal taking a siesta.

The Frigates have picked a good spot!

I hired a bike and snorkel to visit the beaches - one spot for swimming and snorkelling is Playa Punta Carola, and a little further around there is a bay where seals and sometimes even turtles swim. I didn't see any turtles, but swam close by some seals - keeping my distance as I didn't want them getting angry with me. I just enjoyed watching them play and swim, little fur-torpedoes in the waves. Right up on the cliff there is a great lookout spot at the nesting frigates. These large birds, reaching 114cms in length and with a wingspan of 2m, cruise around for most of the day, hunting for food. It was hard seeing one up close, as they generally soar quite hight, and I never really got a good look of that postcard photo of them with their large red throats out, usually only during breeding season - the view I got was their 'W' form high up in the sky. The other beaches were also nice, again filled with animals, and this island had a much more relaxed feeling to it. I got the chance to catch up with Laurel, as she was on a week-long boat trip of the islands - something I wish I'd done but couldn't afford. We had a drink together, swapped some stories, complained about the weather (kind of), and then she had to get back on the boat. Being on a boat you can miss some things, I got to walk around a lot more and stick my timetable of 'do it when you want,' where as on the boat you have to conform and go with a big group. On the other hand, you see far more than you can by just being on land and get to swim and snorkel straight off the boat. If I had my time over (and more money) I would choose the boat option.

Iguana on the beach.

It's hard work being a tortoise!

A lava cave on Santa Cruz.

I got back on a boat to visit my 3rd island, Isla Isabella - 2 hours back to the main island, stay the night there (as you can't go all the way in one day), and jump on an early 7am boat and do it again - good news was that I only had 1 more boat ride to go! Isabella is much bigger than the other islands, in fact it's the largest. All the islands have volcanoes on them, but this one has 6, one of which you can see nearly all the time you're on the island - clouds gather around it, and I think it is still active too. There are some great beaches here too, long strips of white sand with very few people on them - but being Australian, I have been spoilt for beaches (even Sydney city beaches are great!), I didn't find these ones to be so wonderful that I had to stay on them all day. I walked a lot here - my previous experience with a rented bike was no easier than walking, and in fact more sweaty and more work! The tortoise breeding centre was here, and I got to see hundreds of tortoises from tiny baby ones to huge ones that would win blue ribbon prizes. Although there wasn't information, it was interesting to see so many in one place. Just up the road, my hopes of seeing one in the wild came to fruition! There was a decent-sized tortoise sitting in the middle of the road, scared into a statue-like state as 2 Austrian girls took pictures of her. It doesn't take much to scare one of these creatures, and it also makes it easier to snap photos of them! Dinner on this island was also cheaper and better value than Santa Cruz and Cristobal - less tourists and fewer restaurants make more competition. I was able to get a nice menu for $6, but beer was still nearly $4 a pop!

Hey I'm walking here!

Caution - Tortoises on road.

Las Grueles.

For my last few days I headed back to Santa Cruz, the first island and the one where the airport is. Running our of US dollars (story of my life) I was kind of forced to do things that didn't cost any money. I found a lava cave a short 20 minute walk from the town, and was able to climb right in! As lava flows downhill, the top cools and forms an insulating crust that keeps the interior lava hot and running. When the flow begins to subside, it drains out one end, leaving the harder crust around the outside, making it look like a huge worm has tunneled through the rock - the sides are smooth with small grooves and you can see where the lava actually flowed. 

Boobies!

A Galapagos tortoise chilling out.

Les Grueles - a great swimming spot!

It was also cool in here and free of tourists! I was told of some places to go by a friend who had been here a few months ago, and one of those places was Las Grueles. A short boat trip from the docks to a small peninsula and a 30 minute walk had me in a deep ravine filled with the bluest water you have ever seen! The water is a mix of fresh (or 'sweet' if directly translated from Spanish) and salty water, providing a nursery for fish and animals who then go out to the sea. The place was packed as you could imagine, but I still really enjoyed it - there was a rough wooden pier to jump off, diving into the water. I tried touching the bottom, and only just managed by doing a pin-drop. You could nearly see right down to the bottom as well, and lots of people had snorkels and masks as there were some very big fish here. I also got to see some Boobies, which I was very excited about! The Blue Footed Booby is a bird seen only in a few places around the World, and here is one of these places - the bird's feet are bright blue and the male kind of do a 'goose step' to strut their stuff and show off their blueness - the bluer the better for the girls. They are very strange looking birds, with intense eyes (and the obvious feet), and also have a different way of getting food. I saw them when I first got to the island but didn't realise it - they dive-bomb the water, plucking out their prey and then flying off with it. Even stranger is the chicks - they will kill their siblings to get the food and full attention from their parents, both of which will stand by at allow this to happen. Sadly the population of the Booby is declining - it is thought that the food source is the reason. Sardines make up most of their diets, and the bird won't breed unless they have an adequate food source. Killing your brother or sister won't bring more sardines to the sea.

One of the great beaches on the Galapagos.

Always watching (for food).

Wildlife is just so abundant here!

It was time to leave however, my 8 days were up, and it airport time. Easier said than done, as I got up to grab a bus but discovered that the only bus service rang at 8am. My plane was for 3pm - anyone else keen on waiting 7 hours at one of the smallest airports in the World? Well I assumed that there would be more than one, but was mistaken, a mistake that cost me $18 to get a cab. I was a little over these islands, and the price of everything was one reason. The previous day I walked around town looking for some last minute gifts (an "I Love Boobies" t-shirt for myself of course...) and couldn't get a shirt for less than $18, postcards cost nearly $1 each and I didn't even look at anything else. There is also what I call an "island vibe" here - what I mean by this is that there are mostly couples, rooms for 2 and menus for 2, and everyone's holding hand or spending time at the beach together. If you are alone in a place like this, like the Maldives or French Caledonia too I'm sure, you can feel a bit lonely. It was a great time though, and looking back now at the photos and remembering, it was probably one of the most amazing places I've ever been to in my life.

Boobies on a rock.