by Christy Galzerano
January is a great off-season time to visit the amazing Galapagos Islands…Especially if you want to swim with penguins. And…it’s not as hard to get there as you might think!
For years I had researched yachts and cruising the Galapagos Islands, and thought that was the way to go. Then, a friend turned us on to a 5-day land based trip and we jumped on the opportunity to get a “taste of Galapagos”. It was off-season January and the draw for me was the opportunity to see Galapagos penguins in their natural habitat…in additional to possibly seeing the adorable Blue Footed Boobies do their mating dance. So off we went.
The only way to fly to Santa Cruz in Galapagos is through Quito or Guayaquil. Our non-stop flight from Miami went to Guayaquil and we stayed at The Hilton for one night, my favorite hotel brand. We Uber’d to the revitalized riverfront area called Malecon 2000 and walked the boardwalk, ate great food and ended up at La Perla, the giant ferris wheel. Then we decided to hike the 444 steps up Cerro Santa Ana Hill. The colorful hillside enclave of Cerro Santa Ana has quaint homes, alleyways, small restaurants and shops. On your way up, you will always know where you are as each step is numbered. Once at the top you will be rewarded with beautiful views of El Faro lighthouse and a small church. Guayaquil was a great introduction to Ecuador.
Next stop…Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands!
There are a few airlines that service Santa Cruz. We opted for Latam and all was smooth. Landing in Santa Cruz looks like you’re landing on the moon, very rocky. The only way to visit the Galapagos Islands is with a naturalist and a special permit. In order to keep the islands as they are, you are required to have a guide with you. So, I found a local company that did a wonderful job setting up all of our tours and hotel accommodations. Our naturalist guide met us at the airport and escorted us on our trek to our hotel in Santa Cruz…with a few amazing stops along the way. Bus to ferry to private van and then to the Giant Tortoise Reserve that is so iconic for The Galapagos.
The knowledge our naturalist guide was invaluable as we explored this special place. So many “endemic” species we had no idea about. A new vocabulary word - endemic. They even have a beer named after it that we enjoyed!
Still on the way to our hotel, we stopped at Los Gemelos, 2 giant sink holes created when the volcanic roof of a magma chamber collapsed from tectonic shifts. Then one more stop at a volcanic lava tube that we walked through. Pretty awesome introduction to Galapagos! Next stop, our hotel in the the coastal town of Puerto Ayora. We chose a mid-scale hotel within walking distance of the waterfront and Charles Darwin Station. Walkable to dinner…we found food on the island remarkably good. Every restaurant we chose had great food. They have waterfront restaurants…some you get to via water taxi and some we walked to. Again, all really good.
For our first full day, we boarded a small charter boat with just 8 passengers. Crew was excellent, lunch good and excursions amazing! We boated to Seymour Norte in search of blue footed boobie birds, red-chested frigate birds and land iguanas. Success! We walked the 2.5km trail with our guide and got to take our time and really watch these beautiful animals in their natural habitat. What I found amazing was that they weren’t afraid of us. Humans are not a threat to them thanks to the conservation efforts in the islands, again since you have to be with a naturalist. We watched the blue footed boobies do their mating dance, saw adult and baby re-chested frigate birds and several types of iguanas. I was just sooo excited I actually got to see blue footed boobies!! Next stop on our day trip was Sombrero Chino and a fabulous snorkel. We saw manta rays, nurse sharks, colorful reef fish and sea lions that seemed to be playing with us…swimming all around us. So much fun. I was thankful for the wetsuit the boat provided as the water was COLD! But so worth it. Great day trip.
Next day…new boat and new destinations. First stop was Bartholomew Island. We climbed up 374 steps for a fantastic panoramic view of the island and Pinnacle Rock.
Next we dinghy’d across to a beach where we could snorkel in hopes of seeing the Galapagos Penguins…the only penguins to live this far north near the equator.
So, we got back in the very cold water and snorkeled all around. No sign of penguins but we came face to face with a sea lion, saw sea turtles and many Red Sally Lightfoot Crabs. We got back on the dinghy to go back to the beach and our captain told us to get back in the water because he saw the penguins coming in looking for food. We were so excited and jumped back in the freezing water and were fortunate we actually got to swim with these fast little penguins - the smallest penquins on earth. I was so excited I was screaming under water!! Pictures are a little murky but we were able to get a few. They cruised all around us, fast as lightning.
Our last day in Santa Cruz we walked to the Charles Darwin Research Station with our naturalist guide. While this is a must do while in Santa Cruz, it’s more educational than adventure so be prepared for that. A totally different vibe than the boat days but truly educational. So many plants and animals endemic to The Galapagos, that have evolved due to changes in nature. Fascinating.
Sadly, time to leave Galapagos…on to Quito, Ecuador’s capital, for our last night in Ecuador. We flew Avianca into Quito and took an uber to our Hilton Hotel. Highlights of our quick exploration of Quito were La Mitad Del Mundo (middle of the world) where you can stand with 1 foot in each hemisphere, Old Town Unesco World Heritage Site, Plaza Grande and La Basilica del Voto Nacional. Quito is a big urban city at a 9,000’ in elevation. A lot of history.
This trip was truly just a taste of Ecuador and Galapagos and we can’t wait to go back and explore the Amazon and more islands in Galapagos.
That’s a wrap for Galapagos Islands, next up - Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Thank you reading Trips of a Lifetime Travel Blog!
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