Introduction

This blog is my photo journal of the trip I took to the Galapagos Islands with my family; it only summarizes our amazing trip because I alone took over 900 pictures in the two weeks we were there and I am not able to write everything single thing down that happened. It has been very hard to narrow down this adventure into something less than a novel. If you’re looking for anymore information please contact me.

Arrival to the Galapagos

The islands' two airports are located on Baltra and San Cristobal islands. One of the islands pictured above is the more commonly used Baltra airport. After arrival, passengers descend stairs into a large open air building which serves as the airport's only terminal. After inspection and paying the National Park entrance fee, a free bus transports everyone to the channel between Baltra and Santa Cruz where travelers board the small ferry boat pictured below. After crossing the channel and arriving on Santa Cruz, people board the public bus or take a taxi through the highlands to the opposite side of the island. This is where Puerto Ayora, the main port and tourist center of the Galapagos is located.

Darwin’s Finches

After disembarking from the small ferry I saw the first of Darwin's finches while eating a sandwich. There were great numbers of the little birds in and around the surrounding mangroves. The finches did not see a problem in approaching me and they would have easily made off with my food if I had not been paying attention.

Puerto Ayora

When we arrived in Puerto Ayora we encountered a tour business selling passages to the Island San Cristobal that would be leaving in a couple of hours. We left our baggage with the tour vendor and explored a small amount of the surrounding town.
When it was time to board our boat we made our way down to the busy harbor, here a small sea lion was lounging in the dock area. The sea lion was very playful and chased a lady down the dock and had a staring contest with a small girl.

Arrival to San Cristobal

The boat ride to San Cristobal was two hours long; during which we saw mustard rays jumping and dolphins playing in the wake of the boat. We arrived in the sleepy fishing town and explored the area for a good place to stay for a few days. We stopped at a small place for batidos, made with powered milk and tropical fruit shipped in from Ecuador.

Kicker Rock/Leon Dormido

The first day we were on San Cristobal, we took a snorkeling day trip to Lobos Island and Leon Dormido. Our first snorkeling stop was near Lobos Island. We saw sea turtles, marine iguanas, sea lions, many kinds of fish, and a few different kinds of sea urchins.

We moved on to the second snorkeling spot at Leon Dormido. We snorkeled through the channel and saw some reef sharks, green sea turtles, a few fish, and group of manta rays. Nesting and resting on the rocks above us were nasca boobies, blue footed boobies and pelicans.

After the snorkeling sites, the guide took us to a beach for lunch. We roamed the beach and tide pools in the surrounding area. The endemic San Cristobal mocking bird, the endemic Galapagos lava gull, an octopus, pelicans and mullets that look like small spineless puffer fish all lived there.

Note: The underwater pictures are bad quality because the film went through an x-ray machine in airport security.

San Cristobal Darwin Interpretation Center

The following day, Saturday, we walked a kilometer out of town to the San Cristobal Darwin’s interpretation center. There we learned about: the history and formation of the islands, human impact and it's effects, the past and current conservation efforts on the islands, the islands connection with the explanation of evolution and its uniqueness in the world. We walked many lave rock trails surrounding the Center with lizards and endemic cactuses.
Later that day we walked down the coast to see the sea lion colonies, blue footed boobies and marine iguanas that live there.

The San Cristobal Highlands

Sunday, we hiked up to the only permanent freshwater lake in the Galapagos, El Junco Lagoon. The lake is located inside a crater, 700m. above sea level.
On the trail up to the crater we could see the effects of a few introduced species and also see the struggling native species as well.
After visiting El Junco, we went to the Galapaguera to see the Giant Galapagos Tortoises on the southeastern side of the island. We stopped along the side of the road to pick and eat an invasive species of berries and guava.

Santa Cruz Charles Darwin Research Station

The next day, Monday, we took a boat back to Santa Cruz and had a few hours before the next boat left for Isabella Island. We walked along the malicon (the harbor road) and out of town to the Santa Cruz Charles Darwin Research Station. Lonesome George, the last of one of a tortoise species lives here in a large enclosure. There are other tortoise species in walk-in enclosures near the education center.
The park area had some of the largest cacti I had seen so far.

Isabella Island

We arrived on Isabella after another two hour boat ride. We talked to the boat captain and he recommended a good place to stay. The hostal, la Jungle, was out of town and right near the long deserted beach. We strolled down the beach because we saw a flock of frigate birds flying near the town. Along the way we encountered marine iguanas hanging out on the rocks and walking lazily up the sand.

We stopped at the flamingo lagoon to see the few remaining flamingos on our return to the hostal. The previous population was diminished by recent El Niño conditions.

Muro de las Lagimas Trail

On our second day on Isabella we walked a seven kilometer trail to several interesting places along the coast. We passed an iguana nesting site where countless marine iguanas were lounging in the sun, swimming, and challenging each other to fights by opening their mouths and nodding their heads violently. It was very interesting to see.


There were many large colorful grasshoppers on the trail.

This wall was built by prisoners who inhabited the islands in the past as a punishment.

Isabella Bay Tour

The following day, Wednesday, we went on a bay tour. The panga took us around the harbor to see the penguins on the islands that protected the bay, the reef sharks that slept in a warm channel near the bay and snorkeling around and in the many coves in the area.

After seeing the sharks in the channel we walked over to a beach where some sea lions and marine iguanas lived. Under some low mangrove branches we saw a baby sea lion and a large male marine iguana hanging out together in the shade. They made a very odd but cute pair.