South America Day 29: Galapagos to Quito

January 2012

Up early to disembark at 615 am and try and see the turtles make their way out to sea at Bacnas Beach. We did however miss them and only saw their tracks back out to sea.

We got back to the boat at 8 am to finish packing and for breakfast before boarding the dinghy to catch the plane back to Quito.

We arrived back at 4pm. Being a Sunday most things we shut around the hotel and we had a horrible dinner at TGIF (never again!).

Stay

La Parc, Quito

Eat

On Sunday its best to eat in the hotel. Do not go to TGIF like we did.

Do

Am was in Galapagos

PM Nada

South America Day 28: Galapagos

January 2012

At 8 am into the dinghy's for a trip to Sombrero Chino. On the way we spotted 2 Galapagos penguins which are only slight larger than the little blue penguins we had seen in the Doubtful Sound, NZ. Once we landed we saw a Galapagos Hawk, and the islands terrain was very different, due to the lava flow.

We continued to a small seal colony and enjoyed watching them play in the ocean.

Once back on the boat we prepared for our morning swim.

As soon as we got in the water there were more of the Galapagos penguins swimming.

We saw marine iguanas swimming underwater, more schools of fish and finally some sea lions.

We got back to the boat for lunch on the deck, enjoying a typical Ecuadorian meal similar to what we had in Quito, with ceviche, fried pork, chicken, corn and potato cakes before setting sail to catch a sight of the flamingos in the crater of the Island.

After an hour of sailing we arrived at Rabida, this Island has a red sandy beach and we snorkeled for about an hour with sea lions, sea turtles and more fish.

That afternoon we landed on the Island and visited the landscape before boarding the boat and once again setting sail.

South America Day 27: Galapagos

January 2012

The morning was spent resting on the top deck after breakfast while the boat refueled.

At around 9 am we got into the dinghy's again and visited Black Turtle Cove. Here we saw many sea turtles and watched the pelicans fish.

We sailed further around the Island before lunch and siesta.

After lunch we had our first snorkeling trip of the day, swimming with sea turtles, sting rays and tropical fish.

That afternoon we made a landing on Cerro Dragon, walking up to a view point and seeing flamingos, mockingbirds and finches along the way.

South America Day 26: Galapagos

January 2012

Up at 6:30 am for breakfast and on the dinghys by 7:45 am. We landed on North Seymour Island to baby sea lions.

 The Island is a breading place for frigate birds and we saw many males with their red balloons trying to attract females.

We also saw a few blue footed boobies which aren't currently as common as in the past due to the lack of sardines.

We saw some land Iguanas and watched the sea lions play on the beach.

Once back on board the boat we had a quick snack, before getting ready for our first snorkeling expeditions.

We snorkeled for about an hour off North Seymour seeing some white tip reef sharks, lots of tropical fish and some marine Iguanas feeding.

Once back on the boat we had lunch before preparing for afternoon activities.

That afternoon we went for another snorkel, further up North Seymour, seeing more tropical fish, about 8 sharks and swam with the sea lions.

Once back at the boat we set sail for Mosquera. Here on a big white sandy Island was a colony of sea lions, most with babies. We spent an hour on the Island observing the many activities of the sea lions.

South America Day 25: Quito to Galapagos

January 2012

Off to the airport for a 1015 flight. They scan your bags before check in to make sure that your not bringing anything on board that might contaminate the pristine Galapagos region.

Once landing on Baltra it was a 10 minute bus ride, followed by a 10 minute boat ride across the channel to the Island of Santa Cruz. Here we then had a 45 minute min bus ride to the main port.

We got dinghys to our boat - the Queen Beatrix - and enjoyed a buffet lunch before our first activities in the Galapagos.

Our first trip was to the Charles Darwin Research Centre, our first sight was heaps of iguanas (not my favourite animal) as we got off the boat.

Once at the actual research center we saw baby Galapagos Tortoises only born within the past 10 days, and right up to those that are just ready for release back into the wild.

We snuck a look at Lonesome George (he is very shy), saw some bright orange land Iguanas and the Espanola Tortoise.

We walked back into town watching the birds and a cheeky sea lion by the water.

We watched the sun go down while having pre-dinner drinks, followed by a sit down dinner with the rest of the group.

Stay
Our trip was with g adventures, mainly for the low tour size (max of 16) and the culture of the company. We did this trip