Galápagos Islands – Out of This World!

Galápagos Islands – Out of This World!

Francine has wanted to visit the Galápagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador, for a long time.  A big birthday in 2024 was a good reason and so we booked for January 2025.  What a start to the year! But first we must apologise for this photo heavy blog; we have tried to include only the best of a huge number of photos.

We parked Big Bertha at the MAN garage in Quito (the capital of Ecuador) and flew, via Guayaquil , to Baltra, just off the island of Santa Cruz.  Here we joined our yacht ‘Seaman Journey’, a large catamaran (sixteen guests, nine crew and our guide) for a nine day cruise around the eastern islands. Being already in Ecuador, and not having to organise international flights in, we were able to secure a last minute cruise deal – booking the cruise on Monday and boarding on Thursday.  We managed a significant discount over list price (around 60%).

There are two options when visiting the Galápagos Islands – land based or cruise based.  The former is significantly cheaper and visits are by day tours to nearby locations.  The cruise option is dearer but, you get to see less-visited and far off locations.  Not every location has the same wildlife and so you definitely get to see more on a cruise. Francine had done her research and decided on which islands offered the best chances to see the most complete range of flora, fauna and landscape.

Our route was from Baltra, to Bartolome, Genovesa, Plaza Islands, Sante Fe, San Cristobal, Española, Floreana, and finishing at Santa Cruz.  After leaving the yacht, we took a fast ferry across to Isabela and stayed there for six days before returning to Quito, via a flight to Baltra.

About Seaman Journey

Francine chose our boat based on its itinerary rather than it’s attributes. Nearly all the boats in the Galápagos are classified as either Budget, Tourist Superior, First Class and Luxury. This means you know pretty well what the boat is going to be like. Ours was in the First Class category. We booked two back-to-back cruises of five days/four nights each. This enabled us to cover more ground, but did not mean we had to change boats. It worked out really well.

We were treated to cold towels each time we returned to the boat (or hot chocolate after snorkelling), three full meals and snacks in between (like the sushi in the picture above). Our cabin was very comfortable with large windows and an ensuite bathroom with an excellent shower. There was plenty of inside and outside space for the sixteen passengers. We had no complaints at all!

About our Landings

Our day typically included two landings interspersed with kayaking and snorkelling. The boat had two tenders and we used these to go ashore. Our guide Camillo accompanied us on our visits and his incredible knowledge of all things Galapagos was amazing. We saw:

About the Snorkelling

We have been spoilt in Asia, that’s for sure. The water clarity or corals were nowhere near as good as we have seen in our Asian travels. The water was warmish, but we used wetsuits for longer sessions. The sea state was mostly rough, making dinghy entry and exit a challenge at times. Don’t go to the Galapagos Islands for the underwater world – the land visits are far better. Nonetheless we saw:

Bartolome Island

Our first landing after boarding our boat at Baltra and motoring a short distance over lunch was Bartolome Island. Here we first climbed the peak for a view over a needle rock and then we took a dinghy tour to watch the penguins(!) and other birds, including our first (but not our last!) blue-footed booby.

Mosquera Islet and North Seymour

On our way to Genovesa Island we visited Mosquera Islet and North Seymour. On these landings we saw the male Frigatebirds displaying by inflating their red throat pouches. This is to attract a female to the nest they have built. We were amazed at how close you can get to everything – because there are no predators. You really don’t need a zoom lens!

Genovesa Island

Genovesa Island is in the very north of the Galápagos Islands and is not on every itinerary. Francine especially wanted to visit Genovesa as it has one of the largest populations of red-footed boobies in the islands.

South Plazas and Santa Fé

On our way to San Cristobal, we visited South Plaza and Santa Fé.

San Cristobal

Cruise change over day. We first visited the tortoise breeding centre and then said our goodbyes to those leaving us. We wandered round the pleasant tourist town and took the opportunity to have a coffee, before we joined the new passengers back at the boat. Instead of visiting the interpretation centre in the afternoon, we had a lazy afternoon onboard.

Punta Pitt and Sea Lion Islet

Our first port of call with our new shipmates was Punta Pitt and Sea Lion Islet.

Gardner Bay and Punta Suarez, Española

Punta Cormorant and Post Office Bay, Floreana Island

In the morning we visited an inland lagoon with brackish water that is home to small number of flamingos and then a beach frequented by sea turtles. There we saw countless sea turtle nests. In the afternoon we visited post office beach – a place whalers used to leave mail to be delivered by those returning home. Now tourists drop off postcards to be delivered by tourists heading that way. We sent a postcard to Dave’s mum in Topsham. Let’s see if and when it is delivered!

Isabela Island

We disembarked from Seaman Journey and took a fast ferry to Isabela Island where we spent the remaining time at the charming Wooden House hotel. We took two tours, to Tortuga island and Los Tuneles, the latter being more enjoyable than the former because of the rough seas around Tortuga. And we hiked to the ‘wall of tears’, a pointless wall built by prisoners of a long-gone prison. On that hike, we encountered ten or so giant tortoises, in the wild , which really made Francine’s day. We also spent time with Rebecca from Germany, Cathy from the UK and George and Alice also from the UK.

From here we flew back to Baltra to catch our flight back to the mainland. You know its a small airline when you arrive in the morning, at the airport, and they unlock the doors and open the airport for you!

We were very pleased to be reunited with Big Bertha at MAN in Quito. We changed BB’s oil and we were ready for our next adventure – a trip into the the amazon jungle!

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