I was so excited about getting up this morning (despite it being a 4am start) as we were on our way to the Galapagos. Of all the places we are going to on our trip, I was probably most excited about this. After a quick coffee our shuttle picked us up and headed to the airport. We would be flying via Guayaquil, which meant an additional 45 minute stopover.
After we landed in the Galapagos we found our tour representative and waited for the rest of the group. Our boat, the Petrel, takes 16 people but there were only 13 of us on this tour, totalling six nationalities. Two Aussies, Kate and David, two Dutch, Rinus and Lenie, four English, Nick and Karen & Graham and Sally, two Swiss, Francois and Rita, one American, Lydia, and us.
After a quick bus trip, ferry ride and another 40-minute shuttle ride we arrived in the south of Santa Cruz Island, Puerto Ayora, where our trip would begin.
By far the most popular way to see the Galapagos is on a boat (most are for five, six or eight days), but they all have different routes that visit different islands. Each island’s geology and wildlife is also very unique and different from each other, so you are not guaranteed to see all the wildlife in the Galapagos on any given trip. Derek and I did quite a bit of research beforehand and decided on the ‘6 Day B’ route offered by Petrel, which would visit five islands: Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, San Cristobal, Espanola and Floreana. Our main aim was to see animals we could not see anywhere else in the world, for example marine and land iguanas, blue-footed boobies and the Galapagos tortoises.
Our route around the Galapagos
I am writing this blog post at the end of our week in the Galapagos and can honestly say no words I could ever write, or pictures we could ever post, can do this wonder world justice. Despite everything we read or watched before coming here, nothing can prepare you for stepping into a world where a human is not automatically seen as a threat, or a predator. We were merely another extension of the surroundings, temporarily part of the natural history of the Galapagos.
If I can only have one wish, it would be that every person who love animals and who love to travel, can experience this paradise once in their lifetime. And of course, my wish is that we will continue to protect the Galapagos for future generations to see.
