MAGI - My Journey: Galapagos 5 - Santa Cruz

The cruises I did were wonderful taking me on a great circuit of the western islands of the Galapagos. They were also very active days averaging 4-5 miles walking and 90 minutes swimming. There was good food and interesting people. For those who planned ahead, I paid about half of their costs. I was lucky to have some extra time in the islands to both relax and explore at a more leisurely pace.

The only nature item worth mentioning in this last post about the islands is El Chato. It is a preserve of land tortoises. Unlike the Darwin Station where they have the tortoises in corals and breed them to help repopulate the different species on the various islands, El Chato is a preservation area for domed (not saddle-back) tortoises. I went there my last full day and was able to see in a relatively natural habitat the amazing and long-lived creatures. Some were as young as 10-15 years while others were well over 100 years. When startled, they pull into their shells and let out a sound like a slowly leaking tire. Using some of their natural food sources, I gave some of the larger ones guavas that were falling from the trees.

At the center there are some shells of large deceased tortoises. People can put them on and get a photo. I couldn't fit but they are cool to see.

Galapagos lobster

Much of my last two days in the islands were exploring Puerto Ayora and its tourist traps. There is a street in town that closes down every night to set up tables for the numerous restaurants of varying types that serve dinner there. Wow! What you can get varies from fresh lobster (looks nothing like Maine lobster), shrimp and seafood, and fish, to chicken, pork, and beef. There are juices of almost any fruit you can think of and ice creams of the same flavors. There are traditional dishes as well like menestras, and corn flour options like tamales. Compared to the restaurants on the main streets these were pretty inexpensive but still 3 times more than you would see on the mainland.

There were a number of tourist shops most of which were standard stuff you would expect to see and others for the more refined visitors including some high-end jewelry stores and galleries. I think many of the same items appeared in all stores just with different prices. One little item of a blue-footed boobie ranged in price from $8 in some of the low-end shops to just $3 in a higher-end gallery. Crazy stuff. Another example of crazy prices was sunscreen. On average $20-$25 per bottle and I am talking a regular size not a gallon.

Those last couple of days I also took advantage of the hotel amenities, mainly the pool. It was not really cool but refreshing. Then relaxing in the shady spots. It was a nice quiet time after the pretty constant activity of the cruises.

I had a few missteps with my chosen wardrobe for the trip. When it came to footwear, I did not plan well for this whole trip. With all of my shoes, sandals, and slippers in boxes from the move, I did not select well. For the Galapagos you need at least three pairs of foot coverings; light hiking shoes or hearty sneakers/kicks/trainers/whatever-you-call'em; sandals or flip-flops; something to get wet like aqua socks, sandals or old sneakers. I realized in Guayaquil that I only had the shoes I wore on the plane. Needless to say, I had to augment my foot wear collection. Similarly, Quito has very different climate than Lima, Guayaquil, and the Galapagos. I brought few clothes that prepared me for the cool wet climate found in the higher elevations of Quito. Again, I had to augment my wardrobe in an area that really doesn't need any additions, jackets. Oh well, I will need to reduce my collection even further once I return home.

The Galapagos this time of year are hot and humid. I loved it for the most part. Aside from my one day that the heat seemed to get to me, it was a wonderful experience. One thing to be aware of for potential visitors. Everything stays kinda damp. You are in and out of the water, in the heat sweating, drinking lots of water, it is just damp. I am currently still drying out clothes.

Here are a few other pics from Puerto Ayora.

El Jardín de cerámica: The cermaic garden was really more about mosaics