A Traveler, not a Tourist, in Gorgeous Galapagos

16 Ways to Discover the Real Galapagos

Story and Photos by Vivienne Mackie

PART 2: 8 WAYS TO EXPLORE GALAPAGOS

It’s not possible to see everything the Galapagos Islands have to offer in one trip. Here’s a taste of the highlights and some of our personal favorites. Two weeks on the island of San Cristobel was a good beginning, followed by a fibra (speed boat) trip to Santa Cruz Island for a 2-day stay, ending with a 3-day mini-cruise. What you see and do on this trip gives a fairly representative sample of what the Galapagos has to offer.

1. Go West.

A 3-hour flight from Quito takes you to San Cristobel and the small port town of Puerta Baqueriza Moreno, the capital of the Galapagos, their slogan “Capital of Paradise”.

A single runway across the bottom of the island, a control tower that looks like a pagoda, and a shed-like airport building with high roof and open sides to let the breezes in, reflect the simplicity of the town and hint at the heat. Catch a taxi (a white dual-cab pick-up truck) into town, which has a number of small hotels.

2. Admire sealions, and other wild creatures.

Actually, you can’t miss them, as they are so tame you see them along all the beaches and the rocky harbor. The most impressive introduction to these islands was our first sight/sound/smell of the sealions. Big groups of them lie on the sand or rocks, or play in the water, grunting and barking. They are just THERE, uncaring as you walk by, and the playful young ones even approach people. (But, please remember the law: Never touch them, for your safety and theirs). Wherever you go on Galapagos you’ll encounter many sealions, often so close that you can see sand on their whiskers.

Hundreds of marine iguanas cluster on the black volcanic rocks on the islands too. Did you ever imagine that you’d see large lizards swimming in the sea? Around the harbor you’ll also see brown pelicans, Darwin’s finches---those small black birds whose beaks Darwin studied---little yellow sunbirds and mockingbirds, both with a wonderful trilling song. Most amazing of the birds are the blue-footed boobies, white birds with improbably bright blue feet.

Walk one day to La Loberia just past the airport. In Spanish ‘lobos’ means sealion, and this protected area has many of them. A large inter-tidal zone yields a tray full of treasures---shells, anemones, sea cucumbers, and pinkish-red Sally Lightfoot crabs.

3. Village Life.

Wander the town’s small streets, and enjoy the view from Miconia, a seafront restaurant with a terrace upstairs: jagged little coves, with masses of black volcanic rocks, accentuating the shimmering turquoise blue water. The main bay, Wreck Bay, ringed with brilliant splashes of gorgeous flowering Poinciana (or flame) trees, bustles with boats of different shapes and sizes---fishing and tour boats, water taxis. Stop to chat to the locals, who are eager to talk and ask questions. Pop into a small curio shop for a carved stone tortoise or an “I love boobies” T-shirt. Sip a coffee---and nibble a home-made brownie made by owner Diane---at Mockingbird Internet Café, and watch the leisurely world go by as you relax with an Ecuadorian Brahma beer at Deep Blue, a café-bar on the seafront road. When it’s dinnertime, try local specialities: lokro (potato soup served with grated cheese and slices of avocado); delicious wahoo fish with rice; patacones (mashed, salted, fried plantains), and huge slices of fresh tropical fruit.

4. Town Beach.

Swim at Playa Mann, the best beach in town, with soft sand ringed by a rocky cove. It’s popular with the locals and you can join a beach volleyball game almost any day. It has a great view across to the harbor and the town and every night we watched a wonderful sunset across the bay. Sunset is regularly around 6:10pm (we are almost on the equator after all!).

5. Snorkel with fish, turtles and sealions.

Go to one of the town’s dive shops to rent equipment---we liked Galakiwi, run by New Zealand Tim, who’s married to a Galapagos woman. The bay is usually fairly calm, so snorkeling is easy---and so rewarding, as a sealion swims next to you, or you pass a school of brilliantly colored fish. The water is very cold though, due to the sea currents, in contrast to the intensely hot and sunny weather. Be careful of sunburn, as the sun is direct here on the equator. You can also surf the waves or snorkel at Playa Corola further along, round the headland.

Another highlight for snorkelers is at Tortuga Bay, a long, wide, white beach on Santa Cruz, reached on foot after a strenuous 2-mile hike. Here you will probably swim with Galapagos sharks, smaller than sharks we usually know and think about, and completely unconcerned about people in the water.

6. Volcanic Hikes.

Hike up Frigate Bird Hill (Las Tijeretas), on a rough rocky path that reminds you that these islands were formed---and are still being formed---by volcanic action. Often you pick your way over and around jumbles of black rocks, studded with huge opuntia cacti, acacia and palo santo trees, the white bark covered with colorful lichens, being careful not to step on lava lizards sunning on the rocks. The top of the hill looks out over the sea, and down to Darwin’s Bay, where Darwin first made landfall in the Galapagos. You’ll likely see these magnificent black birds soaring above you, as they fly from their nests in inaccessible trees on the rugged cliffs. In mating season, the males develop enormous red throat pouches---a truly amazing sight. You’ll see these birds around all the islands, but get a chance to see them nesting on North Seymour Island as part of a cruise.

On the way down, stop at the Interpretation Center. Besides lovely views out over the harbor, it has interesting displays about the islands’ volcanic development, the flora and fauna, the history and famous visitors (especially Darwin), and what it’s like to live here.

7. Crater Lake.

Enjoy another expansive view from the rim at El Junko, a crater lake in the highlands 19 km from town. It’s the only fresh water lake on the island and is filled solely by rainwater. A long hike, past endemic miconia bushes dripping with brown mosses, takes you up the hill, but the view is worth it. On the way you see many examples of invasive plants, especially the mora, or blackberry, but also signs that conservation organizations are beginning the process of eradicating them. As you gaze down on the water, you’ll also see many birds diving, not for fish, but to wash and drink, most notably frigates.

8. Tortoises.

These gentle giant creatures, whose initial arrival on the islands is still a mystery, once numbered about 250,000. Before the time of the pirates, the tortoises had no predators, but by 1980 their numbers had decreased to 15,000, with competition from introduced species, which threaten their natural habitat and eat the eggs. In the 1960s, Galapagos National Park, and the Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz began programs of protection, conservation and breeding of giant tortoises. They have been largely successful, and some species have been saved from extinction. The exception is Lonesome George, the only surviving Pinta Island Tortoise, who now lives at the Darwin Station. Being the last one of his kind in the world, poor George seems doomed to die without offspring as, even though he lives in a pen with two other females of a similar but different species, no mating has occurred.

On our trip we had three chances to watch these lumbering creatures. On San Cristobel we visited La Galapaguera, not far from El Junko. Wander around this preserve and on a good day you may see many tortoises, under the bushes or congregating around water holes. We met “Genesis”, a 2-month old baby that hatched here.

At the Darwin Station on Santa Cruz we saw hundreds of babies, destined to be released back into the wild after about four years, a visible sign of the success of the tortoise project. We did see Lonesome George, and sat for a long time watching him, sad to realize that he is the last of that line, that when he dies it will be extinction for that species.

On Santa Cruz we saw many tortoises in the wild, just walking over the road or wandering through a field. At Rancho Primicias, a small tortoise preserve allows you to get very close to these creatures, lying around in the bushes, walking on the path, or chilling out in the (very smelly) pond. We felt very privileged to get so close to them. They are rather prehistoric-looking, and really do look like ET! Their faces are sort of innocent and sweet. They have lovely patterned shells and beady eyes that appear to stare at the noisy humans.

PART 3: THE NEXT 8 WAYS TO TOUR GALAPAGOS
Continued next month...