Galápagos

We arrived the day before our luxurious preplanned itinerary began, so the Trip Master (my father) could ensure we were prepared like “racehorses rearing to go” when we met our guide.  That day was mostly spent entranced by the sea lions’ overtaking the town and me begrudgingly translating my mom’s dietary restrictions to waiters.  We swam in the ocean at sunset as sea lions occasionally bobbed up next us but mostly just blobbed on the beach.  When we did meet our guide, we warmed up with a baby hike from the Galapagos Interpretation Center to Tijeretas along natural trails formed by of lava rocks. The path was surrounded by native plants like Galapagos cotton, palo santo, acacia, and cacti.  We spotted frigate birds (called tijeretas because they look like shears), pelicans, herons, gulls, warblers, mockingbirds, and finches in the vegetation and sea cliffs.  A kayak adventure took us around (and almost crashing into) the volcanic coastal bays. We snorkeled at postcard-worthy Carola Beach, surrounded by sea turtles, marine iguanas, and of course sea lions overtaking the stairs out.

Watched a sea lion bark in a woman's face here

 

Playa Cerro Bruno with Kicker Rock in the distance

Our second full day was boat journey to Leon Dormido/Kicker Rock. We swam from the anchored boat to the most serene private beach. We put on snorkels and fins to swim around Kicker Rock with countless reef fish, starfish, clams, tiny stingy jellyfish, and a couple (menacing but harmless) hammerhead sharks.  It reminded me of taking a boat trip in Taiwan to swim in the Milk Sea around Turtle Island.  We ate a traditional ceviche dinner in a fishing family’s courtyard, surrounded by their fruit trees.

The next day, we left San Cristobal on a small plane to Isabela Island, one of the most volcanically active spots on the planet.  Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island was my favorite spot, because we stayed in a gorgeous, private old mansion (Casa Baronesa) right on a vast swatch of white sand beach, perfect for sunrise runs and sunset swims. There were outdoor workout areas, beach volleyball courts (featuring Ecuavolei, which is 3v3 using a soccer ball), and the Pink Iguana beach bar with a slack line.

We rode fat-tired bikes through a wide variety of ecosystems, from white sand beaches, to mangrove forests and brackish lagoons. We came to a screeching halt for the first giant tortoise of the trip.  The ride brought us to el Muro de las Lagrimas (the Wall of Tears). When Isabela was used as a penal colony, prisoners were forced to construct this towering wall of lava rocks for no other reason than to keep them distracted from the madness of isolation. After lunch on the beach, we joined on a little boat tour to Tintoreras, a set of small islets filled with hidden coves and beaches, starring the peculiar, endemic Galapagos penguin, blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas, and vegetarian white tipped sharks.  Massive manta rays lurked below us and baby sea lions zoomed at us as we snorkeled around sparse coral.

 

Our next day on Isabela Island, we hiked to the rim of the Sierra Negra volcano, for a breathtaking vista when the mist cleared. Sierra Negra is the second largest active caldera on the planet, over six miles at its widest point. On our drive down, we stopped at an idyllic farm for lunch.

Another short internal flight took us to Baltra Island which hosts the airport for Santa Cruz Island, reminding me of the Kansai Airport on an standalone island off Osaka. Santa Cruz is the most populous in the Galapagos with about 15k people and the best touristic shopping. We hiked through a forest of endemic Scalesia trees to Los Gemelos, two deep volcanic sinkholes at the top of the island, with rocky cliffs surrounding the huge pits of empty magma chambers. The trees were covered with ferns and epiphytes and lent the forest a quiet, eerie feel.

El Chato in the Santa Cruz highlands was a surreal giant tortoise reserve. Everywhere you looked, the landscape was dotted with a slow-moving tortoise, some over 175 years old. Other features of the landscape were lava tunnels and toxic manzanillo trees with their little apples of death.

Jurassic Park style dining

We did more sea kayaking, this time in more peaceful mangrove outlets created by lava channels. We spent the afternoon swimming at Tortuga Bay. It’s only accessible by foot, after walking on soft, fine sand past a choppy bay to get to its extremely calm pristine waters.  On our walk back, we stopped by the baby tortoises and stuffed Lonesome George at Charles Darwin Research Station.

Muchin de yuca

The Galapagos reminded me in some ways of Costa Rica but even more focused on environmental preservation. Everything required a specialized trained naturalist guide.  There was no ziplining through the habitats of endangered animals.  There were not even any plastic bags allowed on the archipelago.