Where We Be
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| Galapagos Cruise: Days 4-7 |
| Days 4-7 of our Galapagos cruise took us across the equator twice and to the islands of Isabela, Fernandina, Santiago, Rabida, and Santa Cruz |
| It's good to be silly sometimes! |
| Reddish-sand shoreline at Isla Rabida |
| We never set foot on Rabida Island (Alex told us the horseflies were intense) but we went on an extended snorkel that was a true highlight of our trip. We saw white-tipped sharks, a marine iguana underwater, five bottlenose dolphins, and the biggest manta ray we've ever seen in our lives -- at least 25 feet from tip to tip! |
| Our hike at Puerto Egas was one of our favorites of the trip |
| A fur seal lazes on its back in a blue grotto, drifting back and forth on the current |
| Eventually we reached these beautiful blue grottoes near the seashore |
| This Sally lightfoot crab appears to be in imminent danger from this (vegetarian) marine iguana! |
| This yellow crowned night heron hides its head beneath its own wing to get some shade |
| After the hot hike we threw ourselves into the ocean, and boy did it feel good! In 1954 this beach at Urbina Bay was uplifted 15 feet in one night! The uplift happened so fast that sharks, lobsters, fish, and giant coral heads were stranded high and dry. |
| We saw several large Galapagos land iguanas like this one at Urbina Bay |
| We all gathered on the bridge to watch the navigation system count down to latitude 0.000, marking the exact line of the equator |
| Our large cabin included a sitting area and private balcony |
| Day 4. Fernandina & Isabela Islands |
| Fernandina is the youngest island in the Galapagos chain. A nearby islet had the greatest concentration of marine iguanas we saw anywhere in the Galapagos. |
| This booby looks like he's in big trouble -- but lucky for him marine iguanas are vegetarians! |
| After lunch we landed at Urbina Bay on the western side of Isabela Island |
| Day 6. Santiago & Santa Cruz Islands |
| Near Punta Mangle we snorkeled with a family of sea lions that "adopted" us into their family -- the highlight of our day! |
| Sunset from the balcony just before crossing the equator |
| We continued along the coast at Puerto Egas, marveling at the abundance of life on these desolate-looking shores |
| A bit blurry but the only photo I managed of a marine iguana swimming |
| Sally lightfoot crabs are stunningly colorful -- and amazingly agile. They can jump from rock to rock. |
| Hiding under a rock shelf is a whole community of Sally lightfoot crabs |
| This oystercatcher uses its red bill to pry open mollusks |
| A Galapagos lava heron perches on the lava rocks |
| You're not supposed to touch the animals, but what if they touch you! |
| In March there are lots of curious and playful sea lion pups |
| This young sea lion clambered up to this spot and seemed to be posing for his closeup |
| Yellow warblers are frequent visitors to the island |
| At Puerto Egas on Santiago Island we landed on this black sand beach with a natural arch at the end |
| Overnight the yacht made its longest journey of the week, going up and around the top of Isabela Island then down the other side to Santiago Island (above) |
| Robin peeks in at this little fella taking a nap |
| The smaller lava lizard with the bright red colors (about 5" long) is a female, the larger a male |
| This sea lion was taking a blissful nap right along our path and wasn't disturbed by us at all |
| A small pond held two cute little ducklings |
| We ate dessert on the deck just outside the dining room, enjoying the cool evening breezes |
| We passed this dramatic crater lake (with flamingos) on the way to our next destination |
| Our final lunch was served on deck -- a barbecue feast with fresh shrimp, fish, chicken, and sausage |
| This is lovely Cerro Dragon on the northwestern corner of Santa Cruz Island |
| Pockmarked lava rocks are everywhere at Puerto Egas |
| At pretty Las Bachas beach on the northern side of Santa Cruz Island we saw several stilts |
| We watched these two flamingos courting |
| And we saw several large land iguanas at Cerro Dragon |
| This is probably the largest land iguana we saw during our time in the Galapagos -- about five feet long |
| That evening we shared a farewell cocktail with the crew and had fun taking pictures. This is bubbly Guadalupe from Ecuador posing with the crew. |
| Day 7 was largely a transfer day as we disembarked at Baltra Island (where the main Galapagos airport is). We hugged goodbye to all our new friends. What an amazing trip! |
| Day 7. Santa Cruz & Baltra Islands |
| We hiked for about an hour at Cerro Dragon |
| Afterwards we went on a scenic hike and snorkel |
| Back on the ship, a few of us (myself included) decided it would be fun to jump off the top deck! |
| This is aptly named Chinese Hat, a tiny island off the southeastern coast of Santiago Island |
| This happy cactus has lots of baby offshoots |
| We spent a good deal of time at this "sea lion kindergarten," where pups learn to swim in shallow waters |
| Chinese Hat is chock-full of sea lions -- including these two who are obviously best buds |
| Day 5. Santiago & Rabida Islands |
A big benefit of doing a week-long cruise is
getting to explore some of the more remote
spots in the Galapagos where the wildlife tends
to be richest. A three-day cruise doesn't give
you enough time, for example, to circle around
to the far side of Isabela Island (biggest in the
Galapagos chain). A longer cruise also gives
you more time to bond with new friends on this
shared adventure you're having. You'll find
yourself chatting excitedly in the evenings
about the day's surprises, like that sea lion pup
that practically crawled into your lap on Santiago
Island or that marine iguana you saw munching
on seaweed for ten whole minutes underwater.
A week lets you settle in and enjoy yourself and
not think too much about how it's all going to
end way too soon no matter what you do! Our
thinking is, if you've come this far and spent this
much for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, you
may as well stick around for awhile and make
the most of it. At the bottom of this page we talk
about how you can snag a Galapagos cruise for
half price by booking it last-minute in Quito.
getting to explore some of the more remote
spots in the Galapagos where the wildlife tends
to be richest. A three-day cruise doesn't give
you enough time, for example, to circle around
to the far side of Isabela Island (biggest in the
Galapagos chain). A longer cruise also gives
you more time to bond with new friends on this
shared adventure you're having. You'll find
yourself chatting excitedly in the evenings
about the day's surprises, like that sea lion pup
that practically crawled into your lap on Santiago
Island or that marine iguana you saw munching
on seaweed for ten whole minutes underwater.
A week lets you settle in and enjoy yourself and
not think too much about how it's all going to
end way too soon no matter what you do! Our
thinking is, if you've come this far and spent this
much for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, you
may as well stick around for awhile and make
the most of it. At the bottom of this page we talk
about how you can snag a Galapagos cruise for
half price by booking it last-minute in Quito.
| How to Book a Galapagos Cruise for Half Price |
If you're wondering how you, too, can sail aboard a yacht for a
week in the Galapagos at half price, read on. First the bad news:
even sailing for half-price isn't cheap. We paid $1,500 each for
the cruise, plus $540 each for round-trip airfare from Quito, plus
$110 each in Galapagos entry fees. That's $2,150 per person,
plus tips for the crew and guide (another $200 each). Thus we
paid $4,700 total for a one-week luxury cruise. Even a budget
cruise is likely to set you back a minimum of $3,500 for two.
On the plus side, $1500 per person is still half what you'd pay to
book the same cruise ahead of time in the U.S. The same ship --
Treasure of Galapagos -- is listed at $3,000+ each online.
The key to booking a last-minute cruise is to show up in Quito
with enough flexibility built into your schedule to allow you to
make a quick decision when the right opportunity presents
itself. We reserved five nights' stay in Quito. We spent three
days sightseeing, then, on the fourth day, walked to Avenida
Amazonas in the new part of town. Avenida Amazonas is travel
agency central in Quito.
We visited three different agencies. The first, Happy Gringo, has
a great online website and a helpful staff. They presented us
with five or six different options for cruises leaving the next
few days. Prices ranged from $1300 for budget cruises to $1900
for luxury ones. It helped that it wasn't high season (i.e., July or
August). March is shoulder season so there were a fair number
of good deals out there.
week in the Galapagos at half price, read on. First the bad news:
even sailing for half-price isn't cheap. We paid $1,500 each for
the cruise, plus $540 each for round-trip airfare from Quito, plus
$110 each in Galapagos entry fees. That's $2,150 per person,
plus tips for the crew and guide (another $200 each). Thus we
paid $4,700 total for a one-week luxury cruise. Even a budget
cruise is likely to set you back a minimum of $3,500 for two.
On the plus side, $1500 per person is still half what you'd pay to
book the same cruise ahead of time in the U.S. The same ship --
Treasure of Galapagos -- is listed at $3,000+ each online.
The key to booking a last-minute cruise is to show up in Quito
with enough flexibility built into your schedule to allow you to
make a quick decision when the right opportunity presents
itself. We reserved five nights' stay in Quito. We spent three
days sightseeing, then, on the fourth day, walked to Avenida
Amazonas in the new part of town. Avenida Amazonas is travel
agency central in Quito.
We visited three different agencies. The first, Happy Gringo, has
a great online website and a helpful staff. They presented us
with five or six different options for cruises leaving the next
few days. Prices ranged from $1300 for budget cruises to $1900
for luxury ones. It helped that it wasn't high season (i.e., July or
August). March is shoulder season so there were a fair number
of good deals out there.
We wrote down the key information then visited another
agency, SurTrek. The SurTrek agent presented just one option
but it was a great one. She offered Treasure of Galapagos for
several hundred dollars less than Happy Gringo for the same
cruise. Now, this isn't to say Happy Gringo would always be
undercut but rather that it's always wise to shop around. The
third agency had less to offer so we went back to SurTrek and
booked Treasure of Galapagos since it was the best value.
We had to leave a day early from Quito to make the cruise work,
but this flexibility was crucial to sealing the deal. It could also
have turned out that the right cruise didn't leave for several
days after our travel agency visit and we would have had to stay
a few nights longer in Quito. Either way, you need some
flexibility in your schedule for a last-minute booking option like
this to work.
You might be able to book a cruise cheaper by waiting until you
get to Isla Santa Cruz or Isla San Cristobal in the Galapagos --
but the ship selection can be limited and skews towards budget.
That's because most higher-end cruises have already been
scooped up by last-minute bargain hunters in Quito. You can
also save money by booking a shorter cruise, but we wouldn't
recommend less than five days since the first and last days are
only partial days as it is.
A final option is to forego a cruise altogether and go Galapagos
island-hopping on your own. We discuss this on our next page.
agency, SurTrek. The SurTrek agent presented just one option
but it was a great one. She offered Treasure of Galapagos for
several hundred dollars less than Happy Gringo for the same
cruise. Now, this isn't to say Happy Gringo would always be
undercut but rather that it's always wise to shop around. The
third agency had less to offer so we went back to SurTrek and
booked Treasure of Galapagos since it was the best value.
We had to leave a day early from Quito to make the cruise work,
but this flexibility was crucial to sealing the deal. It could also
have turned out that the right cruise didn't leave for several
days after our travel agency visit and we would have had to stay
a few nights longer in Quito. Either way, you need some
flexibility in your schedule for a last-minute booking option like
this to work.
You might be able to book a cruise cheaper by waiting until you
get to Isla Santa Cruz or Isla San Cristobal in the Galapagos --
but the ship selection can be limited and skews towards budget.
That's because most higher-end cruises have already been
scooped up by last-minute bargain hunters in Quito. You can
also save money by booking a shorter cruise, but we wouldn't
recommend less than five days since the first and last days are
only partial days as it is.
A final option is to forego a cruise altogether and go Galapagos
island-hopping on your own. We discuss this on our next page.
| [Photo by remkonicole.nl] |
[Not our photo]
| [Photo by remkonicole.nl] |
