Morning Stop at San Cristobal

After an overnight ride we parked just off the coast of San Cristobal, the next island on the itinerary. We were in for a big day and it kicked off early because we had 3 stops to make.

First up was a dingy ride through the nearby caverns in the area. As the sun peaked over the horizon, we climbed into the dingy to explore some nearby caverns and cliffs. It was a little chilly this morning and we were still sleepy eyed but were eager to see what was ahead. It was a fairly uneventful cruise through the caves but at one point, we had to time the wave surge in order to make it through a tight passage without crashing into the narrowing walls and celling.

Our destination was the tall cliff you can see in the photograph.  Steph actually had the idea to take this vertical panorama shot.  Even with movement of the ocean it came out ok and shows the scale of the island cliff (see our tiny boats at the bottom?).  You can also see this in the last picture a similar sense of scale with the expanse of the ocean.  Its hard not to feel small when faced with those types of scenes. 

From there we headed to a nearby beach for a wet landing and morning stroll on the white sand crescent-shaped beach. There were a few sea lions, sally lightfoot crabs and one hungry pelican who was entertaining to watch hunt. I also ran into a few iguanas that posed for a photo towards the end of the beach.

The beach itself was probably one of the more picturesque and without any other activities to pre-occupy us, the peaceful stroll was a great way to start the day. The warm sun brought the day to life and the colors really started to pop. The blue waters, white sand and contrasting black lava rock did not disappoint. Add with the views of Kicker Rock on the horizon, our next snorkeling destination, we couldn't help but appreciate the scene.

Up Next: Kicker Rock - Snorkeling Surprise

Carpets of Sting Rays and Following Turtles on Santa Fe Island

Before I get to the actives I wanted mention a little about the schedule on the boat.  At each stop there are scheduled activities and due to rules in Galapagos National Park all of the boats are given time slots to participate in the activities. The aim is to avoid huge crowds on the islands which could disturb the wild life.

One amusing aspect was always how quickly the boat would be on the move after the activity ended. We would all jump off the dingy and deck hands would spring into action. Within minutes, the captain would have the boat on the move, leaving little time to say goodbye to island where you had just been. You had to be quick on your feet to get good island shots from a distance because before you knew it, the island was far off in the distance and only a memory.

Well, the move to Santa Fe was no different. Time between islands was short and before we knew it we were parked in a gorgeous bay. The nearby beach would be our afternoon landing for a trek around the island to see unique cactus, some iguanas and colony of sea lions that inhabited the beach.

After lunch we headed up to the sun deck for our afternoon coffee and to relax in the the shade to take in the scenic views of a another new island. These hours leading up to an activity were always so exciting as you imagined what cool experience you might have next.

Staring out at the calm blue waters we started noticing dark spots moving in from the bay entrance in waves past the boat. The water was about 15-20 feet deep with about 10-12 feet of visibility but looking closely you could see the black spots were actually schools of small spotted sting ray flooding the bay due to the sandy bottom.

Never needing an excuse to go explore, we grabbed our mask and snorkels and were quickly off the back of the boat swimming with what looked like carpets of sting rays. They weren't always in the same path and since the visibility wasn't great it took a team effort to spot them in the water.  Those on the boat would call out relative directions and we'd swim over and dive down to watching them.

As they approached they would either dive under you or go around but there was always a few moments where they were swimming at your level which really showed off their flying movement.  The grace and fluidity they swim with is just remarkable.

The schools kept going past the boat long after we were tired and cold and relegated to watching from the boat. However, after a short break it was time to get back in the water because Efrain rang the bell for a guided snorkeling trip around the bay.

The dingy gave us a ride to the edge of the bay and off the side we went. I'm not sure if it was the change of setting or what, but going back in the water the second time was extra cold - wet suits sure would have been nice.  Luckily we were quickly distracted.

Sea Turtles were in the bay too!

We had been so focused on the rays we must have just missed them. We ran across 4 or 5 as we snorkeled along the coast then back to the boat. Most of the time we were close enough to swim right along side them and watch as they just went about their business. Its too bad I don't have better camera equipment for underwater photography because these creatures made for one amazing snorkeling experience.  Here is a short video to get the idea.

Now back on the boat we had about 10 minutes to warm up in the sun and change out of our swim suits before the bell was ringing again for our shore excursion and hike on the island.

From what we had heard about the island, iguanas and beautiful beach covered in a colony of sea lions were to be expected.  However, there were two differences from some of the other islands.  First the land iguanas were more pale and yellow than other islands.  And the sea lions seemed more friendly.  It could be that the younger sea lions were just more active later in the after than other visits, we aren't sure.

The hike took us through the heart of the island giving us a lot more vegetation to see than some of the other islands.  We stumbled on a few of the pale iguanas who with the vegetation blended right in. One even cracked a nice smile for the camera!  The short walk took us around a path with some sections of shoulder height vegetation and some good views over the bay, but he majority of the time was happily spent on the beach being entertained by sea lion cubs as they wrestled at our feet in the sand.  After a few days of endless sea lions you almost forgot that beaches covered in sea lions were an every day occurrence.  Well at least outside the Galapagos anyway...

As the sun eased towards the horizon for sunset with a glorious golden glow, we sat and just admired the endless playful energy of the sea lion pups. This capped off a good day and we were spent.

Up Next: Morning Stop at San Cristobal

Land Iguanas and Bachelor Sea Lions of South Plaza Island

Next up was South Plaza Island - an island off the coast of Santa Cruz. It's a small island that was created by rising lava and not a volcano like some of the other islands.  It was an absolute treat filled with so much to take in and an amazing opportunity to get up close and personal to colorful land iguanas and bachelor sea lions...we'll explain the bachelor part in a minute!

The island is about a mile long in length but skinny, with a large slope across the island ranging from tall, steep, cliffs down to sea level where we could make a dry landing.  It is known for its amazing flora called, Sesuvium or carpet weed, that depending on the season can be any shade from green to red.  It provided a stark contrast to the grey lava rocks that were exposed and plotted our path along the island.

It turned out to be one of our hotter mornings with the sun bearing down and no place to hide except under the brim of your hat...IF you had a big enough brim!  In my case, my hat just wasn't cutting it with my nose not always in the shade and already sunburnt! Again learn from us, be prepared with a big wide brimmed hat because in this case I couldn't just run to a store and pick one up.  I had to wait another few days before we were scheduled to be back in a port.

We were told beforehand that South Plaza has one of the larger sea lion colonies, most of which we wouldn't see although as we made our landing, there were a sea lions sunning themselves on our walkway.

In the Galapagos, clapping is the way to warn sea lions or get them to move out of your way.  So, with big round of applause by our group, we woke up the sea lions who begrudgingly moved out of the way for us to pass.  We made our way onto the island and immediately found a small cactus field of Opuntia Cactus - the trees with the round cactus pads.  Land iguanas love them and over time have eaten the lower half of the branches, so the cactus leaves flourish from about 2 feet off the ground.


Most of the cacti had a iguana hiding from the sun or guarding its territory. There was prime real-estate to be had and I'm sure some fights ensued to get the best spot.

Making our way around the island we climbed up to the cliffs. Looking down below to the sparkling ocean we were on the lookout from some rare Red bill tropic birds and swallow tail gulls.  They were a fair ways away on the cliffs so we soon moved on.

From there we headed to Bachelors' Rock where male sea lions come to recover after failing to fight off other sea lions (showing off for the ladies, of course).  Wounded and tired, they bask in the sun while gearing up for another battle.  There were a couple sea lions as we walked by but they didn't even move, deep in their slumber.  They rested on what looked like white rocks, but really they were just polished from all of the sea lions using this as a resting ground.  It sounds all sweet and serene feeling sympathy for the loser sea lions, but it was one stinky place.  The white polish is natural, shiny, slippery finish created by sea lions wallowing on the rocks, but the not-so-nice part is that its created from polishing the rocks with sea lion poo - not a nice smell.  Actually it stunk.  But I'm sure if you were an injured sea lion it was a restful retreat.

Next we made the rest of the loop around the island spotting iguana after iguana which was so
enjoyable. They aren't the most cuddly of creatures but they sure are interesting! Some of them pose for you and others just ignore you.

Here are some of the photos.

Up Next: San Cristobal Island, Kicker and Lobos Island

Bartolome & Santiago - Monster Views, Snorkeling and Lava

Bartolome was an island that Steph specifically sought out on our itinerary because of the overwhelming reviews it received from other travelers...and they weren't wrong.  It was all about the vistas and volcanoes that created them. 

Before I get to the island, I want to talk about our good friend the sun, well, the strength of the sun. Coming from late winter in New York after being in full winter mode, we were pale and didn't come as prepared as we needed and thus couldn't avoid sun burn.  For starters we didn't bring enough sunscreen and ran out about 3 days into the trip.  Don't ask, we still can't figure out what we were thinking only bringing one bottle.  I guess the pack light mentality got the best of us.  We had to borrow some from our boat mates until we went back to a city a couple days later. So, learn from us, bring plenty of high SPF sunscreen because you will need it.

Even with 50+ SPF we were still getting sun burnt burnt. We each ended up with something red just about every day.  It almost became a game.  The following day apply extra sunscreen on the burnt spot and something else would mysteriously be red.  We ended covering up more even despite the heat.  You'll notice the big brimmed hats and long sleeve shirts, so be warned, the sun at the equator is strong!

Back to the island.  We started the day with an early morning dingy ride to try and spot a colony of penguins that are known to breed nearby.  No luck.  However I did get a shot of this Oyster catcher resting on one leg which was fairly interesting with its bright red bill.

After giving up the penguin search we headed to the dry landing to embark on a light climb on the island to the top of the old volcano.  The fairly steep hike took about 20 minutes and was a small price to pay for an amazing overlook that the Galapagos is famous for.  Its the headline photo where Steph is sitting on the fence.  The colors were so bright with the desolate lunar looking landscape as contrast overlooking Pinnacle Point.

Bartolome is one of the "youngest" islands in the chain, somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 million years old.  This means not much plant life has really taken hold yet so its a pretty rocky and rough place.  A few salamanders and lava plants was about it.

However, there is plenty of activity between the islands under. Splashing into the water after a short dingy ride we started another round of snorkeling. We ended up swimming around the rocks up to Pinnacle Point where we found some caves with white tip reef sharks in the shadows. With the waves crashing into the small cove we could only admire from a short distance away before having to move on.  Further into the swim we rounded the point and looked down to see one of the sharks swimming below.  He gracefully swam past as we admired him.


From there we headed to Santiago island's Sullivan Bay that afternoon where we hiked over a lava field that reminded us of the lave fields in Hawaii.  They are such a collision of texture and shapes that is fascinating to walk on. At times it can even look soft to the touch before you remember it is rock.  We stumbled on a shallow lava cave with a hole just big enough to jump in, hence, Steph chest deep in the lave field.

Finally, it was off the the nearby beach to relax for the rest of the afternoon. On top of a gorgeous white sand beach, there was a big colony of Sally Lightfoot crabs that kept me entertained.  The black rock, red crabs and blue ocean provided such an unique mixture of color.  Add in the constant motion of the crabs crawling around as only crabs can do, jumping from rock to rock, dodging the crashing waves while having territorial spats where the bigger crabs over power the smaller ones made for good viewing.

We will leave you with a few more photos of the spectacular landscape around Bartolomè island - uniquely Galapagos and truly breathtaking.

Up Next: Land Iguanas and Bachelor Sea Lions of South Plaza Island 

Genovesa Island, Darwin Bay - Say Hello to Sea Lions

Sitting in bay after lunch admiring the swarm of birds, we couldn't help but keep an eye on the beach that lie off in the distance knowing this was our afternoon destination.  However, before it was beach time it was snorkeling time.  Back to Prince Phillips we went this time with mask, snorkel and fins in hand.  Earlier in the day we had seen sea lions warming on the rocks so hopefully we'd get a chance to swim with them.  They are fairly friendly like seals and typically don't bother you and will swim past you if that is the direction they are going.

While the stunning teal waters look inviting, it wasn't long until we realized the waters around the islands are quite chilly and we often needed to don wet suits before snorkeling.  But the shock of the cold water quickly faded as a turtle was spotted below us feeding by the rocks.  As we continued to snorkel we were in luck, as a sea lion breezed past us!  So graceful and as quickly as he approached he was gone.  From there we swam along the cliffs until we were too cold to go on but luckily the beach and warm afternoon sun awaited.

As if we were stalking the sea lions, we exited the water and joined them on a beautiful bay beach where they were basking in the sun.  As we approached the large group of sea lions, we had to ask: what is it about sea lions?  They are stinky and some what obnoxious creatures, but so amazing to watch in their element.  Even when they are just sleeping, they seem so adorable and peaceful.  They frolic and roll around in the sand and then when they've had enough, the plop down, often near a friend for a nap.

And while we were intruders to their beautiful alcove, they hardly noticed us.  They might pass within inches of you while making their way over to a friend, but they rarely showed any interest in the odd human on their beach.  Its definitely for the better that there's no interaction - and the guides will enforce it - because that is what has created what we came to understand of the Galapagos.

Up Next: Bartolome & Santiago - Monster Views, Snorkeling and Lava