Hey, What'd the Galapagos cost?

After reading countless blogs on the Galapagos and how to do it on a budget, here's how I spent my two cents.

I set a fare alert on kayak.com for the entire month of February to and from Quito, to and from Guayaquil, to and from Baltra, and finally to and from San Christobol. The alert was set for 250 and under. 

I received an alert that Avianca/Priceline were offering flights from 184.

120 bucks national park fee per person.

Los Amigos Hostal in Puerto Ayor 37.50 bucks total for three nights per person.

Snorkel day trip to Pinzon and Daphne 140 per person.

Isabela two night, three day, transfers, meals and two excursions package for 250 per person.

Tortuga bay free
Wall of tears on San Isabela 4.50 bike rental

El Chapo tortuga reserve 33 dollars (11 per person)

Santa Cruz island taxis to and from airport 10 bucks per person.

Meals and libations 100.

Total cost was under 800 bucks for five nights and six days.

Bottomline: it's really expensive! We could have saved by not doing the packages and by doing the hostal ourselves on san Isabela for 20 per person per night.

Hey, Isla Isabela

We booked a package trip at one of the many tour companies in Puerto Ayor for three days and two nights on the largest island Isabella. Including meals, ferry round trip, accommodations,  and two day long excursions.

We woke up super early to catch the ferry to the island. Jess and I paid a deposit for the trip but owed the final amount at the dock. We found all three ATMs in that area were out of service. We tour our packs off and sprinted to the other side of town for another ATM we'd seen. We knew from the previous day that the boats are are willing to leave without you leaving you with a paid in full, but not usable package.

An important note while speaking of ATMs is that many of the islands dont have them and your MasterCard/Visa/Diners Club/Amex is useless because cash is king. Stock up with more cash than you'd normally travel with.

We managed to make it back in the nick of time but had to have our bags searched again by the  environment police in order to enter the pier. We paid the departure tax of one dollar and the boat taxi fare of fifty cents and we were off.

We expected  the boat to be a ship comparable to the ferries we have previously taken and seen in the states. We found that each company runs their own speedboat for the two-hour trip. Ours was loaded up with 20 or so people. Two and a half choppy hours later we arrived.

We were immediately taken by chiva, a truck fitted with seats on the flatbed, to the flamingo pond. There were four flamingos, four, what a bust. Next we went to the tortuga breeding center where we saw hundreds of tortugas of ages ranging from 1 week to greater than two hundred years old. The older the turtles breed better according to the staff of the factory. We were sad that they had so many pinned up in a zoo like fashion. They said they rotate the turtles in and out of captivity to promote their health as well as ensure gene differentiation.

The chiva returned to the dock where we began our three-hour tour (insert Gilligan's theme song). The boat never left the harbor but was able to show us boobies, I mean hundreds of them they sat perched on the lava rock pruning in between fishing trips. We pulled right beside them and watched them come and go. Massive groups would rise up at once to start the hunt.

Slowly they patrol the skies 20 feet off of the water surface. They will bank sharply, tuck their wings back and plunge like a missile into the water. There are stories of boobies reaching a depth of 36 feet chasing prey. Sometimes they all go for the same fish at once, similar to throwing a handful of darts.

Finally, we went to iguana island. It feels like you're on a foreign planet with all of the lava spires. The world's only marine iguana nests here in the rocks. They show zero concern for us humans and fully grown males have no predators on the island which probably inflates their ego.

The island is currently only females who fight for nesting ground. The males took off after they got their ladies knocked up. After months of mating with anybody they could, they've lost considerable weight and the fishing around the island is depleted.

Our second day we woke early to snorkel. Lava tunnels cover some of the island's coasts. After many years, the tunnels have collapsed leaving a maze of lagoons and arches. The water was crystal clear and a striking contrast to the black coral covered lava rock.

On our way to the second snorkel spot of the day, we saw what we thought to be fins. We cheered with delight when the fins turned into the wings of a 10-15 foot wide manta ray which vaulted itself from the water into the air and crashed with a great splash back into the sea. We had wondered into a flock of rays who were using the vaults to clean the parasites off of their backs.

The second snorkel spot had bad visibility but was fun due to the gigantic sea turtles munching seaweed and the reef sharks sleeping beneath a rock reef cavern.

Hey, We saw Boobies!

¡Hola familia y amigos!

This is our second full day on the Galapagos, and it was awesome!

As a last minute decision yesterday, we booked a snorkeling trip to two separate islands, Pinzon and Daphne. So this morning at 8 am, we met up with our group to go to the first stop.

Naturally, after we arrived at the meet point this morning with only 10 minutes to spare, Brandt decides that he needs coffee. Yikes!! My type-A kicked into full swing, and I practically paced in circles waiting for him to get back, and counting the seconds before departure time. Brandt made it back with two minutes to spare, with a hot cup of coffee, pastries, snacks, and a smile. Brandt would say that he was using time efficiently, I however, considered this a reckless jaunt! Everything worked out though, and we loaded into the boat to go to our first island! Jess, on the other hand, had not yet even shown up due to a night of drinking with a yacht club circumnavigating the world. We went and banged on her hotel room door to wake her. She walked up to the dock the second before the boat was leaving.

Pinzon had two separate snorkeling sites. The first was a small cove filled with parrot fish, clown fish, and even sharks and sea turtles!

Encountering my first shark in the wild was pretty nerve wracking, but Brandt and Jess were considerably less intimidated. The sharks we saw were White Tip Reef sharks, and unlike the Jaws image I had in my head, they were small (maybe 4 feet long) and surprisingly skittish. I ended up enjoying finding them while still maintaining a careful distance and I found it best to keep another person between the shark and myself, just in case it attacked.

Allegedly there were penguins swimming too, but no one aside from the guide saw them...

The next site was near a rock outcrop was much deeper. The currents were stronger, and the guide had to limit areas that we could safely snorkel. Many of the colorful species of fish were the same as the first site, but we did see a bait ball!

A bait ball is a massive school of small feeder fish. This group move as one, and roughly keeps the same shape, which is usually a ball. Aside from how cool it was to dive into this school (the fish morph to surround you, it was like swimming in a dome made of fish), there was also a sea wolf hunting the fish as well!

A sea wolf is what Ecuadorians call a sea lion. Our guide explained that while northern countries use the term sea lion because of the way the animal behaves, in South America many people prefer the term sea wolf, or even sea dog,  because the shape of the head looks canine.

The sea wolf would corral the fish and dive into the bait ball to feed. Not only were we able to dive into the fish, but we did so alongside a sea wolf! This was the highlight of my day.

After the second site we took a trip to a white sand beach and spent some time relaxing. We saw our first Blue-footed Boobie here on nearby rocks, however, the bird was too far for us to take pictures.

Feeling a little more crispy from the sun, we loaded into the boat for our final dive. Daphne is a smaller island than Pinzon, with a decently powerful current. Because of El Niño, and the combating currents, the temperature fluctuated from pleasantly warm to Pacific cold every thirty seconds or so. The schizophrenic temperature was well worth it, however, because we got to see Boobies up close!!

There are three types of Boobies in the Galapagos: Blue-footed, Red-footed, and White Mask. The Red-footed variety is only on two islands, and elusive.

Along with the Boobies, we were able to see another sea turtle! At the end of the day we left our snorkeling trip more sun burned, but content.

Next stop is Isla Isabela to see some flamingos, underwater lava tunnels, and hopefully penguins!

Hey, Darwin

We left Montanita at 6pm to Sta Helena for a connection to Guayaquil. In Guayaquil, we took the overnight bus back to Quito once again.

We arrived in Quito earlier than expected at 6am and took our time getting to the airport for our departure to the Galapagos. Not originally part of our trip, when we found round trip flights for under 180 we jumped at the opportunity.

I love South America's airlines! No matter how long your flight time, you're sure to get food.

In 1832 Ecuador laid claim to the treasure of the Galapagos when no other country wanted them. Charles Darwin came to the island three years later and made the islands famous and suddenly sought after in territorial disputes. Nevertheless the islands remain Ecuadorian despite their position in a different timezone and 600 miles out to sea.

I was impressed the level of biological  security the government imposes upon airlines. Our bags were xrayed three times and the overhead compartments were fumigated mid-flight. 

A fifteen minute bus from the terminal where we had a lively boatride to Santa Cruz island. We expected a bus,but found out the last bus stops at 10am and we would be taking a cab at 5 bucks per person.

Isla Santa Cruz  is the most populated islands of the Galapagos, however, it feels really small and unfortunately very touristy. The upside of the island is everything else. The flora consists of cactus trees, bushes and mangroves.

The first night we went to the marina which has a pier lighted underneath. After  Rob was scolded for taking pictures with a flash, we saw manta rays, stingrays, small sharks, sea lions, crabs, turtles, and batefish all from the comforts of the dock. We were dumbstruck with the variety of animals already.

We woke early the next day to catch a cab to the Highlands to a sanctuary we had heard about containing some senior citizens.

The galapagos tortoise roams the hils beneith a gigantic shell and tops 600 pounds. They have been recorded to have lived for a record 200 years and the ones today nearly survived extinction. Today they roam a mowed yard and eat mangos that fall from the trees while enjoying the option to come and go as they please.

El Chato reserve hosts these magnificent creatures on their ranch and charges a mere 3 bucks for entry. An extra bonus of the reserve are the lava tunnels twenty feet high and twenty feet wide that speckle the property. 

The day continued after three hours  exploring  the ranch, spelunking, trying on turtle shells,  blushing while turtles--we'll just say be turtles.

The day hardly was over there. We at once suited up for the beach. One and a half miles from town is a beach called Tortuga bay. Simple said, wow. If I discribed walking next to a pool on baking flour, I'd be describing the fine white sand of the beach and the crystal blue water of the seemingly endless beach. Easily the most beautiful beach I've ever seen.