IV. SA Ecuador/W3b+4a, 5d: Galapagos 1 E

Ecuador is often also named as the country with 4 countries: Galapagos Islands, Coast, Mountains and Rainforest. It is one of the world's most biodiverse countries with 1,600 species of birds and 25,000 species of plants just on the mainland.
After roughly 3 weeks within the Sierra and Selva I had to decide between the coast and Galapagos - as I will probably still have a lot of coast in Colombia and Central America I then decided to take the pretty expensive option of flying to the Galapagos Islands; it will probably blow my budget but I am only here once in my life and would definitely regret not doing it and after all, you also have to treat yourself every once in a while. Moreover, May is about the perfect time to visit - being low season you avoid the crowds and get cheaper accommodation, foods or better deals plus after the rain the islands are a lot greener and the ocean warmer.
Located 970km west of Ecuador's mainland Galapagos' unique ecosystem counts among the world's best tourist destinations as the wildlife is still utterly unconcerned by humans and is thus the ultimate experience for wildlife watching. There are reptiles such as giant tortoises or iguanas, mammals like sea turtles ot sea lions, birds such as blue-footed boobies or Galapagos Penguin and whale sharks and hammerheads just to name a few. It is the place where Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was envoked and it is an incredible natural treasure. It also has blackened lava flows and steaming volcanoes and most of the species are endemic without many natural predators and can only be found here.
There is no place like Galapagos! The islands are the tips of underwater mountains that have been formed by eruption. Old islands such as Santa Cruz only have inactive volcanoes but on younger ones like Isabela they are still active. The geographic location is unique being on the convergence of several major Pacific Ocean currents providing both cold water and tropical communities. Due to the isolation of the sea, different topography and age each island has a different set of unique species, the diversity of life forms a truly evolutionary wonder. The islands in the East such as San Cristobal and Española are older, more eroded and flatter; the ones in the West such as Isabela and Fernanda are higher, less eroded and have active volcanoes; the smaller islands have humid zones in the highlands.
They were discovered in 1535, 97% have been classified as National Park in 1953 (only 3% can be used by humans) and are a World Heritage Site - a lot of good reasons to come here at least once in your life :)))

Su, 14.05. Flight from Quito to Baltra, Santa Cruz
Yippee - after a really uncomfortable night at the airport (it is just the safest place everywhere in the world), paying the $20 fee and an acribic check of my backpack (Galapagos is really strict here for good reasons) I had an early morning flight at 6am :)
From Quito we first flew roughly 35m to Guayquil and from there another roughly 1,5h to Baltra, the airport island north of the main island Santa Cruz. There we were - quite typical for South America and Ecuador - greeted with discriminating Gringo prices: Foreigners do not only have to pay double the price for the flight than locals; also the entrance fee for the Galapagos Islands is currently about $100, Latin American pay only half $50 and Ecuadorians with only $7 (!) 13x less; thanks a lot and to be paid in cash directly upon arrival - if we had such discriminating prices in Germany, above all because the money is not always used for the islands as I figured out later...
This was also the reason why I decided to stay 10 days - the entrance per day is then only $12 and moreover, the first and last day are usually only travelling days with organising so there is exactly 1 week and thus a lot of time for 4d island hopping and 4d cruise ;)
Galapagos is indeed a really dear place: for sure the most highest expenses are the flight and entrance fees but also accommodation and food as well as tours are easily double or triple the price compared to the mainland. Thanks to travelling in low season I only paid $15/N in even a single room with private bathroom - but usually you already pay $20-30/N in a dorm and cheapest food in the smaller local restaurants is $5 - at the tourist restaurants directly located at the beach or harbour it is for sure a lot more. Tours are also really expensive; on average you have to pay $35-50 for a half day, $100-130 for a full day trip and cruises start in general at $200/d - a backpacker's paradise :O However, I already mentioned above: this place is so unique, you just have to pay for it and if you are already here it is also worth doing a cruise (island hopping is very time consuming, has to be organised = loss of time and some islands can just be seen via a cruise) and thanks to my negotiation skills I could also get a relatively good price ($600=$150/d for a 4d cruise and another $200 for 3d Isabela including transport, accommodation, food as well as 3 tours) and have thus spent 10days at $110/d (4x my daily budget of $35) - it really hurts for the wallet :(
But as a result I got quite from the beginning spectacular landscapes, awesome clear water and a lot of birds during the ferry ride ($1) from island Baltra to island Santa Cruz as well as the bus ride ($2) from North to South in the harbour Puerto Ayora. I was also very surprised by the well developped paved roads, many bike paths, pretty clean and secure - it was immediately totally different from the Ecuadorian mainland and also 1h behind.
Foodwise there is of course a lot of fish and seafood such as Ceviche (raw fish, shrimps, octopus or lobster), marinero (mixed seafood), cazuela (mixed caserole) and everything possible reventado/plancha (grilled) or frito (fried) as well as al ajillo (garlic sauce) or encocado (coconut sauce). My absolute paradise and I immediately had a nice soup of it (fish, octopus and shrimps) as well as grilled fish with beans and rice. Moreover there is also free water if you choose your hostel and tour operator wisely.

Mo, 15.05. Santa Cruz: Highlands, Ninfas, Grietas, CD
Santa Cruz is with 18,000h the most populated main island, 15,000 alone live in Puerto Ayora in the south and also main tourist hub - most people fly to Baltra and then continue to Santa Cruz. Animals can be found immediately and everywhere here: sea lions and crabs directly at the harbour and fish market, a lot of iguanas on the way to Tortuga Bay and birds are accompanying you everywhere ;)
Via the small village Bellavista I first drove inland to the Highlands in the morning. This is where I saw Los Gemelos, two big round and oval type volcano craters that reminded me more of sinkholes with the unique Scalesia forest. Via another village Santa Rosa and many orange and banana farms (yes they grow here which makes it difficult for me to understand the high prices) I continued to Tuneles de lava, subterrenean lava tunnels. They consist of very black lava stone and it is an interesting experience to crawl through them. After that I visited El Chato, the perfect place to see the famous Tortuga gigante (giant Galapagos tortoise) in its natural habitat - we saw 5 big ones on land, 3 smaller ones bathing in a lake and the way how they move and eat is really fascinating. The bones are lighter than I thought and you could also crawl into a shell to get a better idea. It was btw a lot cooler and cloudier up there - back in the port the sun was shining with a lot of heat but nice breeze :)
For lunch I then had a delicious almuerzo with juice from tomate de arbol (tree tomato) and encocado de pescado (fish in coconut sauce) for $5 in the famous kiosk street; very yummy :)))
After that I went to the very calm and idylic lake Las Ninfas, then took the $0.80 taxi boat to the other side of the port to Las Grietas, a gorge with calm river, nice crystal-clear water and super snorkeling opportunities. The way to get there is also already really nice, passing Laguna Salinera and Playa de los Alemanes - German Beach :P

In the afternoon I then visited the free Charles Darwin Research Centre & Breeding Centre Fausto Llerena and learned a lot about the islands as well as the flora and fauna; travelling is just the best university in the world:
Everything is run and protected by the two organisations Galapagos National Park Service (GNPS) and Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF). Their main tasks are animal and plant protection, import controls as well as community projects to educate in schools and to train locals to become future guides. There is also a German influence here with the Zoologischen Gesellschaft Frankfurt as friend and supporter ;)
The Galapagos Giant Tortoise is the biggest land reptile and endemic, it only exists here and on the
Aldabra atoll in the Indian Ocean. In the 17/18th century they were taken away as food, the oil used for lamps and the shells as containers. Especially the importation of animals such as rats, pigs, goats as well as plants like mulberry led to huge problems as they took away the habitats of the local flora and fauna or brought diseases - today, there is only 10% of the original population left. Furthermore, they are like gardeners as they cannot digest the seeds of the 50 different types of fruit they eat and thus create new plants with their excrements - if we lose the tortoises we will also lose our Garden Galapagos.
The land and marine iguanas are also endemic, can partially only be found on some islands and there are 4 types: marina, terrestre, risada and Santa Fe.
There are also some nice sentences from the centre:
- Like Darwin, if you want to know more, investigate.
- The greatest achievements can be made if you investigate a little mystery.
- Curiosity leads us down new paths.
- Todo cambia - everything changes.
- The only thing we can be sure of is change.
- The most adaptable to change survive.

Tu, 16.05. Santa Cruz (Tortuga Bay) & Isabela
On Tuesday morning I went to Ecuador's apparently most beautiful beach - Tortuga Bay. It is a roughly 50m walk through beautiful cacteen-volcano landscape before you reach 2 beaches: Playa Brava & Playa Mansa, the first one not suitable for swimming due to its strong currents and the last one super relaxing including a lot of iguanas; that's what it is famous for.
After lunch I then went via island hopping and 2h speed boat and most bumpy boat ride ever (you were rather flying than sitting) to the biggest island Isabela and Puerto Villamil - for me by far the nicest of all Galapagos islands.
Already at the harbour we were greeted by penguins and iguanas, there are no sealed roads and hardly any vehicles, only a few tourists and it is thus a lot calmer and more relaxing and the landscapes as young volcano island are incredibly beautiful. It is only the additional $10 entrance fee to the island (I did not yet already pay $120 for the Galapagos Islands in general) that wasn't that nice especially as Ecuadorian once again only had to pay half price :P
But that was pretty much forgotten as soon as I saw my luxurious 3-bed room with private bathroom, marveled at flamingos and ate super delicious octopus in the evening :)))

We, 17.05. Isabela: Volcano Sierra Negra y Chico
The 5-6h hike to Sierra Negra Volcano would turn out to be another highlight for me. There are hardly any animals but the landscape is just unique: it is like being on another planet with so many black, brown, red, beige and earth colours; I have never seen something like that before. The red stones are older, black the youngest and it is mainly iron and magnesium but also a bit of silicium, aluminium and copper. Isabela is one of the younger islands, the last eruption was only in 2005 and the volcano is still active what you can see and feel on hot steam coming from holes in the ground. The south is more humid which explains all the fog and non-visibility in the morning but later and in the north it cleared up so that we got a spectacular view of the with 10km second widest volcano crater in the world (after Gora Gora in Tanzania with 20km).
Moreover, we got a lot of information about Isabela's history: In 1995 there were only 300 people living on the island, nowadays the population is about 3,000 - Galapagos tourism started in Santa Cruz especially, Isabela lived from fishing and hunting and only with a new law in 2001 went more into the tourism sector; overall there are 200,000 people visiting Galapagos every year with all its advantages and disadvantages.
In the afternoon I went to Muro de las lagrimas - Wall of Tears; not that interesting but on the way there was just so much to see, directly on the beach, nice landscapes and so many animals (mainly pelicans, iguanas and a lot of crabs) - they were so close and partially directly on the paths, no chance to respect the 2m security distance :P The places were all along Camineta de Tortuga and were called El Estero y Tunel de Estero, Laguna/Poza Escondida y Redonda, los Tunos, Verde, Playa de Armor as well as Playita - as it was Mom's birthday I did the whole day just for her and hoped that she could see me; but just look at the pictures ;)
Before having a nice shrimp dinner I then still went to Concha de Perla, a free snorkeling spot close to the harbour and then hit quite happy my super big luxury bed :)

Th, 18.05. Isabela: Snorkeling Tintorera & Santa Cruz
After another super yummy breakfast including juice, croissant with guava jam, scrambled eggs as well as my super medecine bananas and papayas I had a pretty cool snorkeling trip. Thanks to the low season we were also only 7 instead of 16 people. We already saw many animals from the boat such as penguins, sea lions, sea turtles, fishes, crabs as well as pelicans and the so famous blue-footed boobies. On land at Tortuga Island we saw many birds within the typical red and white mangroves as well as a lot of young baby iguanas and (sun-)bathing sea lions. During snorkeling itself we saw apart from many fishes of all different types and colours also different kinds of rays, sea lions and sea turtles :) It was also nice as we snorkeled through a canyon and thus enjoyed a beautiful underwater world ;)
For lunch I then had a delicious bean soup with shrimps in garlic sauce and cooked banana before taking another 2h pretty bumpy rollercoaster speed boat ride back to Santa Cruz in the late afternoon - good that I can sleep pretty much everywhere :OLeia mais