Destination: Galapagos
September 4-21, 2019

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Galapagos trip compilation

Galapagos Trip Compilation

Prequel (Sept 4-5)

So just before going on this trip, Hurricane Dorian developed and was heading towards Florida. When I used to live in Florida, I was always acutely aware of the hurricanes. But here in Georgia, they don't really cross my mind. One of my managers happened to mention it, and I suddenly became very concerned. If it actually hit Miami, I would need to find an alternate route to the Galapagos, and fast. When I started researching last minute flights, my concerns were somewhat alleviated: there are a surprising number of flights to Quito, and from Quito to the Galapagos. So it would cost me a pretty penny, but I could find a way. With my original tickets non-refundable, I let my bet stay on the table and played chicken with Dorian.

Luckily it paid off (although not for the Bahamas): Dorian stalled then veered north. Both Miami and my flight plans were spared! So it was off to Hartsfield-Jackson for a day of travel...

So I was very nervous leading up to this trip because Hurricane Dorian has MIA in its threat cone. I kept watching the NHC to see if I had to make a last minute flight change. Luckily for me (not so much for the Bahamas), MIA was fine so my travel plans were unhindered. Important to start travel on a good note. A breakfast sandwich and coffee from Grind House while waiting at the ATL airport. Having lunch at Spring Chicken in MIA Guayaquil Airport (GYE). My first time in South America. My first time south of the equator. Guayaquil airport had a neat koi pond. So first stop... Wyndham Hotel and dinner. The first of many Pilseners on this trip. (In Ecuador it's a brand, not a type.) Also answers the oft-repeat question: Dónde está la cerveza? Back at GYE. To get to the Galapagos you practically have to go through customs again. The line was long, but I had nothing else to do... Baltra Airport (GPS) in the Galapagos! Out came the dogs to check for contraband... ...and back in the kennel after a job well done.

Part 1 - Dive Safari (Sept 5-11)

I'm not going to lie: I was nervous about these dives. I knew the conditions would be challenging. I knew the water was going to be cold. I knew we were going to be diving from pangas (Zodiacs). I was also diving with a new wetsuit and new fins, but the part that really had me nervous: gloves. I'm a very tactile person. I hate having anything on my hands. I know my BCD and my gear by feel, so the thought of fumbling around in 5mm gloves was really daunting.

It turns out that was the least of my problems. It felt like I was a brand-new diver again. My bouyancy was all shot-to-hell. In the checkout dive we did in Itabaca Channel, I started with 20lbs and fully-expected I'd need to add 4 more. Yeah, 12lbs later, at 32lbs total, I finally made it down. I knew I was overweight, but I didn't think by much, and the yacht only had 4# weights. I figured I'd just have to deal with it.

Turns out I didn't need to be worried. On the second day, one of my fears came true: while handing my weight pockets up to the panga driver, I dropped one. Twelve pounds of weight went down to the bottom. Crap. So after that I switched to a weight-belt/pocket combo, so now not only was I overweight but my balance was off-kilter as well. But then on one dive, I had a little trouble descending, but everything felt much better... except I kept rolling to one side. Maybe the weight belt had gotten loose? So fumbling around, I couldn't find it! Then I realized: I'd forgot to put it on! I was diving with "only" 20lbs! The safety stop was kind of a challenge, so I went back up to 24lbs and all was well! (I think it was just getting used to how the new wetsuit trapped air and getting used to getting it all out.)

About live-aboards: this was my first time on a live-aboard. The whole experience was top-notch. The crew was great and Winter (our steward) was amazing. You needed anything and he was there with it. But there were a few things to get used to. First, the boat is always a-rocking: from gentle swells when anchored, to full-speed-ahead overnight to transits to between far flung islands. I rarely get seasick, but I was taking Bonine the whole time as a precaution. Better safe than sorry. Second, hot water is a commodity. I got a few luke warm, and one sort-of-hot shower during the trip. That was one thing I was really looking forward to when getting back to land: a long, hot shower. Strangely the other craving I had, even though the food was great during the whole trip, was a sandwich. I can't explain that.

The diving itself was challenging, but incredible. It was like being in a nature documentary. The photos and video do not do it justice at all. My GoPro was struggling with low-light plus red-filter. I could see a lot more than the pictures show. And there was a ton to see! I went on this trip with only one thing on my checklist: schooling hammerheads. My checklist contains a lot more, and some I thought I might encounter, but this was the only "must have". That checkbox was filled on the second dive. Schooling hammerheads. Whale sharks. Eagle Rays. Sadly, some other divers saw a manta, but I never did, so that one is still on the list.

I joke that if I ever get a tattoo it will be the teeth of all the sharks I've been in the water with in the wild; but up till now it's been a paltry four species, so that would be pretty lame tattoo. Well, I'm up to eleven now, so it's at least possible: Tiger; Whale; Brown and Grey nurse; Lemon; Caribbean, Black-tip, and White-tip reef, Silky, Galapagos, and Galapagos bull-head.

So GPS is on an uninhabited rock. On Baltra island is an airport, a ferry dock, and a (seemingly) overly-windy road between the two. Across Itabaca Channel is Santa Cruz island. But I wasn't bound for Santa Cruz yet. Later, it was funny cause everyone would say 'Oh it's just like when you got here, just go the ferry and...' Err, I never took the ferry. The ever-present frigate birds (the assholes of the sky). In the distance you can see the wind turbines on Baltra island. Bartolome. The landscape is so alien and the moon hanging above the island just emphasized it. Visiting Bartolome. Our first sea lion. You're supposed to stay 2m away from wildlife. We couldn't really do that. Penguins underwater! (I just shoved my GoPro over the side of the panga, so I'm amazed I got anything.)

Part 2 - The Islands (Sept 11-17)
After bidding farewell to my SeaVentures comrades, it was time to enjoy the islands.... and get a hot shower. Hallelujah! And my hotel, Cucuve Suites, had a hammock on the balcony. How sweet is that? (Let me just say, the hotel and service was amazing. Every time I walked in they greeted me by name and any time I had questions, or needed anything, they took care of it.)

The first day, I basically wandered around on foot. In addition to aimless wandering, I visited the Charles Darwin Research Station, and then did the unexpectedly long hike out to Tortouga Bay. I, and the sandals I was wearing, was not ready for that much walking, so took a speedboat back to Port Ayora; there was no way I was walking back. Next up, because I was on vacation after all, I stopped by a place recommended by both the Aggressor cruise director and the hotel: Famai Thai Massage. This was my first time getting a Thai massage. It was somewhere between a tranquil spa-day, a deep-tissue massage, and a visit to a chiropractor. I'm pretty sure that little Thai woman could snap my neck without much effort. It was a wonderful way to end the day's explorations, but there was still dinner to be found...

Enter the street of kiosks! Conveniently, this was also the street my hotel was on. Basically, it's a street lined with little kiosk restaurants. At night, it's closed to traffic, they bring tables out into the street, and it's a like a war to get people to sit down at your kiosk's tables. The fresh catches would be out on display and hawkers competed for your attention. So I picked one randomly and had some delicious, in-season, lobster. They also like to push Happy Hour in these parts: 3 beers for $10, 2 cocktails for $10... or in my kiosk's case: 3 cocktails for $15. Service can be a bit slow (the only evidence I ever saw of "island time" on these islands), so after the first caipirinha, I just told them to go ahead and bring the next two at the same time. ☺

Day two was a tour out to North Seymour island. It's on this trip I met my new on-again/off-again travel buddies: Catriona, Xander, and Jessica. These three would give me severe passport envy. Catriona's passport book is almost completely full (Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Palau... the list goes on)! Granted she's from Hong Kong, so all those exotic places are much closer, but still. Jessica does work in South America and Africa so her list wasn't too shabby either; she was also our Spanish translator (handy!). This was definitely an upscale tour: the yacht, food, and service was all top notch. Loved walking around the islands and the snorkeling.

There was only one "Must Have" on my diving checklist, but there was another on my "Galapagos" checklist. And like my dive checklist, I got to check this one off on the second day as well: Blue-footed Booby Bird! So cute. Dinner would be on the main street across from the fish market. Grilled meats and beer. What's not to like?

Day three was kind of a bust. I had a Bartolome trip scheduled, but canceled it and took a last minute trip to Santa Fe instead (since I'd seen Bartolome on the dive trip). I thought it was going to be a hiking and snorkeling trip, but turned out it was just a snorkeling trip... this is what I get for not planning ahead. And to add insult to injury, the tour didn't have a wetsuit that fit well (it was too small) and it was chilly that day. Since I didn't feel like being wet, cold, and in an uncomfortable wetsuit, I opted to just relax on the boat. Kind of a wasted day, but I also felt kind of exhausted so it was nice to not be "on the clock" that day. I also went from a 100' yacht, to a ~50' yacht, to a 30' deep sea fishing boat... if this kept going, I'd be on a kayak by the end of this trip.

Charles Darwin Research Center. Not that impressive, but was nice to stroll on my first off-the-clock day. Baby tortoises! So cute! Lonesome George was the last Pinta Island tortoise. Hanging with Charles Darwin, or Chuck to his friends. Tortuga Bay. Beautiful, but I was not prepared for the walk to get there (or rather sandals were a bad choice). I'm a little surprised the iguanas can read. And English no less! So there is a street lined with small restaurants (La Calle de Los Kioskos). At night they close down the road, and the kiosks bring tables out into the street and try to entice you to sit at their tables. Fresh catch of the day on display. It was lobster season, so why not! It was also happy hour (3 cocktails for $15)... bring on the caipirinhas!<br>Service can be a little slow, so as you can see, after my first caipirinha, I just asked for #2 and #3 at the same time. Why mess around? Sitting outside in the cool night air, having grilled lobster, and a tasty beverage. It doesn't get much better. Panoramic shot of La Calle de Los Kioskos. The next day was off to North Seymour. Frigate birds: asshol... oh I've said that already haven't I? I had one must-have item on my dive checklist: schooling hammerheads. And I had one on my on-island-must-have: blue-footed booby bird! They're so cute when they do the 'dance' (this one didn't). The snorkeling half of the North Seymour tour. As a diver, I'm typically unimpressed by what snorkelers get to see. But hey: a school of golden rays. I gave chase, but they were a bit far out. Some endemic beer and popcorn. Next day was Santa Fe Island. I messed up booking this thinking it was a hike-and-snorkel, but it was only a snorkel. I didn't feel like being cold and wet that day, so I actually just chilled on the boat. When tour guids talk about endemic species they always mention the 'top predatory bird is the Galapagos hawk'. Well, I finally saw one. Back to the kioscos for dinner. I was actually trying to go to William's (I'd heard good things), but accidenally sat down at a table 'next door'. Oops. But it was still delicious. Another view of La Calle de Los Kioskos.

The next day I was off to Isabela. Cucuve Suites was willing to hold my luggage for two days, so I left all my scuba gear on Santa Cruz and headed off to the two-hour ferry ride. Man, they cram those ferries full. It was a two-hour, fully-throttle experience. Since I'd been on the water for 10 days now, and still on Bonine, this didn't bother me at all. I actually napped on the way there. Isabela definitely has more of an island-vibe like you'd get in the Caribbean. Much quieter and laid back. I can't imagine what it's like during high season, but it was perfect for me. I went on the Tintoreras snorkeling tour which was okay. Mostly in the main bay. Snorkeling thru the lava tunnel (well, more of a lava canyon) with the white tip reef sharks was pretty neat.

Then it was dinner... with Catriona, Xander, and Jessica at the Endemic Turtle. Cat and Xander were actually staying in the same hotel as I was: Casita de la Playa.

Another day, another tour: Los Tunneles (Cabo Rosa). I really enjoyed this one. I'll never say no to seeing more Boobies. ☺ (Yeah the joke will eventually get old, but not now.) Snorkeling with turtles, black-tip reef sharks, white-tip reef sharks, golden rays, (the smallest) eagle ray, and a seahorse. Yeah, it was pretty incredible. Then I had a real urge for some empenadas and a beer (which my tour guide thought was hilarous), so wandered about the town and ended up in a beach bar for the aforementioned snacks. Took it easy for the rest of the afternoon, and dad dinner with the travel-crew again at the unimaginatively, but accurately, named "The Beach Restaurant".

One thing I quickly learned about the Galapagos: carry change with you everywhere. You're constantly on-and-off boats and water taxis, and you never know if the water taxi is paid for by the tour or not. So be ready to shell out a buck at any given time.

Saying farewell to Port Ayora for now. The ubiquitous water taxis. Always make sure you have 50-cents on you. The walk from the port to the town was a bit longer than expected. Luckily my awesome hotel on Santa Cruz was holding my luggage, so I wasn't having to drag dive gear. (I should have just spent the couple bucks on a taxi.) Now this is what I think of when I think 'island vacation'. (Although it was still chilly.) The view from my room... not too shabby. Eagle ray in the bay. Cleaning fresh lobsters for sale. White tip reef sharks in a lava 'tunnel'... in a little bit I'd be snorkeling with these guys. ... and there was a sea lion hassling the sharks. So I thought I saw a ton of turtles diving... I was mistaken. So I turned around from filming the other turtle and this is what I saw. I just want to be totally clear, this turtle touched ME; I did NOT touch him. (He actually whacked my arm with a flipper.) In the lava 'tunnels' with white-tip reef sharks. They're like little puppies! And while gliding over the white-tips, who should zoom by but our trouble-making sea lion. Overheard a lot of German being spoken, I guess they're trying to cater (altho I think that's an American brand). Yeah. Not bad at all... Another day, another tour. This time to Los Tuneles AKA Cabo Rosa. This was my favorite tour while on-island. The landscape is incredible. Blue-footed boobie bird! The snorkeling half of the Los Tuneles tour. This was in a secluded bay where all the baby critters hang out... like these little black-tips. The littlest eagle ray! He was maybe a foot across! I followed him around for a bit ☺ A good sized school of small golden rays. White tip reef sharks asleep in an alcove. The little fish were just swarming around picking up scraps as the turtle munched away. (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) (Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) The 'amazing' find at the end. These guides go out every day and seahorses don't tend to venture too far, so finding this one wasn't a huge stroke of luck. Just saying. <br>(Photos from the Pahoehoe tour guide) Beach cat. Empanadas and a beer on the beach. I mentioned to my tour guide that this is what I was really craving, and he thought that was funny. My impromptu crew. We were all on the North Seymour tour, and ended up on Isabela at the same time (Catriona and Xander were in the same hotel I was in), and had dinner a few times. It was actually kind of fun to meet up for dinner and find out what we each did that day. (This group also gave me some severe passport envy.) The cold, wet, 6AM ferry ride back to Santa Cruz. Cat and Xander hired a driver to hit some small toursit spots on the way to the airport and asked if I wanted to tag along (we were on the same flight to Quito). So we hit the lava tunnels... And Los Gemelos (the twins). The photos don't do this justice at all. You can see Itabaca Channel and Baltra Island (the airport) in the distance.

Part 3 - Quito (Sept 17-20)
So here's a bit of trivia: There are no direct flights to the Galapagos Islands, they all have a layover in Ecuador. So in my original plan, Quito was just a long layover (like Guayaquil was on the way back). It was nice because there are direct flights from Quito to Atlanta, meaning the return journey would be more straight-forward. A real bonus for a travel-addled brain. But then talking with someone I had met from Quito (who I met on Grand Turk), convinced me I should at least spend some time in the city. So I fugured I'd extend my stay till the weekend, and spend a couple days in Quito. I was glad I did.

There were a number of challenges to visiting Quito. First was how to pack. I was geared for a dive/island vacation and had little weight allowance left in the luggage. Quito go would from hot and humid, to chilly, to rainy.... in about an hour. Layers. Layers were good. Yet even in cloud-cover, it was still equatorial sun... so sunscreen. Second was the altitude. I never really thought about it. Quito is at like 9k feet, so think Denver. But I would overcome!

So on my first day, I took a tour up to Cotopaxi, the second highest volcano in Ecuador. The tour was drive up to a staging area, then walk up to the first base camp. No problem! So getting to the meeting spot I was noticing everyone was dressed warm and was ready for a hike. I was in a t-shirt and a light jacket. I was going to just bail, but the tour guide talked me into it. That was a huge mistake. When we got to the staging area, I got out and was freezing, but I figured I could still power through. But as soon as I started exerting myself at all, I got dizzy and couldn't breath. Holy cow, the staging area was at like 12k feet! I did the math later on and that's like 15% oxygen. To put that in perspective: sea level is 21% oxygen. And I had been diving with nitrox, so 32% oxygen. Yeah, my body could not cope. So I hung out on the bus and essentially wasted the day. Bummer.

The next day I hired a tour guide to basically show me around Quito and visit the Teleferico (cable car). Quito is in a valley surrounded by mountains. The Teleferico was very cool; it would have been even better on a clear day, but looking out over the valley and having the clouds below you was amazing. I did the tourist-thing and went to the equator line, and then it was more wandering about Old Town, and dinner.

My room in the gorgeous Hotel Patio Andaluz... altho my room felt like it was from The Exorcist. The giant Rosary was a bit much. A lot of the old colonial architecture was a building surrounding an open-air courtyards. My hotel's was stunning. My ill-fated tour to Cotopaxi. Hmm... yeah... active volcano. The Teleferico Absolutely beautiful vistas! I needed this at Cotopaxi! Some soldiers from Guayaquil. My tour guide laughed and said they were in for some pain up here. Descending back into Quito. Near Mitadad del Mundo At the Equator! Guinea pig... or if they're on the menu: cuy. Umm... Dragonball Z? Don't ask me why. Plaza Grande AKA Independence Square. About a block from my hotel. Had a delicious meal at Pekaraz. So good I didn't mind being conned into it by a cute hostess. Donde esta biblioteca? Aqui! A book vending machine! Diorama of old Quito Umm... Mickey Mouse? Again don't ask me why. This is on the Plaza Grande: the President's Palace. There are a ton of beautiful churches, but I only took/could take pictures in a few. This was the Catedral Metropolitana de Quito on the Plaza Grande.

Epilogue (Sept 20-21)
So while I was in Quito, the weather was basically rainy in the afternoons, so after checking out, visiting the museums, and wandering around, I figured it was time to start wrapping up before the rains came in. I headed to the airport, driving through a pop-up hurricane (even my taxi driver was surprised at the torrential downpour), and "checked in" to Layover Stay Quito. I must say that was nice, and the best $35 I've ever spent to make waiting at an airport more bearable. Comfy chairs, free snacks and drinks, and a shower! I just relaxed, ate a leisurely dinner, and started reading Lock In by John Scalzi. Then it was time for my red-eye back to Atlanta for touchdown at 5:30AM (and hey: I finished my book). I was sad the trip was over, but was also ready for my own bed. Most of the weekend involved unpacking and laundry... then it would be back to the real world.

All in all, the entire trip was amazing from start to finish. It was also the least-relaxing, busiest vacation I've ever had. The Galapagos are so tightly scheduled to minimize tourist impact, that I always felt I was always watching the clock. Not a BAD thing, but different. Another minor culture-shock point: it took a little used to "no toilet paper in the toilet".

But those were all minor nits in the grand scheme of things. I had an amazing time. The diving was incredible, the Galapagos Islands were magical, and Quito was a fantastic surprise. It made me want to visit more places in South America. But next time I won't try to hike up a mountain immediately after a week of diving!