Galapagos / Santa Cruz island travel Diary # 1

Hey loves,

I’m back with a new travel adventure , one of my biggest dreams was going to the Galapagos Islands one day ;D and that dream came finally true , I took the plane from Guayaquil city to go to the Galapagos Island it took 1/2 hours to get to Baltra airport.

While there at the airport it was funny to see long foreigners queue and almost non national one I got easily trough it believe me or not but not many Ecuadorians go there because is cheaper to go to Miami and not cheap to go to the Galapagos Island I took a free bus that took me to one of the ferryboats we cross over to Santa Cruz island, and from there I took a bus that brought me to the centre of the city.

I went to the Gemelos Spanish for (the twins) , are two volcanic depressions on the highest part of Santa Cruz.The larger of the two volcanic pits .

After that we went to reservas de tortugas el chato spanish for ( Tortoise Chato reserves) The reserve comprises of two areas, La Caseta and Cerro Chato. The area is open: no guide is required, but it is recommended to take one, because it is easy to get lost in this sector.

The tortoises like immerse themselves in water and mud. There are some theories about it: it is believed for thermoregulation (for heating or cooling depending on conditions) or a mechanism to kill ticks and protect themselves from mosquitos.

The road to the reserve is one of the best places to observe land birds. Tree and ground finches, vermillion flycatchers and Cattle Egrets inhabit the area and sometimes Galapagos Rails have been seen.

The best part was when I saw a pair of tortoise pairing , they are very hard to see them doing it because they always hide say my guide.

I visited after that the famous Charles Darwin research station, were you will find a lot of tortoise and unique species like the red /yellow iguana that one you can only find in one island in the Galapagos , and the famous Darwin finches.

The next day I went snorkelling even though I had a horrible experience with my tour guide because he wasn’t as kind as I expected to be , they didn’t give me the goggle mask to snorkel , for the rest it was amazing to be under water I seriously wish a had a gopro camera will be saving to buy one because is a must have for under water otherwise I could have showing you what I have seen under water but I have a few other under water pictures from my tour at Isabela Island that my guide made under water.

Las Grietas, I heard everyone telling me to go there while I would be in Santa Cruz, I snorkelled in both pools clambering over slippery rocks to get to the second pool where there were a very small number of fish but the best part was when I saw a clown-fish it was so colourful and so beautiful . The water temperature was colder then I expected but after swimming loads you won’t feel as cold. Las Grietas was refreshing to swim in and there were beautiful reflections of the cliffs on the still water to photograph when there are few people there.

Hope you enjoy reading my travel diary soon will my second part come up so stay tuned.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Love,

Virgit

Photography by Virgit Canaz