Galapagos cruise
We were told that we MUST go to the Galapagos, even if it means maxing out our credit cards. And so we did. And it was worth every cent we owe the bank!
We went on one of the cheapest cruising boats in the Galapagos for an 8 day cruise around some of the islands. Our guide, Alfonso, was a Level 3 guide, the highest level in the Galapagos - and he was excellent! Our group was great (a french family of 4, an Australian, a Norwegian, a Canadian and an American) crew was great, our cook was superb and we ended up having a wonderful 8 days.
We would typically sail the longer distances through the night to arrive at a visitor site in the morning. Days were usually divided into two parts - one visitor site in the morning and one after siesta in the afternoon. Hiking was usually followed by fantastic snorkeling and we ended up spending about 50% of our excursion times under water. Navigation time gave us opportunity to glimpse dolphins, manta rays doing pancake flips, turtles, sharks, sea lions and many opportunistic sea birds hovering inches above our boat hoping for food. The choppy times were not Janine's favourite times. She nearly overdosed on sea sick tablets so that Johan was worried that she would develop a dependency! Most hours were stationery, however, so we all were fine in the end.
Hiking excursions took us up close and personal to many land dwelling creatures - most of which one can only find on these islands. We saw many a colourful Sally Lightfoot crab, sea lions, marine iguanas and land iguanas, snakes, lizzards, tortoises and many birds. The birds included blue footed boobies, masked (or Nazca) boobies, albatrosses, frigate birds, red-billed tropic birds, pelicans, Galapagos hawks, flamingos and, of course, many a Darwin's finch. These animals can be approached at unbelievably close distances - even the snakes - often closer than a meter. While we are not allowed to touch any animals, but if a friendly group of young sea lions start playing fetch with a stick then all is still above board! The giant tortoises at the Darwin station were something exceptional! Watching the albatrosses mating dances and their moment of take off at the 'albatross airport' was really something too.
The underwater animals were just as unflinching at our presence and we had the incredible privilege to swim in crystal clear waters with huge turtles, sea lions, rays, sharks, penguins, star fish, eels and many stunning tropical fish. We had the most fun with the sea lions who would either roll up along side you to check you out or twist and turn around you in the water - very playful! Sea lion social structure consists of a harem of females nursing babies, older pups frolicking in the water along the beach, a single 'super macho' male in charge of the lot who patrols the waters from 06:00 to 18:00 every day protecting the roost, mating with the females and warding off other males. This very tiring job usually results in rapid loss of weight and eventual replacement by the next successful over-thrower. The grown males that don't make the cut yet are called 'losers' and hang around in the background looking for easy passage to the sea for fishing. These losers were no threat to us - we just had to watch our backs with the super macho!
The thing that made these creatures and this place so special is the unique interaction one is able to have with the animals, not to mention the strange and beautiful landscapes. Galapagos is one of those unique and bizarrely stunning treasures of the world.
We went on one of the cheapest cruising boats in the Galapagos for an 8 day cruise around some of the islands. Our guide, Alfonso, was a Level 3 guide, the highest level in the Galapagos - and he was excellent! Our group was great (a french family of 4, an Australian, a Norwegian, a Canadian and an American) crew was great, our cook was superb and we ended up having a wonderful 8 days.
We would typically sail the longer distances through the night to arrive at a visitor site in the morning. Days were usually divided into two parts - one visitor site in the morning and one after siesta in the afternoon. Hiking was usually followed by fantastic snorkeling and we ended up spending about 50% of our excursion times under water. Navigation time gave us opportunity to glimpse dolphins, manta rays doing pancake flips, turtles, sharks, sea lions and many opportunistic sea birds hovering inches above our boat hoping for food. The choppy times were not Janine's favourite times. She nearly overdosed on sea sick tablets so that Johan was worried that she would develop a dependency! Most hours were stationery, however, so we all were fine in the end.
Hiking excursions took us up close and personal to many land dwelling creatures - most of which one can only find on these islands. We saw many a colourful Sally Lightfoot crab, sea lions, marine iguanas and land iguanas, snakes, lizzards, tortoises and many birds. The birds included blue footed boobies, masked (or Nazca) boobies, albatrosses, frigate birds, red-billed tropic birds, pelicans, Galapagos hawks, flamingos and, of course, many a Darwin's finch. These animals can be approached at unbelievably close distances - even the snakes - often closer than a meter. While we are not allowed to touch any animals, but if a friendly group of young sea lions start playing fetch with a stick then all is still above board! The giant tortoises at the Darwin station were something exceptional! Watching the albatrosses mating dances and their moment of take off at the 'albatross airport' was really something too.
The underwater animals were just as unflinching at our presence and we had the incredible privilege to swim in crystal clear waters with huge turtles, sea lions, rays, sharks, penguins, star fish, eels and many stunning tropical fish. We had the most fun with the sea lions who would either roll up along side you to check you out or twist and turn around you in the water - very playful! Sea lion social structure consists of a harem of females nursing babies, older pups frolicking in the water along the beach, a single 'super macho' male in charge of the lot who patrols the waters from 06:00 to 18:00 every day protecting the roost, mating with the females and warding off other males. This very tiring job usually results in rapid loss of weight and eventual replacement by the next successful over-thrower. The grown males that don't make the cut yet are called 'losers' and hang around in the background looking for easy passage to the sea for fishing. These losers were no threat to us - we just had to watch our backs with the super macho!
The thing that made these creatures and this place so special is the unique interaction one is able to have with the animals, not to mention the strange and beautiful landscapes. Galapagos is one of those unique and bizarrely stunning treasures of the world.
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