Arriving in the incredible Galapagos Islands – The Tales of Two Travelling Turtles

Arriving in the incredible Galapagos Islands

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island

How on earth did the European seafarers come across this uninhabited place? 1535 for Heaven’s sake! And then the generations of whalers and other sailors afterwards?

It’s very exciting arriving in the Galapagos. After flying for more than 1000km over open sea directly away from the South American shore, small dark blobs in the ocean come into view. Then the contours of a bay on an island become clear, then the buildings on the shore. And finally the specs of white in the bay reveal themselves to be yachts of many different shapes and sizes.

Once there, everything is really close at hand. We had chosen a hotel at the opposite side of town from the airport but we decided to walk there. That took us… 20 minutes!

It was quite by chance that we chose to visit the Galapagos starting with San Cristobal Island, but we ended up very pleased that we did so. Although the main town Puerto Baquerio Moreno is the administrative capital of the islands, it is nowhere near as developed as its counterpart Puerto Isidro Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. It’s a very friendly laid-back place and a great way to start to understand life in the Galapagos.

What’s immediately striking is the wildlife. On the town seafront, hundreds of Sally Lightfoot crabs glow bright red against the black volcanic rocks. And there’s a wonderful colony of sea lions that don’t seem to mind the encroachment of humans on their habitat. On our last evening there was a big party on the beach front with some loud PA systems and bands, but looking over the railings, the sea lions were all there, sprawled out and fast asleep like a horde of KO teenagers!

The unique wildlife, both on land and in the sea, is of course what all the tourist advertising shouts about, but we hadn’t been prepared for just how omnipresent – and how chilled – the animals are.

One of our most enduring memories of the Galapagos is the sound of barking sea lions. In Puerto Baquerizo Moreno after sunset every evening, a dog in our neighbourhood would have a barking conversation with a sea lion on the beach. Woof, woof, woof ….. Aaark, aaark, aaark…. Woof, woof, woof…. etc Out of this world.

by Chris