The Galapagos—On the Water

 Between our stays on Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal, we spent a week on the Samba yacht touring some of the other islands. It was incredibly hot each day and the sun was intense but I loved seeing some of these remote areas. We had the chance to snorkel and we took a few guided walks on the islands. We saw the famous blue-footed boobies, lots of sea lions, colorful fish, sea turtles, penguins sharks, dolphins, rays… And we had some private time on the boat when we could just enjoy a coffee, the beautiful view and the sounds of the ocean. Here are some pics:

Floreana Island

Popping up to check us out after playing in the surf

Marine iguanas everywhere! These big guys are such elegant swimmers, but we mostly saw them on land resting on the dark volcanic rocks that make up the islands. They often blended in perfectly on our rocky footpaths, but they rarely stirred even with all of the footfall and close calls of almost getting stepped on. 

Morning coffee

We saw a pod of dolphins on our way to Santa Fe Island. There were hundreds of them! They chased around the boat and gave a show of coordinated acrobatics. It was breathtaking to watch them.

I also loved watching some of the big rays leap out of the water and splash down again. It was always a surprise, so it was impossible to get a picture. You’d just watch the horizon and once in a while you’d see this big magnificent ray propel itself five feet into the air.

Richard did get some pics of these two Galapagos sharks that swam around the boat for over an hour. I was enthralled watching them:

These girls were we’re probably 8ft

And we’d just been snorkeling off the dinghy about 300, maybe 500 meters away

No, I’m not throwing up, just still watching the sharks below us

I wish I had underwater snorkeling pics for you. We had an easy snorkel the first day. We saw parrot and puffer fish, penguins that zoomed passed us like bullets,  starfish and graceful rays, schools of colorful fish, and I saw a sleek white tip shark that glided along the rocks about 20 ft from us. It disappeared quickly, though, so I didn’t get a chance to point it out to Richard or anyone else. Darn. It was a pretty good-sized one, too.

We also had sea lions swim around us sometimes. They were so playful and curious, and so agile. They suddenly would appear behind you or next to you, checking you out. They were so fast and beautiful in the water. 

Snorkeling on a different day, we saw a big school of hundreds of thousands of small silver fish. We just floated above and watched them. A few of the better free divers in our group, swam down and tunneled through the mass. 

Some of the snorkeling we did though was definitely not for novices. One snorkel I went on eventually put us in a current that whisked us with incredible speed toward the open sea. It was faster than I could ever run and it felt like being on a conveyor belt as you watched all the fish and rocks fly by underneath you. I got a little nervous after getting whisked over a big rock, then over the top of another white tip shark. He seemed as surprised as I was when I breezed by, but he just continued on his way, swimming effortlessly against the current. That’s when I signaled to the dinghy that I was ready to get out. 

We also left the water early on the open ocean snorkel. It was deep, choppy water and each swell made everyone else in the group disappear, so you felt like it was just you in the middle of the ocean. So much for staying together. It was definitely not the snorkel for me. Richard agreed and we waved down the dinghy and clambered back on. We did end up missing some hammerheads further out, but I heard they were pretty far down in the water anyway. Small sacrifice for the comfort of being back in the dinghy and not in the open ocean.

There are many other stories, but I’ll leave the stories and just include some more pictures:

Blue boobies

Nazca boobies

You can guess 😊

Heading below to our cabin

A beautiful little ray in the surf

A baby Nazca booby

We cruised by this volcanic caldera

The Galapagos! March 19 - April 2

The Samba

 Our trip to the Galápagos Islands started and ended in the main towns—two nights in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz, and the last four nights in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristóbal. In between, we spent a week onboard the Samba, a small Dutch-built yacht with seven double cabins and a small crew. We snorkeled, ate, slept and toured some of the uninhabited southern and eastern islands. The underwater world was amazing, but first, arrival and Puerto Ayora!

We left Mindo early in the morning on the 19th for our 5am drive back to Quito airport. It turned out to be an easy flight to Baltra with a quick stop in Guayaquil. The only bit of stress at the airport was making sure we had the correct online form filled out for entry to the Galapagos and that we were in the right line for passes and inspection. 

A very special birthday lunch at Almar Restaurant in Puerto Ayora on our second day

 We made it! We landed in Baltra in the afternoon and, after queuing for additional passes and inspection and luggage, we finally boarded the bus and headed to the ferry crossing. (First shark sighting before we even got in the boat!) It’s only a tiny channel that separates Baltra from Santa Cruz. We climbed into the ferry, paid our dollar, sat down, and five minutes later we climbed out, got our luggage, met our taxi and headed for town. 

Our Airbnb in Puerto Ayora — if only it had air conditioning!

It was a bit of a drive to Puerto Ayora on the other end of the island. We stayed in a small neighborhood with a tienda on the corner where we got our Coca Cola sin azúcar and a bakery a little further up the street where we got our morning rolls. Kids played in the street, dogs hung out, and the neighbor’s rooster crowed energetically each morning before sunrise. I should note that there was also a very demanding cat who seemed to come with the house. We liked him, but he was a bit wild and very loud. He especially liked to meow (loudly!) at the kitchen window for his breakfast each morning, which he ate on the back patio, and then he’d come in and snooze on the floor in the living room for the rest of the day. (Yes, feeding the cat was part of the deal. The caretaker even left cat food!) 

Follow me to my food dish…

There were some drawbacks to the house, mostly in the form of mosquitos, unrelenting heat and humidity (no cross breeze and no air conditioning, only a wall-mounted fan—we were sweltering!), and lots of night time cockroaches (where was the cat when you needed him?) 

Morning in the kitchen. It’s already hot!

Our house was just a short walk from the main, more touristy area of town, so we wandered down each day. The one thing about the Galapagos is that it’s so much hotter than you imagine once you add in the humidity. We’re at the equator and the sun is merciless and you just drip sweat all day, or pass out from lack of water. 

Gelato!

In Puerto Ayora, as elsewhere, marine iguanas and sea lions lounge around the docks and boardwalks and restaurants. They go where they choose and people leave them alone.

Before we boarded our boat, we also visited the highlands of Santa Cruz and saw the giant tortoises. This was actually the beginning of our boat tour, a mixture of land and sea.

Next up: cruising the islands…

The Cloud Forest, Mindo

We flew from Seattle to Miami with a long layover and then onward to Quito. We got in about 10:30 pm and left the airport with our driver about 11pm. We were so tired! And we still had 2hrs to Mindo. After lots of rainy, dark, twisty road, we made it to the lodge about 1:30am and fell into bed. 

The cloud forest was beautiful. Birds and bird song everywhere! And our host Marco was the kindest person! We had a great time chatting with him each morning and in the afternoon while we had our coffee or tea. We always stopped by reception to pet Kyra and Dana, the big, friendly dogs who kept an eye on everything. 

We walked the 15 minutes into town a couple of the days we were there. We had savory crepes at an outdoor stand, pizza, and our delicious Ecuadorian breakfasts at the lodge. 

Our big adventure was a full day in town, including a visit to the ornithological center where we quietly fed hummingbirds and a visit to the Quetzal restaurant where we had a wonderful chocolate tour and sampled cacao in all of its forms and states of doneness. 

Cacao

Everybody needs Inca Cola!

We had some dramatic downpours and thunder and lightning, especially in the evenings and at night. We were almost always inside so the storms were actually really nice. The only thing I didn’t like about the forest were all the bugs. I got eaten alive, even with repellent! My legs are still recovering. I especially love Richard because he bought me the equivalent of calamine lotion once we got here to the Galapagos. I am eternally thankful for the relief. ❤️

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😘

As a side note, we felt the mid-morning earthquake that hit southern Ecuador/northern Peru. We were getting ready for our day when our room and windows started shaking and rattling. Glad we didn’t experience anything beyond that.

Heading to Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands

We’re ready for our next adventure! At SEA-TAC and ready to board our flight to Miami and then onward to Quito…

Back in Olympia!

 We made it home! The last year and half has been amazing. It's incredible to think about on all we did. The experience really changed me, especially our journey through Southern Africa and camping in the Kalahari. I feel so self-sufficient and strong, centered and joyful. Our adventure helped me see how simple life really is and how strong we all are. And the most extraordinary thing is that I got to make all these discoveries and have all of these adventures with the person I love. 

An American Thanksgiving with our South African family

We left Italy in early November and headed back to Cape Town for about six weeks. We made a full circle back to the start of our journey. It was special to spend more time with our friends Nic and Gill and their beautiful family. It's always such a welcome. Franschhoek feels like home. We stayed throughout November and finally flew back to Seattle just before Christmas. Luckily we missed all airport chaos! Qatar was a full house with the World Cup, and it was a bit of a haul with the layover, but we made it. We had Christmas with my family, and we're now home with yet another family of ours-- Scott and Debbie. 🥰

And most important: I love you, Sweetie. Here's to an incredible journey!

 

Now time to start the next journey...

The journey

 My wife has/is outstanding in everything she does.  I’m along for the ride. I do nothing but take the credit. I’ll alway be grateful for our experiences. I wish everyone had the talent to become enamored with her as her and I get free stuff. In Italy currently but thinking of quick trip to Cape Town for penguins followed by Detroit (really Chris, you couldn’t have done better?). 

We’ve planned a fantastic life experience. 

Thanks Sweetie 😘😀🙄