The Galapagos-Genovesa Island

After watching Hitchcock's 1963 film, The Birds set in SF, I have always had a slight fear of large amounts of birds circling overhead. I have even been attacked by birds once when I apparently walked too close to their nest. They flew out of the bushes and chased me down the street. Despite this fear, I consciously chose to ensure that Genovesa was one of the islands I saw on my cruise. Something about an island full of birds without fear of humans and without predators intrigued me. Few boats visit this island because of the distance and the remoteness made the island all the more appealing. Plus, I really wanted to see the red footed boobies which are most easily seen on this island.

The Red Footed Boobies are similar in size and appearance to the Blue Footed Boobies except in that they have red feet! The contrast in color of their red feet to their blue beaks to their either grey or white feathers showcase them as quite the rainbow.



The other Booby bird on the island is the Nazca Booby. I believe it is their slightly wide set and wide eyed eyes that make them appear a little stoned to me. They just wobble on by as though lost.

I think the bird below is some sort of heron. To me, he appears like a grumpy old man with osteoporosis.
The other interesting birds on the island, Swallow tailed gulls, color coordinate their red eyeliner with their pink socks.

The most flamboyant birds are the Great Frigatebirds. The males inflate a red sack on their chest in order to woo the women. Sometimes, the men peck at each other and pop each other's red balloon, which then means no mate for the male for at least a year until his red sack heals. When the female flies overhead, all the men flap their wings, inflate their chest and coo out. With so many male birds located so close to each other, the woman doesn't have to fly far to find a mate. I wish dating men in SF was this easy.



All throughout the island, the birds dominate the scene with their flight and sounds. The most dangerous of the birds are the mocking birds who are known to prey on unattended eggs.

After visiting Darwin Bay and Prince Phillips' Steps on the island, we went snorkeling near the cliffs. However, the visibility was very poor and the idea that Hammerhead sharks might be lurking below me as I snorkeled freaked me out. So, I didn't stay in the water for too long.

After a day and sky filled with birds, the birds did not attack me and I even grew a fond appreciation of them.

The Galapagos-San Cristobal and Santa Fe Islands

On day 4, we stopped off on San Cristobal Island to drop off passengers and pick up new ones who were only doing the other 4 days of the cruise. San Cristobal is one of the 4 inhabited islands and I wasn't really impressed with it. We did drop by Isla Lobos where many sea lions congregate and I spent much of my time watching 2 frisky young male sea lions play. We then snorkeled near the island and encountered a large male sea lion who tried to protect his territory by swimming up to our faces while barring all his teeth. It worked for me, and I screamed quite loudly and swam away. I tried to kick away whenever he swam near me and after awhile, I just wanted to get out of the water. I never knew when he might show up and I felt like I was just waiting to get bitten by him. He instilled a new fear of sea lions I now have.


The next day, we sailed to Santa Fe Island, the only island to find the endemic Santa Fe Iguanas. The iguanas are yellow in color and are oddly attracted to yellow things. If I wore all yellow, they would approach me expecting me to be some sort of food source since they eat anything yellow. Maybe that's how they get their color.


Hawks are the king predator and they prey on other birds' eggs. They try to distract the birds until the birds give up and fly away and then the hawks swoop down and take the eggs.

In the photo below, the sea gulls are desperately trying to protect their eggs as one of the hawks tries to scare off the mother holding fort.

Santa Fe is also known for their abundant presence of Opuntia cactus. The cactus are only prickly at the top so tree lovers alike can hug these trees without worry.

The Galapagos-Espanola Island

Espanola island is considered by many the most beautiful island because of the diversity of wildlife, the striking landscape, and stunning beaches. We parked our boat first at Gardner Bay and panga boated inland towards the brown spotted beach. The brown lumps scattered all over the beach turned out to be sleeping sea lions dozing off in the morning sun. We tried not to disturb their sleep and I wandered about mimicking their poses trying to be just like a sea lion. We were the only tourists on the white coral sandy beach and the sea lions didn't seem to mind our presence. I couldn't believe how close I could get to them and they would just look at me funny as though I was just another “thing” blocking their light. After an hour and a half of watching sea pups suckle their mothers, the bulls fight off their territory and the majority just lounging around, we went snorkeling.



Under water, I watched a white tip shark cuddle with her babies under a rock and colorful fish swim by looking for food. I noticed that sharks swim with their hips in a very pronounced swaddle back and forth. I wasn't worried about being near them since they are vegetarians. Eventually, I made my way back to shore to lounge some more with the sea lions. We then headed back to our parked boat for some first class refreshments and lunch and motored onto another part of the island.

At Punta Suarez, we hiked around passing marine iguanas recharging in the sunlight. The marine iguanas eat algae off of rocks under water and then lay around gaining their energy from the sun. They snort out the salt through their noses which is why their faces are often white. This motion resembles stories of fire dragons and they kind of look like miniature versions of them. I tried unsuccessfully to mimic a marine iguana, but my hands are not pointing in the right direction.


We continued past blue footed boobies. Their feet really are blue although the females have a slightly lighter blue feet. The blue footed boobies are famous for their unique mating ritual that I actually witnessed. They pick up one foot at a time in a dance and then bow with wings spread apart. The female repeats the same ritual. They are so cute to watch!



During March to January, the Wave Albatross nest on Espanola island and also conduct mating dances. I felt very lucky to witness their mating ritual as well. They bow to each other and then sword fight with their beaks. I watched as one male sword fought with two different females probably debating which of the two is the better sword fighter and therefore better mate. They mate for life and so they need to be sure that they are picking a good one.



At a scenic spot, I just balanced off the cliffs, chilled and watched the birds overhead fly above me while the waves crashed against the rocks.

The Galapagos-Santa Cruz and Floreana Islands

Upon arriving in the Galapagos, I met my fellow passengers. About half of them booked last minute deals. Because of the economy, many people have cancelled their vacation, which is a bonus for last minute tour seekers like myself. We then drove off to see the Giant Tortoises that freely roam on the Santa Cruz island. They are enormous and old (some a couple hundred years old); their age can be determined by the diminshing lines on their shell. The shell grows with them as their spine is incorporated into the shell. Within several feet of them, we watched them eat, walk, and swim around. They are an endangered species and many efforts have been made to protect them with several tortoise centers on the islands which I will discuss later.

The next day on Floreana at Punta Cormorant, we watched flamingoes use their toes and mouth to kick up the sand in search of creatures to eat. My guide explained that the spot where the flamingo bends his leg is actually the start of their foot and one of their toes which is why the toe bends backwards instead of forward like a knee. Their pink color is derived from the beta carotene that they receive from the shrimp they eat.

Following a trail nearby led to a white sand beach of ground coral where Green Sea Turtles nest their eggs. They are usually found in the water and only crawl onto land to lay their eggs.


We passed by Post Office bay which is the original post office of the islands. In the 18th century, British sailors left notes for other sailors to pick up. Since then, tourists can leave letters and post cards in a wooden box. Other tourists will pick them up and personally drop them off if the address is near them. All without using postage. I saw a couple SF addresses, but since I wasn't sure when I would return home, I left them there.

At another part of the island called Devil's Crown, I swam with sea lions. 5 juvenile sea lions swam around waiting to play with tourists. We gladly obliged them. They swam right up to our faces and then switched directions and swam around us in circles. Juvenile sea lions are the most curious and gregarious of the animals in the Galapagos. Humans don't hunt them here and so they have no fear of us. Instead, they find us funny to watch swimming about with plastic flippers while they are natural swimmers who can even surf the waves.

The Evolution Revolution

Che may have revolutionized Latin America, but Darwin revolutionized the theory of Evolution based on his time sailing through the Galapagos and around. There he studied the birds which would eventually be known as the Darwin finches; 13 different species of birds that evolved based on conditions in their habitat. In 1859, he published his work in the manuscript, On the Origin of Species stating his theories on natural selection that rocked the world and which has now become textbook material for all students. 2009 represents the 150th anniversary of his publication and Darwin's 200th birthday.

Before the Galapagos became the tourist haven it is today, it was a fishing port and penal colony. Not until the 70's did tourists start arriving and now the government and environmentalists have had to put limits on the numbers. Moreover, strict rules are in place in regards to bringing in new plants and animals. Previously, sailors and pirates brought goats, cats, dogs and invariably rats onto the islands. As a result, the introduced species have wiped out some of the endemic species (species only found on the Galapagos islands) and have endangered others. The government has implemented a "kill goat" program (not sure the real technical name). They have helicopters that patrol the islands and then shoot any goats they see. They later round them up and discard of them elsewhere. During my cruise, I often saw the helicopters flying above, but no death raids. The $110 tourist fee goes towards this goat eradication program and 3 islands remain free of goats now. Unfortunately, the rats, wild dogs, pigs and cats may never be completely eradicated and they continue to feed on young tortoises and their eggs.

Man also once represented a major threat to the islands. He would kill the tortoises, sharks, and the sea lions for their fat and meat. Even up until 3 years ago, fisherman plucked the crabs off the rocks. No longer. Every native animal (species found naturally in the Galapagos and in other areas) and endemic animal seems to be protected. Dogs even patrol tourist suitcases to make sure no one is taking home shark meat.

The guayaba fruit is wiping out a lot of the native plants on the islands. Man brought the fruit over to live off the island not realizing the consequences to the endemic and native plants. I'm unclear of the exact plan to protect the plant life, but from what I understand, trying to eradicate the guayaba fruit may be an impossible task.

Upon arriving in the Galapagos, I had expected to see completely deserted islands and was disappointed to find that 4 of the islands are inhabited, some overly inhabitated. The effects of man can be seen in the empty plastic bottles littering the beaches and trash found in the bushes. I became so frustrated at the sight of so many plastic bottles that I just started picking them up as I walked along the roads. Although I noticed someone responsible for cleaning the streets, I don't think they are doing a very good job.

The locals also don't always use caution when driving. The tortoises walk so slowly and can't exactly scamper out of the way of an oncoming car. I barely ran out of the way of some of these cars. While I was visiting Isabela island, a local ran over a giant tortoise and then drove off. Luckily, another local witnessed this hit and run and wrote down the info on the car. I visited the tortoise at the tortoise center and found him wrapped up in duct tape to bridge his cracked shell and still bleeding. Sad to see, but interesting to note that duct tape can be used on anything.

The government has put a stop to the number of residents on the islands and only original residents of the Galapagos and family members can live there and set up business. To support the local community, only people from the Galapagos can be guides and more of the money from the cruises will be sent to the locals. As it stands now, almost all of the money from cruises circles back to the mainland or to foreign investment.

Overall, natural selection will take over if we don´t change our patterns; the wildlife will either evolve with the presence of man or die. I didn't mean to be such a downer when writing this. To end on a happier note, people are aware of the danger of tourism and the effects of introduced animals and plants and are actively doing something about it all. Whether it is enough is yet to be known, but education is of the utmost importance and every tourist visiting the islands gains a better understanding of the importance of preserving the environment and wildlife and hopefully carries that information forward in some positive manner.

How to Book a Galapagos Cruise on the Cheap

To swim with sea lions, penguins and sharks that don't fear humans is an unreal experience that I could not pass up. Touring the Galapagos has always been a must do destination for me, but it always seemed out of reach financially. Since I was in the neighborhood, I thought I would try to head there anyway to celebrate the realization of my dream and my 1 year anniversary of traveling.

On my first day in Quito, I went to a tour agency to find out about last minute deals to the Galapagos. They had tons on offer, but I had no idea what type of tour I wanted and what islands I wanted to see. I debated between a boat based cruise vs a land based tour where I would stay on the islands at night and visit other islands during the day. In the end, the cruise is a much better experience because I would see more islands and I could do the land based part on my own.

After reading up on the boats and islands through the book, Viva Ecuador travel guide located in the tour office, I decided that I wanted an 8 day cruise, vs a 4 or 5 day one, to ensure that my trip included Espanola island, the most beautiful one, and Genovesa, one of the only islands where one can see the red footed boobies. I tried to find a tour that included Fernandina on the far west side that recently had a volcanic eruption, but only the tour boats of more than 50 people did all three. So, I settled on making sure that I saw my top 2 islands.

Next, the boat selection. I didn't want to go on a boat with more than 16 passengers so I could have a more personal experience. Plus, from what I hear, boats with more than that do not get to stay on the beaches during the day and can only snorkel from the small boats. In terms of the actual boat, I didn't have any set requirements, but definitely preferred one with hot water, air conditioning, lower beds meaning no bunk beds, at least a Class II guide, and a nice sun deck. This would mean a boat in either the first class or tourist superior class classification. The website, happygringo.com lists all the boats and sample itineraries. In the end, I booked with Paul from carpedm.ca. I went into his office and he called up a couple places and the first-class Galaxy boat had one space left for half the price leaving in a couple days. Their website, galapagosgalaxy.com.ec lists the cruise at a cost of $3K for 8 days. In Quito, one can book it for $2400, but for last minute, I booked it for $1200. Booking from overseas is definitely more expensive. A last minute 4 day, 3 night cruise on the same boat last minute goes for $550; cheaper but I figured the extra days would be worth it. An economy boat without the amenities above would cost about $900 for a last minute 8 day cruise,

The flight to the Galapagos costs $360 from Quito during low season (May 1 to June 15 and Sept 15 to Oct 31, otherwise $415 at other times) and then the government charges $110 for a tourist card and entrance fee. The tourist card will go up to $210 next year, and the number of passengers allowed to enter the Galapagos will decrease from 120K this year to 85K next year, which only means higher prices. This has definitely been the most expensive part of my trip, but worth it.

After the cruise, I changed my flight for free and stayed for 5 days on Isabela island, which I didn't see on my tour, so that I could just chill and enjoy the experience. I also spent an extra couple days on Santa Cruz so I could scuba dive for $120 for 2 dives. Hotels only cost about $15 a night for my own room. The extra time exploring the islands outside of the cruise completed the whole experience for me since I will most likely never return. The Galapagos is a once in a lifetime adventure. In total, I spent about $2000 for an 8 day cruise, an extra week on the islands, and a day of scuba diving. This is how much I would normally spend over 2 months of travel and I managed to spend this much in 2 weeks. Despite the cost, my general advice is just go. The Galapagos is changing from the continued influx of tourism and going there will be harder and harder and more expensive each year. Where else in the world can one swim with sea lions and penguins?

Middle of the World

Being on the equator line brings about an energy not seen anywhere else in the world. Near Quito, I witnessed the strange phenomenon only available on the line. Through various science experiments, I could balance an egg on top of a nail, not walk in a straight line with my hands spread apart because of the greater centrifugal force at the equator and watch water drain in different directions depending on if I was on the north or south side of the equator. The touristy area with the line is not the actual sight, but nearby the Ecuadorians created a new site for tourists to enjoy the weird effects of science at work.


Connected to the tourist site is a tour of jungle life. I learned how to make a shrunken head. Apparently, a certain tribe in the jungle use to make shrunken heads of various tribal leaders as souvenir necklaces. In case anyone would like to make one, the process seems fairly straightforward. They would decapitate their victim, drain the blood, remove the skin off the face, sew up the eyes and mouth, boil it, then stuff it to make it solid. Easy enough.