IT'S OK.....IF YOU LIKE ANIMALS (Galapagos Islands)

Name: Cat19

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Product:	Galapagos Islands
Date:	10/04/07 (299 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: relatively unspoilt, controlled tourism, wildlife on land and in sea

Disadvantages: expensive and a long journey from the UK

On the first morning of my Galapagos Island cruise, myself and nine other passengers excitedly boarded a dinghy to take us to shore for our first encounter. After landing and just as we were about to start following the trail, we passed a group from our sister boat who were about to leave following their slightly earlier visit. One of my group spotted a lady she sat next to on the flight over who was looking slightly hot and bothered and admittedly a bit po-faced. Nonetheless my fellow adventurer shouted over enthusiastically to enquire of the experience. The answer “It’s OK….if you like animals”!!

Fortunately most people considering a trip to Galapagos Islands will already well know that if animals, birds, sealife and nature itself are not of interest then it is probably not a holiday destination to contemplate for too long.

Where and what they are ~~~~

The Galapagos Islands are owned by Ecuador and are situated in the Pacific Ocean about 700 miles due west from the mainland of Ecuador. There are 13 larger islands which most holidays will be spent visiting, although there are numerous smaller islands in the sprawling archipelago as well. The islands are the result of volcanic activity and are oceanic meaning they have never been attached to any mainland. The non human inhabitants of the islands all reached the islands at one time by swimming, flying or in the case of giant tortoises, apparently floating on logs.

The islands straddle the equator, most being in the southern hemisphere but a couple in the north. I was surprised at the distances between the islands, greater than I had anticipated and we had many overnight sails and the odd long sail during the day.

About three of the islands have a human population, this is currently of about 15,000 overall and this has risen in more recent years due to the growth of tourism. During our visit we learnt of some quite disturbing attempts by man to populate the islands in the years past, fortunately these attempts failed but unfortunately not before some damage was done. Now the islands are protected, visits are strictly controlled and there are efforts in place to undo some of that damage, such as programs for the eradication of introduced species and the Darwin Research Centre which is used for tortoise breeding and education. Human’s education that is.

Getting there and when to go~~~~

It is normal to fly to the Galapagos Islands from the mainland. We took a flight from Quito and it took about 3 hours including a 40 minute stop in the city of Guayaquil to pick up more passengers. Our cruise company advised us to make sure we had a couple of days in Quito before the cruise just in case there were any problems with the domestic airlines but in the event there were not.

To get to Quito from the UK, I would recommend a route via Madrid rather than the US as there are no direct flights presently. We had no choice but to fly through the US from our home in Bermuda, and on the way back it took a good two hours to clear immigration, pick up baggage, recheck baggage and re-clear security. Fortunately on this occasion we had a four hour window.

In terms of when to visit, I could not find anything to suggest that there is a particular time of the year that is more advantageous in terms of seeing the wildlife, most of it is there all year round and many species do not even have distinct breeding seasons. So I based my decision on the weather and broadly speaking between December and June the skies are clear and blue and it is hot, the guidebooks indicated 30 degrees max but in fact it was nearer 40 degrees during my visit in March. From July to the end of the year, it is cooler which has its appeal but apparently the area is prone to fog and mist, which does not. So for me it had to be the sometime during the first half of the year and March was purely out of convenience.

What type of trip~~~~

I chose to see the islands on a cruise and would maintain that this is the only way to do the Galapagos justice. It is possible to stay in a hotel in one of the populated islands and take day trips out to the sites. I personally would not recommend this option as the islands are further apart than you might think and if you are land based you would only be able to reach a couple of sites on day trips. Furthermore, whilst the town I visited was a pleasant and welcome land break for a few hours, it did not have sufficient attractions to compensate for missing some of the sites only possible if on a cruise.

Whilst I was in Quito, I noticed some travel agents offering last minute deals to the Galapagos Islands. Maybe it is possible to get a good deal this way, but this was definitely not an option I would contemplate. It is a long way to Ecuador, the Galapagos is an expensive holiday and my dream holiday and I would not want to take this element of chance. There are only so many boats and visitors allowed to cruise the islands and a local company could not just put on another boat even if they had one and there was the demand for it. So my advice is definitely to research, plan and book ahead.

Boats can roughly be divided into one of three categories, budget, tourist and first class. This will be an expensive holiday even in a budget boat, but obviously there is a range even within categories and you will need to shop around. Most boats take 15 -20 people, there are a couple taking about 50 people and I believe just the one carrying over a hundred passengers.

All boats are required to submit a proposed itinerary to the Galapagos Islands authorities for approval and will receive back an approved itinerary which will have been designed to ensure that land visits are coordinated. This seems to work well as we saw at most one other group during our land visits and many times nobody else.

The process also means you can find out where your boat is scheduled to go in advance. I am not sure this is essential unless there is somewhere in particular you do not want to miss. Generally a week long cruise will have 12 land excursions and as there are only 13 islands I think one would have to be quite unlucky to end up dissatisfied. I did not check my boat’s itinerary in advance and we ended up in all of the places highlighted in my guidebook, although I was surprised that we did not go to the largest of the islands, but it was not something which troubled me.

The Galapagos is popular with scuba divers as well. I did not scuba but snorkeled and thoroughly enjoyed it, in fact everybody on my boat snorkeled daily and it was a very enjoyable and important part of the day. The highlight for most of us was snorkeling with reef sharks, we also swam with sea lions, saw manta rays and loads of colourful fish but were unlucky with turtles and did not see many. I didn’t think that the undersea experience was quite up there with the Great Barrier Reef or the Red Sea where I have snorkeled and dived respectively. This was mainly because the water was quite murky in places, although I daresay the dive boats know the best spots, whereas we snorkeled wherever was convenient. I think it would be real shame to come to the Galapagos and not spend quality time above the water as well as under, but I think it would be a great combination for a holiday.

The experience~~~~

The Galapagos Island offers a truly unique experience and the opportunity to see wildlife, some of which can only be found here, up close. The animals and birds are not tame but rather they have not learnt any fear of humans. We assumed binoculars would be essential for this trip, but in fact we only needed to use them a few times as the wildlife was so near to us. One day I was taking a picture of a sea lion pup and taking care not to get too close, however he was extremely interested in my camera and walked (if sea lions walk) right up to touching me to take a proper look.

Our boat followed the same pattern as most operating in the area of one land excursion in the morning, one in the late afternoon with free time in between that might be spent swimming, snorkeling or sailing to the next port of call. Before each land visit we would be told what to expect in terms of what wildlife might be found in that location and we would also be advised of the conditions so we could be prepared and wear appropriate footwear. Some of the islands are more rugged than others and involve clambering over rocks and lava formations and in some places we would have to wade the last few feet to shore so a towel and pair of sandals came in handy. There was very little shade on any of the islands, it was extremely hot and most land visits lasted about two hours so it was vital to be prepared for the conditions.

Everywhere we went the wildlife was in abundance and we saw everything we had been told we might see ahead of each shore trip. I particularly enjoyed the frigate birds (the males have a huge inflatable red balloon on their chest to attract females), red footed boobies, blue footed boobies, marine iguanas, land iguanas and the sea lions which were just about everywhere.

The biggest attraction for me though was the giant tortoises and I eagerly looked forward to our tortoise day which was in the second half of the week. Sadly, the human related damage I referred to earlier has had a great impact on the tortoise population, who were at one point close to extinction. So our visit firstly involved a visit to the Darwin Centre where tortoises are bred and kept until about five years of age before most are released to one of the islands. The tortoises are obviously coming and going here but there are usually about 200 including some fairly large ones which I assume will not be released. The most famous resident is a tortoise named Lonesome George, who was the only tortoise of his particular brand left on one island and was brought here many years ago after being found. There is a reward for anybody who can find a female of his sub-species as so far he has shown little interest in other female tortoises he has been introduced to. After leaving the Darwin Centre we went to see some semi wild tortoises in a tortoise game reserve type of place. Probably my biggest and only disappointment about the whole trip was that I did not see any truly “wild” tortoises, but sadly these are thin on the ground.

Wildlife apart, I also enjoyed being on the islands for the landscape itself as it is rare to see such untouched scenery and pure nature.

To conclude the Galapagos Islands lived up to all my expectations. I would recommend it highly and for any age group providing of course, that you like animals!

Summary: A life experience not a holiday.