Latin America On a Steel Horse: Galapagos Islands - a worthy bucket list destination

Galapagos has been one of those places that I have always wanted to visit since hearing the stories of Charles Darwin. In reality though, I never knew much about it. I only expected that I would see unique species, but I did not know much about the islands other than that.

Galapagos wins. From the history to the diving to the relaxing atmosphere, I very much enjoyed the Galapagos. In my opinion, the best part of the Galapagos, lies underwater. So if you are not a diver or snorkeler, you may not enjoy it as much as I did.

My Fascination with Darwins Finches

After visiting, I realized that I did not know that much about Darwin's theory. I had always assumed he came up with the theory due to seeing the different turtles on the different islands or possibly the iguanas. The concept that Darwin based his theory on was that finches with an obvious similar ancestry developed into separate species based upon the island where they lived.

What I find absolutely fascinating is how Darwin identified this. He observed differences in their beaks and eating behaviors. On the surface, that may not sound like a big deal, but it sure impresses me. This means that he had to have been taking detailed observations of multiple animals as he visited each island. Of these multiple animals that he observed, he had to notice this detailed difference on these finches. To me that shows that he was truly a professional in his profession. I may need to actually read his book, On the Origin of Species.

I assumed these were Darwin's clues to species:

Land Based versus Live-Aboard

When deciding to go to the Galapagos, I kept hearing about the need to do live-aboard cruises as the best way to see the Galapagos. This, however, would require more planning time than I had available. Instead, I simply booked a flight two days before arriving from Quito into San Cristobal and leaving from Baltra to return to Quito eight days later. I did absolutely no planning other than this. I read the guide book on the way over.

On San Cristobal, I stayed two nights. I was able to check the area out. I did some snorkeling which was pretty good in the bay Tijeras (I think) on the path from the Centro de Interpretacion. I saw lots of sea lions. I saw turtles, blue footed boobies, sea iguanas and others. I took the ferry to Santa Cruz where I stayed for the rest of the trip. I did day/dive trips from there.

I am certain that I did not see as many sites as I could have if I had booked a cruise, but I feel I got a pretty good look at some of the islands. This way, I still have a few things to see should I return. Also, I prefer to sleep on solid ground. View from my hotel on Santa Cruz:

Galapagos is Super Chill

If you have blood pressure problems, I recommend you stay in the Galapagos for month. I arrived feeling pretty relaxed only to find that I was able to get more relaxed.

Galapagos diving is some of the best that I have done

I did one two tank dive trip. On this dive, I saw schools of hammerheads and manta rays. I saw white tipped reef and galapagos sharks. I saw giant sea turtles, sea lions, a marble ray, a green eel and lots of fish. This is the most big wild life that I have seen on any one dive so far.

I snorkeled in multiple locations. I snorkeled where blue footed boobies and brown pelicans were diving for food.

I snorkeled with sea lions. They were playful, but I did not get too close as they say the number one injury in the Galapagos are due to encounters with sea lions. Note: some sea lions were playful, while some were very territorial. This guy was territorial:

I snorkeled with penguins and giant sea turtles on Floreana Island.

I saw baby hammerheads, white tip and black tip reef sharks.

Dolphins often traveled with us on the day trips.

Galapagos can be done cheaply and easily

For me, I spent $330 flight from Quito, $20 per night for hotels for $160. My hotel in San Cristobal was so/so. My hotel on Santa Cruz was pretty good (Estrella del Mar). $330 for dive/day tours. A total of $820 without meals. Food was not too expensive, although certainly more expensive than on the main land in Ecuador. So, if you are trying to do Galapagos on a budget, it definitely can be done.

Next time, I will likely do a cruise so that I can visit the remote islands of Darwin and Wolf, which are supposed to be some of the best dive locations in the world.

Pics from San Cristobal: