We have just returned from our 8 day cruise in the Galapagos and it was one of the highlights of our trip. It was such an amazing place for so many reasons, the animals were in abundance and the landscapes very unique.
Firstly, the boat, although small, was fairly new and nice enough. Our room however, was not… It was so small and very stuffy as it was below the main deck and only had 2 small port holes for windows. We can’t really complain as it did get us from place to place each day.
When we got to the boat, the first wildlife we saw was some sea lions on the dock sitting in the shade on a park bench. It was a great greeting and a sign of some of the things to come. After setting sail it didn’t take long for our lack of boating experience to take its effect and I was down and out. After a while I pulled through and started to get used to it, and once we stopped moving and got to the islands our minds were had plenty of distractions.
The first day was mainly taken up by transport, but we visited one of the nicest beaches which gave us our first look of “Sally Light Foot” crabs, marine iguanas, sea lions, flamingos and stingrays in the water. We also met 3 other Aussies which was a nice taste of home.
The following days gave us more close up views of most of the animals and we also did some snorkelling. I had never done it before, but Robyn assured me that it was some of the best you could do. We saw heaps of fish and were hoping to see sea turtles and sharks which we had been told would be in abundance. We didn’t on our fist attempt but subsequent go’s didn’t disappoint. We also saw penguins, sea snakes, spotted eagle rays and also had sea lions come right up to our goggles to play with us. All in all the snorkelling was really cool.
After a few days Robyn became fairly ill, ill enough to need injections and 2 litres from a drip. (We did however, get upgraded to a better room on top deck). Unfortunately it also meant that she couldn’t leave the boat and missed out on the giant tortoises in their natural environment. They were pretty big, but there were some bigger and older ones that lived in the Charles Darwin Research centre. Robyn managed to get herself off the boat and we got to see the oldest one – 170 years old!
Everyday brought different landscapes and animals. We got to experience many different types of beaches from the whitest sand to the blackest sand. We also saw land iguanas and plenty of species of birds. The Blue Footed Boobie’s (he he) were one of the unique species. There were also frigate birds which have are the ones with the huge red balloon on there chests.
Anyway, as you can probably tell, our time in the Galapagos was one that we both thoroughly enjoyed, but all good things must come to an end. Our 8 days flew and when they were up, it also marked the end of our time in South America.
Our latest port of call is Toronto, Canada. We are spending a week staying with Jay in his new apartment which has so far been a nice change of pace. So far we have not got into the touristy stuff, but today we venture to Toronto Island to do a biking tour. Tonight we have tickets to The Lord Of The Rings: The Musical (I am not kidding) which should be interesting.
Our next post will be from London as our holidaying has almost come to an end. Hopefully we will both find jobs so we will be able to fund some more traveling.
Till then,
Glen and Robyn