Arrival at the Galapagos Islands Day One

Galapagos

Another relatively late wake up time for breakfast, and at 9:15 we were picked up by Ricardo, our guide in Guayaquil, for transport to the airport for our flight to the Galapagos. He was a great help, leading us through all the steps of getting our travel card, paying our park fee, and getting our boarding passes. We finally said goodbye to him as we passed through the gate to our flight.

After a one hour and a half flight and we landed in Baltra on the island of Santa Cruz. We were met there by the representatives of Metropolitan Tours and taken by bus to where we boarded zodiac iflatable boats(they call them Pangas) which took us to our ship, the Santa Cruz. At the loading dock there were wooden benches that were probably meant to be a resting place for weary travelers, but they had been commandeered by a bunch of lazy sea lions, which didn’t care at all that there were 54 humans hovering around them snapping pictures.

The ship is very nice and our rooms are good sized, with twin beds, a desk, a closet and a roomy bathroom. After we settled in, we were called to our first orientation and then to lunch. The food is very good and plentiful. Breakfasts and lunches will be served buffet style, while the dinners will be sit down.

After lunch, we were divided up into groups of about 12 each. Each group has its own naturalist and its own name. We are called the Boobies. Now, don’t get the wrong idea, we’re named for the Blue Footed Booby, one of the unusual birds of the Galapagos. Other groups are the Frigates, the Albatross, the Dolphins and the Cormorants.

Each group boarded its own Panga and we set off around the island to a place called Cerro Dragon. Our first sighting was the red crabs all over the lava rocks where we landed. There were also two Blue Footed Boobies watching us. We hiked along a rugged trail and came upon a rare sighting, a yellow Iguana. He was quite handsome (or so we were told by the female Iguanas). Our guide, Lola, identified several types of finches, mockingbirds, oystercatchers, and stilts.