My next logical approach was; if I am going to spend $520 getting to the Galapagos (plane and park entrance) then I might as well stay for at least a week. My options were to do a land tour or a boat trip. Boat trips are generally recommended by everyone because you supposedly get to see more but I found an awesome land tour that I was very tempted to do. The problem was I also wanted to be back in Quito for the fiesta and the land tour would mean missing them. I opted for an 8day boat tour on the Amigo 1 which started on Thursday and would have me back in Quito in time for the weekends festivals.
I arrived on Thursday and was transfered to the boat along with 9 other people. It hadn´t occured to me what type of person would be on the boat I had only assumed it would mainly be backpackers because it was such a cheap boat. In the end we had a very varied group. A retired granny age couple from Canada, a younger parents age couple from Canada and one from Germany, another retired couple from England who were on a world tour for a year, two very funny American guys, two young Sweedish girls, a German guy called Mole and his friend from Norway, Thomas, who were on break from volunteering in Quito and me. It was very mixed in ages, nationality and holiday type which was great.
Views of the volcanoes in Ecuador from the plane:
DAY 1
It took much faffing before we finally were all on the boat. Thomas missed his plane and so had to get the next one (I think a rather late night was had the day before) and the American guys managed to bypass the massive group of us with Amigo badges in the airport (a tiny place) and had sat in the bar for 1.5hrs waiting for someone to tell them where to go! A good start. The waiting wasn´t bad though because we were dropped off on a white sand beach and swam in the warm water with sealions and with pelicans floating by...it wasn´t bad at all! Once the entire group had made it to the Galapagos and the boat and the staff stopped waiting for some unknown event to occur off we went to Santa Cruz, the second biggest island.
We all got on a tiny little moter boat in which we hardly all fit and went around some mangroves. They were beautiful and we were able to see shark and turtles swimming around the boat. There were also blue footed boobies and pelicons around. That evening everyone bar 3 couldn´t eat dinner and spent a good few hours taking deep breaths upstairs to combat the seasickness - including me.
This is a Frigate bird, they followed the boat at all points in the hope of food. They were very exciting on the first day because they came within feet of us.
These are the mangroves we went into. 
Blue footed boobie and our boat in the background.
DAY 2
After a seriously early breakfast we all piled into the little motor boat and had a tour around the island Bartolomeo, we saw our first and only penguin onland, and lots of sealions and blue footed boobies. Following that we walked up the hill on Bartolomeo and had beautiful views of turquoise sea and cool rock formatons. Lots of cactus, lava lizards and crickets but that was about it for life forms! After that we went snorkelling around the point which was awesome because I found a young sealion which swam with us for ages and ages. It was so much fun diving down and spinning round with it like a game. Yenny had an under water camera so I think he got some good photos but I don´t have them yet. The snorkelling was awesome, so much to see, but it knackered us all out so all the young lots ended up having siestas!
Under water crater on Bartolomeo:
The group climbing up Bartolomeo:
In the afternoon we went to Santiago, which is the third biggest island. We were back in the water for more snorkelling by 2pm which was great because I swam with my first turtle - something I´ve wanted to do for ages. Also spotted a pengiun swimming and a huge whiptail sting ray and loads of interesting fish eg galapagos mullet, blacktip cardinal fish, king angel fish, bluechin parrotfish and cuncentric pufferfish (I have to write them or I will forget). The snorkelling was great for the young people but I dont think any of the older crowd went in which was a shame because it was the main activity. Afterwards we walked along a black lava flow which apparently extends for 10km across Santiago and is really cool. I was surprised to see cacti growing up through the lava!
View of Bartolomeo from Santiago:
DAY 3
Woke up to us sailing towards Sombreo Chino Island which is a big rock shaped like a hat. Went to shore and walked along the beaches and lava mainly taking photos of sealion pups, iguanas, sally footed crabs etc... Afterwards most of us went snorkelling again in a really strong current along a cliff face. It was soooo cool because we saw white tip shark which was so exciting. Also saw iguanas swimming, reef cornetfish, big parrotfish, mexican hogfish, cortez rainbow wrasse, mayers butterflyfish, giant damslfish, labrisomids, black stripped slaema, blue and gold snapper, crimson solderfish, orange cup coral, galapagos discodoris, variable sea star, pyramid sea star and chocolate chip star - yes we had a fish book.
After lunch and a siesta we had moved round Santiago to a nice cove and yes, we went snorkelling again. It was quite rough and shallow but there were loads of turtles and sealions so it was good fun. I felt sorry for the older couples who didn´t want to snorkel and the German couple started to complain that they were bored :-S Afterwards we walked along the beach and saw piles (literally) of iguanas and a fur seal which looked exactly the same as the sealions to me.
The cove on Santiago:
Pile of iguanas:
Lava herion:
The whole group and Lennie, our guide, standing up.
When we returned to the boat Lennie took me out to go and buy his family a fish. We went to the fishermans boat where they were chopping up fish they had just caught. Very messy!
DAY 4
Today was the last day for most of the group because the trip is split into two different 4day tours which was a bit sad. We went up to the highlands of Santa Cruz to see the Giant Turtles there. We ended up hanging around for about an hour waiting for our bus back down into town, Puerto Ayora, which was a pain but I didn´t have anything better to do. Because it was change over day we had "free time" in town but there was really nothing to do there on a Sunday. We all parted ways and the English couple, the German couple and I all returned to the boat for lunch. I was pretty annoyed at this point that I had signed up for the 8day tour because 4 days seemed sufficient to me. We had seen so much and it had been so much fun and everyone who I had really got along with was leaving.
After lunch the 9 new people pitched up and guess what...it was a tour group from Germany. All of them were significantly older than me, all but one was in a couple, and only one of them spoke English to any extent. I was sooooo annoyed. How unlucky is that? I just assumed that being one of the cheapest boats it would be travellers and backpackers that filled the spaces not a tour group. It was very apparent there wouldn´t have been my kind of people even if they had spoke English. They were the type that took pictures of everything - including the food. I was cross. Thank god that I had Barbara and Chris, the English couple, to talk to and joke with about the Germans. It was interesting to watch the German couple who had been complaining of boredom the day before light up, I thought it was sweet until they said to me "isn´t this excellent??" when it quite obviously was not what I would call excellent. Rub it in why don´t you!?
Anyway, I spent the rest of the day in a grump. We went to the Charles Darwin centre which wasn´t great but then I wasn´t in the mood anyway.
DAY 5
Today we went walking on the South Plaza island which is to the east of Santa Cruz. It was very beautiful with the sun shining and great views of the North Plaza and Santa Cruz. The main attraction was land iguanas which were much the same as the sea ones but yellow. Quite cool. Afterwards we had a 2.5hr sail to Santa Fe so I sat up on top deck which was up a ladder so I was mostly left alone apart from a German called Peter who occasionally filmed the sea and the cook who kept coming up to get vegetables and proposing to me. Obviously I said no, he asked me to marry him before he´d asked my name - typical.
Land iguana:
Galapagos hawk:
Turtle:
We arrived in a stunning little cove with turquoise sea and white beaches. We went snorkelling after lunch but it was rubbish because the visability was poor and there were not nearly as many things to see anyway. The only exciting things were turtles and a huge shole of yellow tail surgeonfish. We then sat on the beach for a while and went for a walk. We saw a different type of land iguana which apparently is hard to spot and we did only see one. Back at the beach was exciting because there were 10-15 turles swimming in the shallows. I spent ages trying to get a photo of one with it´s head out the water. On the way back to the boat we saw a shole of spotted eagle rays which were right at the surface and huge! There was also a galapagos hawk which I could get within 3 ft of - amazing!
I think these islands were more beautiful that the first four days, shame about the company.
DAY 6
We woke up near Española Island which is one of the most southern islands. We walked, again, and saw another species of land iguana - red and green this time. Also came across a sealion which had just been born, the mother was there and the umbilical cord and placenta! Also saw blue footed boobies with their chicks, it was so amazing because you could get so close to these birds and they didn´t fly off. Watched nascar boobies build their nests, a painstaking process in which they move pebbles one by one and appear to make absolutely no difference to the area. The most exciting thing we saw was Albertros which are the biggest birds on the Galapagos, wing span somewhere in the region of 6ft! Their chicks were all over as well. At the turning point of our walk there was a massive blow hole in which the sea just shot up into the air. Pretty cool.
Blue footed boobie and it´s chick:
Nascar boobies building their nest:
The blow hole:
Another species of land iguana:
Albertros
In the afternoon we went to the otherside of Española to Gardeners Bay. Lovely beach. We swam, snorkelled, walked along the beach and generally just had time to chill out...
The view from the boat:
About 3pm we set sail to San Cristobel and after dinner we all went into town. By chance Thomas saw us coming from his hostel balcony so I hung out with him and Mole all evening. We had a good laugh about how unlucky I´d been with the group and they kindly told me what I fab time they had had snorkelling with hammerheads and the likes! Bugger. It was really fun to see them though.
DAY 7
At 6.30am we sailed around some huge rocks called the sleeping lion I think. They were dramatic but it was the excat place where Thomas and Mole have snorkelled with all the sharks and I wasnt allowed in because the Amigo 1 didn´t have a license. Grrr. Next we visited Isla Lobes which surprisingly had a large number of sealions (lobes in Spanish) but also some nice birds.
The sleeping lion:
In the afternoon we went to the Interpretation Centre on San Cristobel which was the most information about the Galapagos we got because Lennie, our guide, wasn´t a fountain of knowledge. I got stuck in a toilet which was a bit scary and I burnt my hands in the sun but apart from that it was a lazy afternoon.
I had a lovely evening stargazing, blocking out german jokes with my ipod :-) and practcing my spanish with the crew.
DAY 8
We went for a swift walk around Seymore Island the main attraction being the frigate birds nesting because they blow out their red chest into a balloon which is impressive. You can get within feet of the nests. Also saw swallow tip and lava gulls. Following this we were transferred to the airport and that was that for the Galapagos.
Blue footed boobie on it´s eggs:
Frigate chick:
I really did enjoy the Galapagos and despite my disappointment at the time about various things I think I will look back and remember an amazing week.
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