We touched down in Baltra, one of the dozen volcanic islands that make up the Galapagos archipelago. From our plane, we took a water taxi and a bus to the main port of Puerto Ayora. After some bargaining for a last-minute boat deal, we boarded our cruise ship two days after we landed.
Our 16 person motor yacht had passengers from Germany, UK, Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, Holland and Spain. We were afraid of being on a boat with 14 aging American retirees, but our boat was quite the opposite, and even the older folks were fun and interesting. In fact, we were the only Americans (a recurring theme on this trip, since the rest of the civilized world gets 4-6 weeks vacation a year and most Americans only
2 or 3). We picked a 4 day cruise with 6 landings (and 4 snorkel trips). Each island here has its own species, so the islands are quite the lesson in evolution and survival of the fittest. The animals have also lived for millions of years without natural predators and little competition for food, which is what makes the Galapagos famous. The sea lions are happy too play with snorkelers, the tortoises will pose for a photo, the blue-footed boobies and frigate birds don't mind you being a foot from their nests and the marine iguanas are happy to share the beach with you. In fact, there aren't a ton of different species here, but what species are here are so numerous and unafraid it's quite amazing. The snorkeling has also been great, with sharks, rays, sea turtles, snakes, eels and tons of tropical fish swimming off the shore of every island. Back on board, we managed to (barely) fend off sea sickness, get in a little sun and have a few beers with our fellow passengers. Four days were enough on the sea, and now we're headed to the island of Isabella for a horseback ride to the top of tone of the islands 6 volcanoes, last active in 2005!
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