Thursday 5th – Arrival
We were finally off for the main bit of the adventure. Our voyage round the Galapagos Islands.
As we had been living out of partially unpacked suitcases for a week. One thing I was definitely looking forward to, was being able to unpack properly, and not having to repack for eight days.
This morning, we hoped, would be the last early start for a while. We weren’t completely wrong.
So it was up early,again, a slightly rushed breakfast, then onto the coach to the airport.
The flight had a brief stop in Guayaquil, to refuel and pick up a few extra passengers. We were finally off to the Galapagos Islands.
They take bio-security very seriously in the Galapagos. As well as having to make various declarations that you do not have any nasties with you, you bag is searched and sealed. You are not allowed to break the seal until you get on board the ship. Arrival is a bit like arriving in New Zealand. The plane is sprayed before the doors are opened to kill any stray bugs. You have to, again, certify that you do not have any inappropriate food stuffs and the like. One step beyond NZ is that your bags are X-rayed after you arrive. The process was all pretty seamless.
The transfer from the airport on Baltra to the ship was equally seamless. Our baggage was collected at the airport and the next time we saw it is was in our cabin. There were buses to take us from the terminal to the dock where we were taken by Panga (the local name of what we would call a RIB or Zodiac) to the ship.
On arrival, we were greeted with a cold drink, then shown to our cabins. Afterwards we had a welcome briefing, boat drill and lunch. We were given just about enough time to unpack, before being whisked off on our first hike.
The Western Route
HX (the company we were traveling with) has three routes that the MV Santa Cruz II takes around the Galapagos Islands. Initially we would be following The Western Route, visiting Santa Cruz Island, Isabela Island, and Fernandina Island. We then came back to Santa Cruz Island before visiting Floreana Island, and finally coming back to Baltra Island, where some passengers left the ship and others joined.
While we were having our briefing, boat drill and lunch the ship was cruising along the north coast of Santa Cruz. We anchored of Dragon Hill, where we went ashore for a hike. My guess is that Dragon Hill (Cero Dragon in Spanish) gets it’s name from the dragons that live there.
The “dragons” are iguanas. There are two types, Marine Iguanas and Land Iguanas.
We were divided up into groups of ten or twelve for our hikes and other excursions. Our group was The Gulls. Each group had a very knowledgeable local naturalist to guide us. They also made sure that we kept to the designated paths, to avoid disturbing the wildlife. The landing at Dragon Hill was a wet landing, meaning, the Panga runs up onto the beach where you jump out into the shallow water and wade ashore.
The first part of our walk took us past a brackish lagoon inhabited by flamingos, black necked stilts and a couple of lava gulls.
The Lava gull, also known as the Dusky Gull, is the world’s rarest gull. It is only found in the Galapagos islands.
After an interesting hike during which we saw Land Iguanas, Marine Iguanas, Flamingos, Black Necked Stilts, Lava Gulls, Blue-footed Boobies and Pelicans, plus a few other birds that I didn’t identify, it was back to the ship for a shower and a change of clothes.
Before dinner we were given a briefing about what to expect tomorrow. That was followed by Captain’s welcome cocktails, or in my case a beer, and an introduction to our crew. Dinner was excellent. Then it was time for a small whisky as a nightcap and then bed.
While we were asleep the ship sailed to our next destination.