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Written by Daryl

Photos by Daryl and Shelly

Goodbye Galapagos!

7.5 weeks was the final length of stay for us in Galapagos. Just a little bit off of our initial 1 week plan, and way off of the allowable 10 day stay. But, one agreement of this trip that we both decided on was not to have any schedules! We will always know when it will be time to leave a place, even if that means sailing into the South Pacific in October when the Cyclone season starts in November!,… We will have to figure something out about that.

With the three new crew members coming along for the Isabela trip, Arianna and Daniella from Ecuador and Shelly from Australia, it was going to be a great way to explore the beauty and tranquility of the Galapagonians most favorite island. Isabela Island is the largest of the Galapagos Islands but, is also the least populated with only 2000 people living in the main town of Puerto Villamil.

Even though Isabela has a reputation for being ‘tranquilo’ there isn’t a lack of adventure when it comes to the animals, especially, when many of them haven’t acquired a fear of humans. Our ‘backyard’ in Puerto Villamil consisted of only 2 other sailing boats in the bay, along with many local fishing boats, and Andreas’s colorful ‘Rasta-Taxi’. It was a common occurrence to wake up in the morning and have numerous Galapagos penguins swimming by hunting for their breakfast. Or to have the seal lions taunt us to dive bomb them as they play around Spetakkel and then check out our dinghy for a possible sunning bed. At night the lights from our boat would attract numerous fish, in turn, attracting the sea lions to visit us again for a nighttime snack while we would sit on the bow under the stars and watch them feed.

A 30 sec dinghy ride from the sailboat, and we would arrive at one of the small volcanic islands that surround the bay. We would spend the morning walking amongst iguanas, penguins, seal lions, and of course boobies, literally getting face to face with these incredible creatures. Then, we would spend the afternoon in the water snorkeling with eagle rays, marine turtles, and white tipped Galapagos sharks! Quite the experience when 20 or so sharks would start swimming nervously around you after they have been startled by some unexplained underwater noise. Since sound travels farther in the water, you are never really sure what these sounds are or where they come from. Very eerie.

On the days that we weren’t scaring sharks or staring at boobies (I love that joke) we were mountain biking along the beach to the Wall of Tears, touring the tortoise rearing station, horseback riding up the worlds second biggest volcanic crater, or just hanging out by the boat and pulling each other behind the dinghy. During our downtime we would use the dinghy to float back to the rocks which housed the penguins where we could just relax and really absorb how fortunate we were to be there.

Galapagos has been, without a doubt, the most amazing place I have ever been able to experience. It was an experience that we could not have had without the boat but, more importantly it was an experience that we could not have had without our traveling attitudes. The price that we paid for staying in Galapagos was substantially lower than anyone else who has visited these islands. And the time that we managed to stay was abnormally long for cruisers. This extra time allowed us to become part of the community in Galapagos and that allowed us to really be able to breathe in some of the magic that surrounds these islands. Maybe some of this magic rubbed off on us as even the Port Capitania asked us “How did you guys manage to stay in the Galapagos for so such a long time?” He then signed our exit papers and told us that he hoped to see us again.