The Big G 🦭🐢🦩🌵🌋🏝

The Galapagos islands have been HIGH on our travel bucket list since we started planning. From Medellin, we were able to find some decent flights to the islands over 17 days. 

Before we get into it, below are a few facts about the Galapagos for context:

• Located in Ecuador, the Galapagos comprise 17 islands formed through volcanic eruptions millions of years ago.

• This region boasts the highest level of biodiversity and species that are found nowhere else on the planet.

• Charles Darwin famously developed his theory of Natural Selection theory here, studying the unique flora and fauna that have adapted uniquely to survive.

• It’s home to the only penguins in the Northern Hemisphere!

• Visitors can explore the Galapagos independently or via cruise tours, though the latter can be very pricey.

We opted to travel DIY and visited the 3 main islands that tourists can visit independently: San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela. After various security checks and many tariffs later, we finally made it to San Cristobal. 

San Cristobal Island

San Cristobal, the fifth-largest island in the archipelago, greeted us with surprises at every turn. Its landscape, formed by four volcanoes merging around 3 million years ago, was home to thriving communities, both human AND marine. The island boasted the largest colony of sea lions in the Galapagos, a lively bunch that genuinely ran the town. 

Everywhere we turned, there they were—lounging on benches, strolling by tourists, napping on the street, sunbathing on the beach, and waddling up stairs. Every morning and night we would walk along the waterfront and stare at the massive crowd of sea lions as they barked, growled, and rolled all over each other along the beachfront. As they sleep on land, they become almost human-like: napping, rubbing their bellies, yawning, and cuddling one another. I’ve obviously seen a bunch of sea lions while living in the Bay Area (Pier 39 LOL) but these ones are so much more active and genuinely run the town. 

Observing the sea lions on land was memorable, but swimming with them became one of the most magical experiences I've had with wildlife. At various beaches and snorkel spots, young sea lions swim right over to you, twirling and spinning in the water, inviting you to play. At first, it was a bit scary because they get super close to your face and move so fast (they also low-key have big teeth!!). But as you get more comfortable and spin along them, it is amazing to see how swift and effortless they move in the water (unlike their clumsiness on land). Sometimes, a sea lion would play with a twig or pebble by dropping it from its mouth and catching it again later (their own version of fetch!). This was all fun in games until the big mama sea lion would swiftly swim by you, marking her territory around her pup (aka our time to GTFO LOL). 

San Cristobal was a great first spot with lots of activities. Over the six days, we explored remote beaches while hiking through the rain/ mud, biked 26 km uphill to more remote beaches (that was NOT a smart idea nor an enjoyable ride lol), swam with sea turtles, and continued to be shocked with how well camouflaged the marine iguanas blended into the black lava rock (I shrieked multiple times as I almost stepped on them thinking they were branches on the sand!!). 

We also scuba-dived Kicker Rock, a famous rock formation that shoots out over 500 feet from the ocean floor. There, we swam alongside hammerhead sharks, manta rays, and more turtles + sea lions. We also encountered a HUGE school of 1 million fish!! (I forgot the name of the species, but they were black lol). We spent the whole dive swimming inside the clump of fish waiting for them to fully surround us. Once they do, it becomes pitch black and you become disoriented with where you are because you can’t see past the fish. If you swat your hand or kick your leg out, they immediately move out of the way, but it was CRAZY!! We have seen a handful of schools of fish on previous dives, but never at this scale. On two separate occasions, a sea lion AND a black-tip shark emerged right into our group while swimming through the school of fish. It was CRAZY!!! Deff a bit scary not knowing what was on the other side of the fish. On the dive, we made friends with an Aussie couple called Liv and Tom + Liv’s Dad, big Phil, who was visiting from Australia! They were legends and we ended up spending a lot of time together in the Galapagos :) 

P.S. I had a bit of sinus pressure while diving, which has been an ongoing problem since Mexico. Thankfully, I’m on the mend now, but diving was quite uncomfortable!! 

The laidback vibe of San Cristobal brought back memories of Asia, with locals effortlessly navigating the town on motorbikes, often squeezing their entire family on the back. In the evenings, the town became lively across the local restaurants, where families enjoyed Menu al Días- A cheap $5 meal deal consisting of rice, beans, protein, and fresh juice! Sometimes they throw in a free dessert too. These became our staple meals for the rest of the trip. 

Santa Cruz Island

After a 2-hour bumpy ferry ride from Isabela (Sam input: plus my stomach doing somersaults - 8 months of traveling and the Galapagos of all places is where the food didn’t agree with me!) we made it to Santa Cruz, the most populous island in the archipelago. Santa Cruz was quite the surprise! Never would I have expected a modern, bustling, city to be thriving in the Galapagos. They have beautifully paved roads, pedestrian crosswalks, stores selling Electrolux kitchen appliances, and even a brand-new Samsung store! There is even a bustling night market selling various seafood dishes and menu al días that continued to remind us of Asia.

Tortuga Bay was by far my favorite beach in the Galápagos. It’s a sprawling white sand beach with the most turquoise water and lovely waves. As we sprawled out in the heat, marine iguanas emerged from the water and perched near us on the sand to dry off and relax. It was both creepy and relaxing, but amusing nonetheless. 

While strolling towards Tortuga Bay, we unexpectedly crossed paths with our Czech friend, Martin, whom we first met in Antarctica (and coincidentally encountered again in El Calafate, Argentina, a few months earlier!). Since parting with him in Patagonia, we had no clue about his travel plans or how long he would be in South America. This spontaneous reunion, after over three months apart, was both random and amusing. We made plans to catch up over drinks at a Czech brewery in town, accompanied by our Aussie friends. It turns out Martin owns the oldest pub in Prague, established in 1486, and we've already started brainstorming plans to visit this summer, the invitation is open!

Isabela Island

The last island visit was to Isabela, which only started tourism 15 years ago after a volcanic eruption on the island. Isabela is by far the least developed, with one main road and a handful of hostels. The town is quiet but the most rugged, which was what we imagined the Galapagos to be like. We rented bikes to search for wild Galapagos Tortoises and ran into 3 giant tortoises on the way! These guys are massive and slow (as you would expect). Sam loves turtles/ tortoises so we stopped to watch them for a while. 

Fun fact: they are the largest in the world since they were isolated on the Galapagos. This made them evolve without competition from other large herbivores. Their food is so abundant on the island they kept growing in size and worked their way up in the food chain. They also live for over a century!

Isabela is home to the second-largest volcanic crater in the world ( 6 miles by 4.5 miles in length!!), which is still active. We hiked one day to the top with Tom and Liv, and it actually felt like we were transported to Mars. On our final day in Isabela, we did a snorkeling tour which had been highly recommended by other travelers we had met. It happened to land on the only cold, rainy, and overcast day. Despite the weather, it was the best snorkeling we’ve ever done, while swimming through volcanic rock tunnels to spot sharks, HUGE turtles, eagle rays, penguins (!!), and more. 

I will admit... by the last few days, we were feeling a bit of island fever. The Galapagos are great, but obviously, SO regulated. Everything has to be done through a tour, with a guide, etc, and after we exhausted all the free snorkel spots and beaches, there wasn’t much more to see unless we wanted to go on more tours. The islands are stunning, but once we left San Cristobal, the wildlife roaming around was less than expected (we barely saw any blue-footed boobies!!!). We were happy that we could use the time to relax and slow down but were eager to continue our travels by day 17. 

We had initially purchased a flight to Peru from the Galapagos, but after a rude encounter with an airline agent who LITERALLY closed the gate in our faces before we could board (Sam’s negotiation skills for getting our bags on for free did not work lol), we decided to stay in Ecuador to explore the mainland for the next few weeks. 

If you're keeping up with current events, you'll likely be aware of ongoing political turmoil in Ecuador. In January, the country experienced a surge in drug-related violence and attacks, including a raid on a TV station, following the escape of a notorious cartel gang leader from a maximum-security prison. The government responded by declaring a state of emergency and launching a major security operation across the country. 

We initially thought it would be too unsafe to travel through Ecuador, but after meeting many Ecuadorians and hearing that it only lasted a few days (and never affected tourist towns), we decided to carry on. It’s completely safe, and just like every other place we’ve been thus far, preconceived safety issues just haven’t proved to be true. Everyone in Ecuador has been SO friendly, and the scenery has been so beautiful and mountainous. More on our time on the mainland next time!