The Galapagos Islands

On the fifth of August Matt and I arrived at the Galapagos. The place that once inspired Darwin to write his theory of the evolution of species (actually the Galapagos was not as important as is commonly assumed). I had always wanted to travel there, but I never thought I would be able to afford it. It turns out that last minute tours booked in Ecuador are not as expensive as you may think.

We booked a tour with yate Floreana for 8 days and 7 nights. Little did we know what to expect, but we had a feeling that it would be good.

It turned out that we had one of the greatest experiences of our lives!

First of all, the boat was great. It was small, but perfect for us. The staff was so helpful and professional, the food was like a 4 star restaurant and our guide was knowledgeable and dedicated to the wildlife!

On the first day we went to North Seymour. On that island we saw blue footed boobies, land iguanas, lizards, sea lions, crabs, pelicans and a number of other birds. We were amazed by how tame the animals were. They don’t have natural predators here, so they have never had a reason to fear other species. It was so amazing being able to see the blue footed boobies court each other from a few feet away! The sea lions are very curious and they are really interested in checking out humans. They are so cute! Take a look at our photos on flicker to get the idea (be ware there are almost 1000 pictures from the Galapagos there). In the evening on our first day we went to have a cup of tea and look at the starts. Guess what! Our boat was surrounded by about 20 bull sharks. They were enormous. It was fascinating watching them swim around the boat. I felt like I was in a Jaws movie (haisommer) minus all the pain of course.

All the days were amazing! We did 3 activities each day. We got to go for 5 snorkelling trips all together. The water was freezing! We did have wetsuits, but with about 17 degrees in the water that doesn’t help much. However, when you get to swim with sea lions and sea turtles you forget about the coldness quite quickly!


The greatest thing we did though snorkelling wise was swimming with dolphins! One day we came upon about 50 of them. We could hear them talking to each other under water. However, they were swimming so quickly so when they were gone our guide made it a mission to follow them. We rushed into our tiny boat and raced them. When we got close we all jumped out of the boat. It was such a rush! We did this 3 times. I can’t even describe what it’s like to see 20 dolphins beneath you, but it was beautiful! I even saw a mother with a baby. The atmosphere on out boat was just thrilling. We have put a video up flicker where you can see us hunting for the dolphins.

It is so difficult to write a blog about the Galapagos. Nothing I say will bring it justice. The wildlife was like nothing I have ever seen. I never thought I’d see sharks and tortoises in the wild. The islands were beautiful and they seemed untouched. Matt and I also got engaged on the Galapagos. Needless to say I will always remember this place fondly.