A visit to the Galapagos

SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND written by Tama

As we approached the Galapagos, all I could see was rocky barren land with leafless trees and dry shrubs, it was a strange sight and not what I was expecting.

On that first night following the crossing from Panama, we rafted up with Arabella in San Cristobal’s port. We had a nice evening sharing funny stories wrapped up in warm clothes and beanies, it was a welcomed change after six months sweating in the hot Caribbean climate. 

The next morning, we were visited by the Galapagos customs, immigration and biosecurity teams. It was a little bit intimidating as a dozen people came aboard and a couple of them searched the boat. They quarantined the foods that we were not allowed to eat such as frozen meat and they generously taped up mum’s plants in red tape which I thought was a bit ridiculous since the plants were already completely covered in netting we had sewn around them. 

After the inspection, mum took all the kids on shore to explore. When we arrived on the pier we were greeted by sea lions, hundreds of brightly coloured crabs and even some marine iguanas chilling on the rocks. Then we walked to a beach literally covered in sea lions sunbathing in the sand. They are cute but they smell terrible. After the beach we went to a playground where we had lots of fun running around. As the sun set, we met up with the other parents at a little restaurant where we had some drinks and sushi on the waterfront. 

The next day we went for a coastline walk over the hill with our snorkeling gear up to a crystal-clear bay. We swam with sealions, marine iguanas, huge sea turtles and lots of species of fish we had not seen before. The water was freezing. Some of us were lucky enough to watch a sealion nibble at a big turtle’s butt, it was quite a sight! That day, Arabella found a really cool sealion tooth on the beach. 

Day three, we all woke up, did school, and then thirteen of us took three cabs up into the mountains to a tortoise sanctuary. The sanctuary was kind of boring and there was a lack of information but all together it was pretty cool to see tortoises especially the really small ones that had been bred. 

After the sanctuary we went for a stroll along a beautiful beach on the other side of the island where we saw blue-footed boobies, the iconic bird of the Galapagos. On our way back across the island, we went for a muddy walk in thick fog up to the volcano’s crater. It was so foggy we couldn’t see anything.  It was very lush bush up in the mountain compared to the dry desert plants on most of the island. After we had arrived back at the dock, the kids were sent to Arabella for a movie night. It was a really fun and exhausting day!

Day four. All the parents and Arabella went for a diving excursion leaving the rest of us to have a chilled-out day. In the afternoon, the divers came back and told us all about their trip. They said the visibility was terrible and the current was very strong but they saw a few hammerhead sharks and from the dive boat they were visited by a group of hundreds of dolphins. Luca and I were not able to go because we did not have a diving certificate. That evening we all had dinner on Dragonfly but unfortunately, we had to un-raft half-way though because the swell became too big.

Day five, the mums had a break day and the kids were sent to shore to do an art class on the waterfront. We all painted something to do with the Galapagos. I really enjoyed it and I was quite proud of my blue-footed boobie. Then, the dads took all the kids to a ping-pong place where we had lots of fun even though Grant was beating everyone. It was a fun last night in San Cristobal, we had delicious pizzas for dinner and left early the next morning.

ISABELA ISLAND written by Naomi

We arrived in Isabela late afternoon after a whole day of sailing. Isabela is the biggest island of the Galapagos but it is very wild. It is the furthest island from the coast of Ecuador and unless you are a sailor it would be difficult to get to it.

It was difficult to get to the dock even from where we were anchored because the bay was full of reefs. And then from the dock we had to walk a long way to get in to town. The town was quite cute but it was not very colourful and it was too quiet for me.

One day everyone on Arabella and Dragonfly went for a long bike ride along the coast all the way to the “Wall of Tears.” It was hot, dusty and the last part was steep. It was tiring and we ran out of water. In the Second World War, some people accused of war crimes were sent to Isabela island and forced to mine volcanic rock and build this huge wall for no other purpose than punishment. On our way there, we rode past giant tortoises and several groups of large iguanas lazily lying in the way soaking up the sun rays.

The next day, we met Claudia, a fun and bubbly tour guide. The Arabella crew, Claudia and us, went exploring the highest crater on the island. First we drove to a farm high on the slope, it was cold and foggy. From there, some of us rode horses and some walked the long way to the top of the huge crater, there were guava trees everywhere around us.

I walked almost all the way to there and then I was lucky to get to ride the rest of the way up and the whole way down on a beautiful mare called Gipsy, she was pregnant so she was not allowed to trot. This made it my favourite day out of the whole Galapagos experience, I love riding and I used to ride ponies with my best friend Abi back in New Zealand.

After two big days out we took it easy. On the last day at Isabela, early in the morning, we took the dinghies to a place Claudia had recommended but where you were not allowed to go without a tour boat. We found the long and tight water channel through the volcanic rock and swam slowly through. Tama counted 50 white tip sharks sleeping on the sea floor under us. 

I felt scared, firstly because we were not allowed to swim there and secondly because it was shallow and so narrow you could touch both sides, it felt there was no escape. After the snorkel I realised I had scratched my leg and it was bleeding! Lucky for me, white tip sharks are not dangerous. I felt so good for facing my fears, it made me more confident about swimming around big fish.

SANTA CRUZ  ISLAND written by Luca

It was a half-day sail between Isabela and the island of Santa Cruz. On the way there we hooked two big fish at the same time, I took one rod and Tama took the other. I brought my fish in, it was my first big eye tuna. Tama took a while pulling his fish in because he has small muscles, but actually it was a pretty big fish, another big eye tuna, they are great for sashimi.

We arrived in Santa Cruz in the afternoon. There was a big swell so we had to put out a stern anchor. Dad pulled this big heavy bag out of the lazarette. It was the first time we assembled this huge anchor but it was worth it.

It was a cool little town with a nice vibe. It was a lot more touristy than the other islands with many restaurants and souvenir shops. There were huge pelicans on the pier, lots of frigate birds doing acrobatics over our heads, and more sea lions and iguanas. I saw about twenty black tips sharks swimming in the blue lights of the pier one night. 

On the first day, we went for a small walk along salt marshes to go snorkelling into a canyon of mixed sea and fresh water. The water was cold and very clear, they were some big parrot fish but not much else. 

On the second day, the parents went scuba diving for the day. Tama and I couldn’t because in the Galapagos you have to be to be certified advanced divers and you are only allowed to scuba dive with a guide. They saw hammerhead sharks, turtles, devil rays, and big ocean fish.

Us kids spent the day with Claudia, she had come along with Arabella from Isabela island. She took us to the Darwin station and taught us many things about the history and plants and animals including lots of quirky facts. One fact I will remember is that some reptiles, like iguanas, lizards and snakes have two retractable penises called hemipenes.

Did you know that frigate birds can not get wet otherwise they would drown? They have to get their food off the surface of the water or steal it from other birds which is why they are also called ‘pirate birds’. Their wing span is so big that they can’t land on the ground, they have to land onto something elevated so they can drop off. 

After that we had to do some research as Grant and Delphine wanted us to take part in a debate, Arabella, Naomi and Alex, versus Tama and I. The topic was whether Darwin had a positive or negative influence on the Galapagos islands. We had to debate the positive argument and the girls the other side. We had two days to figure everything out and how to debate. Claudia and big Alex were the judges on debate night. In the end the girls won the debate but Tama and I won on the part where we had to counter the other team’s arguments. I wasn’t too disappointed because Delphine gave us a big goodie bag.

A couple of days before leaving we went to see giant tortoises roam in the wild and some lava tunnels then went to a farm in the hills to harvest lots of fresh fruit before crossing the Pacific. It was a cool place that grew many fruit trees including coffee. We got a huge bunch of bananas, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, papaya, sugar cane, passion fruit and lemon grass.  

After the Galapagos, I felt excited to cross the Pacific because I have some really nice memories of French Polynesia and I wanted to go back there.