The Galapogas

Bec and I nearly didn´t make it to the Galapogas. We found our hostel (after not a single cab driver knew where it was) and liked it so much we didn´t want to leave! Good sense prevailed, however, and we settled on spending a couple of nights there on our return.

Our rather little plane was completely packed and we spent the three hour flight guessing who would be on our tour and hoping it wouldn´t include the screaming 3 year old just behind us. It didn´t, but it did include the most uinlikely group of people ever. Bec and I were the youngest, by far. The rest were couples of varying degrees of age, friendliness and backgrounds.

When we arrived we were bustled from plane to bus to ferry to car without so much as an inkling to what we were supposed to be doing but soon we were adopted by a friendly guide and taken to meet Lonesome George, a very old and rather lonely (apparently) tortoise. Introductions completed, we were whisked off to our little sailing boat, The Encantada, which would be home for the next 5 days.

The first night was rough. So rough that Bec fell off the toilet in the middle of the night! I am not very good on small sailing vessels and this was difficult for me to stomach (the rocking, not Bec). In fact, we both felt so ill in the tiny cabin that we ´had to get straight onto our beds and lie very still in the hope that the world would stop moving. We didn´t even have time to put our PJs on or brush our teeth and were a little worried that a shower would be out of the question all week. Luckily for the other passengers, the weather calmed and we got used to the lull of a boat on the open waters of the Galapogas seas.

The next day dawned bright and sunny and full of promise (as any good day after a storm should) and we set out to explore our first island where we found a LOT of sea lions and a very deep cave. We also found an ancient post box holding letters posted by visitors to the island for years. The tradition is to check through them and if you find any from home or a place where you´re going, you´re supposed to pick it up and hand deliver it. So who knows, one of you may get a surprising knock on your door one day (though unlikely as there´s hardly anyone who reads these blogs that I´d trust to stay in one place for a decent amount of time!)

The Galapoagas Islands are a wonder. Think of all the strange animals you can, multiply them by thousands and that is what the islands look like. A colony of all the most bizarre animals in the world. You step out of your boat and onto the shore and you´ve already had to dodge a couple of hundred iguanas, bright red and blue crabs and a gazillion sea lions flopped on the sand.

One night we were sitting and chatting on the deck before supper when my eye was drawn to a lot of action that had begun in the water. I couldn´t work out what I was looking at for a long time, just bright flashes of light streaking in and out of the water. It was flying fish, going bazerk in the lights of the boat. Suddenly, bigger beings revealed the reason for the terror of these little wee fishes. they were being herded and chased by sea lions who were also, quite literally flying in and out of the water. It was just a brilliant display of speed, light and feasting.At one stage the fish were being chased straight toward the boat, which they flew into and were stunned - neat trick. As if this showdown wasn´t exciting enough, entering the scene came the sharks. These were only little sharks, not big enough to actually be chasing the sea lions (although I wouldn´t take my chances jumping into the water with them) but rather waiting for the sea lions to do all the work and then stealing their hard-earned fishy dinner. Just as the lights were turning off and the boat starting up it´s engine for the nights journey, along bobbed a turtle, just to complete the magic of the evening. Wow. I think spellbound is the word.

It´s hard for anything to get much better than that. But being able to dive in this fantastic place was a close second. I am a surprisingly nervous diver and wasn´t at all sure about this but my efforts were well rewarded deep down in the blue. It´s not every day you get to have a conversation with a sea lion, even if he is looking at you upside down as he "talks". On both my dives we were accompanied by these curious creatures. We also got to see a lot of sharks (reef and Galapogas), beautiful fish, sea turtles and even a spotted-eagle ray or two.

The Galapogas was, in short, educational and fascinating. It´s like a place stuck back in time somewhere, covered in mini dinosaurs and volcanic rock. If you ever get the chance...