Hello there Saif Travelers! This summer I was super fortunate to get to go back to one of my favorite places, the Galapagos. For those that know me, I am nerd when it comes to animals, and getting to witness animals in their natural habitat is one of my favorite things to do. If there is any place on earth where that is possible it is here! I spent just over two weeks in this amazing place. Read on to see what I did.

Day 1: Santa Cruz Highlands

On the first day, we landed on Baltra. Baltra is an island which pretty much just serves as an airport, one of only a few in the Galapagos. On this day we arranged a pick-up from the airport to our Hotel, with a few stops along the way.

The first stop was at Los Gamelos, a pair of natural craters in the highlands of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is the most populous island and one of the oldest in the Galapagos. Santa Cruz is also where we will be staying for the next 8 days.

Our second stop was a massive lava tunnel. The lava tunnel was approximately 400 meters long and really spacious, except for a couple spots where you had to crawl a bit.

Our final stop, the one I was most looking forward to, was El Chato Ranch. El Chato Ranch became popular for the number of Giant Tortoises that stay on and around the land. I highly recommend anyone to visit if you want to see Giant tortoises outside of the breeding centers.

At night we stopped at a local restaurant on the main strip Hernan, the food there was good.

Day 2: Dive North Seymour and Mosquera

Our second day on Santa Cruz consisted of a two tank dive trip to North Seymour and Mosquera.

For anyone that knows. Diving in the Galapagos is top tier. Mainly I wanted to dive here in hopes of encountering Hammerhead Sharks.

Our first dive was at North Seymour. Immediately upon entering the water we saw a school of eagle rays. We also saw a decent sized school of Jacks. I also got to see a couple of Hammerhead Sharks but they were off in the distance so I did not get a good shot.

Our Second dive (after an hour surface interval) was at Mosquera. This dive will be etched into my memory for a long time. The dive was pretty quite for a while, until about half way through out of the blue appeared a Giant Oceanic Manta Ray. While on my list, I did not expect to see one here in the Galapagos, as they are pretty rare. If that wasn’t amazing enough a few moments later while swimming in the flat, a scalloped Hammerhead can within feet of me, and for a moment swam straight at me.

Day 3: Dive Gordon Rocks

Day 3 consisted of a two tank dive both at Gordon Rocks. Gordon Rocks is only for Advanced divers with dive logs of 25 or more. Luckily for us we had gotten our advanced certifications and the requisite number of logged dives before we came.

Our first dive at Gordon Rocks delivered, I was lucky enough to see a pair of Hammerhead schools. In addition the the schooling hammerheads I got a special visit from a pair of golden cow nose rays. I never knew they existed until I saw them that day.

Our second dive was much quieter, we did see a couple more sharks some hammer, some Galapagos, but it was fleeting and it was hard to video as the current had picked up and I needed my hands to hold onto the rocks.

Overall a fantastic set of dives.

Day 4: Dive Floreana

Day four consisted of a two tank dive at Floreana island. Floreana is a rough two hour boat trip from Santa Cruz. Although the journey was long and bumpy, it was worth it.

Highlights of the day was the second dive where we got to see a seahorse and got to play with a handful of sea lion pups for what seemed like forever. I definitely can see why they are called the dogs of the sea.

Day 5: North Seymour Land Tour

After 3 amazing days of diving we decided to mix it up with some land based activities. On this day we had a guided tour of North Seymour Island. Guides are mandatory for all the uninhabited islands of the Galapagos.

This island is particularly popular for bird lovers. A couple noteworthy birds on this island are the Frigate Birds and the Blue footed boobies.

In addition to the birds there were also some land iguanas lounging in the sun. After the land tour we had a quick little snorkel which was fun as well.

Day 6: Floreana Land Tour

The next day we went back to Floreana, but this time on foot. Floreana is an island steeped with a lot of history. I recommend watching the movie Eden, or the documentary, The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden. It tells a story of 3 pairs of “families” all vying to escape their lives back home for a more simple life on this uninhabited island, but it turns into a real life murder mystery.

In addition to the history, the island itself was beautiful with wild life and black sand beaches. Now less than 200 people inhabit the island, mostly descendants of one of the pairs that the story I mentioned was about.

Day 7: Free Day

Our seventh day ironically was a rest day after 6 straight days of exploration. We spent time walking around town, swimming in our hotel pool, and simply catching up on rest.

Day 8: Bartolome Bust

Our eight day was supposed to be spent exploring the island of Bartolome. Bartolome is the most photographed image in the Galapagos. It is a volcanic island with a famous pinnacle sticking out of the ocean.

Unfortunately halfway to the island one of the two engines on our boat broke down, forcing us to turn around, to make the slow journey back to port. The island is far enough away that with only one engine we simply would not have enough time to make the trip.

We were able to get our money back, but unfortunately due to its popularity we were not able to rebook even over a week out. Due to the unfortunate events we got back in the late afternoon and decided to enjoy our hotel pool and have a nice dinner out instead.

Day 9: Travel Day

On Day 9 we took a ferry from Santa Cruz to Isabela, the biggest and second most populous island in the archipelago.

Our first day, right after getting off the ferry, we got to swim/snorkel with penguins, sea lions, and pelicans right from the beach. In addition there is a small lagoon called Concha de Perla where we were able to snorkel with Marine Iguanas, these activities were free and we were able to do them on our own.

Day 10: Isabela Tunneles Tour

The next day we woke up early for a guided tour of Los Tunneles. On this tour we were able to walk around the cool rock formations, we got a chance to see a few more blue footed boobies, and we were taken to a lagoon where we got to do a bit of snorkeling.

Day 11: Travel Day

The next morning we woke up and visited the flamingo lagoon to see the flamingos, this was free and a very short walk from our beach front hotel.

Just a note. Our hotel on Isabela was right on the beach, but it was also very affordable (less than $100 night). Visiting the Galapagos can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.

We then made our way to the airport and took a tiny plane to San Cristobal. The flight itself was only 25 minutes. The plane was so small it had no co-pilot, in fact I was sitting in the co-pilot seat, which to me was a bit wild.

We landed in San Cristobal in the afternoon and just explored the town. The inhabited towns of the Galapagos were very walkable, we were able to walk almost everywhere without the need for a taxi except for a few occasions.

Day 12: Espanola Land Tour

The next morning we woke up super early for our land tour to Espanola. Espanola is also very popular for its bird life. One special bird which can only be found here is the waved albatross. What is really cool about it is that it is such a large bird that it needs a running start just to take off. Once in the air it flies really well, it also boasts a super long wingspan.

Day 13: Travel Day

After almost a week away from Santa Cruz we returned to finish off our Galapagos trip on this island. We arrived in the morning by ferry and spent the day walking around, and enjoying the town, mainly the docks. On many nights after dinner we would stroll along the docks, it was interesting to see some baby sharks right off the piers, and sea lions lying on benches, and marine iguanas sprawled everywhere.

Day 14: Dive Daphne and Mosquera

Our next 3 days were spent diving, we got to see more schools of fish, sea turtles, mobile rays, sharks, and more manta ray.

This was mobula ray and Salema bait ball day!

Day 15: Dive Daphne and Mosquera

One of our best dive days of the trip. The entire dive was action packed, time just zipped by, and before we knew it the dive was over.

Day 16: Dive N. Seymour and Mosquera

One of our quieter dive days, not a lot of activity.

Day 17: Return Home

After 17 days in the Galapagos it was time to head home. This place holds such a special place in my heart, I have no doubt I will be back again.

A couple of things I might want to do if I come back is get a second shot at Bartolome Island, and possibly do a live aboard trip to dive the world famous Wolf & Darwin Islands.

I hope you enjoyed my recount of my trip. Thank you for visiting, and as always Saif Travels!