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Whitneys on Tour
We arrived in Quito, the Ecuadorian capital on 9th January by air from Lima. We had a nice hotel booked, courtesy of Gap travel who we had booked our Galapagos trip through.
The next day we flew to Baltra, one of the Galapagos Islands on an early flight and met our tour group and boat. As we boarded the dingy to get to the boat we were greeted by a group of sea lions spreadeagled out on the public seats by the bay, a sign of things to come. Our boat wasn't the usual Gap boat which was about to be refurbished but a chartered one which by all accounts was more luxurious. It was certainly well equiped, was very comfortable and the food was superb. Our tour group of 12-16 people (not all did the full 8 days) were a mixed bunch in terms of age and nationalities which made it fun.
The days consisted of relentless toil that you would not believe. After a delicious breakfast on board we had amorning excursion to a beach or place of interest, then back on baord for lunch and a siesta. Then it was time for an afternoon excursion in lovely sunshine before dinner at around 7pm then a couple of drinks. Oh, the pain. On all days bar one we had the chance to go snorkelling and if you had a licence, go scuba diving too. We haven't had the chance to do our PADI licence yet but may look to do it in Thailand.
The wildlife we saw was stunning. A list (as long as our memory will go) of what we saw is as follows;
Sea Lions
Sea Turtles
White tipped reef and Galapagos Sharks
Eagle and Sting Rays
Baracudas
Starfish
Brightly coloured red crabs
Flamingoes
Giant Galapagos Tortoises
Land and Marine Iguanas
Dolphins (albeit very briefly)
Pelicans
Blue Footed Boobies (birds)
Masked boobies
Penguins
Frigate Birds
Albatroses
Ostercatchers
Galapagos Hawks
Mockingbirds
Lava Lizards
Probably the highlights were the water excursions, particularly the snorkelling. It's difficult to put into words the fun and excitement of swimming with sea lions, turtles and sharks (only smallish non dangerous 5 or so foot ones we hasten to add). Additionally, the animals and birds are so unafraid of humas, it's totally unlike what you will see elsewhere. You can find yourself sunbathing on top of the boat moving at speed across the ocean, look up and see a huge frigate bird gliding about 2 feet above you. You can stand on a beach and have pelicans (who we are convinced were showing off) fly so close you can feel the breeze from their wings then dive bomb into the sea to take their catch.
Despite the huge and unusual giant tortoises, the stars of the show were the sea lions. You see them everywhere and they are to the Galapagos what Alligators are to the Pantanal but you never get bored of them. You have to be a little wary of the huge bulls but otherwise they are so cute and unthreatening and sometimes they can be very playful, particulalrly in the water.
Despite the huge cost we'd recommend this trip to anyone, it's unique and unforgettable. The only downer was Stuart catching some bug or other at the end and being pretty much confined to bed for the last day and a half or so. Hopefully, thats the last either of us will see of illness for a while!!
We arrived back in Quito on the 17th for two more nights before flying to Venezuala on the 19th.
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