We promised you all Galápagos Island hopping tour blog…so here it’s!

Our tour ran by G Adventures, took us from Quito in Ecuador to explore 3 volcanic islands and the Galápagos wildlife. At 4am on the 13th, 16 of us left Quito and we were in for a amazing tour…

First stop was the island of Baltra where we were transferred by bus then water taxi across to the Island of Santa Cruz. Our accommodation was on the sea front with incredible views, weather was equally as stunning! Lunch was a 5 dollar treat, including soup, main meal and drink all made with fresh local ingredients! After a wonder round the island and a briefing for day 2 we headed to the local streets for some exquisite food! Steamed fresh fish on the BBQ with the most incredible coconut sauce, washed down by the local brew, we were becoming huge fans of the Galapagos very quickly!

Day 2took us on a trip up to the ‘Highlands’ of Santa Cruz (not quite like the Highlands of Scotland) to see the famous Giant Tortoise in the wild. We were able to get very close to the tortoises as well as walk through lava tunnels underground.

Day 3 began with an early start for a speedboat trip across to Floreana Island where the local population is around 150. We had 2 nights on the island, staying in local accommodation and eating in all 3 of the island’s restaurants! The food on Folreana was outstanding; octopus, fresh fruit juices, banana chips (in place of croutons in our soup) and craft beer.

Day 4 we had our first experience of snorkelling with the unique wildlife; our first snorkelling dive let us see a baby sea lion, sea turtles, crabs, sharks and pelican birds diving for fish.

Day 5 on the speed boat again for another 2 hour trip to our 3rd island; Isabella… Little did we know that we would be in for a huge treat on route!!!
DOLPHINS! In the wild, in the Galápagos! This was not part of our tour, but the captain of our boat spotted them, and slowed down for the dolphin pod to play with the boat, jumping out of the water and swimming alongside the front of the boat. This has to be one of the highlights, first time seeing Dolphins, in their natural environment and hearing them communicate to each other.

Day 5 continued to impress, as we climbed up the volcano known as Sierra Negra (1370m). This volcano was active 10 years ago and Isabella Island is made up of a series of volcanos. The caldera is 10k in diameter, not sure that our photos do the expanse of the area justice!

Day 6 we opted for an optional tour to the lava tunnels and snorkelling in the bays. This trip we were provided with wet suits as we were in the water for over 45minutes looking out for; seahorses, white tip sharks, sea turtles, Galápagos Sharks, puffer fish, sting rays and sea lions (the tour did not disappoint we saw all of the above!) second part of the tour took us on foot to walk across the lava bridges to see Blue Footed Boobies both incubating their eggs and feeding young chicks. We learned that the parents pick one chick if there are 2 to feed and help thrive, whilst the other will perish as they cannot provide enough food. On the third and final part of the day we were lucky enough to see the huge Manta Rays as they swam lifting their fins out of the water.

On our last full day in the Galápagos we travelled back to Santa Cruz and the option to visit other parts of the island. We decided to take the walk out to Tortuga Bay, a sheltered and well hidden white sandy beach. We ate our picnic alongside some hungry finches, and then hired a sea kayak to explore the bay. Again we saw a variety of fish and sea turtles as well as experiencing our first rain shower since leaving Scotland (slightly different with warm rain and swim wear on!)

We were also lucky to have had a great group of people to enjoy the trip with and will remember this tour for a very long time!

This has been a challenge to pick photos as we have hundreds, but we have tried to include the best…hope you all enjoy them as much as we did taking them!

Speak soon,

Chris and Hayley