Category Archives: Galapagos, Ecuador

Wayne assisting with dropping the main

Tours around San Cristobal

We wanted to show Wayne the 3rd island since he had not had a chance to explore its endless beauty.  So, we made the 80nm sail from Isla Isabela to San Cristobal.  We left at 0600, used one engine, averaged 6kts and arrived at sunset.

Wayne assisting with dropping the main

Wayne assisting with dropping the main

The next day we took it easy as we’d been running in all directions for the past week.  After a late and leisurely breakfast we headed into town to do some exploring

Next to the Golden Bay hotel is the “Armada de Ecuador.” During off hours, it is guarded by a totally different armada.  It is really funny to see as the sea wolves block the door and the path making it difficult for tourists to maintain a 2 meter distance.  Matt met Charles Darwin and Wayne showed off the local mercardo.  We did not figure out what or why the American flag had 13 stars…your guess is as good as ours – anyone? So much to see here in San Cristobal.

Playing the Tourist

Playing the Tourist

Of course we had another sea wolf photo shoot. I can’t get enough of these pups that are about one week old.  So darn cute.  Fun fact: Galapagos sea wolves are the only  breed of sea lion that nurse their pups for 3 years!

Sea Wolves in front of Golden Bay Hotel

Sea Wolves in front of Golden Bay Hotel

We had lunch at a great place c Galapagos Dreams which has a balcony overlooking the bay.  Explored some well stocked tiendas, had a drink at the Mockingbird and moved the boat closer to shore to make it easier for the water taxis to come get us.

Sugar Shack Galapagos

Sugar Shack Galapagos

Coming up next:

We discover Las Grietas after a short hike.

Los Tunels, Isabela

Isla Isabela, Galapagos

Every good thing must come to an end.  It was time to say goodbye to Matt and Diana on Isla Isabela.  We had such an amazing time exploring the Galapagos, meeting all the wildlife, enjoying good food with the best company. Thank you, Matt and Diana for playing with us on-board Sugar Shack.

Isabella Sight Seeing

Isabella Sight Seeing

Matt, Wayne and I went on a walk about around the small town.  We met some new friends, played on new beaches, and did the general tourist thing on this large, yet remote island.

Exploring Isla Isabela

Exploring Isla Isabela

Isla Isabela does not have an “official” sign like the other two islands. So we made do with this one.

Touring around Isla Isabela

Touring around Isla Isabela

We’ve seen some amazing birds here in the Galapagos.  Blue foot boobies, red foot boobies (more to come on this bird), Nazca boobies, brown foot boobes, pintail ducks, flamingos, and of course the Darwin finches.  These are all over all of the Galapagos islands, not just here on this island.

Galapagos Birds

Galapagos Birds

Coming Up Next:

We sail 80nm back to San Cristobal to show Wayne the sights, see more sea lions, turtles, and fun “must see” adventures.

As explorers, we found an enormous tree house, crater, tortoise sanctuary, and learned about the history of the Galapagos Islands.  We say goodbye to Wayne, do a little more exploring, then make preparations to transit the Pacific Ocean to Chile.

Los Tuneles

Los Tuneles & Finada

We embarked on a boat tour today to Los Tuneles and Finada.  We were fitted for shorties (the water is 22 Celsius), boarded our small boat apply named “Diana Cristina” and embarked on the 45 minute ride.

Diana Christina Boat Tours

Diana Christina Boat Tours

About half way to Los Tuneles, we came across a lava vent in the middle of the ocean.  Super remarkable to see this miniature island sprouting from the sea out of nowhere.  Of course, plenty of blue footed boobies, frigates and other wildlife had already claimed this rock as their own.

Lava Vent in the middle of the Pacific

Lava Vent in the middle of the Pacific

Los Tuneles, also known as Cabo Rosa, are a collective of geological, large lava formations.  Ancient eruptions sent lava underground and they formed earth tunnels.  They collapsed and gave rise to these arcs over the water where you can clearly see vegetation that comes out of the rocks. These formations range from majestic bridges, stately peaks, regal caverns, and cavernous paths.

It is absolutely one of the most breathtaking places I have ever seen.  It is so hard to describe and the photos just don’t do it justice (click here to see professional pictures).  The waters are pristine, sparkling blues and greens.  When you look under a bridge, the light shines just so that the water blends from blues to greens.

Los Tuneles

Los Tuneles

We asked how old these formations were and our guide, Alexis Flores, V from Tunel Ocean said they make an educated guess by aging the cactus.  The cactus grows a few centimeters a year making them between 1k-3,000 years old.  He places the formations for which the cactus grows on to be 8k-10k years old.

Our captain expertly drove us through the narrow passageways, in and around areas we would have never thought possible and this was during mid-tide.  He does this in low tide too.  It was inspiring, beautiful, and awesome in every sense of the word.

Los Tuneles Paradise

Los Tuneles Paradise

Blue Foot Boobies:

Lots of wildlife inhabit this area including the super cool blue footed boobies.  The older the boobie becomes, the bluer his/her feet get.  When the males want to mate they use their feet in an elaborate dance to attract the females.  The boobies are spectacular fisherman, they can dive from extreme heights, and plummet deep into the water to feed.  However, on shore, they are pretty clumsy which led the Spanish to name them “bobo” which means “clutz, clumsy, or dummy” thus their name “boobie.”

Blue Foot Boobies

Blue Foot Boobies

We went on a walk about across the formations to find a boobie up close and personal.  They are such strange yet beautiful birds.   They have very expressive eyes!  We also saw their cousin the Nazca boobie which is a brilliant white bird.

Alexis had to pull us away kicking and screaming as we did not want to leave this little piece of heaven.  We took a group photo and headed back to Diana Cristina.

FINADA

We found a sea sanctuary minutes away from Las Tuneles.  Alexis told we had the chance to see a variety of sea creatures, but we had no idea what was in store for us.  We put on our shorties, jumped in the water and set off on an incredible underwater adventure.  Most of the swimming was in 1 meter of water so it was not very deep.  The clarity was not spectacular, but since we were in such shallow water it did not matter.

Alexis expertly showed us the amazing wildlife roaming under the sea:

A regal 3.5-4” sea horse,

Regal Sea Horse

Regal Sea Horse

Dozens of enormous pacific green turtles

Pacific Green Sea Turtles

Pacific Green Sea Turtles

Half a dozen white tip sharks

White Tip Sharks

White Tip Sharks

Golden puffer fish, sea star, sea snake, and schools of other fish

Cool Treasures of the Sea

Cool Treasures of the Sea

Spotted eagle ray and a massive marble ray.

Marble Ray & Spotted Eagle Ray

Marble Ray & Spotted Eagle Ray

We also saw a penguin swimming in the water for a split second. It was the most impressive display of wildlife we had ever seen – all within a 45 minute swim.

On the way back to Isabela, we dropped a line in the water and caught two yellow fin tuna.  Our guides kept one and we made dinner with the other.