North Santa Cruz
To ensure we saw as much as possible on our short cruise, our wake up call was at 05.30. At 06.00 we were on the pangas and on an excursion to a sheltered bay surrounded by mangroves. Except our panga broke down. We were in two separate pangas. Stopping to look at something, our panga driver couldn’t get the outboard motor restarted.
Eventually the other panga, driven by our guide, Jorge, returned and towed us. This didn’t work very well, as after another stop the tow rope tangled in his panga’s propeller. With some help from Joel, in our panga, the propeller was cleared and we set off again. We managed to see some mating turtles, rays, sharks and some very large fish.
Our driver tried restarting our motor, but it wasn’t working and the towing was problematic. So, 4 of us climbed into Jorge’s panga and we continued in the one panga.
After an hour or so, we returned to Fragata and a welcome breakfast. On our return we sailed past a blue footed booby perched on the rocks. A last minute bonus. I had wanted to see blue footed boobies, and was afraid I was going to be disappointed.
Baltra Island
During breakfast we sailed to nearby Baltra Island, where the airport is located. There were many vessels anchored around us with disembarking passengers. Onto the panga for the last time and a short sail to the jetty and the onto a bus for the airport.
We thanked and said goodbye to Jorge. He was a character. An excellent guide with 35 years of experience. When explaining animal activities to us he would enact the processes. Mating tortoises, for example, with accompanying noises. As well as being very informative, he was very entertaining.
Back in Quito
We all split up at the airport, leaving on different flights. Flying with Avianca again, we had plenty of time for our flight as the departure wasn’t until 11.38. The flight to Quito, stopping in Guayaquil again, was painless. Arriving ahead of time, Andy was there waiting for us. He is a real treasure. It made our journey so easy.
What we hadn’t anticipated was the weather. As we descended through thick cloud, rivulets of water started streaming down the plane’s windows. It was pouring with rain. In fact it was a thunderstorm with lightening flashing and thunder rumbling. We had been communicating by WhatsApp as soon as we landed, so Andy was waiting right outside the terminal building. We didn’t get wet at all.
Andy kindly stopped at a small grocery store on our way back so we were able to buy some fruit and veg for dinner. He told us while we had been away there had been a major fire further along the hill from where his campsite is located. No one lost their lives, but some houses were destroyed and some people suffered from smoke inhalation. The fire services are, obviously, very pleased with this change in the weather to damp down any remaining hot spots.
Re establishing camp.
I hoped the rain would ease once we got back to the campsite, but no such luck. We had departed at 05.00, not having put up the tent and leaving all our bedding out. We had anticipated putting up the tent and sorting everything out when we returned. Sitting and thinking for a few minutes, we decided as we needed to cook, the bedding had to be put away.
In order to do this easily, we braved the elements and put up the tent. We cooked a vegetable curry with rice and had a hot chocolate to warm us up. Outside it is only 12 degrees, but it’s slightly warmer inside Poki. We then remade the bed and organised ourselves a bit. Tomorrow, in the daylight, we will have a proper reorganisation. We need to get some laundry done and go in to Quito to collect Dennis’s camera.
Before we went to the Galápagos Islands, some people had suggested it was too touristy, others that we weren’t going for long enough. It is touristy and it is expensive. However, I think the authorities are doing a pretty good job of controlling when and where boats can visit and much conservation and research is being undertaken,
Although we only visited 4 islands, we saw an awful lot. All the reptiles, fish and birds that we hoped to see. Even if it was only one blue footed booby close up. It is the breeding season, which is why they are not so much in evidence. We thought it was definitely a very enjoyable and worthwhile experience.
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