The Galapagos Islands (ECU)

The probably last highlight of my trip, a one-week trip to the Galapagos Islands, is now over and it was indescribable!

First, I got information about prices with a fellow traveler in Guayaquil, but the organized tours are incredibly expensive. The cheapest 5-day tour on a simple boat (including bed, meals, and visits to several islands) costs 800€. In addition, there are also the flights, $120 national park fee, and costs for other activities. Therefore, we quickly decided to travel individually and booked the flights and hostels in advance on the internet. Although we 'only' visited the two largest islands, Isabela and Santa Cruz, and certainly didn't see as much as would be possible with the boat tour, in the end, we also saved a lot of money.

From the airport to the largest city, Puerto Ayora, you are initially taken by bus transfer (which is the only free service here) to a ferry to cross to Santa Cruz Island for 5 minutes. The small island where the airport is located has virtually no vegetation and is actually only used for the airport.

On Santa Cruz, various taxi drivers are already waiting for a 30-minute drive to Puerto Ayora. Here you get a first impression of the island, as the road leads through tall grass, along palms, and past the island's volcano. The most common road sign here: caution, turtles ...

Puerto Ayora is a fairly typical tourist town with a promenade, a fish market, and a harbor for all ships that want to dock on the island. We explored the city and the surroundings for three days and took a boat tour. There were various iguanas, pelicans, water and land turtles, and seals to see - they often took over the benches at the harbor ... best to check out the pictures!

For two more days, we took an overloaded ferry for two hours to Puerto Villamil on Isabela. Upon arrival at the port, you could then pay another $10 fee - Why? No one could tell me. Apparently, the $120 wasn't enough. On the island, we also looked around for two more days and I went diving with hammerhead sharks, manta rays, barracudas, turtles, and many other animals. This is probably the biggest highlight here on Galapagos!

Then we took the ferry back for an overnight stay on Santa Cruz before returning to Guayaquil on the morning of the 7th day. Overall, living in harmony with so many different wild animals was an indescribable, otherworldly experience, but: it works pretty well. However, it must be definitely highlighted that Galapagos is a huge money-making machine. Many areas are in need of renovation, the organization leaves something to be desired, and the population hardly benefits from all the money - as is often the case in South America.

After the flight to Guayaquil, I continued to Montañita, a small beach town. Here, I will work on my tan again before the return flight to Germany on May 16th from Quito.

Greetings,

Kai