Galapagos Part II: Santa Cruz

The island with the Galápagos "capital" Puerto Ayora is waiting for us. But here, it must be said: Galápagos knows how to make a business out of everything. The fees are not always understandable, but somehow you pay it almost gladly to support and protect this unique place on earth. We arrive at the harbor around 5 pm with incredibly turquoise water, pay $1 each from the ferry for the taxi boat to take us to the pier in one minute, and then another $1 "entrance fee" to the dock or the island. Then our luggage is scanned (which, by the way, is done again and again at every airport and harbor on the Galápagos Islands) to make sure that no shells, stones, corals, animals, or anything made of plastic is brought from or onto the islands.

After dropping off our luggage at the hostel, we go for a stroll through the town and search for a restaurant. Along the way, we are approached by countless guides, as there are plenty of tour providers here... Eventually, one of them gets our attention and we let him advise us in peace. With a total of 11 days, we have more time than many other travelers here, so he plans our entire trip with us. Of course, we don't want to do endless expensive tours, but we decide on three tours plus ferry rides. We also get some tips on things we can do here on our own and a bit cheaper. We are glad to have a rough plan for the next few days.

At 6:30 am, it's time to get out of bed because we want to rent some bicycles at 7 am and go to the highlands of Santa Cruz. For $10 each, we get fairly decent bikes, quickly get some breakfast from the bakery, and cycle to the bus stop. There, the bikes are simply hung over a bar behind the bus without being secured, and for $1, we go to Santa Rosa, which is located on the mountain of the island. On the way there, we already see the first giant tortoise happily grazing by the roadside. This is exactly what we want to see today! We go to El Chato Ranch, where many of the huge tortoises are said to live in the area. The park, or the area, actually opens at 9 am, so we are alone from Santa Rosa.

We ride through the lush green, passing pastures and cows, and suddenly spot a huge shell in the tall grass. As soon as our eyes know what they are looking for, we discover more and more giant tortoises. They eat grass and flowers and don't let us bother them much, though they briefly hiss and retreat into their shells when we stop next to them with squeaking brakes. We meet them in all sizes, sometimes sleeping, sometimes wandering, sometimes eating, sometimes bathing, sometimes fighting. The tortoises are fascinating in all situations, and we enjoy that no one else is here. Also, no one demanding an entrance fee from us... ;)

We leave the bikes at the entrance to an underground lava tunnel and descend into the depths. The tunnel is dimly lit with lanterns, and we walk and crawl deeper and deeper. At its lowest point, the tunnel is perhaps 50cm high, and at its highest point, it is even 4m. On the other side, we see light again and walk back to the bikes from there.

We continue riding for a while until we reach the ranch, but suddenly, we are asked for our entrance ticket here. We quickly pretend not to understand Spanish and turn around. Unfortunately, the controller at the entrance of the park is already informed via walkie-talkie that two people without tickets will pass him, and so we cannot avoid paying $5 each at the exit (without actually having been on the ranch), as the video cameras filmed us entering the cave... Well, we tried ;)

First, it's still tiring uphill, then we can speed down the entire distance we traveled up by bus.

At 3 pm, we start our Bahia tour. We go a little out of the harbor on a small boat, where we get to see Blue-Footed Boobies again, frigatebirds, and marine iguanas.

Of course, we snorkel in the water again and see many colorful schools of fish, sharks, and even a swimming marine iguana. Soaking wet, we go ashore and walk along a small trail to Canyon del Amor and a natural pool where many small sharks sleep during the day. We pass through dry bushes and tall tree-like cacti to reach Playa de los Perros, where some marine iguanas sunbathe on the black lava rocks.

Back on the boat, we go to our last stop, Las Grietas. Saltwater has accumulated in a narrow canyon and formed a deep, blue, natural pool. Here, too, we snorkel again, and you can jump wonderfully from the dock.

In the last light of the sun, we sail back to the port of Santa Cruz on the sparkling sea.

In the evening, we have the pleasure of eating lobster for the first time. If not here, where else?! It is comparatively cheap at $20 and very delicious. However, we leave behind a battlefield on the plate...

There's something we can do on our own again: the Turtle Bay. A 30-45 minute walk along a well-built path separates the city center from the incredibly long white sandy beach. This area is also busy with iguanas, leaving funny traces in the sand.

At the end of the beach, we reach the small Turtle Bay, but apart from a few tourists, pelicans, and iguanas, no animals can be seen... The water is rather muddy (okay, maybe we are a bit spoiled by now), so we don't stay there for very long.

Back in town, we quickly grab our suitcases so that we can catch the ferry at 3 pm, which is supposed to take us to the beautiful, largest, and rather wild Galápagos island, Isabela. When leaving Santa Cruz, all luggage is scanned again, you pay the fee for the pier again, and the fee for the taxi boat, and then it starts, the wild ride on the worst boat we have seen here so far... It is also, in our opinion, overcrowded with too many people, which doesn't give us a good feeling. A few months ago, one of these ferry boats sank around the Galapagos Islands, and several people died. Well, spoiler: we survive it ;)

A short lecture on our last day in Galápagos, which we also spend on Santa Cruz in a beautiful accommodation: We walk to the Charles Darwin Research Center, where there are several species of the islands to admire and you can learn a lot about sharks and other marine animals. We also pass two beautiful small beaches, and on one of them, we relax for a while on the way back.

Overall, Santa Cruz is a bit too touristy and also more expensive than the other islands, but still worth seeing! You usually pass this island anyway because the airport is also located here (taxi $10 per person/bus $5 per person + taxi boat $1 + bus $5 per person, as the airport is on a small adjacent island).

A little highlight awaits us at the end at the airport: directly in front of the entrance on the green strip, there is a yellow iguana, which we haven't seen yet! This type is slightly larger and thicker than its relatives by the water and beautiful!

We'll be back, Galápagos!