Galapagos Islands: Sailing and Hiking

' For Us ... A Bucket List Trip '

Located over 1000 km from the South American continent, the Galapagos Islands (officially named the Archipelago of Colon) are a dynamic region constantly changing with volcanic eruptions, new lava fields forming and islands eroding and expanding.

The Galapagos Islands are formed by 61 islands and islets including 13 main islands. 

Those 13 main islands are Baltra, Española, Fernandina, Floreana, Genovesa, Isabela, Marchena, Pinta, Pinzon, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, and Santiago. 

The largest island in the archipelago is Isabela. With a landmass of 1771 sq. miles (4855 sq. km), it makes up close to half of the land area of the Galapagos. 

Its largest volcano, the Wolf volcano, has a maximum elevation of 5600 ft. (1707 m) making it the highest point in the archipelago.

Our Sailing Route, including approximate anchored, hiking and snorkeling locations. 
(Note: we spent 3 nights sailing / no anchor)

NOTES for Followers

On the Internet ... We did not have WiFi available on board the Anjelito and it was not practical to access the limited WiFi available at the few island anchors we made. Once back in Quito, internet was available, but slow at times. When internet is available, we update posts and include journal-ling notes and photos on a daily basis; we are usually able to publish soon after a trip is completed. 

On our Photos ... As usual, we took too many photos. We have only selected a few, to be included in the 2 posts that will be published for this trip. However, our complete Galapagos photo gallery is linked at the end of each post, for anyone interested in seeing all photography.

On our Posts ... Backlinks are provided. This initial post for the trip, documents some highlights of our time sailing on the Anjelito and also includes the various landscapes we encountered during our hikes. The final post, is a collection of our wildlife photography.


SAILING

We arrived and departed (by aircraft) from Baltra Island. We will visit the islands of Santa Cruz, Rabida, Isabela, Fernandina and Floreana during our live-aboard cruise. Total distance sailed was 150 nautical miles (278 kms, Source: Anjelito's computer).

We sailed on board the Yacht Angelito with a crew of 7 and a naturalist guide. 14 additional travelers accompanied us. We were advised by friends who had made this trip previously that the smaller boats (like Angelito) with only 8 cabins, would allow us access to more coastal areas and provide a more personable relationship with a guide. 

A short distance, bus shuttle delivered us to Baltra Harbour where we were transported by dingy to the Angelito.

Our mid-cabin.

Seaman Juan has the helm.

Takes awhile for a landlubber to develop sea legs ... 

What we thought of as 'rough seas' were described by the crew as 'normal seas'. We had a 12 hr overnight sail when we rounded the northern tip of Isabela Island and a 6 hr late night sail round it's southern tip. Sleeping was difficult at times due to the rolling and pitching of the Angelita. However, the roughest seas were during the overnight 6 hr sail from Peurto Villamil on the southern tip of Isabela, southerly to Floreana Island. 

Chef Maurice demonstrates how to make Ecuadorian ceviche.

Dining Room

The LANDSCAPE ... Hikes and Dingy Rides

We hiked approximately 45 kms total, over various terrain. We traveled flat sandy beaches, rugged rocky shorelines, mild and medium grades to lookouts, overlooks and volcanic craters ... the highlight was a difficult walk across a 500 year old lava field. We were mostly exposed to a full equatorial sun; but at times, hiked in medium rain over muddy trails and wet slippery rock. None of the hikes were particularly long but were made challenging by the intense heat and lack of protection from the sun; we used spf 50 sunscreen, wore long sleeves and full shading sunhats most of the time.

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Bachus Beach (Santa Cruz Is.)

Wet Landing

... shuttled from yacht, by dingy towards shore. Once near shore and following the last major wave, the dingy is abruptly turned 180 degrees and motored quickly to shore backwards. At shore, a couple of sailors secure the dingy in the surging waves and passengers roll out ... often not elegantly.

... volcanic lava rock, sand and cacti

Prickly Pear Cactus

 

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Black Turtle Cove (Santa Cruz Is.)

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Dragon Hill (Santa Cruz Is.)

... ' my hikers are stuck and I can't get them out! '

Candelabra Cactus

Galapagos sailing boats, awaiting hikers from Dragon Hill to return.

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Tagus Cove (Isabela Is.)

Dry Landing

The dingy is powered forward to hold it's bow against the rugged lava shoreline (near handrail). Passengers step onto wet, lava rock ... that is surprisingly, not that slippery.

Group Photo
Standing (l to r): Dann   Helen   John   Allan   Jay   Efa   Karl   Margaret   Lutz   Annette
Kneeling (l to r): Gerry   Karen   Jill   Carol   Starr   Conrad

We are here during the Ecuadorian winter and even though the area looks quite arid, in a few weeks, much of the surrounding hillsides will turn ... from ' shades of grey ' to ' shades of green '.

Near the top, looking down the trail and our descent to Tagus Cove.

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Punta Espinoza (Fernandina Is.)

Lava Cactus

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Punta Morenas (Isabela Is.)

A wet hike through 500-year-old, lava fields. This lava is gas-filled and is called Lava Ay Ay (Lava Ouch Ouch)

There are numerous lagoons throughout this lava field and they are all connected to the ocean. Fishes move in and out with the tides; however, some fishes become too large and are unable to navigate their way through some of the narrower passages and they become trapped. But ... smaller fishes are also plentiful, so those trapped, do not suffer from a lack of food sources.

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Volcan Sierra Negra, Galapagos National Park (Isabela Is.)

This was a 10.4 km hike and the scenery was unchanging. When we got to the end of the trail this was our view of the volcanoes' caldera (crater). The caldera can be viewed from several locations along a trail system that can take as long as 9 hours to complete. We were at one of the earlier stops, but had the cloud cover lifted we would still have been treated to a full view, although from a lower elevation. This is an active volcano. Below is a stock photo of what we missed ...

Volcan Sierra Negra has a diameter of 7.3 x 9.2 kms.

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Devils Crown (Floreanna Is.)

Blossom of the Jesus Thorn Tree

The afternoons snorkeling site. We began by following the outside rocky shoreline and then entered the fairly shallow waters inside the rocks ... abundant marine life, fairly clear visibility, first time snorkeling with a sea-lion (photo in post #2).

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We're LOAFin Around  

... but without LOAF this time (he's in his winter spa). 

Follow along, if you like.

Our latest route is included on TRAVELMAP 2019.   

For all posts from this latest adventure
click Trip 146 

Thanks to our guide Efran for the plant and animal identification. 

Wikipedia and others have provided backlinks.

All photography is by LOAFin Around, unless otherwise noted. 

And finally, here's a link to our complete Galapagos photo gallery ... if you're still interested.

Wry and Crusty ... 

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