Part Two; The Galapagos Islands, Baltra & Santa Cruz
Here we go on our adventure to the Galapagos Islands. We left very early from Quito and flew to Guayaquil, and then on to Baltra island in the Galapagos. We landed on Baltra around mid day and tried to get through Customs as quickly as possible and get our bags. At Customs you pay your $100 park fee to get into the Galapagos National Park.
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| The landing strip on Baltra. An old US WWII airbase used to protect the Panama Canal. |
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| Two happy travelers who just cleared Customs |
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| A Brown Pelican in the harbor |
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| A Small Ground Finch waiting for a snack |
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| A Sally Lightfoot Crab |
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| Galapagos Lava Heron |
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| Blue-footed Booby flying over the ship |
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| Our ship the yacht San Jose awaiting our arrival |
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| The second deck bar. Open at night before dinner |
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The second deck lounge area
This was the original itinerary of the ship but the second half was changed to add a trip to Santa Cruz Island to see the Giant Galapagos tortoises on the first day. |
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| Our Guides Pedro, on the left, and leader Kevin, on the right. Pedro was our certified Galapagos park guide who has lived there his whole life. Kevin is the owner of Wildside Nature Tours who put the trip together. |
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| All aboard and waiting to get under way. There were 14 guests and two guides on our ship, along with the crew. |
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| Two happy campers looking forward to adventure |
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| Under way and seeing Galapagos Sea lions on a channel marker. It was only a 15 minute trip from Baltra to Santa Cruz Island and a short panga ride to shore and the bus. |
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| A stow away on the ship. A Small Ground Finch |
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| Blue-footed Boobies in the harbor |
Our first stop is on the Island of Santa Cruz to go to the highlands to see Giant Galapagos Tortoises in a nature park. We would also try and see the Twin Calderas but the rain and fog made us wait until later.
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| Welcome to Santa Cruz Island |
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| The El Chato Tortoise Preserve |
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| A giant tortoise and a volunteer in the rain. This little fellow was 5 feet long and about 525 pounds. |
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| The "water" hole where a group of tortoises were hanging out. |
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| Pedro, our knowledgeable and wet guide. |
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| Old shells at the welcome center |
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| A Vegetarian Finch |
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| A Woodpecker Finch |
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| A Gray Warbler Finch |
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| A Medium Ground Finch |
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| The Twin Calderas |
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| Hard to see with all the fog, clouds and rain. |
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| Quick pictures and back on the bus to get out of the rain. |
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| Back to the ship after an afternoon in the rain and clouds. What an experience to see the Giant Tortoises and several of the different Darwin Finches. |
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| The crew and guests introduce each other before our official welcome aboard dinner and cocktails. |
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| Johnny, Fabian, and the Captain. All were friendly and helpful throughout the trip. |
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| Jefferson passes out the cocktails. He always had a smile and a very strong and solid grasp to pull you out of the panga. |
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| One of the many fabulous meals onboard ship, |
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| Desert |
