Galapagos Islands

Galapagos is an archipelago of islands. It is a province of Ecuador and lies approximately 1000km off its coast. The archipelago consists of 18 main islands, 3 smaller ones and 107 rocks and islets. The archipelago lies at the Galapagos triple junction – a place where three of the earth’s tectonic plates meet. The archipelago is actually on the Nazca plate which is moving east/south east, diving under the South American plate at a rate of 6.4cm (2.5 inches) per year. As the three plates all move in different directions, the archipelago also lies atop of the Galapagos hotspot. Here large amounts of magma rise up and pierce a hole the the crust, forming a volcano. This is how the Galapagos Islands were formed. The older islands gradually disappear below the sea as they move away from the hotspot and then new islands are formed. The youngest islands in the archipelago are Fernandina and Isabela which are still being formed.

Nowadays, travel to and around the Galapagos Islands is tightly controlled and there are many rules governing visiting them. We had to have the boat fumigated before leaving Panama. Also, the hull needed to be spotless, so we had a diver in Panama City (WE weren’t getting in the marina, especially as there were crocodiles). We then re-cleaned it in Las Perlas (the diver didn’t do a very good job!) and then again at sea, about 80 miles from Galapagos we gave it a final clean.

Other measures in place were the need to have oil pads for any fuel leaks and environmentally friendly cleaning products. The rubbish had to be sorted into recyclable, organic, contaminated and other, each with different coloured bags and bins (clearly labelled) on the boat. We were not allowed to bring in most fresh produce. Once there, we were only allowed to independently visit three of the islands and many places on those islands were only accessible with a guide. The powers that be certainly seemed to be taking environmental protection seriously.

First stop for the fleet was the island of San Cristobal. Anchoring in the large Wreck Bay, we were greeted by the resident sealions who swam around the anchored boats and welcomed us to their home.

Once we got ashore, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno was a surprise. The sea front was full of touristy bars, restaurants and souvenir shops selling sloganed merchandise. I think our favourite was the Galapagos equivalent of a ‘kiss me quick’ hat – a t shirt depicting several blue footed birds and the slogan ‘I love boobies’.

As usual when visiting a new location, the World Cruising Club worked closely with the local agencies to give us a flavour of the place. Our introduction to the Galapagos Islands was well worth it, giving us an overview of the history of the islands and information about its more well-known inhabitants.

Whilst in the islands, there are many organised trips to choose from and it would be very easy to spend thousands. For those wanting to explore independently (or on a tighter budget), the options are more limited. On San Cristobal there was an excellent (free) walk around the headland from the town to Les Tintores in Charles Darwin Bay. On route, the path wound through volcanic rock and cacti with occasional glimpses of the sea and sandy beaches. Once at Charles Darwin Bay, we joined the many locals enjoying their Sunday afternoon trip out and had a dip in the refreshing water. In the water, we were treated to an amazing experience of swimming alongside the sealions (again free). They glided and danced, pirouetting and chasing the shoals of shimmering fish. They were so graceful and playful and completely oblivious to us.

Leaving San Cristobal, we made our way to Isabela. To ensure a daylight arrival, we made an overnight passage. There was no wind so it was a motor of 14 hours to travel the 70nm to the main town of Villamil.

Isabela is the largest of the Galapagos Islands. It has an impressive six volcanoes, five of which are still active. It has a much wilder feel to it and it was our favourite.

Our highlight in Isabela was horse riding up Sierra Negra. This large shield volcano is a mere youngster at an estimated 535,000 years old and is one of most active in Galapagos. In late June 2018, Sierra Negra began its most recent eruption. The lava flows made their way right down to the coastline, prompting the evacuation of about 50 residents and restricting access to various parts of the island.

Sierra Negra is the largest caldera of the Galapagos volcanoes, measuring 7.2km x 9.3 km. A caldera is a large cauldron like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of magma chamber in volcanic eruption. It is actually like a sink hole as it is formed by subsidence and collapse rather than explosion or impact.

It was a grey and damp day when we visited, but this did not spoil the experience of an hour’s ride up to the caldera. Here we were treated to another spectacular view across the caldera’s expanse.  We could easily spot the evidence of the 2018 eruption and were pleased that the next one is not due until 2033! It was a brilliant day, one which we would thoroughly recommend. Many thanks to Claudia from Galloping Galapagos who enabled this to happen and was a superb guide.

Our final stop in the Galapagos Islands was Puerto Ayora on island of Santa Cruz. This was our stop to prepare the boat and provision for our longest passage to date. It would be a journey of about 3000nm which would take us between three and four weeks.

After two weeks, the time came for us to leave and we reflected on our visit to Galapagos. We are always grateful that we have the opportunity to visit new places and get up close to the wildlife. We had heard so much about the Galapagos Islands and I suppose that our expectations were too high. We were disappointed that it was not the eco-friendly environment we were expecting. As visitors, we had to put many measures in place to protect the environment – spotless hull, fumigation, eco cleaning products, segregating rubbish…Quite rightly so, we should be doing our bit to help to preserve these habitats. Unfortunately, we saw little evidence of this being followed through ashore; even with what we would consider to be simple measures. There were no eco-products in the mini markets, no rubbish bins on the streets and certainly no sign of recycling. Most places that we visited were run down and litter strewn. Considering the amount of money that tourism generates for the islands, we were surprised that the opportunity had not been taken to create an exemplary eco spot. It is worrying as to what the islands will become if this continues. Whilst it was interesting to visit, it was extremely expensive and we felt let down by the experience. It is not on our list to re-visit!

Having said that, we did have some amazing experiences….