www.ecuadors.org

[Pudh]

Just returned from a wonderful experience at the Galapagos. We traveled from July 27th until August 2nd.
We booked our trip through Ecoventura and stayed on the Eric Yacht of the Eric and Letty fleet. The boat had twenty passengers, mostly from the U.S.. We stayed on the "Dolphin" deck and chose to have double beds. There was two drawers underneath each bed, plus a drawer in the end table and a small closet at the end of one bed. The toilet and showers were set up well and proved not to be that bad.
We decided to do the 5night package, running from a Sunday to Friday. The following is a breif description of what we did and the highlights:

Day 1
morning: Genovese Island/Darwin's Bay- this is great for those who like bird watching. We saw multiple Booby birds, Mockingbirds and other reptiles. The highlight was when we saw a flightless eagle eating a bird it had caught in the bushes. In the latter part of the excursion, we snorkeled in the local bay. There I saw Blue-Fin tuna chase after bait fish, seals and blowfish
afternoon:Darwin Bay- I had the opportunity to snorkel from the boat to the next excurion on a local beach. On the way I saw an Eagle Ray and a mooray eel. At the beach, we saw more seals and more of the same birds we saw in the morning.

Day 2
morning:Forgot name of area- we toured a beautiful beach area where we saw a green turtle, flamingo's, land and sea iguana's. We snorkeled in the local area and it was perfect for stingray's and numerous colorful fish
afternoon: North Seymour Island- saw sea & land iguana's, lots of baby seals, small lizards and frigate birds.

Day 3
morning: Tagus Cove/Isabella Island- This entailed a pretty tenuous hike, including a stair climb in the beginning which leaves you short of breath. This is a view tour as we headed up a crater and got some wonderful views. When we got back to the transport boat, we took a tour of the local bay. There we saw penguins, sea lions, marine iguana's,sea turtles and multiple birds
afternoon: Espinoza Point/Fernandina Island- this was definately great for those who like iguana's. There were thousands around us, as the males were starting to fight before breeding season. We also saw two baby sea lions playing in a small pool with the momma looking on. After the tour, there was a snorkeling excursion which allowed us to swim with the green turtles

Day 4
morning: Santiago Island/James Bay- we saw the lava flow formations next to the beach. There were numerous sea lions and birds. after the short tour, we were allowed to snorkel in the bay. This was the best part. We were able to swim with some curious sea lions and were able to snorkel next to some large green turtles and stingrays. One person even swam near a black tip reef shark.
afternoon: Bartolome Island- on the way to this island, I saw two hammerhead sharks/really cool. At the island, we snorkeled in a bay that allowed us to swim with penguins. We saw numerous starfish, seals and bait fish. We saw the booby's dive in and feed on them. After snorkeling, the group took a strenuous hike up 365 wooden stairs at the peak of Bartolome. The views were spectacular, but it was worth it.

Day 5
morning: Baltra- probably the weakest part of the trip. They gave us a early wake up call and rushed us to shore. Here we took a quick tour of the Giant tortoise research center. We got some good pictures of the GT's in captivity, but it was fast. The transfer from the research center to the Baltra airport went very smoothly
Here are some quick thoughts I thought should be noted:
1. The thing that will make this as either a very enjoyable or miserable experience will be whether or not you get sea sick. The first night 5 people got sick, but thereafter recovered. The key is to take dramamine at the right times(i.e. before bed)My girlfriend had a tough time because she felt queezy most of the trip
2. Wetsuits- I did not use the wet suit once, but mostly everyone else did. The time when it was definately needed was during the snorkeling trip with the Green Turtles. Other than that, once you were in the water, you are fine
3. The "lamest" part of this trip was probably with regards to the Giant Tortoises. They could have done the full tour on Thursday, but instead gave a quick half tour on Friday. Those who chose to do the full 7 day tour got to visit the Highlands Friday afternoon to see the GT's in the wild. Maybe that's the incentive for paying for the full 7 days. If you want to pay for the extra 2 days, that is totally up to you. But you have already seen most of the wildlife the prior 5 days and have nothing left to see other than the GT's. he question you have to ask yourself is if you are willing to pay that extra money to see one animal in the wild?
4. Those rooms that had one bed had only one drawer to store your clothes. This is important to note as that you should bring as little clothes as possible. There were also rooms that had a bunk bed on one side and a single on another. In my humble opinion, that is some tight quarters!
5. Be prepared to pay for a $100pp entrance fee to the park. Also, to leave Ecuador, it will cost $25 pp

Overall, I thought the trip was fantastic and the guides were wonderful. This trip was so unique and I will always remember the closeness I achieved with nature. I hope the Ecuadorian government maintains the cap on yearly visitors to maintain the beauty of this part of the world. I HIGHLY recommend taking this trip.

Hope this helps