Our first day in the Galapagos began bright and early. We spent all day the day before traveling and did a quick evening tour of Quito, Ecuador before waking up at 5 a.m. and heading to the airport.
We touched down on Baltra Island in the Galapagos around 10 a.m. My family and I met up with with a small tour group and a guide to catch a dinghy ride out to the boat that we stayed on for the duration of our time in the Galapagos.
Within five minutes of our arrival on Baltra, we saw a sea lion, bright red crabs and the famous marine iguana. Too cool!
When traveling to the Galapagos, many visitors elect to stay on a boat with other people in an effort to see and experience more. (This is what our travel agent, Samay Adventures, strongly recommended.) By staying on a boat, visitors don’t have to sail to and from a hotel on land and spend hours every morning simply traveling to a new island.
Our ship held 16 people and we enjoyed eating meals together and exploring the islands as a small group. For the most part the boat was steady, but we did feel some intense waves as we tried to sleep during two of the three nights. Thank goodness I had a seasick patch stuck behind my ear. I’m convinced that it saved me on multiple occasions.
Once we were on board, we checked out our rooms before throwing on our bathing suits and sun screen and heading to the upper deck to relax before lunch.
After lunch on the boat, we spent the afternoon on a dinghy exploring Black Turtle Cove.
Our guide, Williams, promised us that we’d see lots of wildlife, including sea turtles, and he kept his promise!
The blue footed booby is probably the most famous bird of the Galapagos and we couldn’t get over the pale blue color of its feet.
(If you’re anything like me and find yourself wondering why in the world these blue footed birds are called boobies, the name is derived from the Spanish word bobo, meaning foolish or clown.)
Watching the blue footed booby fish was incredibly entertaining. The birds would fly high into the air, dive straight down to catch a fish and then pop up with serious force. It was so cool! (And this is coming from someone who generally finds birds not-so-entertaining.)
During our dinghy tour of Black Turtle Cove, we saw a ton of sea turtles, rays, white-tipped reef sharks, fish and birds.
Perhaps one of the coolest things about the wildlife in the Galapagos Islands is that many of the animals are curious and allow people to snap photos and get relatively close without darting away. Since the islands are seriously regulated, the animals are protected and humans cannot hunt, so they aren’t very fearful. (Of course our guide told us we could not touch them, get too close or take pictures using a flash.)
Day one in the Galapagos was filled with awesome animal sightings but the next two days were even better! (Hint: Sea lions!!!)
I’ll see ya soon with another Galapagos Islands recap, but now I’m off to dinner with my family in Quito for the last night of our vacation!
Hope you’re having a fabulous weekend!
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AWESOME!! I would love to be in a warm weather location right now – it rained all day in St. Louis! Glad you’re having a great trip! Awesome pix! 🙂
Loving all your photos!
Especially the one of the blue footed booby bird it looks too funny 🙂
The waters are simply gorgeous!
How beautiful, jealous now as I’m stuck in the rain indoors all day teacher training;)
And your Lunch is colorful too which I love.
Your trip looks so amazing! Thanks so much for posting it, I’m having fun showing my family where we should vaca one day 🙂
Awesome pictures 🙂
MY family is from Ecuador and I’m dying to go!
Oh my gosh that WEATHER. I’m so jealous of you right now- and those TURTLES! You’re in paradise!
Sounds like you are having an amazing trip! Love the idea of staying on a boat with others and getting a better experience. Those blue feet, they are so blue and strange for a bird!
You are so lucky to have seen some of those animals in the wild! The Galapagos is on my list of things to see… I’m so jealous! So happy you had such an amazing time! I get terribly sea sick as well and I have to have prescription seasickness patches. I’m the worst marine biologist in the world 😉 That green sea turtle is GORGEOUS and so is that spotted eagle ray. I’m living vicariously through your pictures!
So amazing! Enjoy the last night of your trip!
AMAZING! The weather looks fantastic! The pics of the animals are great!
Oh my gosh!! I am so jealous you are in the Galapagos! As a biology major, going there is one of my dreams. Looks like you are having a fantastic trip!
we actually had a zoo keeper on our boat (she also majored in biology) and she was in heaven!
This is AMAZING. I hear you on the seasick patches! As long as I have one, I’m set for vacation!
Love reading about your trip! I’m still so jealous haha!
I giggled every time I read “blue footed booby”. I’m so childish! Great animal pictures: like the claw on that iguana and that bird with his mouth wide open!
Great shots of the wildlife! The blue color of that bird’s feet is so cool!
Oh wow!!!! Galapagos Islands is now on my list of must visits. The TOP of the list!!! And I don’t mean this weird or creepy (I am 33 and love my hubby) but kudos to your dads abs 🙂
As a self-proclaimed wildlife and animal lover, these are SO COOL. I’m in love with the stingray in particular. I’ve always been a huge fan of them; I think they’re so gorgeous. I’m so jealous you got to get so close to some of these animals!
Hi Julie,
I just discovered your blog. My son is going on a school world expedition tour to the Galapagos for a month in November, it was great to see your photos.
I have recently started my own craft blog (sewupmyalley.com) and am brand new to wordpress. I noticed on the bottom of your posts you can link “you may also like” posts. I have spent countless hours trying to work this out myself and even emailed WordPress who told me that they don’t offer that option. Was wondering how you are able to do it on your blog.
Enjoy the rest of your trip.
Thanks & regards. Mel
I’ve seen the Galapagos on the show Planet Earth and they looked incredible. Definitely a once in a lifetime trip! I love those blue feet too! So cool.
Awesome!! This seems like the best vacation ever!
Very cool! I’m curious to see what a room on the boat would look like — I get motion sick pretty easily so I’m not sure I could do it! Was it cramped?
Wow you captured some really amazing pictures! Hope the rest of your vacation is wonderful and safe travels.
WOW!! Your trip has looked amazing so far. Can’t wait to hear more about it. And can we just talk about how cute your parents are? Love them!
What a fun trip! All the animals are so cool looking!
Wow. Dream trip! Amazing pictures. Thanks for taking us along with you!
The Galápagos Islands are on my ulcer list! Jealous and appreciate the great photos and stories!
Oh my gosh!!! Galapagos is #1 on my travel bucket list!!!! You lucky girl!!!
I love looking at all of your pictures! Looks like you are having a blast!
My mom has been a college biology teacher for years and I know she would just love this trip!! I can’t wait to show her all your pictures!
oh my god. Seriously it is my dream to go to the Galapagos, especially after being a Marine Biology major in college and learning so much about the islands. And I LOVE the blue footed booby! Haha it’s name and it’s blue feet!
lol, the word ‘bobo’ definitely matches that bird’s appearance for some reason. 🙂 And what a relaxing time you guys are having! However I prob. would have to opt out of the boat ride because I get seasick TO THE MAX and hurl at every turn~haha
My husband and I just returned from the Galapagos and Quito last Monday. If you have time, claims down Quilotoa crater to the lake, I felt it was better than Cotopaxi. There is also a great vegetarian restaurant in Quito…El Maple.
We also spent 2 days in the Amazon near Tena for some amazing adventures if your schedule permits.
Obsessed with your photos! I am craving a trip now..beautiful scenery and looks like a ton of fun 🙂 sending You lots of fun times! Love + Shine Courtstar
I’m seriously jealous of your time in the Galapagos! I definitely need to plan a trip there ASAP 🙂
Oh wow, my partner would love all the animals 🙂
So cool! Makes me want to travel the world!!
This looks unreal! Definitely makes me want to put this on a bucket list. I would LOVE to see so many unique animals up close!
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