Episode 2: The Galapagos Islands
Many of you may be wondering what and where are the Galápagos Islands. Or perhaps this is one of the places that is already on your travel bucket list. And some of you just enjoy living vicariously through our travel adventures. If any of these apply to you, pack your bag and join us as we share our journey to the Galapagos.
In this episode we discuss what and where the Galapagos islands are, how we got there (including a little travel delay along the way), what a typical day was like when cruising the Galapagos Islands, and what kinds of wildlife we snorkeled with.
We let you know what essential items we packed into our bags and what you won't need and we both our favorite things about of the trip.
So if the Galapagos Islands are on your bucket list or you're just curious what it would be like to travel there, tune in NOW!
Links we mention in this episode:
Our camera gear
We booked our trip through Diana Endara at Galapagos Travel Center
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Follow our travels on Instagram here and here
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Music Credit
Music by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/oystudio-24430395/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=128250">OYStudio</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=128250">Pixabay</a>
Episode transcript (continued on Episode webpage):
I’m Scott and I’m Melissa and we are the Sunshine Travelers. Our passion is travel and sharing our experiences with those who share our passion, want to learn more about travel, or even those that just want to live vicariously through our travel experiences. No matter where you fall along that journey, get ready to hear about our first hand experiences as we visit some of the most amazing places on earth.
Many of you may be wondering what and where are the Galápagos Islands. Or perhaps this is one of the places that is already on your travel bucket list. And some of you just enjoy living vicariously through our travel adventures. If any of these apply to you, pack your bag and join us as we share our journey to the Galapagos.
Scott: We made it! That was the feeling of exhilaration when we finally made it on board the yacht.
Melissa: Yeah it was a bit of a bumpy trip trying to get there, but we made it. We started the morning with an early flight from Quito, Ecuador. A member of our travel company picked us up from the hotel and assisted us with the check-in process at the airport
Scott: yeah, by the way check the show notes for a link to the travel company, Galapagos Travel Center, that we used. We worked with Diana and It really is worth it to do business with a local company that will handle all of the paperwork and processes for you.
Melissa: We can do another episode on Quito and the tours that were arranged for us by the tour company. For this leg of the trip we realized that there was one stop in the coastal city of Guayaquil. Some people were headed to the coast to enjoy their beach vacation, but we would stay on the plane and make the short hop over to the islands. That’s when things got a little interesting. Neither of us have been on a flight before that experienced a bird strike. Just as we were about to lift off the ground, a bird flew into our left engine with a loud thud. The pilot immediately put the plane back down on the runway and skidded to a stop.
Scott: Amazingly everyone on the plane stayed calm and within a couple of minutes the pilot notified us of what happened. They taxied us back to the gate and we began the process of trying to figure out what was next. I honestly thought that there was no way they would be getting us out of there anytime soon. But within a few hours they had another plane on the ground from Quito and we were off to the Galapagos with just a brief delay so only missing the first excursion of the trip but getting there in time for dinner.
Melissa: great! Now what and where are the Galapagos you may ask. It’s a chain of approximately 19 islands off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean right along the Equator. The Galapagos have long been a fascination of people since Charles Darwin’s publication of “Voyage of the Beagle” where he was greatly influenced in his theory of evolution. Today the Galapagos are a National Park where visitors can explore the Flora and Fauna of a relatively young island born of volcanic activity that continues today. The islands are known for their fearless wildlife and spectacular diving and snorkeling.
SPOILER ALERT: this trip is going to fall into that category of a luxury trip. But when you think about it, you could easily spend this type of money for a week at Disney. You just have to keep everything in perspective.
Scott: I was surprised to learn that almost 25,000 people live on the islands. Most in a few larger cities on the four inhabited islands, but still more than I expected. These islanders make their living on tourism and fishing.
Melissa: But the real draw of the Galapagos is the wildlife. Giant tortoise that live to be about 150 years old, sea lions, marine iguanas, sea turtles, and penguins just to name a few. These animals have lived such an isolated life that they almost show an interest in the visitors.
Scott: So let’s start with a little insight with what a typical day looks like when cruising through the Galapagos. We were on a yacht named Camila. She is part of the fleet named Royal Galapagos and they call her the Horizon. She had 8 state rooms with 4 on each floor and then a sun deck with hot tub on the very top level. At 16 passengers, this is a very intimate experience. It had just recently been refurbished and everything was in beautiful condition. Each room had a private balcony, king size bed, and full bathroom.
Melissa: You have a common dining area where all meals were served by a fabulous chef and friendly stewardesses. We did an 8 day cruise and each day started with an early breakfast and then your first excursion of the day. Sunlight is from 6 to 6 each day year round because you are on the equator. You want to be out and catch the animals during their most active times of the day (morning and afternoon). Sometimes the first excursion is a hike, some days a tender ride (small boat) they call a Pangea, or a snorkel adventure. The night before they will do a briefing and tell you what to expect and how to dress for the next day’s activities. One of our favorite activities was the snorkeling.
Scott: the snorkeling was off the charts. Depending on which island you visit the marine life changes. In some places we swam with sea turtles (literally surrounded by sea turtles), some places we swam with penguins, and many others had sea lions. You almost don’t notice all of the amazing tropical fish because of the other sea life that would be swimming alongside you.
Scott: I do want to take a minute and tell you about the camera gear that I took and what I would recommend. I am an amateur photographer and love nature photography. I have a Nikon D7000 camera and had purchased a 600mm telephoto lens for the trip. Some people had said you won’t need such a lens and it will be too heavy to enjoy. I am so glad that I ignored them. Most of the people on the trip put their cameras down and just enjoyed the views after they saw some of the photos I could get vs what they were getting with their own cameras. After the trip we I set up a Google drive where we all shared the photos and videos that we took. As far as underwater videos and pictures, I had taken a GoPro HERO 4 that I’ve had for many years. With the clear water it made “good” photos and videos, but I decided to upgrade after the trip and am excited to take my new GoPro HERO 10 on our next trip to St John. They have made a ton of improvements in quality and resolution over what is available on the HERO4 version. I’ll put some links in the show notes to some of my equipment. I also bought Melissa an Olympus TG-6 camera for use in the water and doing video. The quality on that camera is terrific and will be a great compliment to the GoPro for our in true water photography.
Melissa: Now back to the trip. After each excursion you were met on deck with refreshing beverages like iced tea or fresh fruit juice and usually some sort of light snack. They would usually have some sort of lunch prepared followed by a brief downtime. You could relax on the sun deck or most people took a short nap to prepare for the afternoon’s activities. Usually if we did a hike in the morning, we snorkeled in the afternoon or vice versa. Every evening started with a briefing of the next day and was followed by an amazing dinner prepared by the chef. He was great at catering for people’s preferences and dietary restrictions. It’s always so important to notify them of your dietary needs so that they can make sure to have things you will be able to eat. I personally am allergic to shellfish so they needed to know that when planning and preparing the meals. We also had vegan shipmates and he did his best to serve them something unique at each meal too.
Scott: a couple of times fishermen brought fresh catch to the boat for the chef to prepare. A true boat to table experience.
Scott: after dinner most people would linger in the dining room talking and getting to know each other, but would retire to their cabins and be in bed before 9:30. It is a lot of activity and you are tired by the end of day.
Melissa: That’s a good point. This is definitely an adventure cruise not a kick back and relax type of cruise.
Scott: one of the things we did to get ready for this trip was to read suggested packing lists that others had made <We were limited to a checked bag, and a carry on plus personal item for the flight from Quito to the Galapagos- but we don’t typically like to carry any more than this because it too hard to travel well with too much. We kept our camera gear with us plus toiletries essential, medicines and a few clothes and shoes just in case because those would be impossible to replace once arriving out in the islands. might add that we should do a future episode about packing for travel>. Yeah if you are one of those folks that show up to the airport with everything but the kitchen sink, we highly recommend that you pay attention to this section. One thing that was consistent across all of the suggested packing list was to limit what you bring. You really don’t need complete outfits for everyday of the trip. We also love that the atmosphere of this ship while very luxurious is also very casual. You don’t need to bring dress clothes for dinner. We will warn you that because the humidity is pretty high things don’t dry very quickly. Light weight fabrics will be your friend.
Here are a few things that you are going to want to bring:
- A couple of bathing suits
- Water shoes for the wet landings (we brought our rubber soled Tevas) link in show notes
- Hiking shoes or tennis shoes for dry landings and hikes on the lava fields.
- Non marking shoes for use exclusively on the boat. Some boats are more particular than others
- A camera - we chose to bring our DSLRs and waterproof cameras. Scott had his trusty GoPro and Melissa brought her new Olympus TG-6 (link in show notes). Don’t forget your extra batteries, memory cards, etc
- Water proof bag / backpack
- A few outfits for wear on the boat and on your hikes. It’s is warm year round in the Galapagos so make sure that you have light colored loose fitting shirts for those hikes. A pair of pants would also be suggested.
- Depending on what time of year you go, we might suggest a rain coat. Thankfully we went at the end of their rainy season and this wasn’t an issue.
- Finally a hat with a wide brim. The Galapagos are near the equator and the sun can be pretty intense
- Reef safe sunscreen
- Toiletries
That’s pretty much the list of necessary items. You’ll find almost everything else to be unnecessary weight. With only 16 passengers, this isn’t exactly a fashion show <Melissa can talk a little about a capsule wardrobe - but mention that we’ll do another episode specifically on packing>
Scott: What was your favorite part of the trip?
Melissa: Do I have to pick just 1. Swimming with the sea lions, sea turtles and penguins. I didn’t know that we would get to do that on a daily basis and it was really really a cool experience.
- An unexpected part I loved was getting to know the other passengers and crew members. We’ve been in touch with most everyone since and so that was really neat and also something I didn’t expect.
What about you Scott?
Scott: It was the chance to take pictures of some of the most amazing nature found on this planet. Animals that were not scared of humans and therefore I was able to capture some pictures of a lifetime. Perhaps we can get some of those pictures up to the website sunshinetravelers.com so that people can see exactly what I mean.
Melissa: Yes! We will do that in a post over there and also on our instagram @sunshinetravelerspodcast so you can see some pictures and also some of the underwater videos from our snorkeling adventures.
If you like to visit unique places and are up for adventure travels, this is the trip for you. This itinerary could be combined with a trip to the Amazon basin or visiting other locations in Ecuador if you have the extra time to add to your trip. Check out the links in the show notes to learn more about the Royal Galapagos Horizon and tips to help you plan your trip.
We hope you enjoyed this episode and will find some inspiration for your next trip or perhaps this is something that you want to add to your bucket list. Most importantly, subscribe to our podcast, leave us a review, and share it with your friends to help them catch the travel bug, especially anyone who is traveling to Equador and the Galapagos. You never know, they may become your greatest travel companion.
Links:
Go Pro Hero 11 Link
Olympus TG-6
Connect with us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/sunshinetravelerspodcast/