Monday, June 1, 2009

The Galapagos Without A Cruise Ship

Instead of exploring the Galapagos by cruise ship -- the most common way of visiting the archipelago -- I instead wanted something a little more carefree. So I based on the main island of Santa Cruz, staying at the Royal Palm Hotel, a five-star resort in the tropical Highlands that's hard to leave, and took day trips around the island as well to other nearby isles.


These are some of my favorite activities on Santa Cruz Island:

1. Visit Tortuga Bay with its calm lagoon and fine white sand. You'll see plenty of Opuntia or prickly pear cactus.


2. Hike up the almost 3,000-foot Cerra Crocker, the islands highest point and a volcanic cone. The steep climb is worth it for the panoramic view of the surrounding islands from the top. On the way, I spotted a variety of bird life, including finches, the Galapagos rail and the dark rumped petrel -- it's a key bird watching area.

3. Trek to El Chat, the Tortoise Reserve. You can get extremely close to the reptiles that roam the dirt paths munching on grass.



These are the islands that make great day trips from Santa Cruz:

1. South Plaza where I found the black and white striped hybrid iguanas, born to a female land iguana and a male marine iguana.


2. Santa Fe, an arid land populated with pale yellow-green land iguanas. I wandered a trail that wanders through a forest of Opuntia that actually grow like trees. Some are more than 100 years old.
3. North Seymore where blue-footed boobies mate. We watched their odd dance which is part of their courtship ritual. Then I walked a trail that courses past palo santo trees -- their resin smells like incense -- and lava rocks.


4. Bartolome, three hours from Santa Fe, harkens to a moonscape, splashed with black sand and dotted with volcanic cones. Off of the north beach, you can snorkel with penguins.

7 comments:

DonnaLHull said...

Your article provides an interesting alternative for visiting the Galapagos. How does it compare in price? A visit to this area is high on my "to visit" list.

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi Donna it is much cheaper to base on the main island & use local boats to island hop compared with traveliıng via cruise ship. And you can choose an economical accommodation that fits your budget.

About the book said...

This is a place I would love to visit but I have been hearing lately that tourism is destroying the area and the unique flora and fauna from which Darwin learned so much.

J The Travel Authority said...

hi about the book, yes I agree there is a problem with the locals not respecting the environment as well as the impact of tourism. That is why a prefer a more low impact approach.

Anonymous said...

Nice article about land based trips.. I´m going to link to it for people who are thinking about volunteering or doing land trips.. thanks!

http://savvyroundtheworld.wordpress.com

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi SavvyRoundtheWorld, Glad you find the post helpful and thanks so much for linking to it.

modern canvas art said...

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