In December 2011, Jenn and I went to Galapagos.  We were trying to find the smallest yacht possible after reading about the regulations regarding tours on the islands.  There are two itineraries each travelling to several of the islands but neither of the itineraries go to all of them, so we signed up for both.  Jenn found a tour and booked us on the yacht Angelito.  It held 16 passengers.  Our tour began with itinerary B.

In order to ensure we didn’t miss the boat, we arrived a few days early.  We explored a little of Guayaquil and hiked through a nature park to Las Gretas, a water filled chasm between cliff faces.  We snorkeled a little here, the water was very clear but (surprisingly) a little chilly.  Some of the cacti we passed on the trail had become very woody and resembled pine trees.  The inner ‘wood’ is like corrugated cardboard.

We flew to Baltra airport and got picked up by the tour company and headed to the boat.  We headed to Las Bachas/Bachas beach on Santa Cruz.  We got our first glimpse into the harsh environment that is Galapagos.  The islands were formed by volcanoes as recently as 700,000 years ago.  Here we saw turtle nesting sites, sally lightfoot crabs and lots of iguana and birds.  Some of the iguana were aquatic iguana, but we didn’t see them in action yet (seeing aquatic iguana is one of the reasons I really wanted to go to galapagos)

Our cabin was as comfortable as could have been hoped.  We haven’t spent much time on ships, so the thresholds at every door took a while to get used to.  We had fairly narrow bunk beds, and I think our room was below the galley.  The food was fair- they made a lot of ‘american dishes’ to the best of their ability but the ingredients were often canned or otherwise preserved.  I think they would have done much better preparing local foods.  There were many nights where we asked if we could have what the crew was having for dinner (rice and beans).  Not because what they made for us was terrible, rather because they were good at making rice and beans.

Later in the evening, we sat at the back of the ship watching the ocean.  The lights penetrated the water and we watched outlines of sharks swim around below.   The conservationist was out there with us chatting and eventually she got a broom and swished the water behind the ship.  The churned water sparkled and glowed, showing the bio luminescence in the ocean.