It rained a lot this morning which meant that for the first time in a week I was able to enjoyably eat breakfast and do my morning farm tasks without melting. I checked the weather forecast yesterday in town when we had WIFI and it states 23 degrees… wise word of wisdom – that is complete crap. Never trust it. On the bus home yesterday is said 40 degrees inside and 37 outside. You could literally fry an egg ion the ground so why the forecast states this bullshit I don’t know.
However even though it is raining, we ran out of water in the supply tanks out the back of the farm and the shower broke so we are definitely not off to the best start today. Looks like we will use the rain to our advantage and shower outside. We had read reviews about the Lava tunnels located in Bella Vista and as it was on the way to town we decided to go for a visit. The entry is $3.50USD pp and upon arrival, no one was there so we meandered around for a while before calling it a day and leaving. To be honest, the lava tunnels in Racho El Chato were great so we would both recommend sticking to them and not wasting time nor money. If you are a lover of all things caves, then by all means check them out as they are the longest caves in South America reaching a whopping 2.2kms long. Shockingly enough by the time we got to Puerto Ayora after the walk to the lava tunnels, the rain had stopped, and the day was truly spectacular as per usual and bloody roasting. We had planned to watch the football – Liverpool vs. Barcelona at our local spot 1835 at 1pm – gives Leo a chance to chill and do something he loves and for me eat cake and use their WIFI. Before making our way there we stopped off at the beach by the Charles Darwin centre – Playa de La Estacion. The beach is open from 6am – 6pm daily and is a nesting place for the marine iguanas so you will be joined by these guys, brightly coloured crabs and plenty of pelicans. It’s super beautiful here and well worth going for a dip in the clear waters. The rocks off the beach also make for great snorkelling too!
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It’s always sunny in Puerto Ayora, and I do not say that sparingly, I wholeheartedly believe this. Everyday since we arrived the weather has been cloudy at Jimmy’s place, super-hot but overcast mostly then the second we pass the ‘Welcome to Puerto Ayora’ sign then sun is splitting the sky with not a cloud in site.
Today was exactly that. We woke up - me before Leo as I felt something staring at me, and yes, it was a goddam huntsman spider above my bed, the size of my hand. I hopped into Leo’s bed had a mini freak out then made breakfast. Our adventure plan for the day was Las Grietas which we have read is amazing and the beach on the way is pretty epic too, so we decided to make a day of it. Today we hoped in a taxi as the bus was taking for ages and it cost the same price which made us question why we hadn’t done it sooner? Anyway, upon arriving in the sunniest place on Earth we boarded a water taxi across the Laguna to the bay on the other side of the port – the gateway to Las Grietas. It costs 80c pp and takes less than 5 minutes, but you cannot go by foot and the journey it pretty nice. We saw heaps of sealions at the port as well as black tipped reef sharks, fish and of course marine iguanas. If Racho El Chato is not in the top 3 things to do in Santa Cruz island, then add it. Right. Now. It is an unbelievable place where you can literally walk with giants. Located about 3.5kms walk from Santa Rosa will take you to the ranch of El Chato. This is a privately-owned farm land but also home to so many giant land tortoises roaming around in their natural habitat, not to mention 2 massive lava tunnels which are a really awesome add on to the tortoise visit.
We got the bus from our front door in the area called Ocidente and paid our $0.50c each to reach Santa Rosa to begin the walk to the Ranch. Most people get a taxi or private tour but as we are doing Galapagos on the cheap then walking would be the only way for us, and we like walking and exercise so win.win. The walk there is well covered with lots of shady spots so even in the heat it was manageable. About 1 km from the entrance we saw our first tortoise just hanging about on the farm road to the ranch. By law you have to stay 6ft away from all animals in Galapagos, but we were still able to get some incredible shots – thanks Canon! From there you make your way to the onsite café and pay $5USD pp entry fee which is totally reasonable considering this is private land and $5 is not breaking the bank in the slightest. From there you start the 1 hour walk through these massive lava tunnels carved out when the lava flowed through the ground back in the last eruptions. They range from 20m, 30m and 150m (the 150m is guided by small lamps inside but the other 2 are not so bring a head torch or phone light) Jimmy our host never came home last night so this morning we made our own routine on the farm and got stuck clean into it and I have to say, I enjoyed it. As we haven’t had much time to plan what we are going to do this month we thought today would be great to head into town, sit in a café with WIFI and enjoy a coffee, cake, and being connected to reality for a few hours while researching the do’s and don’ts of Galapagos.
As well as the coffee and cake, we both really wanted to check out the fish market and the Charles Darwin centre to spot the first of our giant tortoises. These are both MUST DO’s on Santa Cruz, each bustling with amazing facts, wildlife and energy and not to mention they are both free! I’ll start with the Puerto Ayora market which out of my whole month in Galapagos this was my most traveled to and favorite location. This features a small fish market where vendors sell fresh fish and lobsters from the catch of the day. However, it bringing with it not just tourists and locals to buy the beautiful fresh fish but as the vendors give the scraps to the local wildlife, we were amazed to see many pelican, frigate birds, sea lions, herons, marine iguanas, all chilling our enjoying the hustle and bustle of daily life, hoping to get a quick feed. Another early morning on the farm, it was the first night we had the house to ourselves, so pressure was on to run it properly. We did the usual farm tasks which we will get the hang of but it’s frightening obvious that neither of us are farm people.
Today’s adventure would take us to Tortuga Bay which would work out about a 10km round-trip of walking. The best way to describe Tortuga Bay is untouched paradise over run with amazing, unique wildlife. It takes about 1 hour to get there from Puerto Ayora and there is only one track in and out by foot, but was it worth it? My god, yes! I slept like a baby last night. From 8pm until 5am I was out for the count even if we are in twin beds and I didn’t have my safety blanket which is Leo. I think we will like it here, but time will tell as it’s very early days. Jimmy our host is great, he is a tour guide and diving instructor AND speaks English well, so I didn’t have to pretend I could speak Spanish, even though I have been learning, it’s crap.
For breaky I had porridge, peanut butter and a banana – which later realised was a over ripe plantain which is similar but more like potato. It was an average attempt at a good breakfast and I will improve as our need for routine begins. Our work here is mostly to just be here overnight to watch the farm, be company to the dogs as well as feed the animals so overall, we are in for a pretty easy time. We chose this as we want to learn more about the locals, get a cultural experience and I guess be more than just a tourist – OH, and save money, did I mention save money?? So, this experience may be exactly what we need. We started our working day around 9am with feeding all the chickens and making sure they had sufficient water as it is so goddam hot here. I expected early 20’s and it’s in the 30’s so my little Scottish bod is melting. We also helped Jimmy vaccinate some chickens with chicken pox, which BTW was horrifying as the disease on people is gross but on chickens is another level. They have these scabs all over their face that we must pick off and then they bleed, then we cover them in bright purple anti-biotic liquid. 10/10 one of the grossest things I have ever seen. Next, we checked out the horses and made sure they were all good and then headed off into the bush to go find Huaba – looks like giant pea pods but filled with a wet looking cotton wool with a big black seed in it. It’s apparently a fruit, I tried it, very weird texture but the horses and dogs love it. What was funnier is that Jimmy made Leo climb this big ass tree to reach then, he was literally hanging on while hitting these pods with a stick. More funny Leo stories to come… On the farm we also have so much sugar cane, bananas and eggs so we will never starve which is great news but with all these tropical climate plants come with it some pretty knarly looking tropical bugs, insects and of course spiders – SO MANY SPIDERS. 6am the next morning we were up and ready to leave for the Airport to catch our flight. We had met a lovely taxi driver Carlos the previous day and he offered to pick us up for the rest of our time in Quito and for a pretty great price so of course we agreed - thank god for WhatsApp!
After checking in at the Airport (which is a bit of a process if you are flying the Galapagos) as you have to stand in a bug queue to get a tourist visa which costs $20USD, get your bags searched and scanned and this is all before you even start the check in process - just an FYI for anyone travelling soon. We booked with Avianca as there are only 2 companies who fly here – Avianca and Tame. Both are similar in price and, generally $300NZD per person each way taking about 2 hours. That’s when the news arrived – mum messaged, and dad’s shoulder had become much worse overnight. They were heading to the hospital with the potential of heading home depending on the diagnosis as the pain was excruciating and he couldn’t function. I was devastated, in fact that doesn’t even begin to explain how I felt, even when writing this am still in absolute bits. I have been waiting years to be able to travel with my mum and dad and to visit Galapagos with them was a dream come true. However, them flying home was and is the best thing, regardless of how much I wished they were coming here with us. |
AuthorHey! I'm Ally. I left the UK in 2011 to move overseas and ended up in New Zealand - my new home. This year we are taking a gap year to loop the world stopping in some AMAZING destinations - and I'm passionate about sharing these adventures with you! ArchivesCategories |