Galápagos Islands: San Cristóbal

I swam with sea lions today!! And sea turtles!! And saw blue-footed boobies!!

It’s the end of day two in Galápagos Islands. It’s 9:30pm and I’m laying in bed as I write this. Completely exhausted, but happy. I also may have found my new favorite place ever in Mann Beach, aka baby sea lion heaven.

Galapagos has been on my bucket list since forever. Fifteen years if I really have to pinpoint it. It was when I first got my scuba certification, and learned of the amazing marine wildlife that exists on these remote islands, 600km (370mi) off the coast of Ecuador.

The funny part is I’m not going to dive. But that’s another story. I’m here and that’s all that matters.

It was a trip that by my standards was a last minute plan. I booked it back in July. Just over three weeks after I returned from the Camino a Santiago. It was not on the agenda, but a horrific return to the real world left me shell shocked and desperate to escape. Galapagos fit the bill. Remote. Just active enough. Just relaxing enough. Didn’t require too long of a plane ride and the weather for December would be decent. Importantly I found a way to visit on a land-based trip, rather than the typical cruise 90% of Galapagos visitors embark on. If you know me, you know I’m not a cruise gal so when I found this alternative, I knew it was a match.

Why are Galápagos Islands so special?

Mind you, if you know me you also know I’m not necessarily a fan of group travel unless there really isn’t an alternative. I’m too much of a control freak and I like the flexibility of doing what I want, when I want, rather than being held to a schedule and enforced group activities with people you may or may not get along with. But here is where I need to offer an explanation of the Galapagos for those who maybe have heard of them, but don’t really understand what they are and why they are so special.

You see, travel to Galápagos Islands is highly restricted. There are only four inhabited islands in the entire archipelago. Ninety-seven percent of the land is considered a national park and is therefore protected. To visit is to accept that most of your activities will be guided. 

In basic terms, Galapagos is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. On land and beneath the water, there are a ridiculous number animal and plant species here that don’t exist anywhere else. National Geographic has declared the lslands some of the “most singular and irreplaceable areas in the world.”

It is here where Charles Darwin, during a 5-week visit, when he was just 22-years-old, came up with the start of what would eventually become the the theory of Evolution as presented in his book, On the Origin of Species.

The problem is, by the time Darwin got to Galapagos human beings had done a fantastic job of wrecking havoc with the ecosystem. After they were first discovered in 1535 those giant tortoises that Galapagos are famous for were seen as food. Sea Lion furs were highly prized. Whales were killed for their blubber which was used for fuel. And did I mention that like every other remote island at the time, the Galapagos were used as penal colonies? La crème de la crème was living here as you can imagine leading to all sorts of problems.

In fact, it wasn’t until 1959 the decision was made to try and reverse some of the damage and preserve the islands by declaring them a National Park. Commercial fishing however took much longer to get rid of. Not until 1998 was it forbidden from taking place in what is now the Galapagos Marine reserve. 

Thankfully, while much of the damage was permanent, a lot has been restored. Sustainable tourism, is now the Island’s bread and butter.  An added motivation to keep the environment as pristine as possible.

And so here I am. Sitting in an incredibly basic guest house, which is the common accommodation type for the few who choose to stay on land. To say the infrastructure is very limited would be an understatement.   Not only is the wifi severely lacking, something as simple as water delivery is a problem, with some parts of the inhabited islands barely able to receive any level of water pressure. The town here in San Cristóbal is tiny. But I’m not here for the town. Nobody else is either. We are here, to experience what it was like before the wildlife developed a fear of humans…where they are boss, not us.

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