Arriving at the Santa Cruz airport (Baltra) from Guayaquil, the first thing I had to go was go through a lot of security and customs. I had to pay (in American dollars) an entrance fee, a fee for the national parks, and get my bag checked for biological species. This all added up to $120 USD.
The airport is pretty far away from the town of Puerto Ayoras, where everything takes place, but they’ve got a decent system going. I hopped on to a bus for a couple of dollars, which took me to a ferry, after which I hopped on to another bus, and wandered through town looking for a place to sleep.
Despite having done pretty extensive research (to be fair, there’s not a ton out there in terms of tips for independent travelers to the Galapagos, as most everyone is catering to cruises, which perpetuates this notion that a cruise is the only way to do it), I didn’t really know what to expect. Arriving in a new place, sometimes it seems all the budget accommodation is on the same street, and you can easily walk from place to place, checking out your options. In a big city you usually want to know where you’re going, as the next option could be pretty far away.
Protected bike lanes!
In Puerto Ayoras, there were really only three main streets, which I ended up traversing completely with my backpack on, before finding a place I was satisfied with. There weren’t a ton of options, and the couple I had written down were full. I also wanted to get a sense of value before committing. Eventually, I ended up pretty much right where I had been dropped off, on Ave Baltra in a local hotel.
Not bad for $17 a night
With accommodation sorted for the next few nights, I hit up the visitor information centre, which I had read provided great activity guides. I wasn’t disappointed! It led me to the well known Charles Darwin Research Centre (about a 30 minute walk out of town), and beyond, down an ill used path away from the tour groups to a quite beach. I spent the next hour sitting on a log trying to capture some of the awe I was experiencing with my cheap point and shoot camera. It was one of my most memorable moments on the islands. And I had it all to myself.
The next day I walked to Tortuga Bay, yet another free tourist activity. It also happens to be one of the nicest beaches you will ever see. I’ll let Marieke take over and show you with her awesome photos…
My first day in Puerto Ayora played out much like Steph’s. While my trip through Ecuador was technically a solo trip, I met Gill and Jess, two Canadian fire fighters from the West Coast on my first night in Quito and we decided to carry on to Galapagos together. Gill’s boyfriend Jeff flew down from Canada a day later to meet us.
Tortuga Bay was one of our first stops and one of the first place I ever got to test out my go-pro.
Another great stop in Puerto Ayora was the fish market. We passed by just as the fisherman were bringing in their catch for cleaning. The sea lions and the pelicans were all over the action. One sea lion even helped a women fillet by grabbing the skin and pulling backwards as the woman expertly ran her knife along the fish. I wish we could train our seals in Newfoundland to help out like that!
