16.10. – 21.10.

„Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.“

Bearing in mind what Oscar Wilde said (thank you Birgitte) we decided to make a second attempt at our dream trip to the Galapagos Islands but with a bit less luggage. After a major shopping spree to get everything we needed, we set off on 16th for a 5 day trip on Journey I. Journey II (or Cormorant II as it was known) had not quite lived up to our expectations.

The flight was the same as the first time (with re-fuelling in Guayaquil) and soon we were back on Baltra and in the queue with the rest of the tourists wearing silly badges to identify which boat they were going to be on. We had already introduced ourselves to Rose, Susan and Jonathan who were sat behind us in the plane. As we passed through customs we bumped into the tour operator Marcel (looking very tired) and then Ramido from Cormorant II was waiting to help with our luggage, what a surprise! After meeting our guide Enrique and introducing ourselves to the rest of the group (a Swiss couple – Patrick & Conny, 2 German couples – Ruth & Jochen und Doris & Peter, and the rest Americans – Rose, Jen, Ilona & Mike and Susan & Jonathan) we set off to get the boat on the other side of the island. We passed the place we had boarded Cormorant II and again, there were lots of sea-lions, iguanas and pelicans hanging around.

Getting back on another boat was a bit nerve-wracking but we told a few of the crew what had happened and they were surprised at our version of the events. We refrained from telling the passengers what had happened in case it made anyone feel uneasy. As on the first trip, we had to go through the emergency drill for the „unlikely“  event of having to leave the ship. Tears came to my eyes as I reached for the lifejacket in my cabin but they quickly passed and we headed outside to join the others. Déjà vu!

After lunch we set sail for South Plaza to go for a dry landing and look at some of the wildlife on the island. We were immediately greeted by land iguanas as we passed through a landscape of cacti and colourful red shrubs. As the rest of the group got out their SLR cameras we were rudely reminded that we would have to make do with my new little Panasonic camera for this trip. That really hurt and Heiko seemed at a bit of a loose end without his favourite travelling companion (second to me of course).

Due to the early start that day we were dead beat by 9 pm (as on first trip) so headed for bed early. This time we were better prepared and put all our valuables in a dry bag and laid out our clothes in case we had to leave the boat in a hurry - this time with underwear.  Unfortunately it was a rough navigation and I could not sleep as it was very noisy with the catamaran hitting against the waves. It wasn’t until we stopped and dropped anchor that I could get to sleep.

The next day we went to the island of San Cristobal to see the interpretation centre in the morning and in the afternoon we snorkeled at Lobos beach. I got into the wetsuit OK but as usual I had a problem with my mask and snorkel which meant Heiko went off with another group whilst Rose and I stayed with Enrique. Luckily this meant I saw marine iguanas eating algae off the rocks right next to us. When the iguanas were finished they swam back taking a detour between my legs. This was one of the closest encounters with the wildlife (on this trip) and it is hard to believe at first that the animals are not going to make a speedy exit as soon as humans appear. We also saw sea turtles, stingrays and sea-lions.

After snorkeling we went on land and were surrounded by sea-lions of all ages, from babies bleating like lambs to juveniles, mothers and bulls grunting as though they were in a burping competition. Just throw in a few marine iguanas and a lot of birds for good measure and another day of wildlife was complete.

The 3rd day we awoke near Espanola where we took the Zodiacs to the beautiful shoreline of Gardner Bay dotted with sea-lions. It was like a Sunday morning stroll being stared at by families of sea-lions and (again) a few iguanas. The sand on the beach is so fine in places that it is like walking on flour and we could see sea turtles swimming near the shore. This was the perfect Sunday morning stroll! In the afternoon we went to Punta Suarez with it’s amazing blow hole on the magnificent shoreline.

The next day we went to Floreana to watch flamingos at Cormorant Point, snorkel around Devil’s Crown and drop off post cards at Post Office Bay.

This is where you can leave postcards without a stamp and wait for other tourists to take them, then post them from home. We left a few there, so if you get a Galapagos postcard with a British or German stamp it was from here!

On the last evening we even got a belated birthday cake from the cook which was so heavy in calories it’s a wonder the boat didn’t sink! After losing my appetite in Quito I had eaten 3 meals a day plus snacks - compliments to the chef.

On the final day we landed back on Santa Cruz where we also spent an extra day and night so we were able to go on the tour to see the giant tortoises again.

In Santa Cruz we arranged to meet Tanya - our guide from the first trip - and had a few glasses of wine. The topic of underwear (or lack of it after the accident) arose again which seemed the perfect opportunity to give her the present we had brought: translation = heroine in the chaos

We finished the evening with a last visit to the pier where we were rewarded with a personal show by the resident Puerto Ayora sea lion. Every day of the trip included snorkeling and visits to various parts of the islands where we were constantly surrounded by the most amazing animals, birds and coastline.The Galapagos Islands are really an indescribable place which has to be seen to be believed and we would recommend it to everyone who has the chance to go there. Hope this report doesn’t include toooo many sea lion pictures but you will not see anything cuter in your whole life! This was my trip of a lifetime and I cannot wait to go back.