Week 37: Galápagos Islands

On the first day of week 37 we flew to Galápagos. And it was CRAZY! We literally saw 4 massive iguanas the second we got out of the airport! And on the bus ride to get to the boat station mum saw a tortoise on the side of the road! And I’m just getting started. After the boat ride I was just walking normally just looking around, and out of the middle of nowhere there was a sea lion!!! And I screamed out “OMG MUM IT’S A SEA LION!” It was awesome. We literally just stepped out of the boat and there was a sea lion! It was crazy. And then after taking A LOT of photos we had arrived at our hostel. Then we went scavenging for more animals. We saw 4 more sea lions, 35 baby iguanas, 2 sharks, and 2 sea turtles in less than 30 minutes!!! And it was only 100 metres away from our house! We didn’t even go on a boat. By the looks of it we were going to like Galápagos.

The next day went on a cruise! It was amazing. And it went for 8 days! On the way to the cruise ship we saw 23 tortoises on the side of the road from our taxi to the tortoise ranch!!! And when we arrived at the first part of transportation to get to the ship there was even more tortoises! We even did a tour to see them all. There wasn’t just tortoises, but there was a tunnel made from lava. It just keeps on coming! Because after the tunnels there was at least 35 tortoises! It was awesome. Then after the tour we were going to the cruise ship.

And it was spectacular. It had everything. It had a dining room, nice food and a great view of the sea. I think it was a good place to spend 8 days.

The next day we were still on the ship. And it was still as amazing as it normally is. But today was a day that you could not copy, a day where there were creatures that were only in Galápagos, a day…. that was amazing. We did the best snorkelling I have ever done. It was awesome. There were sea lions, lots of fish, penguins (that’s right, actual penguins! But not the ones you would think they would be, they were Galapagos penguins. They were so cute and amazing), star fish and so much more! When the sea lions passed I tried to follow them, but they were way too fast. After that we went to see lots of flamingoes! And I noticed that they were more pink than the last ones we saw. They were REALLY pretty. It was an amazing day.

The next day we saw a lot of animals (as usual). We saw heaps of baby tortoises. They were sooo cute. And there was this one baby tortoise that was this big 👉 🐢 👈! Then after that we went on a Chiva bus to a really nice beach that we could swim in. It was 26’C in the water! It was very fun. Then we went to see even MORE flamingoes! And exactly when we got there I said “Ok we’ve seen them, can we please go now!”😂 We were only there for 1 minute. And we have only seen them 2 times! But at some point we did go. It was an amazing day.

The next day we swam, walked and snorkelled. It was an amazing day because we saw turtles, sea lions, sharks, and so many more amazing animals. And at night time we would always go to the back of the boat and see the most coolest animals like sharks, sea lions, sea snakes and jumping fish! We also went kayaking near a few mangroves. And there was soo many turtles, you couldn’t even kayak two metres without seeing a turtle! There was also a tree lion hiding in the mangroves. If you don’t know what a tree lion is it is a sea lion in a tree! Joke: What do you call a sea lion on land? Answer: A land lion! The background smell was absolutely DISGUSTING because of all the mangroves.

Then after the kayak we went back to the boat and played a game called cereal box. Cereal box is a game where there is a cereal box and you have to bend down and try to grab the box with your mouth, BUT you can’t put your hands or knees on the ground. And every time everyone picks it up they would tear off more of the box! It was really hard. It was a very fun day.

The next day was quite similar than the day before. We went snorkelling, walked, and swam. It wasn’t great snorkelling because we saw stingrays. I am now terrified of stingrays! I also saw 5 turtles, LOTS of fish, and 2 stingrays! It was crazy. Every corner, edge, and area of the snorkelling spot had at least 1 turtle! It. Was. AMAZING!

In the afternoon everyone on the ship went on a walk up a mountain that lead to a great view. But the funnest part was on the way back down. Ella (Ella is a Swiss friend I made on the boat and her brother is called Lasse.) and I were running down the mountain (even though we weren’t aloud) and I slipped, and all of this dirt went all over me. But then Ella started to make a joke out of it, and she slipped on purpose. And then I went in front and started to slide on the dirt on every corner. And when we touched our shoes it would look sooo colourful. Sometimes there are things that are hard to say. Sometimes you just have to be there to get the moment. But I don’t think you would travel all the way from where you live just to get that exact moment. It may have been the most fun I’ve had in the last 8 months. And we have done some pretty fun things, but nothing compared to this.

The next day we did even MORE snorkelling! And it was absolutely amazing. It had an area where there was about 20 turtles! We also saw 2 sea lions, penguins, pelicans, sharks and so many more amazing things! Then we went to another island where we were just walking on a beach, and then out of the corner of my eye I saw a sea lion with it’s baby!!! And it wasn’t just an oldish baby, it was a 2 hours old baby! There was literally a hawk eating the placenta from the mother’s belly just next to the sea lions! It was awesome.

The next day we went to a new island called Bartholomew. That is my mums maiden name! On Bartholomew island we did a nice walk with lots of sea lions and fur seals (sea lions with more fur). But there was something that was very annoying, there was probably 2 billion wasps! It was crazy. Luckily we went snorkelling after the hike, so then we wouldn’t be anywhere near the wasps. It was really good snorkelling. It had heaps of sharks, fish, a clam, 2 sea lions and dad saw a manta ray that was bigger than the boat! It. Was. AMAZING!

The we did even more snorkelling. But this one was way better. I really liked it because there was a big school of fish, and then you could dive down under the water with your snorkel on, and wave your hand around and the fish would circle you! There was also a cool orange yellow and brown eel we saw. It was really cool.

Then in the afternoon we played a fun game called FRANTIK. It is a German game. And when the kid’s dad (Daniel) was explaining the game, there is a card that says the F word on it. And Daniel just said “Ok this is the F word card.”! But he said it the proper way! English is his second language so he doesn’t know all of the words. And he just said it like it was a normal word that everyone says! It was really funny. And then his daughter whispered to my mum “Oh look, it’s the F card!”! And she also said it in the normal way! It was hilarious.

Waaaa! WHY!? I don’t want t…. OH! Sorry, I didn’t know you you were there! Anyway, I am soooo sad because we are leaving the ship😭😭😭! It is so sad. And we made all of these friends that we had to leave! At least we got to do a cool walk and have a yummy breakfast. On the walk we saw lots of frigate birds (a frigate bird is a cool bird, and when the male ones want to mate it starts to get this big red bubble coming out of it’s neck, and that attracts the females to come over and mate! It is very cool.), blue footed boobies (blue footed boobies is a type of bird that has bright blue feet! Sorry the name is a bit confusing), snakes and more! It was amazing. Then we had breakfast.

At all of the meals of the day me and the 2 other kids on the boat (Ella and Lasse from Switzerland) put pieces of food on our forehead 😂! It was sooo funny. And then the time had come. We had to say goodbye. It was very very sad. It went from 😃🙂😔🙁🥺😭. It was soooooo SAD! So then we said goodbye and went to a new hotel and just chilled.

I forgot to add, we also saw a lot of boobies! Sorry, I mean blue footed boobies. Boobies are not what you think they are. They are a type of bird that has bright blue feet, and make a really weird noise. The males make a whistling sound and the females make a squawking noise when they want to mate! Boobies are not what you think they are.

Fun facts

How many flamingoes are in Galápagos?

Answer: Only 360!

Where are the pinkest flamingoes in the world?

Answer: Isabela Island in Galápagos!

What Galápagos island has the most amount of sea lions?

Answer: San Cristóbal Island. We are going there next!

What unusual animal was eaten in Galápagos in the 1800s?

Answer: Tortoises! Even Charles Darwin ate tortoises, and threw away the shells!

Is there such thing as an iguana that can swim in the water without drowning?

Answer: Yes! It is called a marine iguana. They are endemic to Galápagos. We saw heaps of them! EXTRA: Where do they live?

Answer: They only live in Galápagos! Endemic mens they only live in one place in the world.

How did the tortoises in Galápagos get to Galápagos?

Answer: They actually floated on their shell in the water from South America! They actually floated upside down on their shells!

What does Chiva mean in English?

Answer: It means ‘goat’ in Spanish 🐐.