Read my articles, “Traveling to my Dream Destination: The Galapagos Islands,” to see videos 1, 2 and 3, and “Traveling on Ecoventura’s Theory in the Galapagos Islands” for video 4, 5 and 6, and below to see our amazing days in video 7, 8, 9 and 10 “Bays and Beaches” Itinerary A on Ecoventura’s Theory.
Video 7: Beautiful Las Bachas and Bartolome Dec 13 2019
At Playa Las Bachas on the northern side of Santa Cruz, we walked near a white sand beach where turtles lay their eggs. We saw a flamingo, we saw three marine iguanas in courtship, and we saw four black-neck stilt birds that were so beautiful. It was an amazing walk. We also saw pelicans and sally lightfoot crabs and more iguanas.
Back onboard, Chef Estuardo prepared a grilled feast with lobster, octopus, chicken and special Ecuadorian sauces. We ate on the sun deck and enjoyed our luxury mega-yacht with stunning views.
In the afternoon, we did one of the most amazing snorkels of my life! We were near Bartholome and we saw penguins, sharks, rays and turtles! It was thrilling! Three penguins swam by me, around me, it was like they were dancing with me. I loved it! I saw three white tip reef sharks and several turtles! WOW! It was too bad that the camera did not work on that adventure but I will always remember it. It was phenomenal. Captain Jhon went snorkeling with us and he loved it too!
We hiked up 400 steps on wooden planking at Bartolome Island for a spectacular panoramic view of Pinnacle Rock. We had a group photo and we saw many islands.
After our hike, we went on a boat ride and then we saw, even more penguins, and a great blue heron. For sunset, we sat on the sundeck with fresh pizza, fantastic drinks and watched as the sun painted the sky.
We had a marvelous meal in the restaurant with many choices on the menu and then the crew turned into a band and we danced the night away! See the next video for all of the music and dancing!
Video 8: Music and Dancing all night long on Ecoventura’s Theory in the Galapagos
It was a truly spectacular day in Galapagos.
Video 9: South Plaza and North Seymour are Super Dec 14 2019
The South Plaza islands were incredible; in the morning, we saw yellow land iguanas, swallow-tailed gulls and colorful sesuvium portulacastrum. There were seven baby sea lions playing together in a pool of water. I could not stop taking photos and video of them. They were adorable. It was like sea lion day care! There were iguanas jumping up onto the Opuntia or prickly pear cactus leaves for a juicy bite. Some of them were suspended in air while chewing! Two iguanas had a pushing match and that was all before our walk island the island.
As we looked out over the cliff edge, we could see several red-billed tropicbirds with their 2 long streaming tail feathers. I loved walking on the path seeing iguanas, many birds and coming back to the water to see the bachelor sea lions frolicking in the water.
In the afternoon, we went deep water snorkeling and saw nearly 50 manta rays. That was marvelous! I absolutely loved it!
Later in the day at North Seymour Island, we saw frigate birds with the red gular sacs in their throats puffed up looking for mates. We saw golden tuffed juvenile frigates and blue footed boobies sitting on their eggs and with their chicks. It was amazing. We saw many more sea lions. We saw more iguanas and many lava lizards. Do you know how to tell the different between the great and magnificent frigate birds? I was wondering if there was a just okay frigate bird but there is not. The great frigate bird has a green sheen on the plumage on their backs while the magnificence has a purple iridescence in the sunlight. The females are larger than the males.
Back on board, Betsy and I hula hooped on the sun deck. I have hula hooped on trains, yachts and with villagers in Vanuatu. I carry a hula hoop in my luggage.
Our Captain’s farewell party was wonderful but we were all sad at the final briefing when they were talking about the last hike and the last snorkel. I tried to remember: “Don’t be sad that it is over, be glad that you were here!”
The creatures of the Galapagos are waiting for you and the crew of the Theory is the best in the business. I hope you have an amazing exploration of the Galapagos Islands.
Video 10: Leaving Theory and Galapagos for Guayaquil Dec 15 2019
After our final breakfast, we took our last panga ride to the pier and said good-bye to Theory. We walked through the Interpretation Center on San Cristobal and learned about the human history of the Galapagos Islands.
We took a bus ride into town and had free time to wander. I found t-shirts to buy as souvenirs and took a few more photos of sea lions on the pier.
We flew back to Guayaquil from San Cristobal and I stayed at Oro Verde Hotel. They have several restaurants, a pool and a fitness center. The hotel is very convenient and walked to Iglesia El Sagrario, Parque Seminario where I saw many iguanas and small turtles, and Malecon 2000. I walked through Barrio Las Penas and saw a holiday dance performance by two student groups.
Thank you so much to Ecoventura and the entire crew on Theory. My journey in the Galapagos Islands, Las Islas Encantadas or the Enchanted Islands was magical!
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