The journey was really something.
To get from Puerto Natales to the Galapagos Islands requires four flights and about 24 hours of travel. Let me tell you about our journey. Buckle in, it’s a bumpy one.
We flew SKY air, basically a Frontier/Spirit version in Latin America, from Puerto Natales to Santiago. It was required to check larger carryon bags because of the small overhead space and weight restrictions. There was a short stopover in Puerto Montt, the lake district in Chile, but didn’t need to deboard, apparently that is how they do it in Latin America. We made it to Santiago on time – but here’s the catch – we had an hour and forty minutes to get our bags, go through customs, get from the domestic terminal to international, check our bags, get through immigration and security, find our gate, and board on time. OOOOOF. When we booked the flight, we knew it would be a close call, but the only other option was to wait a whole day as there were limited flights from Santiago to Guayaquil, Ecuador and time was not on our side. So, we risked it. Boy, did we risk it. We made a plan on the plane prior to landing. We split up at the Santiago Airport, Ryan went to tell the gate agents we were coming, Jewel and I got the bags. WE RAN from the domestic terminal to the international terminal and were yelled at by agents not to run, we kept running. REBELS. Then we were told by very unhelpful LATAM attendants that we missed the timeline to check bags and went to talk to customer service. He said the next flight was 24 hours from now and to try to carry on and get to the gate in an hour, he basically said just go. We cut the line by about 100 people in the immigration line because Jewel found some friendly Japanese travels and used her language skills to ask them if we could get in front of them. While in line for security, we shifted things in our packs so that each bag would be considered a carry on (my pack being the main culprit as it is much larger for 6 months of travel). We RAN through the airport for what felt like 15 minutes (could have been the multiple pounds of bags we were carrying or the exhaustion our bodies went through in Patagonia, multiple groups of people cheering us on and yelling “you got this” (something I will never forget) and showed up to the gate panting and sweating through our clothes. WE MADE IT with 8 minutes to spare before they closed the boarding gate. Ryan and I both doubted Jewel when she told us we could do it. We owed her an apology. Her will to make it got us on that plane and we will forever be grateful. THANK YOU JEWEL!
You may think the worst is over. It wasn’t. Once we landed in Guayaquil at 2am local time, we thought we would be able to hang in the priority pass lounge until our 8am flight to Galapagos. LOUNGE CLOSED (enter cuss words). We could not check in or go through immigration until 6am and there was nowhere to sit or rest except a breakfast spot, so naturally we ordered things. I am happy to report we powered through simply on several cups of coffee and the vision of turquoise waters in our future. Once we landed in Galapagos, we were required to pay a $100 national park fee. Cash only. Between the three of us we had $160. That math didn’t add up. There were two ATMs in the tiny airport, one of which ate a woman’s debit card, the other that kept giving us an error. After an hour of worrying and several conversations with the cashier representative explaining the ATM was broken, Jewel miraculously got it to work. We were free! I chugged a beer in celebration before we took a bus to a boat transfer to a taxi to our hotel on Santa Cruz Island. OOFTA we made it. Pool time, massage, and a local dinner rounded out the evening.
We may have bit off more than we can chew by planning a trip to two very remote areas of South America, but I guess go big or go home. I would not recommend doing this if you have time constraints. Or make some stops along the way. There are so many amazing things to see at each of the different islands and therefore would suggest a minimum of a week to experience it all. We only had two full days to explore so made the most of it.
The galapaGORGEOUS islands.
The Galapagos Islands are made up of 127 islands with only 3% of the islands inhabited, and the entire area is a national park (To read more about the islands visit: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1/) The Islands were not what I was expecting. In all honesty we didn’t too much research before going, that’s on us. We just knew we wanted to relax after Patagonia since we would be exhausted. The terrain was half desert like with hundreds of different species of cacti with volcanoes and rocky coasts. You are not allowed to touch or feed the animals and the islands pride themselves on protecting the land. It is, as described above, difficult to get to maybe for a reason – to protect the beauty and natural land. There are rumors the islands may not be here for too much longer so if you are looking for some tropical times, go now. Thank you global warming.
Our island adventures.
The first day we took a water taxi to a smaller beach, explored the Charles Darwin exhibit center, walked through small handicraft souvenir shops, did a half-day bay tour to snorkel around the bays and grottos. There were sea lions all over the docks, baby sharks swarming around, and blue footed boobies nesting in nearby rocks. The next day we booked a full day of snorkeling to Pinzon Island. It was the most incredible snorkeling any of us had ever experienced (collectively we have snorkeled in probably 20 countries). We swam with sea lions, swimming lizards, white tipped sharks, stingrays, lobsters, hundreds of unique fish, sea turtles, eels, and so much more. I conquered my fear of swimming with sharks and only panicked the first time I saw them right below me. Meanwhile Jewel dove down to get closer – she’s crazy and I think secretly she is a mermaid. The captain let me drive the double decker fisherman’s boat (poorly I made add because it’s hard than it looks). We used Grupo Galapagos to book our excursions ahead of time and were frustrated by the lack of communication about details and would not recommend using them. However, the invaluable experience in the end made up for it.
The jen essentials for galapagos islands.
- Sunscreen (a must)
- CASH MONEY (this goes hand in hand with a working ATM required (also Ecuador uses dollars bills as well so it does make things a bit easier))
- A wetsuit (don’t let the beautiful teal water and sun fool you, that water is COLD)
- Patience (tours don’t start on time and food takes forever)
- Cold beer (to help cope with the stress of travel and enjoy after a long day in the heat)
- Snorkel gear (apparently on some tours it is BYO which we were not told…so come prepared)
- Water (stay hydrated folks and don’t drink the local water – it’s salty)
- Sunglasses (again, protect the crow’s feet)
- Sunscreen (reiterated for emphasis of importance and avoiding sunburn)
- Jewel and Ryan (because they make everything better)
Wrap it up jen.
Overall, even though short, we had a wonderful time exploring the landscape, wildlife and trying the local cuisine. I ate so much freshly caught tuna and sipped on the local beer Club. I got quite sunburned (thanks to my Swedish blood) despite reapplying sunscreen repeatedly. I learned so much about the conservation of the islands and animals through different organizations and researchers. I practiced my Spanish speaking skills with locals and visited my 31st country. Photos are posted here: https://thejenessentials.com/the-galapagos-islands/.
Next up: A small coastal town known for surfing and yoga – Montanita, Ecuador.
Signing off for now.
Jennifer