Day 3 - Sunday, March 12

Arrival, Kicker Rock and Isla Lobos


We were met by our guide and driver for the early morning transfer to the Quito Airport for the 3-hour flight to the Galapagos Islands. Today’s flight originated in the domestic terminal of the airport – quite a difference from the quiet and calm of two nights earlier. This side of the airport was noisy, crowded, chaotic, and a bit short of signs in English. We were grateful to have our guide pointing us in the right direction or we’d probably still be standing in the wrong line.

We landed at Puerto Bacquerizo Moreno on the island of San Cristobal. Everything went smoothly until we learned that the tour company had not pre-paid the $100 per-person national park fee. Fortunately, we had enough cash to pay the park fee (and settled up with the tour company later). We found our luggage and were met by our two guides, Whitman and Andres, who rounded up the 28 passengers for the good ship Evolution.

Our traveling companions were a diverse group; there were 6 from England, 6 from Italy, 2 from Canada, 2 from Scotland, and 10 from the United States – Arizona (5), NY (2), Idaho (1), Texas (3), and SC (2). Everybody was hot and tired, but ready to get our adventure underway.

After a quick boat ride from shore to ship, we were finally on board our home for the next eight days. We were assigned our rooms, snorkeling gear, and wet suits. Our room was on the upper deck, just behind the bridge. After we settled in our cabins, we had lunch al fresco.

The ship headed north around Kicker Rock (known as “Leon Dormido”). Some say it is shaped like a sleeping lion; others say it is shaped like a shoe. It is a vertical cone formation that rises abruptly almost 500 feet out of the ocean. The rock is split in two with towering vertical walls on either side, forming a narrow channel through which small vessels can navigate.

In late afternoon, we spotted some pilot whales and eventually anchored near Isla Lobos, or “Sea Lion Island,” rough, rocky terrain that is home to lots of sea lions.

We piled into rubber dingies, knowns locally as pangas, for the short ride ashore.

We were met by a curious female sea lion in the water and by a young pup resting on the boat landing.

The Galapagos sea lion is a subspecies of the California sea lion and is found on most of these islands. The bulls are quite territorial and a bit aggressive; the females and pups are very playful and approachable, even in the water.

While on Isla Lobos, we also saw a lava lizard, a couple of marine iguanas, and a few birds – just enough to whet our appetites for the days ahead.

Before dinner each evening, we were briefed about the next day's activities they gave us an idea about what we would see, what we needed to bring with us, and whether the landing would be wet or dry. The type of landing determined the type of shoes to wear – wet landings called for sandals or flip flops; dry landings called for tennis shoes or hiking boots. After the briefing, we had dinner in the dining room or on the back deck.