On Day 12 of my trip to Ecuador, Sierra and I traveled from Isla Santa Cruz to Isla Isabela.
Isla Santa Cruz to Isla Isabela
The ferry from Isla Santa Cruz to Isla Isabela runs twice a day; once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Sierra and I took the morning ferry which departed Isla Santa Cruz at 7am and arrived on Isabela about 9:30am.
The weather was beautiful and the morning sun was already hot as we waited in line at the inspection station at the dock in Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz. It's required for passengers to run their bags through a scanner when leaving Santa Cruz. Inspectors check for anything that might harm the indigenous plants or animals of each island. Apparently they've had quite a problem with people trying to smuggle baby iguanas and tortoises off the islands.
After passing inspection, passengers and luggage are loaded onto small water taxis for a quick shuttle to the larger ferry boats. When Sierra and I boarded the ferry, we didn't put any thought into which side of the ferry we sat on. We chose seats on the left side. The rest of the seats quickly filled up before we realized our mistake. The hot equator sun was shining through the left side windows for two and a half hours with virtually no ventilation. I've never been so hot for so long in my life. We were thrilled to finally disembark at Puerto Villamil on Isla Isabela.
The boat dock in Puerto Villamil, like in one in Puerto Ayora, requires passengers to use a water taxi between the ferry boat and the dock. After leaving the dock, passengers can take a shuttle or taxi to into the small town. Sierra and I were happy to walk the 15 minutes instead.
Puerto Villamil
Our hotel room in Puerto Villamil, on Isla Isabela, was in a relatively small building with a beautiful front yard. Our room and deck overlooked the yard and we could see the flamingo ponds just a few blocks away.
After cleaning up and cooling off for a few minutes, Sierra and I headed out to eat lunch and explore the town.
In front of our hotel, we watched a young man climb the tall palm trees to harvest coconuts. And, when our gracious host offered us some, we didn't hesitate to accept. The young man quickly chopped small chunks off each of our coconuts and inserted straws.
Sierra and I strolled along Villamil beach and walked out on the pier, Malecón Cuna del Sol, being careful not to step on the many iguanas. Near the pier, we watched sea lions and penguins playing in the water.
In the heat of the afternoon, we went snorkeling at Conche de Perla. We didn't see as many fish as we had hoped. But, I did swim with a sea lion for a few seconds. The sea lion and I happened to meet near the stairs leading out of the water. It made its way up the stairs and past the crowd of people to the deck. The sea lion appeared frustrated to see its benches taken over by people and their stuff. But, it was determined to find a nice bench to sunbathe on and nothing, including people, their stuff, or the big iguana was going to stop it.
In the evening we visited the flamingo ponds near our hotel then enjoyed a beautiful sunset from one of the many beach restaurants.
Slideshow
Here are pictures from Day 12 of our trip to Ecuador.
Expenses
I gave up trying to track all our expenses, especially food. But, I'm still doing my best to record other expenses like hotels, transportation , and excursions in this spreadsheet.
Ecuador Fun Fact
The Galápagos archipelago has 127 islands, islets and rocks. Of the total emerged surface, 97% is protected. Only 4 of the 13 main islands are inhabited.
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