As a recap, I had the amazing opportunity this summer to go to the Galapagos Islands, a dream of mine since I was six years old. This post will cover day 3 of my 10-Day journey. If you missed the first two, you can find them here!
Day 3 (San Cristobal): Today was finally the day that my biggest dream would come true! We woke up early in Quito, packed all of our things and hopped on a bus to the airport. We hopped on the plane and headed out. We had to make a stop in Guayaquil, Ecuador to pick up extra passengers before officially flying to the Galapagos.
When we landed, words could not describe the excitement that filled me. I honestly never thought that this dream would become a reality. Nothing can prepare you for the rush of emotions that hit when you officially step foot into your dream.
Customs took a little longer than expected, but it was all worth it when I received an official Galapagos Islands stamp on my passport. If you are ever traveling to the Galapagos, make sure to ASK at customs for this stamp, because there were a few of our group members that did not receive one!
After the collection of our luggage, we walked out to meet our bus driver. We left our bags with another crew member and hopped onto the bus. The bags would be taken separately and placed in our rooms on the yacht. The bus ride was quick but allowed us to see several buildings on the island. It dropped us off at the pier where we waited for dinghies to come pick us up and take us to the boat. There were a ton of Galapagos sea lions, sally lightfoot crabs, and frigatebirds all around the pier.
We stayed on the Galaven. If you ever go to the Galapagos, you would not go wrong with choosing this yacht for your stay. It was beyond incredible! The crew members were the kindest people you could ever meet. They seemed to genuinely care about all of us staying with them. They went out of their way to make us as comfortable as possible (yes, I understand that this is their job, but they went above and beyond what they were asked). Upon arrival to the boat, we were fed lunch. Our chef was incredible. Every single meal was incredible. Honestly, there isn’t one meal I would be able to complain about, and I am an extremely picky eater!
Because we didn’t get to the boat until around lunchtime, we only had one excursion this day (normally there would be up to 2 hikes and 2 snorkels in a day). This excursion was to the tortoise sanctuary. Can you believe it? My dream of seeing a Galapagos tortoise in the Galapagos was going to be achieved on the FIRST DAY! I wasn’t sure what my reaction would be when I would see them. Before even getting to the sanctuary, I was shaking with excitement/nerves and my heart was pounding.
When we got to the sanctuary, we split into two groups between our two tour guides. We walked for a while and learned about some of the many plants on the islands and saw some Galapagos mockingbirds and finches. All I could think about was tortoises.
Finally, after walking for a little while, I got my first glimpse of a Galapagos tortoise. Unfortunately, he was really far away and hard to see. I was a little bummed asking myself if that would be the only tortoise I would see while I was here.
At the half-way point along the trail, they have the center where they raise the babies and juveniles. I’m a sucker for a good Galapagos tortoise baby, so the excitement was real when we got to see all of these tiny nuggets stomping around in their enclosure.
On our way down the other half of the trail, we see something moving in the trees. It’s another adult! This time, much closer to us! As I’m trying to take pictures of him, I can feel my entire body shaking. I break down and start crying (this isn’t a surprise…I’m an emotional person who cries at most things). I feel relief as my dream feels like it has truly come true. Little did I know, I would be seeing more tortoises than I could even count in the coming days…
After finishing the trail, we packed up our things and headed back to the boat, where we were fed a wonderful dinner. We were given the option to go back to the island and do some shopping. Of course, I agreed! I went with a small group and we explored the little town. I purchased some post cards, some stickers, a map, and a really cute tank top. A few hours later, the dinghy arrived and brought us back to the boat.
I’m pretty sure I fell asleep within 2 minutes of laying down that day. They managed to pack a lot into a short amount of time!
This is amazing.
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Thank you! 🙂
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Wow, also on my bucket list! X
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It’s an incredible place! You should definitely go if you every got the chance! 🙂 Thank you for reading!
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How wonderful! Beautiful pictures too!
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Thank you so much Erin! 🙂
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McKenna what a day ! You are a marvelous story teller ! I love your pictures, I really could feel your excitement!
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Thank you so much! I love you!
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Ah this sounds amazing! I’m going travelling in September and end up in South American at the end of october i am hoping to visit the galapogas islands! Check out my blog for my adventures! Coeliacwithoutborders.co.uk
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Wow! That sounds awesome! I really hope you get the chance to visit. They are truly incredible. I will definitely be checking out your blog and looking forward to reading about your adventures! 🙂
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Beautiful photos !! Looks like you had a great time !
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Thank you so much! It was a lot of fun! 🙂
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I have wanted to go to the Galapagos Islands for years! Now I want to go even more. This looks like the trip of a lifetime. And I love, love, love the baby tortoise pic!
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I really hope you get the chance to go one day! It is a magical place, and definitely the trip of a lifetime! Thank you so much for reading! 🙂
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A coworker of mine told me about the Galapagos islands! I desperately want to go!
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If you ever get the chance to go, you really should. It is an incredible place! 🙂
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Looks like you had an amazing time there, I really love tortoises they are just cool
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It was an amazing time for sure. The tortoises were my favorite animal we saw on the islands. I got some really great pictures of some, but they will be posted in later posts. 🙂
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I loved reading this and learning about your trip. I’ve never even heard of this place before but now I feel like I have to see it for myself. One thing I love about the internet, is I can virtually travel anywhere! Thanks so much for sharing, I’m going to check out day 1 & 2!
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It truly is a magical place. There are a lot of videos of the islands on YouTube if you would like to take a virtual trip! The animals aren’t exposed to humans often, so they don’t have any fear and you can get really, really close to them! It is really amazing! 🙂 Thank you so much for reading! 🙂
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Sounds like a great trip. Love your photos and post!
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It was a really amazing trip. Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
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Wow! beautiful place, never head of this before. I am definitely putting it on my bucket list.. thanks for sharing
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It is an incredible place! I hope that everyone gets the chance to go at least once in their lifetime. It is amazing! Thank you so much for reading! 🙂
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This sounds like such an exciting trip! You made me feel like I was there with you too! Can’t wait to read about the rest of your trip 😉
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Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! I plan to make the next post tomorrow! 🙂
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Wow I can feel your excitement in this story!! So glad you were able to do this trip! Sounds amazing.
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Thank you so much! It was truly an incredible experience! I really appreciate you stopped by to read! 🙂
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