Galápagos: Island Mornings

Nazca boobies and the critically endangered waved albatrosses. Española Island. Jun 2025.

Intro

Aside from the yacht trip, I spent the rest of my days island hopping around the Galápagos. These were either trekking along the courses around the town areas or daytrips, which also started from town areas. In this island hopping phase, I set foot to Baltra, Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, and Española. The > 1 hour long inter-island speedboat trips were nothing short of never-ending roller coaster rides. 0 out of 10, would not recommend.

A welcome billboard on the Santa Cruz side of the canal Itabaca. Jun 2025.

Isla Baltra

The Baltra Island was where one of the two main airports in Galapagos was located. The bus ride from the airport to the canal was $5 one way. Blue-footed boobies were foraging in the water, but with my hands full of luggage, I couldn’t capture them in action.

A land iguana casually strolling underneath the sign. Jun 2025.

Abandoned yachts were scattered along the canal. Jun 2025.

Playa Tortuga

I took a hike from Puerto Ayora, the Santa Cruz island main town, to Playa Tortuga, a long stretch of white-sanded beach.

Tree prickly pear (**Opuntia galapageia**), or “cactus tree”, endemic to the Galapagos. Jun 2025.

A marine iguana chilling on the tortuga beach. Jun 2025.

Puerto Ayora

Las Grietas

From the pier of Puerto Ayora, I board the one-dollar water taxi, and arrived at Las Grietas, the narrow volcanic slot canyon on the south side of the island town.

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is dubbed as the heart of the Galapagos Island, and it is the town of the island San Cristobal.

Cerro Tijeretas

This was a two-hour hike on a hill by Puerto Barquerizo Moreno. Being a fat weeb carrying camera equipment and a big bag, it almost killed me. Muelle Tijeretas had quite a view, but I didn’t go down there.

Isla de San Cristóbal

A few photos from the 360 tour around the San Cristobal island, I saw a hammerhead storm beneath the Kicker Rock. Most memorable was the pain I felt when horseflies bit the flesh off of me at Bahía Sardina.

Isla Española

Isla Espanola is a paradise for birds. This is the biggest habitat of the waved albatrosses, which are an endangered species of the South America west coast. Unfortunately, it was overcast when I got there. I stayed there for about one and a half hours and took as many photos as I could. I’ve long seen pictures of the albatross chicks, which were so fluffy and cute. However, it was just before the hatching seasons for the albatross, and all I saw were eggs.