Day 324: Santa Cruz in Transit
We had one full week left in the Galápagos Islands at this point, and we weren’t quite sure what we wanted to do with our time. We decided to catch the ferry to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. With a population of 12,000 people it is by far and away the biggest town in the archipelago. And, with its strategic location in the center of all the island, it is the jumping off point for most tours. We figured we could spend the afternoon walking around tourist agencies, and see if anything struck our fancy. Igor had read that it was possible to get rock-bottom priced deals on multi-day cruises – maybe we’d find another boat trip!
We had purchased tickets for the ferry the night before for USD $30pp, although we soon found out that by “ferry” they mean one of half a dozen speedboats that shuttle people from one island to the other. When we arrived at the pier 30min before our departure time, we found an absolute shit-show of confusion as ALL THE BOATS tried to load their passengers at once. Their brilliant method of organization was to simply call out passenger names from a list and hope that people were paying attention/could hear their name being called from the end of the pier. Then they had to squeeze through the throng of people waiting on the dock with their luggage to finishing loading each boat one at a time before the next boat could start. Needless to say, we did NOT leave on time. The boats themselves were almost identical to the little boat we took for our Española tour the day before, however we now had to share the tiny space with 24 people, rather than 10. The seats were narrow and horribly uncomfortable, and only the seats inside the boat had shade (but no air circulation).
FYI, there are small 9-seater propeller planes that fly between San Cristóbal and Isabela. At USD $120pp they are much more expensive than the ferry, but we would have gladly paid the upcharge for a more comfortable ride. Unfortunately, the Thursday flight was sold out so our only choice was a hot, bumpy 2hr. boat ride from hell. When we finally arrived in Puerto Ayora around 10AM, we stumbled over to our hostel and hid in our room for a few hours to recover from the ordeal.
We get an awesome room at Captain Max’s Hostel in Puerto Ayora – spacious with AC, strong Wifi and a hammock! We’ll hide out from the heat in here for a few hours
Once we felt human again, we starting walking down towards the main street, stopping in various tour agencies along the way to inquire about the “LAST MINUTE CRUISES!” they all had advertised outside their windows. True, the prices were about half what they would have been if we had booked online (about USD $150pp/day). Since they include all meals, hotel, transport and activities (walking & snorkeling) for 4-5 days, it was technically cheaper than island-hopping on our own, however we would have had to give up the flexibility of choosing our own itinerary. Sadly, none of the remaining cruises looked that interesting (most would revisit sites we already hit during our dive trip & day trips from San Cristóbal), so we eventually decided to pass, and just continue to wing it. We bought some tickets for the ferry to Isabela the next morning through our hostel (he assured us it was one of the “better” boats), and spent the of the afternoon and evening wandering around town.
Sadly, the fish market is closed for the day by the time we emerge from our hostel hideaway, but a handful of birds are lingering by the fishy-smelling tables
This stubborn pelican won’t give up his spot (guess he wants to get the best fish pieces tomorrow!) and barely blinks an eye when Igor gets in his face for a picture
It’s election time! Ecuador will hold its presidential elections on Sunday, and everyone is out campaigning
OK, *what* is with the caterpillar train? Normally this cartoonish bus takes tourists on a ride through Puerto Ayora, but tonight it was been commandeered by the political rally. And we thought the US election was bizarre…
The evening street fair is steps away from our hostel. Most restaurants have an identical menu – a grilled fish for 2 costs USD $22
Fresh fish, ready for the grill!
Nice variety available – corn on the cob, ceviche, and grilled meats
We opt for to share a fish for 2 – buen provecho!
Wtf. Why was that fish so expensive?? I remember paying 7 dollars a night for a nice hotel room with a view there…
mainland Ecuador vs islands – our last week was a LOT cheaper