The Galapagos Islands are a totally unique place on Earth, so we decided to check them out while in the neighborhood (they’re off the coast of Ecuador). To see the different islands and animals, you have to take one of many expensive cruises. We found a great last-minute deal on a short 4-day cruise, and then decided to extend the trip by staying 6 more nights on the islands themselves.

We were lucky to get a First-Class boat for our cruise, called “Tip Top III”.  Compared to economy boats, this seems to translate to nicer cabins, better food, and a better guide and crew.  The boat holds 16 passengers, whom we got to know pretty well within the 4 days. We even exchanged emails on the last day. Overall we were really impressed with the entire operation and would definitely recommend this boat.

Every day we went on excursions like hiking and snorkeling, and every night we motored to a new island. For anyone who’s been to the Galapagos or is thinking of going, these are the locations we visited:

Day 1: Black Turtle Cove (Santa Cruz)
Day 2: Rabida & Bartolome
Day 3: Genovesa
Day 4: Santa Cruz Highlands & Charles Darwin Center

My favorite part of the cruise was visiting Genovesa. Due to it’s location far away from other islands and on the edge of the Galapagos plateau, Genovesa is home to thousands of birds. I’ve never been anywhere with so many birds all around and not the least bit affected by my presence. It was amazing to be standing in the middle of such a unique place.

Next post I’ll show you some of the really cool animals we saw.