Our 4-day cruise ended in San Cristobal. We disembarked at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno in the morning. We had the entire day to explore the town on our own. There are a lot of restaurants and souvenir shops.
In the afternoon, we went to the Interpretation Center to hike. The center has information about the Galápagos Islands and preservation initiatives. Behind the center are paved hiking trails. The trails lead to a lookout over the ocean, a famous Charles Darwin statue, a snorkel spot, and a beach. The whole hike was about two miles.
Michael and Lucas went back in the evening to play ping pong. Henry and I watched a movie that he downloaded before we left for the Galapagos. The internet is so slow that downloading movies is not an option. Sometimes we could download short shows.
The next day we took a tour in a taxi. Our driver César took us on a four-hour excursion to three destinations: Galapaguera, Puerto Chino beach, and Junco lagoon.
Galapaguera is a tortoise breeding facility in the highlands of San Cristobal. We got close to giant tortoises (but not too close because of the 2-meter rule). We watched the tortoises eat. We also ooohed and aaaaahed over the baby turtles.
Our next stop was at a beautiful, secluded, white-sand beach called Puerto Chino. It is a 10-minute walk from the parking lot down a paved path. The water is crystal clear. We played in the waves. We also had some hungry birds swarming when we opened a bag of chips. People are not supposed to feed the animals, but they do.
Our last stop of the day was at Junco Lagoon. It is a crater lake. The vegetation up at the junco lagoon is lush and green. It is a stark change from the arid landscape closer to the water. The clouds moved in and out while we were at the lagoon, but we got some pictures when it was clear.
Lucas and Michael were back at Ping pong at night. Michael developed a rivalry with an older player. They had fun for the few days we were there. We also found a place to watch the Super Bowl.
On our last day in San Cristobal, we took a 360 boat hour. It is the most popular tour on the island. We boarded a boat at 7:30 am and went around the entire island, stopping to snorkel and spend time on different beaches.
The snorkeling was not the best. The water was murky, and we didn’t see much. We did see turtles, which is always exciting. On our last snorkeling stop at Kicker Rock, the waves got rough. Henry was in the water with an orange safety tube during the scary conditions. The waves frightened him, and he got back on the boat. Lucas got in once the water calmed down, but the water was deep, and he didn’t like that. He did see turtles before he got back on the boat. We got back to shore at 4:30. It was a long day.
On our last night in San Cristobal, Lucas and Henry went to dinner on their own at an Italian restaurant where we ate the night before. They love the meatball sub, and there is a playground across the street. Michael and I ate at a restaurant nearby. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is a safe town, so we were ok letting Lucas and Henry go off on their own.
Michael and Lucas had one last night of ping pong, but we all turned in early so we could get up to catch the ferry back to Santa Cruz. We had to be at the dock at 6:20 am. Bright and early, we took the ferry from San Cristobal back to Santa Cruz. The boat held about 30 people. It took approximately 1.5 hours, and it was bumpy.
We are glad we spent a few days in San Cristobal. It is a beautiful island.
Once back in Santa Cruz we dropped off some laundry and rested for a few hours before our Tour de Bahia in Santa Cruz. It is a four-hour boat tour that includes snorkeling and hiking. We all snorkeled in the ocean. We saw more turtles and lots of colorful fish. Lucas and Henry snorkeled at Las Grietas, which are fissures of lava rock with water in between.
The week full of cruising and tours felt like three weeks. We are all exhausted, but no rest for the weary. Our tour also included three days on Isabella island. We went to bed early to catch the ferry to Isabella in the morning.
