‘It is hard to be miserable in the company of penguins. It’s hard not to feel happy in their presence.’-Charles Bergman

It was my last day in the Galapagos and Christian at Terra Sur had given me another free day. He did include a variety of things to do on Santa Cruz Island but I decided to do something else. I looked on Get Your Guide and found the perfect day trip to the island of Isabela, the largest of the Galapagos’ islands. It would involve a long ferry ride, snorkeling, and penguins. It was pretty expensive but I did think the tour was worth it.

The ferry ride to Isabela was about 2 hours. The ferry is a mostly covered boat, I was fortunate to get the last row and not sure of how I would have done if I was stuck in the front, which was completely covered and minimal window view. I don’t get sea sick (knock on wood) but if you do, take something. It was quite choppy and the boat moves a lot faster than it looks. When I arrived on Isabela, I was shuffled around a couple of times. It was fine as I ended up where I was supposed to but a bit confusing for a minute. Turns out that I was a part of two tours, one was the snorkeling bit and then rejoined the main group afterwards. No idea what they did but the guides took care of me and, again, I never felt like I was going to ‘miss the boat’ as it were.

First up, exploring Tintoreras Islet. You board a small boat to access the islet. From the water, you can spot penguins! Galapagos penguins are the second smallest penguins in the world and only ones to live in the tropics (I actually saw the smallest penguins, the Little Blues, while in Australia). They are so tiny and blend into the rocks. They are an endangered species and the guide said it was rare to see so many at one time. It was fun to see them waddle along the lava rock and splash around in the water. My new Lumix zoom lens from my dad worked perfectly!

The small ground then went onto the islet to explore. It was about 30 minutes and quite hot. There is minimal shade so bring a hat! I was also wearing my REI Sahara Sun Hoodie but by the end, just ready to get in the water. There were more iguanas and a heron but the star was the calm, shallow channel that runs alongside. There we saw sharks, a seal eating along the rocks, and some fish. The water was pretty clear and cool to see where the animals went to relax. The sharks, in particular, were just chilling!

Then time to get into the water. The wildlife was not as abundant as other spots but what it did have was turtles. There were several swimming about. Much like what happened on Santa Fe and swimming with sea lions, I went underwater and there was a giant sea turtle next to me (thus the images are a bit choppy as IT WAS RIGHT NEXT TO ME). It reminded me of a core memory of living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia when I was a kind. We would go to the main shopping area and there was a massive tank with sea turtles in them. Sort of a full circle to then be swimming with them.

After the swim around, which was about 45 minutes so, again, glad to have my life vest on, headed back to shore and joined the next group. We had lunch (it was not good) and then went to a lagoon where flamingos go to hang out. There were a handful in the distance (again, grateful for my new lens) and they were just enjoying the weather. Then we went to another breeding center, Arnaldo Tupiza, to see some more tortoises. And two of them were, in fact, ‘breeding’ so I guess it works, ha! This is not as expansive as the Charles Darwin Center but more intimate. There were also some that were rescued from a volcanic eruption and they will spend the rest of their days here.

Then the day was over. The ferry ride back, well, one of the highlights of the entire trip. I was again in the last row (thank god) and was just looking out over the ocean. When I was in Iceland, I did a whale watching tour. On that tour, the guide said a good way to spot where a whale is is to look for a puff of smoke on the horizon. In the distance, I saw some of these puffs. So looked closer (as much as I could being nearsighted and not wearing my glasses) and saw a pod of orcas! And then, one of the orcas jumped out of the water, just like in Free Willy. It happened so fast that I did not get a photo. It will only live in my memory as one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I love killer whales and grew up going to Sea World. To see them in the wild, just no words.

This turned out to be one of the best days and seeing wild orcas was the perfect way to close my adventures in the Galapagos. I just had the best time on these islands, a bit sunburned and tired, but worth every minute of it.