Getting There is Half The Fun

As the Captain announced our descent into Baltra, we were giddy with the sight of turquoise water below, so excited for our trip to begin. Broad smiles, giggles, anticipation...and then there was the bug spray. In an attempt to reduce contamination on the islands, flight attendants walked through the aisles, spraying bug spray on everyone and everything. We've actually seen this many times before, but we just thought it was an anti-Argentina thing, since it was always when flying from Argentina into another country. (I secretly hoped it was a ham-related protest).

The guy on the left is not a fan of the spray.


Spraying away like it was Febreeze.

The tiny airport is on a tiny island, and a short boat ride is necessary to get from Baltra to the North end of Santa Cruz island. The boat crew effortlessly tossed our luggage onto the top of the ferry, didn't secure a thing, and we were off. Because one of our bags was half-tipped on top of another bag, I fully expected to have to recover water-logged socks and sunscreen from the bay, but it was a calm and very short transfer across.

About 99% of trips to the Galapagos are package deals which include a cruise or live-aboard situation. Instead of this, we decided on a land-based trip that included several island hopping day trips. This was, by far, the best trip decision we have ever made. Confining a 4 year old to a small boat for a week would have been a nightmare for everyone on board, and really not fair to Mr. Teague. The time we spent on boats during our day trips reconfirmed this. We were glad to have playgrounds, lots of restaurant options and a large air conditioned hotel room to go back to each evening.

Each island is very different than the next, some with brown lava sand beaches, some with black lava rocks, and others with sugar-white sand. The animal and sea life is really why people visit, and is worth every bit of the hype. Swimming with sea lions and pengiuns that aren't part of a aquarium experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I know that it is all downhill from here on out!

More on Isla Santa Cruz in my next post.

The ferry and our luggage.


View from our hotel balcony.


Thank you Olmsted Foundation. Our lives will never be the same.