My Galapagos Cruise with Hurtigruten

This past February I was invited to join one of Hurtigruten’s best selling cruises in the Galapagos Islands, their ”Nine of the Best Islands” itinerary, focusing on the Western and Northern islands of the Galapagos archipelago.

The Galapagos Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador, are renowned for their unparalleled biodiversity and unique ecosystems. These volcanic islands played a pivotal role in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, thanks to their isolated location and diverse array of endemic species. From giant tortoises and marine iguanas to blue-footed boobies, the Galapagos offer an extraordinary opportunity for wildlife enthusiasts and scientists alike to observe and study evolution in action. Conservation efforts are crucial to preserving this natural wonder, as the delicate balance of its ecosystems faces threats from human activity and invasive species.

This particular itinerary starts in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, the capital city of Ecuador, nestled high in the Andes Mountains, making it the second-highest capital city in the world.
Its historic center, known as the Old Town, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, boasting well-preserved colonial architecture, charming cobblestone streets, and ornate churches, such as the iconic Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús. Quito's rich cultural heritage is evident in its museums, art galleries, and vibrant indigenous markets.

We arrived early in the morning and got a taxi to the Hotel JW Marriot Quito, a luxurious five-star hotel located in the heart of Ecuador's capital city, more specifically in the vibrant La Carolina district. This would be our home for the next couple of nights, and after resting for a little while, we went off on a little walk to the historical center of Quito, also known as Quito Old Town or Centro Histórico, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the best-preserved colonial centers in Latin America. It is renowned for its stunning architecture, including majestic churches, convents, and colonial buildings adorned with intricate facades and ornate details. We climbed up to the top of the Basilica del Voto Nacional, a Neo-gothic cathedral and one of the most iconic landmarks in Ecuador's capital city. Its panoramic views of the city from the top of the Basilica are awe spiring, and the perfect introduction to this beautiful South American country.

Back to the hotel, we met the Hurtigruten team of local guides and had a short briefing with them about the activities on our second day in the city.

The next morning, we woke up early for our Cotopaxi excursion: this was a fun day out of the city visiting one of the country’s most visited National Parks: Cotopaxi National Park, located just south of Quito, is renowned for its stunning landscapes and biodiversity. At its heart lies Cotopaxi, one of the world's highest active volcanoes, standing at over 19,000 feet (5,897 meters). The park offers diverse ecosystems, including highland Andean forests, paramo grasslands, and glacial landscapes.
After an hour drive out of the city, we stopped at a local market for pit stop and a walk through the food market stalls, just on time to see the locals having breakfast.
We reached the north entrance of the Cotopaxi National Park by 11am, where we walked a little and then continued to the Lagoon Limpiopungo, where we went for an hour long hike around the lake. After that, it was time for a well deserved lunch, at a local Hacienda or country ranch, where we were treated for a typical Andean meal.
Back in the bus, it was a 2 hour drive back to the hotel, where we spend the last night night before heading to Galapagos.

Galapagos Day 1

After flying via Guayaquil, our flight arrived past noon in Baltra Airport, Galapagos main airport. We met Hurtigruten’s representatives just outside customs and got into a bus that would take us to the dock where the zodiac boats were waiting for us to get transferred to the cruise. After a 10 minute boat ride we got to embark on the beautiful Santa Cruz II, our home for the next 8 days. This ship has a maximum capacity of 98 passengers, and it is a sleek and modern vessel, perfect for groups of friends or families with different interests or physical abilities, as passengers are divided into groups of 10-12 people, so there's always something available everybody, regardless of age or how active you want to be while on the cruise. 
There was a beautiful restaurants located in one of the lower decks, as well as a bar and conference room on the top deck, perfect for gatherings before and after the main meals. Other social areas also included a gym, a library (where we enjoyed a couple of science projects and lectures) and two jacuzzis, located at the stern of the boat.  

We checked in fast, and got to our cabin, which was spacious and towards the stern. We had a big window from where we watch every sunset, and I was surprised at how quiet the cabin was, even though it was located next to one of the meeting points for people to gather before going out on the excursions. 

By 2.30pm we were ready to start with our daily expeditions: we were divided into groups of 10 people, and go introduced to one of our friendly naturalists guides, named Daniel. We got onto a zodiac boat and sailed for about 10 minutes to Dragon Hill, where we walked for about an hour, getting to see flamingoes and our first land iguanas.

Galapagos Day 2
After a hearty breakfast, we met our group for our first expedition of the day: a boat ride to Tagus Cove, a sheltered deep-water bay on the western coast of Isabela Island, overlooking Fernandina Island. This natural anchorage has been a popular destination for ships since the 1800s, and after a somewhat steep hike along the salt water Darwin Lake, got to a couple of great viewpoints, where we were also able to see some of the famous Galapagos bird species: Darwin’s finches and Vermilion Flycatchers.
Back on the boat, we had time for a quick shower and then we were again ready for a second morning activity, when we had the chance to choose between a kayak ride or to try paddle boarding. We went with the kayak option, and got on single kayaks to paddle around the bay for about an hour time. After that, we went back to the boat for our lunch and a bit of down time before our afternoon activity, which was a mix of hiking and snorkeling at the beach in Urbina Bay, where we saw our first land Gian tortoises, out in the wild.
That evening we were treated to a small barbecue in one of the outside decks, were we drank a cocktail while watching a beautiful sunset, right before our daily briefing and a great dinner.

Galapagos Day 3

Day 3 got us exploring the rugged island of Floreana, which has, arguably, the most interesting human history of all of the Galapagos Islands. It is the site of the first “post office”, established in 1793 by whalers, and it was the home to the first Galapagos resident.
After a morning visit to Darwin’s Postal office, where we left our post cards to be delivered by the next group of visitors getting to the island, we returned to the beach for another chance of snorkeling or a kayak activity.
Back one the ship, we had time for lunch and a little down time before our afternoon activities: either deep water snorkeling, or for the not so experienced swimmers, a chance to go on a boar ride on the glass bottom boat, an excellent alternative available for all ages and abilities.
We then went on a quick zodiac ride to the beach again, for another walk among flamingoes and sea turtles on the coast.


Galapagos Day 4

This was the day when we said goodbye to some of our fellow passengers (the ones ending their journey this day) and welcome the new passengers joining our cruise that same day in Baltra, therefore the morning consisted on a quick zodiac ride to the beach where we relaxed, swam and had the chance to more snorkeling, and an afternoon visit to Bachas Beach, a great spot to walk amongst dozens of sea lions laying casually right next to us.

Galapagos Day 5

This was the day we visited Santiago Island, formed from two overlapping shield volcanoes, and is one of the most geologically interesting of the Galapagos Islands.  This was a day packed with activities, starting with a zodiac cruise sailing along the rugged coast and its tall cliffs, where we were able to see blue footed boobies, finches and more marine birds, as well as some sea lions sunbathing on the rocks. There was another opportunity for deep water snorkeling that morning, and in the afternoon, we headed to Puerto Egas, one of the best visitor sites on the island. We had a long walk along the coast where we saw a colony of Galápagos fur seals, land and marine iguanas and sea lions.

Galapagos Day 6

The morning started with a visit to the tiny Rabida Island, located off the southern shore of Santiago Island.
After panga ride along the coast, we disembarked to explore the amazing, red-colored beach. This was one of the most impressive sights in the whole trip, and possibly my favorite view. We got to see flamingoes (some of them actually flew over our heads at one point) and the returned to the ship to get ready for our afternoon activity: a visit to the popular Bartolome Island, one of the few islands where’s there’s an actual pathway to take you all the way up to an amazing viewpoint at the summit. On the way there, we were treated to one of the most astonishing zodiac rides, following a pack of dolphins who swam around us for over 30 minutes, a pretty emotional experience, getting so close to these incredible animals.


Galapagos Day 7

This day we visited Mosquera, a tiny islet nestled between Baltra and North Seymour islands, a beautiful long narrow beach with a large population of Galapagos Sea Lions where we get to walk super close to them. Later that same morning, we had the chance of another deep water snorkeling or glass bottom boat ride, to get to see more marine wildlife.
In the afternoon we had a long walk at Seymour, a birdwatchers paradise, where we saw lots of the stunning frigates, with its huge red sacs in their throats, that look exactly like red balloons. We also got to see some red footed boobies, Galapagos hawks and Galapagos mockingbirds.
That evening was bittersweet, as we enjoyed our last dinner on board, and before that, an end of cruise cocktail hour with the captain and its crew. After almost 8 days on our home away from home, it was not an easy goodbye: the crew, naturalist guides and everybody on board was fantastic!

Galapagos Day 8

This was our last day on board to we got ready to check out (we had settled our accounts the previous night), so we left our cabin and got ready to board one of the zodiac boats for one last time: we headed to the highlands of Santa Cruz, where we visited the “Rancho Primicias” a large compound where we found dozens of  Galapagos Giant tortoises. They often congregate in this area on their permanent migrations between coast and highlands, and they seem to particularly enjoy wallowing in the shallow ponds in the area. We got very close to them, carefully taking pictures of them and avoiding any kind of disturbance while they roam free around us. It was the perfect morning visit to end our visit to the Galapagos Archipelago, one of those trips that will be very hard to forget.