Gálapagos: Día 9 and 10 - Isla San Cristóbal

I caught a 7AM ferry to Isla San Cristóbal. I would be spending only one night and two days on Isla San Cristóbal  so I only packed a day bag filled with my clothes that I would need and my snorkeling gear.

San Cristobal is the eastern most island in the Galapagos chain of islands.  The port city is called Puerto Baquerizo Moreno  and is the capital of the Gálapagos Islands.  I entered through the port in Puerto Ayoro and traveled 2 hours on a boat named 'Boat Andy' to San Cristobal Island.  It was about 11AM when I arrived.

 This is the dock in of San Cristóbal.

Someone from my hotel was supposed to meet me at the docks when I arrived and after waiting 15 minutes I showed a taxi driver the address and asked how far it was and if it was within walking distance.  The taxi driver told me it is far and I needed to drive there, so I hopped in the taxi and 3 blocks later arrived at my hotel - I could have walked in less the time it took to drive. The taxi asked for $2USD.  I gave the driver a menacing stare and gave him only a dollar before leaving.

The city is really tiny, and everything is within walking distance in terms of restaurants and hotels.  After settling in to my hostal, the first place I visited was the tourist center just down the street from the docks and I was able to get some information about the city and got a map thanks to Veronica who worked there.

I didn't have any excursions planned and with the map I had planned what I would be doing for the next 2 days. Swimming, snorkeling and soaking in the sun in all the beaches around the city!  Not a bad plan at all don't you think?!  I didn't really need it, but I decided to rent a bicycle to make my travel times a little faster - but not by much.  After visiting the tourist center, I walked around town to get a feel for life here on San Cristóbal until I found a place I could rent a bike. 

The store I went to only rented bicycles for 10 hours (1 day) for $20USD, but I got a deal to return the bike at 12PM the next day for $25USD.  I made my way across the boardwalk and came upon a small beach called Playa de Oro where sea lions were resting.

A lady who was a city worker came up to me and asked me if I was a local.  She wanted to make sure I was obeying the rules of not touching the animals.   It's funny how she thought I was a local.

In front of this small beach was a Navy museum where you could learn about the origins of the Gálapagos Islands and Charles Darwin.

I left back for home to pick up my swimming and snorkeling gear because I wanted to visit Las Tijeretas.  To get to Las Tijeretas, one way to get there is to go through Playa Punta Carola.  It was a very short ride to the trailhead for Playa Punta Carola and I had to lock my bock before going further.

Play Carola was a nice beach with a large section of sand.  However a big portion of the beaches also had rocks.  I could see surfers in the distance and iguanas in the sand.

I didn't stick around long because I wanted to get to Las Tijeretas. To get there, I needed to find a trailhead somewhere along Playa Carola which turned out to be a challenge because there were no clearly marked signs anywhere.  Walking around the shoreline, I spotted a path behind the bushes and I knew it must have have been the trail I was looking for.

The trail turned into a nice stone pathway and I begun the trek to get to Las Tijeretas.

Along the way, I passed through two viewpoints.  In the first viewpoint, there was a big military gun.  The second viewpoint had a statue of Charles Darwin and beautiful views of the ocean and Las Tijeretas.

A little way further and I finally reached Las Tijeretas.  The time it took to reach there was about 40 minutes from Playa Carola.  Once there,  I stripped down and dove in the bay.  There was a family of sea lions in the caves along the shoreline.  I saw mostly fish - some big and most small.  It was refreshing nonetheless.  While I was swimming on the water,  a huge sea lion came swimming right underneath me!  He was upside down. He must have weighed 400 lbs - I kid you not.  He was HUGE! Probably the biggest sea lion I have seen on the islands! I freaked out at first but laughed shortly after.  It was an impressive moment!  I tried to look for him afterwards but I never saw him again. When I got on shore, I asked if anyone else had seen him and noone had. I know what you're thinking.. I really did see him! :/

On the way back at Playa Carola, there were sea lions on the beach including some seal pups.  I snapped up some photos and vids.  Cute little guys!  You have to be careful with the parents though.  The mothers don't care but the fathers have been known to be a little hostile to people paying attention to their pup.

On the way back, I stopped by a small cafe where I ordered a burger.  A little kid was starting at me on the counter.  You can see him in the pic.  Funny.

I went back to my hostal to rest and went out to eat.  Food prices are ridiculous in San Cristobal and I remembered to ask where I could eat and not go broke at the tourist office in the morning.  They recommended Lucky's, a restaurant in town.

Across the street I saw mural paintings about preserving the nature in the Gálapagos Islands.

During dinner, I shared ketchup with kids sitting next to me.  I snapped up this cute picture of them eating and sharing their food.

The next morning, I woke up early and had a quick breakfast and set out for La Loberia, another beach close to the city.  It took about 30 minutes to bike to the trailhead where I walked for another 10 minutes to reach the beach.  There weren't many people there (maybe 4 other people in total for the entire morning!).  That day I swam for so many hours.  There were 2 turtles  just followed around for the time!

I stayed there until the very last minute that I could. I really didn't want to go.

 And that's it for San Cristóbal! My ferry back to Santa Cruz left at 3PM.