Galapagos 2018 - Day 5. Santa Cruz to Isabela (aka Albermarle)

I slept fitfully until 6 am, when I got up and got ready to go find a boat to Isabela. I had seen a sign that said the boat departed at 7:30 am, and wanted to get there with enough time to buy my ticket. First mistake, tickets are to be bought from one of the travel agencies. One of the guys there went looking for the manager to find out if I could get a late ticket, but was told there were no more. “Maybe something a bit later?, I asked hopefully. “There is nothing until the afternoon.” Rats!

I decided to accost the manager directly, taking advantage of the fact that he was superbusy and trying to troubleshoot too many things at a time. Two guys had just come to show their vouchers when I interposed my question, and for some reason he added me to the other two, put a pink sticker on our shirts, and told us to go stand with another group that was waiting to board. I went along but was obliged to tell the second in command that I still had to pay my ticket. He turned toward his boss and said something like “This guy still has to pay”, but he was ignored, so he shrugged his shoulders and told me to stay with my group. Gotta love the Latin American way of doing business (I did eventually paid the $30 of the ticket).

We were escorted to a small boat, which to me looked very inappropriate for blue water sailing, but it was only the taxi that took us to a bigger boat for the two hour transit to Isabela. The boat was like the ones used for charter fishing, and with 16 of us aboard looked quite cozy. I was afraid of getting seasick, but the sea was relatively calm, and the ups and downs eventually served to rock me to sleep.

Once we got to Isabela I still had to walk 10 minutes from the port to the hotel that had been recommended by my hostess at the Hostal Fragata in Santa Cruz. My new hotel, Hotel Sierra Negra, faces the beach, and from the balcony of my $40 per night room I have a grand look of the ocean.

The weather was fine, with the same light overcast that has made the three days I have been in Galapagos bearable. The clouds parted for a bit after I cam to the hotel, and it is clear that when the sun shines the land and its inhabitants broil. The sound of the waves, the view of the beach, and the enjoyment of being in the shade of my room made me decide that today was going to be  relax day, to be spent reading and doing as little as possible.

I did go out for a short walk, to see about booking a trek up to the Volcán de Sierra Negra, and have lunch. I have learned a couple of things. First, Galapagos is catering to rich tourism, so they have all sorts of offers for tours, while at the same time they hinder the independent tourist by (a) requiring that you have a local guide almost anywhere you go, and (b) having to road signs that might lead the undesirable solo tourist to the good spots (but I will do my best to foil them the day after tomorrow). I have mixed feelings about these policies, which are undoubtedly great for creating local employment and definitely necessary for protection of their amazing ecosystems, because you can quickly run up a big entertainment tab.

The second thing I learned is that lunch is served from 12 noon to 2 pm, and that if you come outside that time you are likely to have items missing from your plate. The best deal is to take the daily menu, where you get a bowl of soup (but the lady was out of soup when I came at 3 pm so instead I got a small salad), a plate with the main dish (fish, chicken, beef, seafood) together with rice, beans, veggies (e.g., plantains, potatoes, yams), and a final dessert of fruit or jello. There is always a glass of lemonade or fruit juice as well. Total cost $7 to $10. So lunch is a full meal, right? Then, between 8 and 10 pm, you go out to have supper, which also includes soup, main dish, side dishes, dessert, and beverage, again for $7 to $10. You get to eat a full meal twice a day! Now, that is what I call civilized.