Isabela Island on your own
SOLEQMASTER
I spent 3 days on Santa Cruz Island, which I already told you about in the second blog article. On day 4 I left Santa Cruz Island at 6:30 in the morning and went by boat to Isabela Island. Before leaving Santa Cruz, there was a bag check, I had to pay a fee of one dollar and later another dollar for the water cab that went from the mainland to the boat. Hint: Always have some coins with you!
In the morning at 7am the boat left Santa Cruz and after a two-hour boat ride we arrived at Isabela Island. The entrance fee to the island is $10 for foreigners and $5 for Ecuadorians. After arriving, I walked to my hotel “Gran Hostal Tintorera” where I was warmly welcomed and could move into my room. I directly signed up for a volcano tour the next morning, which was organized by the hostel and cost 30 US dollars.
Wall of Tears
Then I walked on to the bicycle rental “ARCHITRAVEL S.A.”. The cost of renting the bike was 10 US dollars for one day. With the bike I rode a route that had the destination of the “Wall of Tears”. The route went along the sea, which was incredibly beautiful. On the route I discovered various beaches where sea lizards sunbathed, flamingo lagoons, mangrove forests, a lava tunnel and a lookout point.
In addition, part of the route was called “Camino de las tortugas”. Here the Galapagos giant tortoises crossed my path. Due to the many stops, it took me about 3 hours by bike until I arrived at the “Wall of Tears”.
The “Wall of Tears” impressed me very much by its size and by its meaning. In the 20th century, prisoners who were held on Isabela were forced to build the wall. The prison camp was constructed for political prisoners and “normal” criminals and is the only monument that reminds of the dark times and the abuse of power against prisoners on Isabela Island.
Near the “Wall of Tears” is a platform that gives you a view over a large part of Isabela Island. This conclusion of my itinerary also fascinated me. Everyone who had asked himself before, where exactly the “untouched nature” was, because there are towns, houses, paths, restaurants, tours etc., I can only recommend such a viewing platform. It was incredible to look over such a wide part of the island and see nothing but this “untouched nature”. No streets, no houses, only a countless number of different cacti and other plant species were to be seen.
All my expectations were exceeded, and I looked over the landscape of Isabela with astonished eyes and unbelievably impressed. An incredible feeling spread through me, and I felt so happy and grateful because I was allowed to see all this. No pictures could have conveyed to me before what I saw with my own eyes at that moment, so I was all the happier that I had chosen to travel to the Galapagos.
The way back to the town of Puerto Villamil took about an hour. I stopped again at the Pacific Ocean to cool off in the sea.
Then I brought my bike back, changed at the hotel and went back to the beach about 10 minutes away to watch the sunset. This impressed me once again, because the sun slowly disappeared behind the volcano “Cerro Azul” and all of Puerto Villamil glowed orange. Looking back, the trip to the “Wall of Tears” was one of my best activities in the archipelago because there was so much to see and explore while being in nature.
Day 2 - Volcano Tour and CoNcha de Perla
My volcano tour started at 7am at my hostel
“Gran Hostal Tintoreras” from there we drove with a big vehicle to
other hotels to pick up more tourists. Then we went to the volcano “Sierra
Negra” on Isabela Island. In total we walked 16 kilometers within 5 hours
– The outward and the return way had a length of 8 kilometers. The first 6
kilometers were quite easy to walk, and we had some opportunities during the
way to get a view of the “Sierra Negra”, the “black mountains”.
The last 2 kilometers of the way there, we walked through coarse black rock, so we were now in the middle of the Sierra Negra volcano, which last erupted in 2018. In general, it is recommended to put on sunscreen, wear headgear and breathable clothing, as the sun is very strong and there are hardly any shady places.
After the volcano tour, I walked to the watering hole “Concha de Perla”, this is located at the harbor of Puerto Villamil and can be reached from the city center in about 15 minutes by foot. The watering hole is also great for snorkeling and is free of charge. When I went snorkeling there, I saw a sea turtle, sea lions, sea lizards and various fish. If you are lucky, you can even see rays. After my stay at “Concha de Perla” I booked a tour at the agency “Rosedelco” for the next morning to “los túneles”. I paid 110 US dollars for the tour. Then I walked on to the beach and spent the sunset swimming in the Pacific.
Los Túneles and back to Santa Cruz
The next morning, I was picked up at 7:30 am at my hotel “Gran Hostal Tintorera” by the tour agency. With the boat we went to “los túneles”. The biggest highlight for me was to sit at the front of the boat and let my legs dangle over the railing, watching the sea animals from there and feeling the wind. On the way we stopped at another place to snorkel with sharks and other animals, after that we went to “los túneles”.
“Los túneles” are tunnels created by lava, which are filled with seawater and provide a habitat for a variety of animals. Snorkeling and walking over the tunnels was also very fascinating.
After visiting the lava tunnels, we drove back to Puerto Villamil where the tour ended. The tour included snacks, drinks, lunch, as well as snorkeling equipment, transportation, and camera pictures that we could download from the agency office after the tour. After downloading the pictures, I packed up my stuff, checked out of the hotel and walked to the port about 15 minutes away where the 3pm boat to Santa Cruz was waiting for me.
For me, Isabela Island was the most beautiful and impressive island compared to all 3 islands that I visited because you have the feeling of being very close to a diverse nature. Also, it is not as touristy as Santa Cruz and the city is smaller. I can highly recommend a visit to this island because it is simply impressive!
For my journey to Santa Cruz it was again important to have 3 US dollars with me to pay for the water cabs and a dollar entrance fee on Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz I arrived at around 5pm and stayed again in the hotel “Galapagos Dreams”.
The next day I started with a beach visit in “Tortuga Bay”, because I liked it so much there on my second day on the Galapagos Islands. I snorkeled again with baby white sharks, sea lizards, discovered a sea turtle, a ray and many different colorful fish. After my beach stay, I walked back to the hotel, changed clothes and then got ready to leave Santa Cruz Island at 3pm to go to the capital of the archipelago. My last 3 days were to be spent on the sea lion island of San Cristóbal.
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