Galapagos Islands
I didn’t plan this trip far in advance. I wanted to go scuba diving, found a boutique hotel in Santa Cruz, and booked it. Four days. Spontaneous and worth every second.
Getting there was the first sign that the Galápagos takes itself seriously. Before we could deplane, they sprayed disinfectant through the cabin — with all of us still sitting in our seats. Then our shoes were disinfected on the way out. I’d never experienced anything like it, but it made complete sense. This is a place worth protecting.
My driver from the airport made an unexpected pit stop on the way to the hotel, and that set the tone for everything that followed. That’s where I saw the giant tortoises for the first time. I wasn’t prepared for how big they are, how many there were, or how close we could get. It was one of those unplanned moments that ends up being the thing you talk about most.
Santa Cruz is walkable and easy to navigate. I used Google Maps, grabbed snacks from convenience stores, had dinner outside at The Rock one night, and stumbled into a waterfront restaurant another night where I was the only person there. Language barrier, warm staff, ocean view. No complaints. I also walked to the fishing pier and found seals lounging at the fish market like they owned it — because they kind of do.
The scuba diving didn’t quite go as planned. My guides recommended snorkeling instead, since most of the wildlife were closer to the surface. I went with it. The boat tour included lunch, and that’s where things took a turn. I’m fairly certain it was the fresh fruit. By that evening I was back at the hotel, convinced I was going to die alone in a boutique room in the Galápagos.
I’ll spare you most of the details, but here’s what I will tell you: it was coming out of both ends, I ended up on the bathroom floor because it was more efficient than running back and forth to the bed, and you cannot flush anything down the toilet there, which made the whole situation significantly more dramatic. I ran out of water but couldn’t make it out of the room to the fountain. I eventually passed out on the bed, completely dehydrated, and slept for an entire day.
I woke up on the other side of it, a little hollowed out but intact. My last stop before heading home was the hatchery tour. I missed the English language tour and ended up on the Spanish one, filling in the gaps with context clues and whatever Spanish I could piece together. I understood enough.
The chaos didn’t end there. On the way home, we had a short layover and I got off the plane when the engines shut down. Seemed reasonable. I exited security, started looking around, and slowly realized something was off. I made my way to the check-in counter and they told me the plane was departing in 15 minutes. They called the gate agent, who rushed me back through security and onto the plane just before the door closed. When I walked on board the flight attendant looked at me and laughed — apparently you’re not supposed to deplane during a layover there. We don’t do that in the US, so I genuinely had no idea. We had a good laugh about it.
None of it overshadowed the trip. The Galápagos earns its reputation. Go. Just maybe skip the fresh fruit on the boat.
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