We sailed the 40nm to the next island along called Santa Cruz which lies at the heart of the archipelago. This is the commercial capital of Galapagos and felt a lot busier than the laidback and friendly San Cristobal. All the tour boats were anchored in the harbour looking forlorn as most of them have not moved for six months. The anchorage is south facing and is open to the southerly Pacific swell which means it feels like we are at sea rolling around even though we are anchored, which is somewhat disappointing! Any excuse to get off the boat and explore then!
We’ve done a great hike to Las Grietas and Tortuga Bay beach which was stunning and practically deserted. We did have to share it with a few iguanas and sea turtles.
The Darwin research centre provided a great location for school one day as we are doing a project on Galapagos animals and Darwin’s trip on HMS Beagle. There is nothing like the boys writing all they know about giant tortoises and then running to watch them in their break time. There is no one here so the animals are really alert to our presence and even walk towards us to stare!
We’ve also found a delightful little library and the boys are enjoying all the children’s books in Spanish. It’s a great resource for facts on all the amazing animals.
Halls Aboard - Sailing Kathryn del Fuego 
Thank you for sharing your incredible journey! I’m dipping in to your blog to follow you around the world with my daughter. Now at age 5 she is fascinated by geography, countries, animals and travel so it’s a delight to be able to share these adventures with her through your eyes.
How wonderful that you are able to see the animals of the Galápagos Islands first hand. It all looks stunningly beautiful and must be such an incredible learning experience and adventure for the boys.
We look forward to continuing to follow your journey and wish you fair winds!
– Joanna (Dom’s sister)
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Hi Joanna and it’s great to hear from you and that you and your gorgeous daughter are enjoying the countries and animals – the boys are too! Next hop is to the Marquesas and I’m sure that will be stunning when we arrive but we will enjoy the magical Galapagos for a little bit longer.
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