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Rob found us fantastic flights to Mexico which also meant a chance to stay in Aruba for two nights. It was really interesting to see the third of the ABC islands this trip. It was really fun jumping back on the small DiviDivi airplanes to island hop via Curacao to Aruba. Especially when we were the only ones transiting which meant standing on the tarmac at Curacao while the place refilled with fuel and passengers. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience. In Aruba we stayed a bit out of the main tourist strip of Palm Beach at a little place called Coconut Inn and from here used out time to explore Palm Beach, drive up to the light house, walk around the capital and enjoy a snorkel. All in all it was very much more a touristy island than Bonaire and Curacao and the beaches were full with a different type of vacationer. In Bonaire they were barely any sun bathers, and the majority are people putting on dive gear and heading off to explore. The beaches were really pretty and stretched for as far as we could see. The pool at the Coconut Inn also got a lot of use though not from me as I had cut my toe when we were up at the lighthouse ☹️ Next stop is Mexico and a pit stop on route in Santa Domingo to change planes.
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We loved Bonaire so much on our first trip it was amazing to come back.- it is absolutely the best shore diving and snorkeling place in the world. There are about 100 different dive sites around the island and most also a fantastic snorkel. We hired a house here on the waterfront for the duration. All we had to do for a swim/snorkel was walk across the road and we were in a sea so clear and often such an ideal temperature. It was 30+ degrees every day and the water was 28-29 degrees the majority of the time. Highlights of our time were:
After the travel of the last two months the islands of Curacao and Bonaire were our “holiday” travel time. Both we had been to and loved in 2017 and it was exciting to be going back. Curacao was our first stop for 5 nights. We spent our time visiting our favourite spots from our first trip and spending a bit more time in Willemstad the capital. One of our first mayst does was watching the Rugby World Cup final in an Italian pub themed for Halloween. Not the result we hoped for but a great atmosphere as the pub/pizzeria was filled with the Curacao rugby club supporters. Most of which seemed to be hoping for an ABs win. Other highlights in our next four days included:
’ll start by saying I should have written this at the time. We left the Galapagos a week ago and it already feels like a long time - but time also gives perspective and it’s hard to believe how much we saw and got to experience. The standout was the mass of wildlife absolutely everywhere. On our first afternoon we took a walk down to the Puerto Ayora waterfront and within the space of ten minutes had seen small marine iguanas, pelicans, sea lions, red crabs, blue footed boobies and frigate birds. It was surreal. And it set the tone of everyday to come. On our night walk along the pier we then also saw many black tipped sharks, rays, a turtle and more sea lions and pelicans. Highlights of each day included: Day 2 - Rob’s amazing dive with hammerheads, manta rays, huge turtles, Galapagos shark and many more 🐠 . While Rob was away diving the girls and I walked out to Tortuga Bay which was an amazing beach and we got to swim with the marine iguanas. Day 3 - we headed inland to walk the sunken crater rims at Los Gemelos Twin Craters and see the giant tortoises at El Chato Ranch. It was amazing to see such old (150 years plus) creatures slowly going about their business (eating grass, sleeping). Day 4 - we went to the Charles Darwin Centre to see the turtle hatchery and sadly to see Lonesome George who was the last of his species. We also had a fun swim at the beach next there. Day 5 - we took a taxi to explore Playa El Garrapatero and enjoyed another great swim and snorkel. We then headed back to watch the All Blacks RWC semi final win. Day 6 - all of us returned to Tortuga Bay so Rob could also see this amazing beach and the large marine iguanas that scatter the beach. Day 7 - a very choppy 2 hour inter island boat transfer to San Cristobal. Day 8 - we headed to Playa Mann and Point Carole beach. If we thought we had seen sea lions on Santa Cruz we were greeted by them in their hundreds in San Cristobal- they were on every beach and it was always a surprise when you were suddenly too close as they popped out of the water, or moved and weren’t the rock you thought they were. We then spent dusk snorkelling at Puerto Liberia to the other side of the airport and enjoyed swimming with our first turtle of the trip. Day 9 - we taxied out to El Junco to walk up to the sunken crater with the only significant fresh water lake in the Galapagos. Frigate Birds come up here to clean the salt off their wings and we were lucky enough to see this a couple of times when the mists/clouds cleared. From here we headed out to Puerto Chino for a snorkel. It was a beautiful beach but we did have to shelter from the rain here for a bit. Day 10 - we braved the long winding lava rocks walk out over Frigate Bird hill and along to Playa Baquerizo. There was a lot of complaining from me along this hard 3km walk but it was worth it as we had the beach to ourselves and watched so many marine turtles enjoy the bay. One popped its head up for air every 5 minutes or so. On our last night on the Galapagos we enjoyed a final walk along the waterfront taking in the mass of sea lions and their young. So cute, not sure how we got away without Sophia adopting one After Otavalo it was back south to Quito. At 3000 feet above sea level it was easily exhausting so we took day one slow with a visit to the nearby National Museum - it was surreal visiting as there were so few people visiting. We were easily out numbered by staff and security. |
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