Galapagos Islands: swimming with sharks

After our cruise, we were back in Puerto Ayora, where an entire street turns into a restaurant from 6pm and the meaty smoke of its delicious asados (BBQs) lures in locals and tourists alike.

Tortuga Bay, Isla Santa Cruz

Most people who live here are Ecuadorians whose families have lived here since colonisation, but there are a few Europeans who started migrating to the islands in the 1920s. Everyone is friendly, though, and there is a great spirit to the streets and shores of Galapagos.

For the next couple of day we made the most of Tortuga Bay, a long and crisp white beach in walking distance.

On the track to the beach, small lava lizards ran along in front of us, and a symphony of Galapagos birds, including Darwin finches, yellow Galapagos flycatchers, and the Galapagos Mockingbirds, sang to us as we walked. If it doesn’t have “Galapagos” in the title, it has “Darwin” or “lava”!

Tortoises munching in the Darwin breeding centre

The sound of crashing waves greeted us as the trees and strange, tree-shaped cactuses gave way to Tortuga Bay, its white sands and iridescent waters.

The sun was so strong here: not only were we at the beach, we were at a beach along the Equatorial line where the sun shines strongest. Thankfully, my mum’s obsession with suncream has rubbed off on me (quite literally!).

We also visited the Darwin Research Centre to learn about its tortoise breeding program. The animals of Galapagos have evolved without fear of humans, but that isn’t to say they have never been threatened by man. In 1535, Fray Tomas de Berlanga, a missionary whom the King of Spain had named Bishop of Panama, was sailing home to inform the king about lands recently conquered from the Incas when he was forced to land on the Galapagos Islands.

Galapagos Land Iguana - bright yellow during mating season

Man, the greatest predator the Galapagos have ever known, had arrived.

From the time of the buccaneers until colonisation, tortoises were hunted mercilessly (a study of whalers’ logbooks suggests that a minimum of 100,000 tortoises were taken by North American whalers alone), but even colonisation did not end the slaughter. Ecuador proclaimed their ownership of the islands in February of 1832 and settlements immediately sprung up.

"I'll have two tuna steaks, por favor!"

Resources of the Galapagos were exploited with renewed fervour: fur seals were killed for their skins; a particular variety of lichen was collected for the manufacture of dyes; sea cucumbers, prized as an aphrodisiac in the orient, were decimated.

Tortoises did not escape this latest round of profiteering. The demand for turtle meat was replaced by a market for their oil, which was used in street lamps and to light homes in Guayaquil (mainland Ecuador) until the 1930s.

The tortoise, the icon of the Galapagos (in fact the name Galapagos is derived from old Spanish word for saddle, which the tortoise shells resembles), was nearly made completely extinct by man.

Sunset with a sea lion on San Cristobal

Their original numbers, estimated to have been in the 250,000 range, were reduced to a mere 3,000 as a result of this uncontrolled hunting.

Awareness and extraordinary funding brought the Galapagos tortoise breeding program. Eggs are collected and placed in temperature-controlled incubators that determine the sex of the offspring.

Higher temperatures produce females, while cooler temperatures produce males. When their shell curve reaches 20 centimetres, the young tortoises are tagged for future identification and repatriated to their island of origin.

Old goggle-eyes underwater

However, not all efforts have been as successful. Lonesome George, the last remaining tortoise from Pinta Island, sat in an enclosure with two Española females, which are the closest to his species, genetically speaking.

Unfortunately, Lonesome George showed no propensity to mate and his species  was made extinct on 24th June 2012.

There were 8 in the bed and the little one said...

The other tortoises we saw in the centre seem unperturbed by extinction and past cruelties; they continued to munch contentedly on the thick, juicy grass and, occasionally, stuck their necks out to get a good look at us.

So what of man’s interference on the islands now? More than 200,000 people visit the islands each year, and five of the islands are inhabited by about 30,000 people. While tourist traffic is kept to a minimum (the $110 you have to pay before you step foot on the islands helps), it's still amazing to see purity of the islands so well maintained.

Me swimming with a green sea turtle

Thankfully, nearly all the islands (97% of the area) are protected by the Ecuadorian government and rules of the islands are emphatically communicated. Do not touch or disturb any plant, rock or animal. Don't feed the animals. Remain on the path. Do not startle or chase any animal. Do not be closer than 2 metres to an animal. Do not litter.

Being conscientious travellers, we of course abided by these rules, however some of the animals here have their own rules, and sticking to these parameters is sometimes very difficult indeed.

The Kicker Rock welcome crew!

Especially in San Cristobal, which we caught a speed boat to for our last few days. Here, there are sea lion slobs lounging on park benches, sea lion police men guarding police cars and sea lions blocking steps to beaches. And they definitely do not keep to the 2 meter rule – how rude!

For our last few days we snorkelled and watched sunset off the most beautiful, sea lion draped beaches. From the white sand beaches, we experienced some of the best snorkelling in the world.

Sea lions came up onto the beach to coax you into the water; the calm water made visibility almost as clear as looking through the glass of an aquarium; turtles continued to yell “Duuuude” at each other as they swam with us.

One of hundreds of sharks at Kicker Rock

On our last day, we sailed the short distance to Kicker Rock, which is a huge rock jutting out of the ocean, slowly splitting into two. Named “Kicker” because pirates thought it resembled the shape of their pirate boots.

We snorkelled toward the channel opening between the splitting rocks, instantly greeted by masses of turtles in the deep water. Then came the huge hammerhead sharks just a few metres below us – and we hadn’t even made it into the channel.

What came next was the best snorkelling I think I will do in my whole life. More than one hundred Galapagos sharks swam between us, one even swimming  less than a metre towards Med’s leg before changing his mind. Then more hammerheads came just metres away, as if they were fighting for our attention.

The fleet of Eagle Rays arrive

We were surrounded by hundreds of sharks, but I had that perfectly calm feeling I get when I’m snorkelling, despite the danger. Something about only being able to hear the static crackles of underwater life takes away my fear. Then came a flotilla of giant, spotted eagle rays – faces the same size and almost the same shape as bottle-nosed dolphins and so graceful and peaceful.

There is something about seeing more than a hundred rays and sharks around me that made my heart beat harder and slower. Everything around me just melted.

What an experience - thank you Galapagos!

By the time you arrive in Galapagos, you have stepped back in time to a place where the earth is almost untouched by humans. You have entered a dream in which you swim with penguins, sea turtles and sharks. You have gone to another planet, where the terrain is arid and you tiptoe past alien-like iguanas basking on the rocks.

And at the end of the day, when the sun settles in the middle of the glowing water, you just know you are somewhere amazing, and I didn't want that moment to end.