Lewis the Lion waits for the aeroplane to depart
Visiting the Galapagos Islands seemed like the stuff of dreams and Lewis the Lion had to pinch himself: he couldn’t believe he was actually going! He felt like the luckiest little lion on the planet.
Isabelle, the travel agent at the hostel had been wonderful at sorting out the best adventure possible within Helen and Lewis’ budget. To be honest this was pushing the boat out quite literally as far as expenditure goes but Lewis the Lion saw this as a once in a lifetime opportunity that was not to be missed. That was because the Galapagos Islands are one of the planet’s unique habitats for wildlife. So unique that the scientist, Charles Darwin came up with his Theory of Evolution there when he visited the islands in the 1830s. Therefore they were bound for a five day cruise around the more westerly, volcanic Galapagos Islands: a place where the animals had no fear of you getting up close. In fact, many a time Lewis the Lion felt like they were positively inviting you to take pictures!
The night before he left, Lewis the Lion got even more excited about their visit as he snuggled up in bed and watched a fabulous BBC documentary series: ‘Galapagos’ on You Tube. How the animals survived and adapted was just fascinating!
If you would like to see these documentaries too, click here to take you to You Tube to show you the first one of three.
Lewis arrives at Guayaquil airport
So, the next morning after a good breakfast, Lewis the Lion and Helen excitedly took a taxi to Guayaquil’s airport. Outside the departures entrance, Lewis stood on a bridge overlooking a pond full of huge carp fish. There seemed to be hundreds of them…and this was just a tiny taster of the animal life that awaited him in the Galapagos National Park.
Lewis checks in his luggage in the departures lounge
At the airport there were a series of checks for passengers visiting the Galapagos.
Lewis has to pay for his luggage to be security checked
They had to pass all their luggage and belongings through a special quarantine scanner which cost $10.
Quarantine inspection for goods entering the Galapagos Islands
They also had to read and sign a declaration stating their purpose for visiting the islands
A detailed form for tourists entering the Galapagos Islands
and saying how they would respect all the rules of the islands e.g. they would stick to the marked pathways and not take anything off the island, such as plants, shells or volcanic rock. See the photo for more details.
The Galapagos Islands National Park rules for tourists
Lewis the Lion was flying for the first time with an airline he had never flown before: Aero Galápagos which specialised in flights to the Galapagos.
At the Galapagos Air check-in desks
He loved boarding flights that had bilingual signs displayed: that way he could improve his Spanish!
Lewis reads the inflight magazine – Nuestro Mundo – Our World
What was interesting about this particular two and a half hour flight, taking them 600 miles west into the Pacific Ocean, was that before landing, the air stewardesses came around spraying the cabin and overhead lockers with insecticide. They couldn’t risk carrying unknown varieties of insects onto the island as it might effect the precious eco-system.
The air-hostesses spray the plane with insecticide before landing
Lewis the Lion nearly jumped out of his seat for joy when he got his first glimpse of the islands from the sky.
Across the wing, Lewis gets his first sight of the Galapagos Islands
There seemed to be lots of purple strewn islands set in a navy-coloured sea. However, as the plane landed on the military island of Baltra, yellow scrubland came into view and Lewis the Lion wondered what kind of wildlife might be living there?
The first thing that hit Lewis the Lion as he came down the aeroplane steps was the heat and humidity. It was somewhat overcast as if it needed to rain.
Lewis is welcomed to the Galapagos Islands
On arrival, all tourists passing through customs needed to hand in their declaration form and pay a $100 entrance fee into the National Park. This seemed like a lot of money but the truth is, there is debate on the islands if there should be tourists at all as they risk damaging the unique environment if there is too many.
Tourists need to pay a US $110 entrance fee to the islands
For this reason, all tourists need to be accompanied by an official Galapagos tour guide which in Lewis the Lion’s case was Ivan, a marine biologist with a extraordinary knowledge of the Galapagos Islands. After passing through customs Lewis the Lion also made sure that Helen went back to have her passport stamped! Here is a photo of the stamp which shows a giant tortoise.
The Galapagos National Park stamp in Helen’s passport
Read more about them in one of Lewis the Lion’s next blogs!
Debate Time!
The Galapagos Islands are one of Ecuador’s biggest attractions even though the high prices try to deter tourists from visiting. Human presence on the islands has done huge damage to the fragile ecosystem. Do you still think tourists should still be able to visit the islands? Why or why not? What should be done to protect the islands’ delicate wildlife? (Lewis the Lion will discuss some measures being taken in his next blogs).
