Galapagos 2009»Tortuga Bay - Puerta Ayora - Santa Cruz

Less than an hour after breakfast we had arrived in Baltra and disembarked from the Eden for the last time. We'd hardly stepped foot on dry land before we were on our way via bus to Baltra airport. Here we were left to our own devices to make the bus journey back to Puerto Ayora then short taxi ride to our hotel The Fernandina. Our first walk into town took us past the fish market on the harbour front, where we spent a fascinating half hour or so watching the fishmongers at work with numerous local scavengers competing for any available scraps. There were pelicans, frigate birds and other sea birds along with marine iguanas and sea lions. The most amusing being the sea lion that was hoisting itself up and resting its flippers against the counter, giving the sad eye look to the fishmongers. Needless to say its efforts were not going unrewarded!


The next day, our first full day on Puerto Ayora we decided to take the 3km walk to Tortuga Bay. This took us along a stone built walk-way edged by cacti and other interesting trees and plants leading down to the beach. We spotted a few mocking birds and finches along with lots of other small birds that we could not name. It was baking hot in the morning sun but felt much cooler when we reached the beach. The picturesque beach boasted a long stretch of powder white sand and inviting turquoise sea. We had a long walk along the curve of the beach before eventually reaching the welcome shade of the mangroves and a lovely bay at the far end. There were dozens of marine iguanas shading under the mangroves and swimming along the shore line. Pelicans were diving for fish, frigate birds were flying overhead and Galapagos flycatchers were scouring the shore line. After spending some time enjoying the sea and sunshine in the bay we retraced our steps back to Puerto Ayora enjoying again the marine iguanas and bird life along the way.