A Galapagos Adventure: San Cristobal

Charming and full of character, San Cristobal was one of the real highlights on my trip. Although much smaller than Puerto Ayora, Puerto Baquerizo is the capital of the Galapagos and a 2-hour journey by speedboat from Santa Cruz.

Puerto Baquerizo’s clear identity works in its favour. Whereas Puerto Ayora seems to be a mishmash of things that tries to cater to everyone’s tastes, Puerto Baquerizo is a sleepy fishing village.

The amazing snorkelling here has made a GoPro top of my next Christmas list. I hope you’re reading this, Mam and Dad…

Playa Baquerizo and Las Tijeretas

Frigate birds looped overhead, sea lions called to each other, and waves crashed against the huge, black, volcanic rocks. I was sharing Playa Baquerizo with more sea lions than humans. What an incredible reward for a trek that only lasted an hour.

There are many parts on the trek that will tempt you to turn back. Las Tijeritas, a hill named after the scissor-like tail of the frigate bird, was a steep climb in the midday sun, and probably the most difficult part of the trail.

After this, it was a descent through a petrified forest which took me right along the seashore. Don’t do this walk in a hurry, you’ll miss so much. I climbed over some of the rocks by the shore and found a sea lion doing its best impression of the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen. The sea lion was way more impressive.

The little mermaid in Copenhagen. A sea lion close to Playa de las Tijeretas.

Later on the walk, I got right up close to a pair of cheeky blue-footed boobies, and marine iguanas basking in the sun. I had about 3 beaches to myself where I could have stayed and sunbathed for the whole afternoon, but I couldn’t resist following the tiny black and white wooden poles to see where they’d bring me out.

And the comedy bird of the day award goes to the Blue-footed booby.

At the beach, I met a couple of interesting people – Rob, from London, who had been diving with hammerhead sharks the day before, and a guy from Washington DC who was travelling around Central and South America to get inspiration for a wanderlust café he was opening on his return home. It sounded amazing.

While we were talking, turtles would poke their heads out of the waves, like tiny leather periscopes.

If I did this again, I’d take some food and water. I’d only expected a walk up a hill to take some photos and maybe see some frigate birds. After spending two hours at the beach, the walk back was hard, as I was famished and thirsty. However, it was still pretty. I just had to down a bottle of coca-cola when I got back to the town…

Getting there

Head to the centro de interpretación to the West of the port. You can take a taxi for a couple of dollars, or just walk. From there, the route is clearly signposted.

One of the beaches on the way to Playa Baquerizo.

La Loberia 

At La Loberia, I had not only one of my best Galapagos experiences, but probably of my life. Lobo in Spanish means wolf, but there are no wolves. Here, it means sea lion. Loberia, therefore, is sea lion beach.

I’m sitting in a café right now (sand gets in the keyboard if you take your computer to the beach), but as I wrote this in my notebook, I was about 6 feet away from a group of female sea lions with their pups, burping and moaning at each other. Occasionally, one of the burps would offend the other one and the teeth came out. There were confrontations, but no biting. Which was a relief. They’re much cuter with their mouths closed.

Meters away from La Loberia’s sea lions.

The main reason La Loberia is popular is the snorkelling. After doing it here, it did make me wonder why I’d spent $100 on a tour just two days earlier – it was incredible.

My first taste of snorkelling was a sea lion lying on its back, sunning itself on the surface of the water. It let me get right up close, but I don’t think it had any intention of swimming. Never mind. A couple of guys I met on the beach told me if I swam further out, I’d be able to see more tropical fish and even turtles. After a few minutes further out, one of them excitedly pointed downwards.

A beautiful, green sea turtle was grazing on algae, with an army of fish around it. I stopped swimming and floated directly above it. With only the sound of my breathing tube, it felt as if time had stopped. Every so often, the turtle would flap one of its huge fins and propel itself to the next plant. I stayed here for ages, awestruck and letting the sun warm my back.

I decided the turtle had probably had enough of me blocking its sunlight, so I decided to head closer to the shore and try my luck with the sea lions again. That day, there was a yellow flag and the current was strong. At first, I thought one of the huge rocks had been dislodged and blown right in front of me. On closer inspection, it was another turtle. I managed to dodge getting a face full of shell and eventually made it back to the shallower waters, and I was in luck.

It’s hard to believe that you can get so close to a wild animal.

Here, two female sea lions were playing and swimming together. They gracefully moved through the water, their bodies intertwining with each other and almost melting into one. Like a lot of the wildlife I’ve seen here, they’re clumsy on land but in their natural habitat, beautiful. They were two dancers putting on a show. And it was an interactive show. At one point, one of the creatures’ whiskers were inches away from brushing my face. I had to pinch myself to be reminded that these were wild animals.

This special and unforgettable experience ended when I heard a volley of honks just metres away. You may have noticed I’ve only referenced getting close to females and pups so far – that’s because male sea lions are much bigger, extremely territorial, and they don’t like anyone near their females.

In a fight with this scary bastard, there was only going to be one winner, so I accepted defeat and headed back up onto the beach. After half an hour in the sun with covered in factor 20. I turned a shade now known as ‘devilish red.’ Looking back, maybe I should have taken my chances with the sea lion. I’d probably be in less pain than I am now.

Getting there

La Loberia isn’t clearly signposted if you’re walking. However, pick up a map and follow Calle Azogues towards the airport. Keep following this road all the way to the coast and you can’t miss it. Alternatively, take a taxi from the port. It should cost around $5.

Sea lion pups playing in the shallow waters of La Loberia.