A World Wildlife Fund Staffer’s Journal of the Galapagos Islands

By Rachel McDevitt, Development Research Specialist at World Wildlife Fund

Day One: Quito

I am currently in the air flying to Quito, Ecuador, to the Galapagos Islands. We spent yesterday touring the city, where I got to practice my Spanish, which I think is finally at the elementary school level! Quito is full of history, and our guide was so knowledgeable as she talked about the lore behind Simon Bolivar’s liberation and how he secured Ecuador’s independence in 1822.

I was tired from the flight, but the chocolate and coffee were amazingly helpful as well as delicious in their own right! Our guide explained that it will taste differently than American or European chocolate, because of where the beans are grown. The cocoa beans from Ecuador have a separate class worldwide called Arriba cocoa. In fact, Ecuador produces 70% of the fine, upper-class cocoa in the world.

Speaking of food, it’s only day one, and I’ve already tried so many new fruits, including guanábana and soursop.

The other guests alongside me on this journey are kind and funny, and everything is extremely well organized. I can’t believe we will be on a yacht soon; I hope I don’t get seasick!

Day Two: San Cristobal Island

I can’t believe it’s been 24 hours since I last wrote! We have already done so much, it feels like I’ve been here for a week. Today, we snorkeled for the first time, and I’m not kidding when I say it was the greatest day of my life. I swam with baby sea lions! They played with me in the water, although I didn’t touch them. I swear I made friends with one, since we swam together for a while. I can’t believe that is something we can do—I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.

The boat is amazing. My cabin is lovely, with a balcony view of the blue water or the stars that seem painted onto the sky. I am enjoying speaking Spanish with the crew, and I’ve made friends here as well (and it’s only day two!).

We saw so many animals today, including dancing birds, iguanas and crabs that look like they’re made of lava. I am so tired from the sun and all the activity, but I’m eager for tomorrow’s adventures.

Day Three: Floreana

We get up so early, but it’s worth it. We snorkeled at a rock with a strong current. I was afraid the sharks we saw would eat me, but, luckily, they didn’t. Instead, I saw and swam next to so many sea turtles! The guides are strict about not crowding them, which I’m glad for, but there were so many that the sea of them actually crowded us!

I’m starting to get more familiar with the fish, too, and I can mark them off in my guidebook as I see them. The boat has fish books as well for nerds like me who want to read and identify everything that we see.

Almost every animal is okay with humans, and some are even comfortable enough to get close enough to touch us! To me, this is such a testament to the conservation efforts WWWF has put forth, allowing the animals to feel safe enough to ignore all the people with cameras and go about their mating dances and territory disputes.

I had a great chat with crew members today; they and the food are amazing after all these excursions. I got to send a postcard to my grandmother through the mail designed by whalers in the 1800s. Volunteers deliver mail by hand based on where they are going, and I got two items to deliver myself!

At night we can see the Milky Way. The stars are so amazing. Tomorrow, we will camp with tortoises. I can’t wait!

Day Four: Galapagos Tortoise Camp, Santa Cruz

I am writing from a treehouse! Oh—and I forgot to mention we saw flamingos yesterday!

Today was a tortoise day. They are so cute. They remind me of cows because of how they graze and move. We visited the Darwin Research Sanctuary where we saw babies of all the subspecies of tortoises, which are different depending on the island they were discovered on. We also got to see the shell of Lonesome George, the last known individual of his Pinta Island subspecies and, at one point, considered by Guinness World Records as the world’s rarest living creature.

Then, we went to a coffee tasting at a farm in the highlands that primarily relies on tortoises to graze and fertilize their crops. I was able to pick up some tortoise coffee as a gift, which feels insane!

We then got to explore the town of Santa Cruz, where we ate lunch and shopped for souvenirs that support the local economy. I need to be careful with thinking my Spanish is too good, because I had a mix-up at lunch where I ended up ordering a second bowl of soup. But maybe that was just my subconscious (or my stomach) talking?

Day Five: Santiago

Today, I woke up with tortoises! It’s misty and cool in the highlands, which is so different from the coastal climate further down. This trip allowed us to experience the three main vegetation zones in the archipelago: the arid zone, the humid highlands and the coastal zone. This morning, I walked the grounds with coffee and watched tortoises bathe in a pool with softly falling rain.

Later, we bussed back to the coast to rejoin our catamaran. After lunch, we snorkeled with white-tip sharks, sea lions and Galapagos penguins! One of the penguins swam with me, which is incredible because they are small and fast. They nibbled a couple of swimmers, but, unfortunately, not me. Later, we hiked a volcano and took a dingy tour around the island to look for more penguins and seabirds.

Day Six: Genovesa

I woke up at 6:30 am to kayak. They were double kayaks, so I went with a fellow guest whose wife wanted to sleep in. I don’t blame her! We’ve done so much. He was very nice and paddled most of it while I birdwatched. I got to see swallow-tailed gulls court and raise their eggs. Some frigatebirds stole fish right out of other birds’ talons mid-air and sea lions napped on rocks.

Later, we snorkeled, and I was still afraid of all the sharks we saw, but I also saw a puffer fish and a barracuda! We had a wonderful lunch, and I drank coffee on the balcony off my room on the boat. Then we went on a hike, and our group got to see a humpback whale breach off the coast!

Day Seven: Santiago

It’s our last full day in paradise. We spent it snorkeling and hiking a black sand beach at 6 am. We sent off the crew with a celebratory glass of Champagne and thanked them for taking such wonderful care of us. We had an amazing final dinner with wine afterward, during which we all talked about our favorite parts of the trip.

Once we left the boat, we boarded a flight back to Quito and waited in a hotel for dinner until all of our flights home. This was truly the trip of a lifetime, and I will never forget the people I met, the animals I saw and the memories I can’t wait to tell all my friends and family when I get home!

Experience the Enchanted Isles on Nat Hab’s Galapagos Discovery adventure!