Swimming with Galápagos penguins

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I once asked Peter how often people have to make their cats trim. He looked at me confused. "What do you mean by that?" "To shorten your fur. How often do you have to do that?" "Um, normal people don't trim their cats." He started laughing, amused as always about my lack of natural knowledge - especially if it is so boring how to take care of a cat.

As a child who grew up in Tower Hamlets, I never had pets, have never experienced wild animals outside of a zoo, never really developed an affinity for animals. Peter has observed how I joined in front of too attached dogs (how can you allow you to lick your face!?), The sweetest kitten die (I don't like it near my food!) And roll my eyes while a delicate Fink water sips from our breakfast mug on Santa Cruz. In short: I'm not an animal lover.

You will understand his surprise when I explained that we absolutely had to see Galápagos penguins in the wild. These creatures have something so inevitably sweet that even I melted at the thought of seeing one. And so the search began.

There is no penguins on the main island of Santa Cruz and so we sailed west to Isabela, one of the least developed and most beautiful of the four inhabited islands. On the first day we visited Concha de Perla, a natural pool at the port of Isabela. We snorkeled without success for an hour. We tried a few other hotspots, but I went home disappointed. That evening I searched Tripadvisor and saw that other visitors had actually swum with penguins at the harbor. And so we returned to Concha de Perla on the second day, this time swam out of the pool area and further into the sea. Again we were not lucky.

At the end of the second day, Peter could see how the hope in my eyes dissolved, and so we should bite a tour to Las Tintoreras, an archipelago near the port, on the penguins. With $ 90 per person, the tour was far more than we had ever paid for snorkeling, but a) we absolutely had to see Galápagos penguins in the wild, and b) These were the Galápagos, so we had to pay a Galápagos tour premium.

On the third day we broke up at 8 a.m. and sailed to Las Tintoreras. We saw a couple of blue -footed oils (the famous bird of the islands), several sharks, sea lions and sea lips. And finally we saw a penguin on the rock from afar. It was tiny; much smaller than I expected. Then it was just gone. We got into the water and had a few short sightings. I was pleased, but wondered if these little insights were worth the money.

And then I discovered Peter in the distance how he filmed something on the rock. I swam up and saw a penguin who stared at us. None of the other snorkelers were nearby. As cheesy as it may sound, it seemed like a moment that was only made for me. The penguin dipped under water, slid into and out. I swam with it for a while and let it go because I didn't want to hunt it. I broke through the water surface with a delighted outcry. It was short and flush - and worth every cent.

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When we were sitting on the steps of the Hotel Paraiso de Isabela that evening, a little kitten crawled at our feet. I stretched out my hand to stroke it. Peter started laughing. "You should stroke her fur, not against it." "Well, you take them," I said grumpy. Peter shook his head. "I don't buy this anti-animal act anymore. I saw how happy you were today." I looked at him darkly, but it immediately merged into an involuntary smile.

These damn penguins.

The essentials

what: snorkeling with penguins in Las Tintoreras ($ 90 per person), 2.5 hours

Where: Islands Isabela, Galápagos. We stayed in the Paraiso de Isabela, a clean and comfortable hostel, which is run by the gracious Francisco. The WLAN is as good as on Galápagos, drinking water is available and there is even warm showers. Francisco has a well -stocked shop for drinks and snacks below, and a number of Restaurants can be reached on foot.

When: The Galápagos Islands are great to visit all year round. The main season is from mid -June to early September and from mid -December to mid -January. It will be difficult to find last-minute offers during the high season, so maybe you should drop by outside of the season (book via skyscanner.net).

like: Take the ferry from the island of Santa Cruz to Isabela, $ 30 per person, departure daily at 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Tickets can be bought from agencies directly opposite the port (avoid Galápagos Mockingbird in a side street because they are known as unreliable). Book the Las Tintoreras Tour via Red Mangrove. You have a nice hotel on Isabela and are a good option for accommodation if you have a bigger budget.

Note that you will probably have to pay $ 0.50 to $ 1 per person for "taxis", which you will bring from the shore to the ferry in Santa Cruz and from the ferry to the shore in Isabela. In addition, a tax of $ 5 per person is charged when entering Isabela. Ferries from Isabela back to Santa Cruz leave at 6:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and are subject to the same costs. Tickets can be bought in travel agencies on the main street.

Mission statement: Atlas & Boots 
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