Swimming with Galapagos penguins

Swimming with Galapagos penguins

I once asked Peter how often people need to get their cats trimmed. He looked at me confused. "What do you mean by that?" "To trim her fur. How often do you have to do that?" “Um, normal people don’t trim their cats.” He started laughing, amused as always at my lack of knowledge of nature–especially when it's as boring as taking care of a cat.

As a child growing up in Tower Hamlets, I never had pets, never experienced wild animals outside of a zoo, never really developed an affinity for animals. Peter has watched me cringe at overly affectionate dogs (how can you let them lick your face!?), shoo away the cutest kittens (I don't like them near my food!) and roll my eyes as a delicate finch sips water from our breakfast pitcher on Santa Cruz. In short: I am not an animal lover.

You will then understand his surprise when I explained that we absolutely had to see Galápagos penguins in the wild. There's something so unavoidably cute about these creatures that even I melted at the thought of seeing one. And so the search began.

There are no penguins on the main island of Santa Cruz, 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 for an hour without success. We tried a few other hotspots but I went home disappointed. That evening I scoured TripAdvisor and saw that other visitors had actually swum with penguins at the harbor. And so on the second day we returned to Concha de Perla, this time swimming out of the pool area and further into the sea. Again we had no luck.

At the end of the second day, Peter could see the hope in my eyes dissipating, so we bit the bullet and booked a tour to Las Tintoreras, a group of islands near the harbor where penguins are said to roam. At $90 per person, the tour was far more than we had ever paid for snorkeling, but a) we absolutely, definitely and undeniably had to see Galápagos penguins in the wild, and b) this was the Galápagos, so we had to pay a Galápagos tour premium.

On the third day we left at 8am and sailed to Las Tintoreras. We saw a few blue-footed boobies (the islands' famous bird), several sharks, sea lions and marine iguanas. And finally we saw a penguin on the rocks from afar. It was tiny; much smaller than I expected. Then it was just gone. We got in the water and had a few brief sightings. I was pleased, but wondered if these little glimpses were worth it.

And then I spotted Peter in the distance filming something on the rocks. I swam up and saw a penguin staring calmly at us. None of the other snorkelers were nearby. As cheesy as it may sound, it seemed like a moment made just for me. The penguin dove under the water, sliding in and out. I swam with it for a while and then let it fire away because I didn't want to chase it. With a scream of delight, I broke the surface of the water. It was short and sweet–and worth every cent.

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That evening, as we sat on the steps of the Hotel Paraiso de Isabela, a small kitten crawled at our feet. I reached out to pet her. Peter started laughing. “You should stroke their fur, not against it.” “Fine, you take it,” I said grumpily. Peter shook his head. "I don't buy this anti-animal act anymore. I saw how happy you were today." I scowled at him, but it immediately melted into an involuntary smile.

Those damn penguins.

The essentials

What: Snorkeling with penguins in Las Tintoreras ($90 per person), 2.5 hours

Where: Isabela Island, Galapagos. We stayed at Paraiso de Isabela, a clean and comfortable hostel run by the lovely Francisco. The WiFi is as good as in the Galápagos, drinking water is available and there are even hot showers. Francisco has a well-stocked drinks and snacks shop downstairs, and a number of restaurants are within walking distance.

When: The Galápagos Islands are great to visit all year round. Peak season is from mid-June to early September and from mid-December to mid-January. It will be difficult to find last minute deals during peak season, so you may want to visit out of season (book via skyscanner.net).

How: Take the ferry from Santa Cruz Island to Isabela, $30 per person, departing daily at 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased from agencies directly opposite the port (avoid Galápagos Mockingbird on a side street as they are known to be unreliable). Book the Las Tintoreras tour via Red Mangrove. They have a nice hotel on Isabela and are a good option for accommodation if you have a larger budget.

Note that you will likely have to pay $0.50 to $1 per person for “taxis” to take you 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 upon entry into Isabela. Ferries from Isabela back to Santa Cruz depart at 6:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and have the same cost. Tickets can be purchased at travel agencies on the main street.

Mission statement: Atlas & Boots

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