Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
Close up of a Giant Tortoise.

Galapagos Islands 4 Day Cruise: Photos and Locations

So, after sharing what photo gear I packed to the Galapagos, it’s time to get to the fun stuff.  This is my first on location video from the Galapagos Islands.  As you may know, I was a part of a big campaign by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism called “Feel Again”.  Part of the project was to bring in artists, photographers, and filmmakers to Ecuador and film them as a part of the documentary.

I’ve decided to make a massive blog post from the entire 4 day cruise on the Galapagos Islands. This is essentially how much you can pack into just 4 days here. It’s incredible.

Day 1 – Santa Cruz

This particular entry is from our first day on assignment to the islands.  On day 1, we flew from Quito to Baltra Island and then hoped over Santa Cruz.  Over there, we’d visit a Lava Cave, then watch the beautiful Giant Tortoises grazing in the highlands.  Check it out below.

 

About Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz is the most populated island on the Galapagos Islands.  It is also home to Puerto Ayora which has a population of about 25,000 people.  This island, which is still very much protected for wildlife and nature, hosts a significant amount of human activity as well.  Beyond the town, we also visited a farm and a sugar cane plantation.

From a wildlife and geography standpoint, the climate is far wetter than other islands in the Galapagos.  In fact, much of the island is rain and cloud forest.  Up in the highlands, at around 700 meters above sea level, there are farms where the Giant Tortoise graze and are completely wild.  Along the coast, there are sea lions and other sea birds.  In fact, in many of the hostels and hotels in Puerto Ayora, the sea lions will come right up and relax on their lawn chairs and dip into their pools.

Some Photos from Santa Cruz Island

We were really only on Santa Cruz Island for a half day, and I really think that’s all you need as a tourist before jumping on a boat to explore the islands.  These are some of the photos from that day.

Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
Lava Cave on Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
Found a Giant Tortoise on the road.
Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
Close up of a Giant Tortoise.
Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
“Do you mind? I’m eating!!”
Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
Such beautiful dinosaurs.
Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
A finch in the green foliage. The light was beautiful.
Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
The owner of a sugar cane plantation stands in his field.
Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
Our boat the Gran Natalia operated by Galapagos Odyssey.

Galapagos Islands Day 2: Espanola Island

After a pretty rough night at sea, our “Feel Again” team arrived on Española Island just after sunrise.  The last time I visited the Galapagos Islands, Española Island was actually my favourite destination.  I loved the beautiful landscapes, the soft white-sand beaches, and how the sea lions would seemingly play with you on the beach and in the dive locations nearby.  This trip, too, was amazing.  We started off by visiting Suarez Point, then in the afternoon we went for a snorkel, and then ended the day by heading to Gardner Bay where I got the chance to shoot some landscape photos.

Check out the video and images from Española Island below.

 

About Suarez Point

I was a little bit disappointed that we got to Suarez Point a bit late to shoot sunrise photos.  I thought the landscape and the cool yellow lighthouse would have made a great photo.  However, the rough seas meant that we arrived late.  But, quickly after arriving at Suarez Point, I forgot about sunrise and fell in love with the wildlife sightings.  Here, we saw Nazca (Masked) Boobies, Blue-Footed Boobies, Marine Iguanas, Lava Lizards, Albatross, and of course a number of Sea Lions. There is a great trail that goes around the Suarez Point area and takes about 2 hours to walk.  However, since we were working we spent about 5 1/2 hours shooting in the area.

Photos from Suarez Point

Since it was our first location, I kind of overshot Suarez Point a bit.  I also think that I wasn’t focused on a photography goal.  Rather, I was just photographing animals, rather than trying to make images.  Thus, this was the place I shot the most images, and probably walked away with the fewest I really like.  Here are some of the ones I liked, though.

Suarez Point, Galapagos Islands
A lava lizard!
Suarez Point, Galapagos Islands
A couple marine iguana warming up in the sun.
Suarez Point, Galapagos Islands
A baby sea lion hanging out on the beach.
Suarez Point, Galapagos Islands
Portrait of a Marine Iguana. Love how close I can get with the 100-400mm lens!
Suarez Point, Galapagos Islands
Nazca Booby pair on the cliffs.
Suarez Point, Galapagos Islands
Beautiful blue-footed booby.
Suarez Point, Galapagos Islands
A group of Albatross on the flats of Suarez Point.
Suarez Point, Galapagos Islands
Waves crashing on the rocks.
Suarez Point, Galapagos Islands
A couple marine iguanas on the rocks over the cliffs.
Suarez Point, Galapagos Islands
The lighthouse of Suarez Point.

About Gardner Bay

If Gardner Bay were in a non-protected location, like the Caribbean, it would be a beach-goers dream.  I have never been anywhere on the planet where the sand is so soft.  It’s almost like cooking flour.  It really is amazing. Anyways, we got here an hour before sunset and I got the chance to get some cool images of the sea lions and the landscape here.  One of my favourite moments of the entire trip to the Galapagos was just sitting on the beach photographing a baby sea lion with beautiful sky behind it. There are companies that offer amazing travel experiences (such as the National Geographic Galapagos tours offered by IfOnly.com) so I’d highly recommend you check them out.

Photos from Gardner Bay

My goal on Gardner Bay was to get a couple images that melded the wildlife with the landscapes.  I think I was fairly successful with these sea lion photos.  I also got a couple more classic  landscape images there too.

Gardner Bay, Galapagos Islands
A baby sea lion all rolled up in sand to keep cool.
Gardner Bay, Galapagos Islands
A sea lion yawns on Gardner Bay.
Gardner Bay, Galapagos Islands
A sea lion poses for the camera at sunset.
Gardner Bay, Galapagos Islands
Such beautiful landscapes on Gardner Bay.
Gardner Bay, Galapagos Islands
Nap time for a sea lion!
Gardner Bay, Galapagos Islands
One of my favourite landscape shots from the Galapagos Islands.

Galapagos Islands Days 3 & 4: Santa Fe, Plazas, and North Seymour Islands

By Day 3 on the Galapagos Islands, I was tired and running on pure adrenaline.  We were literally out shooting from 6am to 6pm everyday.  We were up at 430am each day, and were up until about 10pm.  And, even when we weren’t out shooting, we were in our rooms dumping photo and video files, backing up our files, and, of course, trying to find time to eat as well.

And well we were busy, we were also in this strange state of calm and content.  We were all just so pleased with the adventure in the Galapagos Islands, and the images and footage we were getting as a part of the “Feel Again” project, that you couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces.  And yes, we were tired, but we were the ones pushing the hours.  The Galapagos Islands are such a special location that you don’t want to waste a second of your time there.

On day 3, we arrived at Santa Fe Island just after sunrise.  Then, we went for a bit of a kayak and snorkel before heading to Plazas Island for the afternoon and sunset.  On day 4, we spent the morning on North Seymour Island.  Below is the video, information, and photography from each of those islands.

 

About Santa Fe Island

For me, Santa Fe was probably the island I got the least out of.  We saw a land iguana, sea lions, lava lizards, and some of those colourful Galapagos crabs.  But, aside from a couple shots of the crabs that I like, I didn’t get any great images from here. That said, Santa Fe is special.  You have these amazing cactus that, as Scott Pommie, another member of our Galapagos Team, put it, look like a mix of Joshua Trees and Cactus.  It is a beautiful place.  It was here too that I almost stepped on a snake before it scurried off into the shrubs.

Photos from Santa Fe Island

As I mentioned, I didn’t come away with too many images from Santa Fe.  But, I obviously did take a couple photos regardless.

Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
A sea lion wanders the beach on Santa Fe Island.
Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
Sleeping logs.
Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
The colours on these crabs were amazing!!!
Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
A gull chilling on the rocks.

About Plazas Island

Plazas Island was the first island I visited on my first trip to the Galapagos Islands. It is one of the most visually stunning island in the archipelago.  The colours on Plazas Island are just fantastic.  Again, I don’t really think I got too many images here.  But, it’s all about quality and not quantity and I got a couple shots of land Iguanas and the stunning landscapes that I really like.  In general, Plazas Island is quite small, and you can walk around the trail in about an hour.

Photos from Plazas Island

I continued my goal of trying to get a diverse portfolio of imagery from the Galapagos Islands.  So, here I tried to get a mix of wildlife, landscapes, and images that showed the meld of wildlife enjoying the landscapes.

Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
Beautiful Plazas Island landscape.
Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
A Land Iguana in the colourful grasses.
Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
I love the melding of colourful brush, desert, and sea.
Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
Cactus and seas.
Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
A Land Iguana enjoying the dusk light.
Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
One of the coolest landscapes in the world.
Santa Fe Island, Galapagos Islands
The lava rock coast at dusk.

About North Seymour Island

This was the final island we visited before heading back to Baltra Island for the flight back to Quito.  Here we saw land iguanas, and crabs, but the real stars of the islands were the frigate birds and the blue-footed boobies.  Thanks to the fact that we were on assignment, rather than a typical tour of the Galapagos Islands, we got a lot of time to photograph the birds here.  I got some of my favourite photos of blue-footed boobies here.  I can’t say how nice it was to not feel rushed here on the islands.

Photos from North Seymour Island

The name of the game here was birds, and that’s exactly what I photographed.  I spent a solid 45 minutes with a blue-footed booby family, watched a male booby do it’s mating dance, and got some more abstract close up images of a beautiful single male booby as well.  I did photograph some of the frigate birds as well, but the scene was a bit messy to get really great images there.

North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands
A blue-footed booby doing its dance.
North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands
Such beautiful birds! And great models.
North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands
Papa and its chick.
North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands
Baby booby calling out to mama.
North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands
Headshot of a Blue-footed Booby.
North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands
I spent about 20 minutes with this bird trying to catch this image and the next one.
North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands
Love the textures of this image.
North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands
A frigate bird chick. What a tennis ball!
North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands
A male frigate bird calling down a potential female mate.

More from the Galapagos??

Basically, I’m done with on location videos from the Galapagos Islands.  However, I do have a in-the-field review of the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS Version ii lens I tested on this assignment.  I was really happy with that lens, and the review is coming soon.  In real time, I’m actually in Cuba exploring, and will of course have a number of articles from here soon too.