My time in the Galápagos islands is coming to a close, so I figured it was about time to post the next installment of my now world famous series, Hot Tips for Ecuador.
1.) Set your watch to "island time"
Things here in Galápagos move at a much slower pace. Ecuadorians in general are not well known for their punctuality, and that is only intensified by the island lifestyle. It really is a frustrating place to live, everyone is perpetually late by about 45 minutes, and you just have to get used to the fact that it can sometimes take a whole day just to accomplish a simple task like getting money out of the bank. The same goes for work ethic, that is to say, it doesn't exist here. Shops and businesses open and close on their own schedule. I have walked into a store here prepared to buy something, only to have the owner say to me "sorry, we're closing" and then seen him cross the street to sit and have drinks with a buddy. People often open up their stores in the morning, walk inside, and put up their "closed" sign. Weekends are a whole other story; you might think that in a touristy place, things like restaurants and tourist shops would be open, but sadly that is not the case. All day long Saturday and Sunday the entire town here shuts down, and there are probably no more than 10 places open, making it very difficult for those of us who work during the week. If you want to survive here, some good tips would be to simply plan about double the time you think you would need into your schedule, and always try to do things ahead of time, because it will probably take longer than you expect.
2.) Get up close and personal with the animals
I have a secret to tell... Galápagos does not have the "best" wildlife in Ecuador. In fact there are places that have much more diversity in fauna and flora, but there is one thing about Galápagos that makes the best place to view wildlife in Ecuador. That is the unique situation the animals here are in, in that they have no natural predators. This has led to an evolutionary pattern in which the animals here never developed a fear for large mammals. It is for this reason alone being in Galápagos is like no other place on earth. You can walk down the street here and trip over sea lions and marine iguanas if you're not careful, the finches will come land on your head, and you can approach within one meter of any of the animals here without having them flinch. It's really something else to be able to be surrounded by such amazing animals in a very intimate sense, so take advantage of it!
3.) Take the plunge
Galápagos has been rated by several scuba organizations as the best place the world to dive, and based on my experience, it doesn't disappoint. Whether you are a scuba diver, or you just choose to snorkel, exploring the underwater life in Galápagos is an absolute must. The islands are famous not for their amazing variety of tropical fish (of which there are plenty), but for their abundance of large marine animals. The waters here are full of sharks, rays, sea lions, and turtles. Just in my two scuba dives I managed to see hammerhead sharks, reef sharks, manta rays, sting rays, eagle rays, pacific green turtles, hawksbill turtles, and sea lions. The waters here are cold, but it's well worth the chill.
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