Galapagos San Cristobal to Santa Cruz

There are two ways to get to Santa Cruz island, plane for $800 for all of us or a two hour bumpy speed boat ride for $100. Guess which one we took. It was a bit sketchy getting the tickets. There are tickets offices near the pier, ten minutes walking down hill and 15 minutes walking back, or do it online. I texted someone my Airbnb place recommended and was sent a photo of the bill of receipt and told to show it to someone at the docks on the boarding day.

There two boat times: 7am or 3pm. The catch is you have to show up an hour before. So we took the afternoon boat which means we lost a day for Santa Cruz. 

We checked out of the Airbnb and left luggage there for free and took a taxi to Loberia beach which is just outside of town past the airport for $4. The taxi driver said he would come pick us up in an hour and a half. 

Loberia beach is pretty and not crowded.

There are a few sea lions and marine iguanas and frigates. It was breezy there and nice. Too bad we didn't bring any swimwear or snorkel gear. We played on the sand and rocks and headed back to the malecon and the kids played on the playground, being careful not to climb on the giant tree branch. We had lunch at Umami: poke bowl, panko shrimp, and tuna tartare. 

We took a taxi back to the Airbnb to get our luggage and back to the ferry docks and sure enough my photo of a receipt got us a ticket on Andy, the speed boat to Santa Cruz. We first had to pay $1 each for a ride to the ferry which is a bit of a scam, but whatever. 

We took meclizine a few minutes before we left and we all got drowsy and fell asleep. It was a bumpy fast ride and Christine was a bit soaked on her side. The boat had three 300-hp outboard motors. 

We skirted by a small island half way there. And then we were there. All of us were drowsy. We took a ferry to the docks for $1 each of course, and I bought a snow cone for $1 to get some change and to sort myself out. I got a taxi for us to the hotel for $1.50. 

We checked in and the apartment is not exactly the same as on the Airbnb listing but it is clean, but a fifth floor walkup. But it has a pool.

We unpacked and got ready for dinner as it started drizzling. We walked 10 minutes to a pedestrian zone with lots of restaurants and chose an Italian place with gluten free pasta. We had some fried calamari which the kids did not like but at least tried, and a margarita pizza and Christine had a beef with mushroom sauce: $50.

We walked to a grocery store to get breakfast and a bakery for donuts. We spoke to a Canadian family who was on the end of their two week trip to all three main islands of the Galapagos and echoed what I suspected that everything is blending together. 

We headed home and cleaned up for the night.