As a staunch Darwinist, a trip to the amazing Galapagos Islands was something I had always dreamt of. I had read so much about the revolutionary findings and research aboard the Beagle so many years ago and now I would have the chance to experience it first hand. To be honest Galapagos Islands holidays like this are fairly thin on the ground, it is such a special place and the tourism is kept under strict control. So I did my research and found a fabulous trip which combined a little time on the mainland along with a luxury yacht trip around the many fascinating archipelago. So I set off for Ecuador with a great sense of excitement and luckily met some fellow travellers at the airport who would be on the same trip. There were five of us from London, all travelling solo which is great because holidays for singles like this are hard to come by, and we immediately got on well, all bound by the same sense of adventure.

I had enjoyed a couple fantastic holidays to Peru when I was a teenager, but had not yet been to Ecuador, so when we arrived there, it was quite something to remember. Quito City is a large, noisy, and bustling with some imposing colonial architecture. The people were obviously fairly poor but generally cheerful and friendly. We did have to keep our wits about us though, especially at the huge and impressive Otavalo Market where we spent a couple fun hours haggling with the locals. My highlight was the trip out of the city to the ‘centre of the earth‘ or Mitad del Mundo, otherwise known as the Equator! This was a remarkable place to visit and water ran clockwise from one side and anti clockwise on the other. We also visited the Cotopaxi Volcano, it was stunning. So Ecuador was a great place to start and I was really happy to have experienced the madness before the tranquillity of the archipelago.

We took a short flight the following day to the small island of Baltra and after hurrying through the departure hall we finally got to step aboard the fantastic yacht which would be our home for the week ahead. I have never spent any real time on a yacht and was dying to have a look at all the facilities and a go in the Jacuzzi! Our twin cabins were very comfortable and we headed off to the island of Santa Cruz for our first experience of the magical animals; in this case the turtles and iguanas on the beautiful Las Bachas beach. There was a real sense of peace about this afternoon and it will remain with me forever; the sea lapped gently on to the warm beach and there was a gentle breeze in the trees. I could not wait for the week ahead.

The next morning we woke bright and early and ventured up on deck to watch the sunrise; this was a day which took us to Sullivan Bay where I got some spectacular photo opportunities. There is a well known rock formation which resembles a sail, and we had fabulous view followed by a chance to see the amazing tube shaped lava formations; some of these tubes were so big we could crawl inside, it was fascinating. In the evenings we relaxed and enjoyed being looked after so well by the 10 man crew, who cooked simply delicious fresh food on deck and enjoyed the company of the rest of the small group. The day spent on the largest of the islands, Isabella, was a real treat as we not only got to the highest point of the Galapagos Archipelago, Wolf Volcano 1707m with stunning views, we also were lucky enough to spot the white tipped reef sharks in the shallow water of the canal named after the sharks; the photos were really good and they were fairly close.

Probably one the highlights (and there were many) was the trip to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz. Having learnt a lot at this stage about the formation of the islands and the natural wildlife, this trip was really satisfying as it answered all the questions about the different species and the extensive research done. I really felt that not only was I having the holiday of a lifetime, I was also learning so much about the amazing world we live in. That afternoon took us up the highlands in the centre of the island where we were lucky enough to spot a couple giant tortoises in their natural habitat, just minding their own business, it was truly magical. The following day was spent sailing from the island of San Cristobel to Leon Dormido, otherwise called Kicker rock! Our journey here had quite an assault on our senses as we heard first and then saw hundreds of nesting birds; Frigates and blue footed “Boobies” which means “silly” in Spanish as there are totally unconcerned by our presence and known to make funny dance movements! We saw more of these amazing birds and many other species indigenous to the Galapagos the next day on Hood Island or Espanola, where we took to the land and followed an interesting guided wildlife trail. At Gardner Bay we stopped and I had the most memorable swim with a number of female sea lions; they were so friendly and interested in us.

The final day of our cruise was spent at Floreana, otherwise known as Charles Island which has a great water supply and therefore is very fertile with amazing plant life. We went to the north tip of the island, Punta Cormorant to see the many flamingos at the lagoon which was a vivid sight. Then in the afternoon at Post Office Bay we saw the post barrel which the original whaling ships used and learnt about the near extinction of seals and whales in the 19^th century; luckily regulations are in place now and have been for some time. As we travelled back to Quito I was sad to leave the beautiful islands behind but realised that without such regulations in place we would not have been able to spend time in such a magical place. This was really a holiday of a lifetime and I cannot recommend it enough.

Lastly, check out this baby Galapagos seal! It’s so cute.