I wasn’t going to go. It was too far, too expensive. But as I sat on a beach in Peru pondering my next steps and deciding how best to spend my remaining month and money, I remembered a friend’s words “its like nowhere else”. So I threw caution to the wind and got on the phone to book myself a berth on a boat exploring Ecuador’s incredible Galapagos Islands.

Much of the Island’s wildlife is only found on the Galapagos and there is so much of it you have to take care not to step on a giant sunbathing iguana, disturb a sleeping fur seal or swim into an acrobatic penguin. All the guides on the Galapagos Islands are from the islands and have an incredible wealth of knowledge about the wildlife, planet life and fascinating geological history. They are strict about keeping visitors to the laid out paths so that wildlife is not unduly disturbed and I loved the sense that we were being allowed a little peek into a world so untouched by humans.

My favourite wildlife spots were the funny-looking Blue-footed Boobies, the ancient Galapagos Tortoises, Lava lizards, Galapagos Penguins (the only penguin species to live north of the equator) Magnificent Frigatebird, and my absolute favourite the rainbow coloured Sally Lightfoot Crabs! Frequent snorkelling trips meant I also got to see sharks, turtles, manta rays, butterflyfish, surgeonfish, and seahorses.

If I have one regret its that I didn’t stay for longer. I was only there for 5 days and there are so many islands to see and they are spread out over a huge distance. A week or 10 days would allow you to see a wider variety of islands and wildlife. But despite it being a short trip it was without doubt one of the highlights of South America and truly like nowhere else I’ve been.

This is how I saw it…

Fancy seeing the Islands with your own eyes? This camp and kayak Galapagos trip is a wonderful way to see the extraordinary wildlife of the Galapagos.