After flying into the airport in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island, we took a panga to the M/V Eric, the small Ecoventura cruise ship with room for 20 passengers plus crew, on which we spent the next 7 nights and 8 days.

A full 97% of the Galapagos islands are preserved in the Galapagos National Park. Visitors to the national park can only go to designated visitor sites, and must be with a guide. Groups of 10 take a panga or little boat to the land from the larger cruise ship. Our first stop was San Cristobal Island's Playa Ochoa, with a "wet landing" (where you have to hop off the panga into about a foot of water). We snorkeled and hung out with Galapagos sea lions. Later in the day, as the sun went down, we cruised past Leon Dormido or Kicker Rock, a massive tuff rock formation that has nesting sea birds on it.