We enjoyed our brief visit to the Galapagos Islands. We’re glad we went. For us though, it wasn’t money well spent.

I can’t really recommend going. At least not if you’re just a tourist, like we were. Maybe if you are a true naturalist who has read and studied about the islands forever and just have to see red-footed boobies, well OK. But in that case, plan ahead, hire the best level-three naturalist you can find, hope that your itinerary and guide aren’t changed on you at the last minute, don’t go during the summer, and expect to spend a lot of money.

We’re not naturalists. We didn’t plan ahead. We were in a group, with an itinerary chosen by a travel agent. We were there in high season, not because it is the best time to go, but because it’s summer vacation, because, well, we were going to be in Ecuador anyway… The truth is, we didn’t put any energy into planning the trip and got out about equal to what we put in. Well, almost. The trip was too expensive for the value received.

The problem is that the mystique of “The Galapagos Islands” creates a huge demand for tourism (from people like us who don’t even really know what they’re looking at). So tour operators and guides fill the demand, even if capacity is exceeded. The resulting experience can be disappointing, as ours was.

Although I joked about it before going, I think maybe we should have just rented the DVD. I’ll bet you National Geographic’s photos are better than ours. And maybe they saw the pelicans!

But you could say that about almost anywhere right? I think I’ll just watch it on TV next time…