Blogs from Isabela Island, Galápagos, Ecuador, South America - page 4

Geo: -0.958105, -90.9651I dag har vi vært på guidet tur til den største av Galapagosyene - Isabella. Turen startet tidlig - kl 0700. Vi kjørte i en rask motorbåt med plass til 17 personer, så den var ikke så veldig stor. Stillehavet viser seg ikke å være så veldig stille. Det var store dønninger - kan tenke meg at det var 6-7 meter høye bølger på det værste, den lille båten vår kjørte fort og det ble en del risting - noe i alle fall Camilla syntes var ubehagelig. Turen tok 2 timer og 20 min og vi var vel glade når vi endelig kom frem… Vi ble omvist i et skilpadde-klekkeri - hvor det var skilpadder i alle størrelser. De klekkes ut og blir sluppet fri i havet etter en tid. Disse skilpaddene var litt ... read more

Heute der letzte Landgang und Besuch auf Darwins Lieblingsinsel, Isabela, welche das Breeding Center beherbergt. Hier werden die verschiedenen Spezies der Riesenschildkroete gezuechtet, um die geschrumpften Bestaende wieder aufzustocken; zunaechst hatten Walfaenger und Piraten den Riesenschildkroeten zugesetzt, da diese beliebter Proviant waren (mehrmonatige Lagerung ohne Wasser und Nahrung, sprich problemlos transportierbares Frischfleisch) - anschliessend wurden sie fuer kurze Zeit von Norwegern industriell zu Lampenoel verarbeitet. Der Groessenvergleich zwischen einem ausgewachsenen, knapp 200-jaehrigen Monstrum und einem frischgeschluepften Winzling ist imposant. Am Nachmittag Besuch der Tintoreras, der Weissspitzen-Riffhai-Insel. Hierher ziehen sich die Haie zum Schlafen zurueck und wir hatten das Glueck, ein gutes Dutzend beobachten zu koennen. Besonders interessant war ein jung... read more

So next morning we feasted and jumped on the boat for the 2.5 hour crossing to Floreana. San Cristobal was left behind very quickly, as we headed into the rain. The boat was mighty impressive, holding a good speed through the huge pacific swell, but I swear the waves were coming from 3 different directions; Russell would probably agree as he spent most of the voyage revisiting his breakfast! Meanwhile I saw something that looked like a sheet of cardboard jump out of the water; wet cardboard doesn't tend to do that kind of thing, so I think it was a manta ray... We arrived at a sheltered cove on Floreana and jumped in the water, almost instantly bumping in to a couple of mating turtles, they were never going to get much peace with us ... read more

We flew from Sao Paulo to Galapagos with a stop over in Quito, Equador. It had been a long flight, since we had to fly over Lima in Peru. At the airport we took a taxi to the old city. The taxi driver wanted to make a quick buck so he had a meter that metered the distance instead of the peso's. Besides that he drove a very long way around town, so he could get more meters on his meter! But we knew it would cost only $10 instead of $22, so that's is what we paid after a some intimidation back and forth. The old city in Quito is very old and has beautiful buildings and narrow streets. We stayed at a nice hostel, were we could also book a tour to the Galapagos ... read more

Woke up at 7am for breakfast at 730. I opened my eyes to my mom eating the chips ahoy chocolate chip cookies I had been saving for an emergency (most likely for lunch today since the Russians we met last night said the sandwiches were tuna and vegetable...gross). I was like, WHY ARE YOU EATING THE COOKIES I´VE BEEN SAVING!?!?!? "Because I´m hungry and wanted a snack" was her reply...I was not a happy camper because now I was most likely going to go without food for the majority of the day. At breakfast I met a local Ecuadorean and shot the sh*t with him for a bit. After breakfast we met the rest of the group we would be with for the day, a spanish chic and a guy from holland who are doing north ... read more