Prepare to be green with envy

This one's a long one, so pace yourselves :)


28 OCTOBER (Pt 2) - After writing about my amazing cathedral adventure, I moved from my $8/night hostal to a fancy hotel (included in my Galapagos tour). So fancy that they have a doorman and bellhops and $8 breakfast. I don’t know what to do when someone carries around my bags for me. Do I tip? How much? What do I say? I gave the bellhop 50 cents. I’m pretty sure he was insulted, since he didn’t talk to me again after that. I settled in, went out for friend plantains with black beans and guacomole, then nicked over to an internet café to make a couple phone calls to a couple important people. After that, we had an introductory meeting and I met my roommate, Nina (another Norwegian) who’s on the trip with two friends from home (two more Norwegians). We repacked, grabbed a bite to eat, then I snuggled down into bed and watched horrible U.S.TV shows in the room before nodding off.



29 OCTOBER - Early start this morning. We had to be ready to leave by 6:45 and took a minibus to the airport, where we caught our first flight, a 35 minute hop (complete with drink service AND a muffin!) to Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador, located in the southwest part of the country on an inlet of the Pacific. We stayed on board during refueling, seatbelts unbuckled, in accordance with airline safety regulations…From Guayaquil we flew about 1 ½ hours to the Baltra Airport, a rustic building lacking walls and one of the only buildings on the island. Towards the end of the flight, the entire cabin was sprayed with some mysterious, nauseating germ killer to help protect the Galapagos ecosystem. This meant that one of the flight attendants walked down the aisle with a can spraying the inside of the overhead bins and then the spray was pumped through the cabin. After we landed and passed through an immigration point, we were all asked if we were carrying fresh fruit and had our carry-ons inspected. Baggage claim at Baltra consists of a tractor pulling carts full of luggage, the luggage being unloaded onto the ground and each person claiming their bag, then showing their baggage claim tags.

From the airport, we took a 10 minute bus ride in an airport shuttle to a ferry to the island of Santa Cruz. The water in the canal is amazingly blue green and we caught our first glimpses of the gigantic pelicans that are all over the islands. On Santa Cruz, we took a bus from the north of the island to Puerto Ayora, the port town on the south end. On the drive, we saw a few Galapagos tortoises lounging, browsing and crawling around. Once at the port, we took a panga to our boat and got to eat a bit before heading out for the afternoon. I have my own cabin, which will be nicer when I’m horribly seasick in the middle of the night when the boat starts to tootle to our next destination.

In the afternoon, we took the pangas to the Charles Darwin Research Station. When we got off the boats, crabs were crawling all over the rocks on shore and the steps up the dock. On the dock, a large group of marine iguanas were lounging about. They are the only true marine reptiles and to adapt to the salty water and to their salty seaweed diet, marine iguanas have a salt glad on the tops of their heads which is connected to the nasal passages. They basically sneeze out salt to get rid of the excess and also use the behavior as a warning or to startle animals that approach too closely. After leaving our marine iguana friends and a great blue heron, we walked to the Galapagos tortoise nursery, where eggs are incubated and young tortoises are kept until their shells are hard enough to deter rats from eating them. Between two and four years, they’ve achieved this and can then be released into the island. The researchers keep track of them by numbering their shells and using a different color for each island they came from so they can be released in the right place. All along the path at the research station, lava lizards of all different colors dart around, avoiding predation by a lava heron, which has a bit of a Mohawk and wags its tail like a puppy. Our next stop was to see Lonesome George, the last tortoise from the island of Pinta, and therefore the last of his species. He’s now an 80-ish-year-old bachelor who mated for the first time a couple months ago with not one, but two female tortoises from the nearby Volcan Wolf on the island of Isabela. The eggs from both ladies are currently incubating and in about a month, we’ll know what the future of Lonesome George’s lineage is. After seeing George in all his glory, we also saw Diego from the island of Espanola. Diego spent a great deal of his time at the San Diego Zoo before he was recruited back to the islands for breeding purposes (a load of females but not sexually mature males of the species), and since his return he has been very busy and far from lonely. We wandered around and saw several more tortoises. I also learned that coming to the Galapagos direct from Sta. Martha makes me very prone to touching animals that shouldn’t be touched. Whoops.

On the way back to the boat, we saw a load more birds - yellow warblers, brown finches, mockingbirds, and vegetarian finches. The last is apparently very impressive for birders since it’s very rare. The birds eat only seeds, fruits and certain parts of flowers. And they look an awful lot like the brown finches… We got the opportunity to walk the main tourist street of Puerto Ayora and do a bit of souvenir shopping and wetsuit renting before hopping back in the panga and coming to the boat. From the panga, we saw cattle egrets, a load more pelicans, and of course a few sea lions frolicking. After a quick rest, we ate supper and now I’m ready for a fun day tomorrow!



30 OCTOBER - At about 6:30, we dropped anchor near Cerro Dragon on the western edge of Santa Cruz. To beat the passengers from the 100-passenger monster cruise ship also dropping anchor, we set out a bit early in the pangas. On the beach, there were loads of crabs clinging to the lava rocks and I got to see my first blue-footed boobies! They weren’t posing very nicely for pictures, but instead were flying around and diving for fish. A few marine iguanas were also laying out, waiting to absorb the sun’s hot rays. The sand on the beach was absolutely incredible and felt like no other sand I’ve ever touched. At Cerro Dragon, it’s all organic. Every bit of the sand came from something living - from coral, snail shells, sea urchin spines, etc. After leaving the beach to head inland, we came across a solitary flamingo in a little lagoon. Beyond there, it started to be scorching hot. It’s the dry season in the Galapagos, and the terrain is full of plants waiting for the rains to come back. And under those plants…giant land iguanas! We spotted about half a dozen of them in the whole morning. They’re absolute monsters that measure about three or four feet long and are all shades of orange, brown and yellow. The area is named for them, since they are sort of like little dragons. We also spotted a cactus finch feeding and, the highlight of the morning - a baby land iguana! Our guide had never seen one, so it really was quite a treat. We walked back to the beach over a rather treacherous path of loose lava rocks and pulled off our socks and shoes for a wet takeoff from the beach (we wade into the water and then climb into the boats).

The rest of the morning we had free, since the boat had to move towards our afternoon destination, the island of Rabida. I opted for a bit of sunbathing, which turned out to be sunburning, on the top of the boat. The whole way to Rabida, we had between six and twelve frigate birds flying with the boat. They’re absolutely massive birds and are well known because the males inflate a red sac on their necks to attract females. A few pelicans also joined in, and can make the frigate birds look rather small. One even plopped down on top of the boat for a little R & R. We dropped anchor near the island and had a bit of lunch, then a quick siesta before setting off for our afternoon adventure.

We gathered our snorkeling gear and hopped in the pangas. From the boat, we could already see the sea lions lounging on the beach. We landed close to a small bunch of them and were followed on land by a couple more. They barked and posed very nicely on our walk on the beach. There were even a few curious pups which came very close to us just to see what we were all about. When Big Papa came up on shore, we were sure to be very far away, as the other sea lions on the beach belonged to his harem. A walk a little bit inland showed us where the bachelor males hang out around a pond waiting for their chance to mate. We then followed a path further inland that lead us to some spectacular views of the island and a few glimpses of lava lizards scuttling around the rocks.

Back on the beach, we squeezed into our wetsuits and donned our snorkel gear. And at that point I really began to panic. I’m keen enough on the idea of snorkeling, seeing all the animals, swimming with sea turtles. But I’m not keen on being out in the ocean without a tether and a ducky floaty around my waist. So when our guide took the beginners through a little practice, I hyperventilated a bit and was almost ready to give it all up. But he talked me through it and when we set off to really snorkel, he stayed with me the whole time. And it was absolutely worth it! The fish here are colorful and swim around in their little schools all over the place. There are seastars on the ocean floor and a few that hang out higher up on the lava rocks. The most impressive part of the snorkeling was right towards the end when we were heading back to the beach. A curious sea lion poked her head out from the rocks, then ducked back away. Next thing I knew, she was swimming right next to us! It was one of the absolutely most amazing things I’ve ever done. And tomorrow I plan to use my disposable underwater camera to snap some pictures underwater. Today I was far too scared.

After coming back on board and hopping in an anything-but-relaxing shower, we all headed up to the top of the boat for a few of some flamingos. After we’d come back from Rabida, the boat immediately started moving off towards our next destination, thus the rocking shower, and en route we passed one of the Bainbridge islands with a massive crater lake. And in that crater lake - FLAMINGOS!! They looked very tiny, but there were about 30 of them. And since it was near sunset, they were incredibly difficult to photograph.

After that I hopped into bed for a nap, since all the rocking was getting to me. And I missed dinner…



31 OCTOBER - We started today with a dry landing in Sullivan Bay on the island of Santiago. There we walked across an immense lava field, created about 300 years ago by a shield volcano on the island. The lava flow encompassed small nearby cones in the sea, making them also part of Santiago. The lava formations on the island are pahoehoe, from the Hawaiian for “rope,” the patterns formed most often in the lava flow. There are a few tiny plants that have started to take root, a few insects including grasshoppers, and lava lizards. Otherwise, it’s a very desolate landscape, with jagged chunks of cooled lava that were broken off by molten flow beneath, obsidian outpourings in the crust’s fissures, and the occasional imprint where a tree was carried and burned so fast it almost evaporated.

From the lava field, we walked to a small beach to do some snorkeling. This time, I didn’t even need the guide to hold my hand. The water was absolutely frigid, but the swim was also absolutely worth it. There was one fish…two fish…red fish…blue fish…but none with little stars or little cars. I came across a marine iguana right as he pulled himself out of the water. And then I swam right into the midst of a school of silvery fish, darting every which way to avoid…PENGUINS! There were three little Galapagos penguins diving around catching fish. It’s every bit like the documentaries show, but when the penguins are so close you can touch them and swimming all around you because while you’ve been watching the school has suddenly engulfed you, it’s fantastic. It was quite a nice reward for my first snorkel adventure solo. Too bad the disposable underwater camera I bought in Quito mutinied and all I can do now is wind the film, but not take pictures.

After a snack (with guanabana juice!) and lunch back on board, we headed to the island of Bartolome to do more snorkeling in the cove near Pinnacle Rock. A few penguins invited us into the sea. But here the waters were choppy, the current strong and the view murky. I didn’t last near as long, but I also was very proud of myself for not panicking when I got thrown against the rocks in the current. After making it safely back to the beach, only a little battered and bruised, I took a stroll towards Pinnacle Rock, where a few sea lions were dozing. One even popped right out of the water in front of where I was standing and nicely posed for photographs. Photographs I couldn’t take with my camera that was on board the boat. It also turned out I needn’t have walked so far. When I got back to my towel, another sea lion waddled up on the beach in front of us. And the lava lizards were actively displaying (by doing adorable lizard push-ups) and were very attracted to the mosquitoes that were very attracted to us. After lying out for a few minutes, I had one lava lizard sitting on my head catching insects. He didn’t stay there long, but he didn’t go too far either. We headed back to the boat after I was sufficiently sunburnt.

Another snack greeted us, then it was back into the pangas to summit Bartolome. The island is made of very soft volcanic ash and lava formations, which visitors experience from a boardwalk, which prevents erosion. The rocks here are made of lava which was filled with gas when it hardened, which make them deceptively light. Tossing around boulders isn’t one of my normal activities. The views from the top of the island were amazing. And once we headed back to the pangas, we motored around to catch a glimpse of Galapagos penguins, and spotted a sea turtle along the way.



01 NOVEMBER - Today we started off at South Plaza, an island filled with iguanas, sea lions and birds. Here the marine iguanas and the land iguanas hybridize, forming amphibiguanas? Lava lizards run around everywhere and we spotted a mouse while looking at land iguanas. A walk up the island (the whole surface slants at about a 45° angle, since it and North Plaza were pushed up from below) revealed spectacular cliff views and good bird watching opportunities. Pelicans were abundant, as they seem to be on all the islands, and swallow-tailed gulls made up a majority of what we saw, though we did see a juvenile yellow crowned night heron. We even spotted a gull chick being looked after by its parents. The avian highlight for me was a pair of nazca boobies. These were near the sea lion bachelor colony, where all the weak, young or defeated males hang out, building strength and checking out their competition on the beach. The aged sea lions also come here to retire, as was evidenced by a couple of skeletons on the rocks. Back down the lion, we walked along the sea lion filled beach, across a depression made by a cylindrical lava flow and made smooth by sea lion use. The white beach was also affected by the sea lions, as the pilo (maybe pillow?) lava rocks are naturally dark, though with enough calcium carbonate from sea lion shit, they’ve been made white and polished to a marble texture by sea lion traffic. Once back on the boat, we headed for Santa Fe.

After lunch, we got the chance to hop in the water for our last snorkeling adventure. But not before a baby pelican on the shore caught my eye. To feed, the baby puts its entire head inside its parents fish pouch, so it looks like the mama pelican is devouring the baby. In the water, there were plenty of sea lions, and a couple playful ones followed half of our group along the rocks. A large, barking male scared us enough to distance ourselves a little from the rocks. More of the colorful fish were everywhere and the water was clear, but freezing cold. I wasn’t able to stay in terribly long, and climbed back in the panga to warm up. I think overall, I had a really great first time snorkeling and would definitely go again. With a wetsuit or a life jacket. And someone who could rescue me when I start flailing helplessly.

We had a few minutes back on the boat to rinse off and get ready for our afternoon walk on Santa Fe. The island, also full of sea lions, is home to its own species of land iguana. They’re also large and yellowish, but have different patterns than the land iguanas on the rest of the islands. We saw a few of them, a cuckoo, and I even spotted a Galapagos rice rat! The rat was a pretty cute little teddy bear of a rodent, fluffy and brown and much smaller than the rats that plagued Sta. Martha and threatened to swallow our parrots whole. There were lava lizards every couple of meters along the path and each of them posed for photos. Back on the beach, the sea lions were flopping around and we stopped to take another batch of photos. On the way back to the boat in the pangas, we spotted several eagle rays in the water and even a sea turtle! And of course, my camera was nice and secure in a waterproof baggy…



02 NOVEMBER - The morning began frighteningly early, at 4:30 when the boat began to move from Baltra to North Seymour. Our wakeup call was another hour later, but I didn’t sleep from the time the anchor was pulled up. We took the dinghies to the island and started our bird watching straightaway with American oystercatchers, swallow-tailed gulls, pelicans and blue-footed boobies. We walked a path around the island and saw frigate birds with their inflated red pouches, baby frigates, juvenile boobies, more sea lions, marine iguanas, crabs and even land iguanas. The land iguanas on North Seymour aren’t native, rather were brought by an American naturalist when the island of Baltra was to become a military base. The iguanas inhabited Baltra and the remaining population was gone when the contract with the Americans for the base was ended. The iguanas of North Seymour were then reintroduced to their native Baltra and Baltra again has its iguanas.

After our island visit, we hopped back to the boat and made our way to Baltra. There we took a bus to the airport and jetted back to Quito via Guayaquil.

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