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Published: June 17th 2006
Hello, welcome to another blog and one I have been both looking forward to and dreading writing (because of the sheer potential length). The Galapagos Islands, called the Enchanted Islands by Herman Melville in his book of the same name, certainly worked their magic on me! It was an amazing five days, starting on Wednesday at the Darwin Research Station on isla Santa Cruz, then isla Floreana on Thursday, then Isla Santa Fe on Friday morning, Islas North and South Plaza on Friday afternoon, a big journey north to Isla Genovesa on Saturday, and then a quick tour round Isla North Seymour before flying back to the mainland. The sheer number of things I saw was amazing, and I won't test your patience or memory by recounting it all, but here are the highlights, beginning with the snorkelling:
On my first day I saw giant tortoises at the Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz island (some of them were 160 years old), on my second day I went snorkelling for the first time off Floreana island, and swam with thousands of tropical fish, sea turtles, white tip reef sharks and sealions. ( I am hooked on snorkelling! We went twice
a day for three days, and now I can´t wait to do it again - though I´m not sure how I will manage it in the UK....) On my third day we went to the Santa Fe island and I snorkelled with young sealions and they played with everyone, weaving alongside, above, below, in front and behind, twisting their bodies in curves and looking me right in the eye as they glided by. They were inches away. On Saturday I snorkelled at Genovesa island, and saw another little shark and yet more amazing tropical fish. I looked them up in a book, and I saw Angelfish (several kinds), Surgeonfish, Parrotfish (several kinds), Sargeantmajor fish, Squid, Trumpetfish and lots more... It was like being shrunk and swimming in a tropical fish aquarium. I had no idea the sea could be so beautiful or so clear.
None of this counts the amazing wildlife I saw on the islands we visited on the boat - such as marine and land iguanas, flamingos, frigate birds, pelicans, red footed boobies, blue footed boobies, nazca boobies, tropic birds, storm petrels, lava lizards, gulls, sealions (again), and Galapagos fur seals. We even saw a pod of
pilot whales when we were travelling between islands a couple of days ago. The landscapes of the islands are volcanic and eerily empty of leafy trees and what we would consider soil. The beaches are so beautiful, as hopefully you will be able to see...
All in all I think it´s something everyone should do once in their life. You can get so close to the wildlife, it´s amazing. They don´t seem to mind, as long you don´t try to touch them. I am overwhelmed when I think of the number of things I saw in five days! Even though I was a little seasick on the first and last days it didn't matter.
So everything after that this week hardly seems like it deserves a mention, but I did all but finish the medicinal plants handbook (just need to cross reference some info), went to see the coffee factory run by the Columbian neighbours of the reserve (a very interesting and entirely Columbian affair, right down to the Columbian coffee trees, and the Columbian coffee pickers, picking almost 2000kg of coffee by hand every day...) and got the fastest haircut of my life in Quito yesterday afternoon.
Other than sorting out some boring admin that's all there is to know right now... I hope you're all well and enjoying the nice summer I hear the UK is enjoying. xx Anna
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George y Rosie
Rosita Crespo
What an experience
Another great blog, Anna, to describe an experience that is beyond description! But those of us who are still waiting to experience the Galapagos islands now know a good deal more than we did, and of course it inspires us more. Thanks for sharing :)