Sharks, Volcanos, and Quakes

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#3- The Galapagos Islands- Thursday, September 1, 2005

Welcome to my new journal.

This is my first entry for travelblog.org however it is my third journal entry since I began travelling in South America on August 4th. In the future I may add my 2 old entries to the travelblog in order to have a complete set.

The Galapagos Islands…where do I start?

How can I explain in words what must be experienced to be believed? It is truly a world of its own. It is so different from anything else that it will be difficult to describe. Here goes nothing…

I organised my tour from Quito with a friend I met in the hostel El Centro del Mundo. Andrew and I walked the streets of the Mariscal Sucre area of Quito (a.k.a. Gringo Central) in search of a good deal on a cruise around the islands. There are many things to consider when organising a tour to the islands: your budget, your comfort level, the islands you wish to see, how many days you want, and how educated you want your guide to be.

We chose a small 5-day cruise on the boat called the Guantanamera for the low, low price of $700 USD (that doesn’t include the plane tickets to and from the Islands as well as the park entry fee of $100). Once all was said and done the bill came to about $1,200- not very budget at all.

Our plane ride went well, with a stop in Guayaquil before arriving on the Island of San Cristobal. Typically most flights end on the island of Santa Cruz, however the airport on this island is under maintenance this slightly affected our cruise itinerary.

The first day was slow and easy going. We dropped our stuff off at the boat, and our group went to an interpretive center on the island for a little history and look at the archipelago and its formation. The rest of the afternoon was spent cruising the streets of San Cristobal- not the most exciting place (according to our guide, the female to male ratio is a little out of proportion). We saw large groups of young high-school boys and very few young girls for them to hook up with. The competition must have been stiff.

That night Andrew and I cracked a bottle of gin and spent some time meeting the rest of the tourists on the boat. There was a young couple in their thirties, newly weds from South Africa, two older German couples, a family of four from Oregon, a young woman from England, and an old spun hippie woman from the west coast of the U.S.A.- an eclectic combination. Andrew and I were disappointed that the women’s Swiss Swim team weren’t included in the bunch.

I won’t be able to give you a play by play account of the cruise, as my memory is not that great and the activities were many. However, I will give you a good idea what to expect from a tour to the Galapagos…
Every morning, usually about half an hour before anyone else got up, Andrew and I would wake up the boat by diving off the top followed by a hearty “wooo- hoooo”. By the second day we served as the boat alarm clock.

The next activity on our daily itinerary was hitting up a new island by hiking all around to admire the landscape and the fearless animals that inhabit them. Next was a daily snorkel to say hello to the world under the sea- marine animals and all.

I’ll try to list the many animals I got to see (and nearly trip over) in those few days:

- marine iguanas (sometimes in massive orgies)
- blue-footed boobies
- albatros
- mocking birds
- frigate birds
- Darwin finches
- large land iguanas
- countless sea lions (I even got to swim with a few)
- white-tipped sharks
- angel fish
- sting rays
- eagle rays
- dolphins
- countless fish that I don’t know the names of,
- and, of course, the famous Galapagos giant tortoise

I’m sure there are more animals that I saw, but, as I said before, this place must be experienced to be believed.

Every night after our activities and dinner we would finish the day with one of the four bottles of liquor we brought from the mainland (alcohol is expensive on the boats). It wasn’t long before we got a reputation for being the comic relief on the boat.

Our tour was to be finished back on the island of San Cristobal, however on our second to last day Andrew and I got off the boat in Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz. We had set up our plane tickets to stay a few days longer on the islands to chill and do some more relaxed travel without the pushy schedule of a cruise.

We spent a night in Puerto Ayora before departing the next day for the largest island in the Archipelago- Isabella. It is basically an island composed of four old volcanos tied together by their combined lava flows. On the south end is the only port on the island and the small town of Puerto Villamil. This small relaxed town quickly became my favourite place in Ecuador so far- a population of 2,000 and the atmosphere expected of such a population. It reminded me of my time on Caye Caulker in Belize. No shoes required and everyone was so kind.

That afternoon Andrew and I took a walk around the small town after setting up our room. We found ourselves on the coast at a small stand that sold beer. There we met several members of the navy from across the street- about four or five from the crew and the Captain. The Captain was the most drunk out of the whole lot and therefore very difficult to understand his slurred speech.

Luckily the owner of the place we were staying at, Posada San Vicente, was also one of the major tour guides in the town. We set up our hike to the top the largest volcano on the island (Sierra Negra) with him. This volcano also happens to have the second largest crater in the world, measuring approximately 10 km in diameter.

We left the next morning with a group of people from our hotel, some of which were hiking with us and some that decided to go on horseback. Joining us on foot was a group of three guys from Israel, the others on horseback we didn’t really meet until later.

Although the hike on foot was promised to be three hours or more, we managed to do it in less. Andrew and I were carrying our large packs, as we planned to camp on the rim of the volcano- an idea that was well worth it.

The group on horseback passed us about half way up the trail and waited for us under a large, beautiful tree which also happed to be the place where we set up our camp later. Once we were all together, the tour continued to Volcan Chico, literally “Small Volcano”, to the north of the large one. This volcano, most recently active, provided some cool views of lava flows and small lava tubes. But of course this was another tour and therefore had a schedule to follow, so it wasn’t long before the return to the tree. The walk to and from the volcano gave Andrew and I a chance to meet the others on horseback and set up a social gathering for when we returned the following day.

There was a short rest at the base of the big tree before the others left us behind on the volcano- finally, no more rushed, scheduled tour. For about the next hour, Andrew and I climbed into this beautiful tree and just hung out in silence. After setting up our camp and having a bit to eat we returned to Volcan Chico and walked around looking for a good place to take pictures of the sunset. Sadly we were on the wrong side for the prime photo opportunities and returned to camp after a few attempts at capturing the fleeing sun.

Dinner was supposed to be some quick soup and noodles on my stove. However, the fuel I chose to buy in Puerto Ayora was no good and we had to settle with eating the next afternoon’s lunch instead. The highlight of that day was the evening. Clouds fell below our position on the rim of the volcano revealing the millions of stars above- something we were hoping to see this whole trip but were disappointed with cloudy skies the whole time on the Islands. The absence of the moon in this landscape brought out even more stars for us to gaze at.

The next morning began with a curious tremor. At about 8 or 9am we felt a small earthquake lasting a little more than a second; the second was an even more diminutive quake. Shortly after breakfast we set off to try to make it to the sulphur mine on the opposite side of the crater. Our route simply entailed back-tracking down the original trail- on the way we passed two groups on horseback. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the start of the trail we realized that we would not have enough time for the journey to the mines.

We sat down for a snack in the light mist next to the trailhead. It was quiet and cool when suddenly we felt and saw the ground move beneath us. This movement lasted a good two or three seconds causing our hearts to skip a beat. It was certainly the strongest I’ve ever felt. According to the guides from the tours we passed along the way, it was the first one they’ve ever felt in the area. The last eruption from Volcan Chico was back in ’78, and it’s been calm ever since. One group was at the tree when it happened, and it violently shook the tree. The other group was at Volcan Chico and quickly left the area after witnessing the collapse of areas next to the mouth of the small craters.

That night we had drinks at a small bar with our new friends from the tour. The tranquillity of the island made me want to stay, so Andrew and I tried to change our return plane ticket only to find the office was closed. We set off back to Santa Cruz the following morning, and I spent the day with some of the girls from the previous day’s tour. That night I hung out at their place of slumber, which they organized for free from a local Galapageño named Fernando. After a few days they managed to convince me to stay a couple more days. Danielle, Susie, Fernando, and I passed the next few days’ time together and became good friends.

The “Island Life” of the Galapagos is certainly appealing. Fernando took us on a tour the following day at cost-value. We went to see the large lava tubes, horseback riding in a small park with giant tortoises in the wild, and then to a beautiful vacant beach rarely visited. We spent our evening drinking and meeting locals and backpackers in town.

It was awesome- the girls almost managed to convince me to stay for another few more days. Even Fernando offered me to stay at his place (for free no less) if I would stay a little longer. I almost did, and probably should have, but my instincts told me I should leave or I might never.

The next morning on the 31st of August I left the beautiful world of the Galapagos Islands. It certainly holds a special place in my heart, and I will always want to return. If I do, I pray that the tourism in the area doesn’t end up destroying what I’ve come to love.

Matthew Goldrup

P.S. - Check out "Boobies and Volcanoes" by Carl and Nicola No Fixed Abode, for a more indepth description and photos of the boat tour on the Guantanamera. They are the South African couple that I met on the boat.

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Photos

3 Amigos
Ahhh! That's the spot.

Boobie
Can I help you?

Hello
Can you scratch my belly?

Comments

[Nicola]

Great underwater photos
Thought some of your photos looked amazinly similar to ours, and when I saw the rainbow I knew it was you. Your underwater photos came out great! Hope you enjoyed the rest of the trip in the Galapagos. Nicola (fellow passenger)

[Jo]

well done!
I thought my days on Galapagos were a dream until I read your story, specialy Isabela! Bugger, I should have come with you...