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Published: September 27th 2005
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Extreme Close-up
This Red marine iguana (endemic to Espanola island) was quite comfortable on his rock and didn´t seem to mind the camera lens being less than a metre away from him. Wow. Hola Amigos!
We just returned to Quito today from an amazing 8-Day cruise in the Galapgos Islands. It´s hard to summarize 8 incredible days, so this will hav eot be rather brief. Our sailing ship, the Sagitta, was outstanding, as was the captain, crew, and especially the cook. Our Guide was disappointing, but more on that later.
All the other guests on the cruise were really cool and we all got along, which was a pleasant surprise. There were folks from the UK, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, and even other Canadians, who joined us on the second day of the cruise. Their original boat also had problems, then their agent booked them onto the Darwin Explorer, which they immediately refused when they saw how old it was and the bad shape it was in. It sank the next day in the Harbour (no one was hurt), and they argued their way onto the Sagitta with the rest of us.
The only person who didn´t seem to fit in was our guide, Alex. We were told we were getting a level 3 guide, but it turns out he might have only been level 2, not having a degree in Biology.
E.T. phone home
The toroises are easier to sneak up from behind, and it makes them look bigger ;-) He said he had done a Master´s in Ecotourism and Business Management, but had also particiated in several biological studies on some of the islands. He was definitely into the wildlife, but his people-skills could use some work, and several other people complained that he gave faulty, or contradictory information. I found his manner a bit condescending and really confusing. After a while, a few of us started ignoring most of his "nature interpretation" and enjoyed the land visits on our own, at the fringes of the group, away from the guide. Luckily, the ship´s library was well-stocked and we were able to research most of the interesting aspects on our own. It was unfortunate, but it could have been worse. All other aspects of the cruise were incredible!
The cruise was off to a quick and impressive start with some snorkelling in the afternoon at San Cristobal. The usual airport, at the old U.S. base on Baltra Island, is being re-furbished, so all the air traffic is currently going through the one at San Cristobal. Day 2 featured the world-famous giant tortoises, although it was a bit disappointing to see them at the tortoise ranch adjacent to the
Hungry for some shoe
This juvenile blue-footed booby was really interested in my boot laces. National Park. Then again, this way the tourist pressure is controlled and probably better for the tortoises and the habitat in the park overall, so I don´t mind too much. The tortoises are definitely impressive and no picture can quite prepare you for them. Just one of those things that needs to be experienced, much like most of the Galapagos.
The major attraction for me was definitely the wildlife, and the rich natural history and ties to Darwin and the development of Evolutionary theory, even today. Darwin is certainly a household name, and his presence has left a lasting impression on the islands. The truly enchanting thing for me was just how close you can get to the wildlife in the islands. At times, I had to watch my step, as many animals were literally underfoot and it would have been easy to step on an iguana if one wasn´t careful.
The cruise peaked on Day 6, which was definitely my favourite day. Not only did we get to walk among giant corals that were lifted out of the ocean during tectonic activity about 50 years ago, but we also found a juvenile giant tortoise in the wild
Check me out!
A Magnificent Frigate Bird strutting his stuff. and in the afternoon, we went snorkelling and got to swim with penguins, rays, many large fish, and even a sea turtle and sea lion! Just when I thought it couldn´t get better, after another interesting walk on Fernandina, our ship chased a large pod of common dolphins in the Bolivar Channel! Some great memories, there. That night was also when we crossed the equator into the northern hemisphere. That's a lot for one day. The day before, we were also treated to some huge humpback whales breaching on the horizon, and in the afternoon, went "kayaking" in a mangrove bay, where we could almost touch the turtles resting in the mangroves, and penguins and sea lions played in the water around us. As close as the wildlife got, I often had to pull myself back from wanting to physically touch them. Partly to maintain the excitement of the moment, but also because the biologist in me recognizes the dangers in manhandling all the wildlife. If they really want to be touched, they can come to me.
And the sea lions just about came that close. In the water, they frequently swam straight towards me, and just when they
Equator
Almost ... this was about 5 minutes after the boat crossed it on the 6th night. were about to head butt my mask, they would veer away and swim circles around me like graceful torpedoes in the water. The penguins were more like bullets: I got to see a few of them on the surface of the water, even quite close, but I never actually saw one beneath the surface.
Most of us left the Sagitta and crew today still wanting more. I would definitely return to these Islands again, although if I could afford it, I would prefer a longer tour with more time on the islands and inland trips. The schedule on this trip was fairly regular and regimented. One of the nice things about package tours like these is that you really don´t have to think much about what you have to do: most of it is taken care of for you and you just need to know if you´re going for a wet or dry landing, and when you need to be ready.
The only thing I won´t miss is the sea sickness. I never actually lost any meals, but evenings in rouch water were definitely the hardest, and my apetite was sometimes rather dimished, despite the amazing food. I
stark landscape
Isabella, one of the youngest islands, features barren lava fields. think I was still recovering a little from the Salmonella last week, and if my stomach was unsettled, the motion made me queasy. Once that passed, I was fine, and I usually passed the time in rouch water by sleeping. We did most of our sailing at night, anyway. Mike had the hardest time with the motion sickness and on the first night, didn´t take his gravol in time and couldn´t keep it down. He spent most of the night dry-heaving at the back of the boat. Fortunately, that was also the worst night for him, and the rest of the cruise went relatively smoothly. I even managed some red wine on the last night :-) We ran into the Diamante this morning in the harbour (the ship we were originally scheduled to be on) and noticed that it was a little bit smaller, but higher in the water and a lot more tippy than the larger Sagitta. Mike was once again grateful for the upgrade, although the Diamante looked quite nice and stylish in its own right. The Captain expressed his preference for the smaller Diamante, but the Cook admitted that he gets fewer cuts on the more stable
flamingos in the desert
the black lava fields on Isabella are broken by occasional oases, including this one where a few flamingos were fishing fro crabs alongside common stilts and some pintail ducks. Sagitta :-) Mike was also relieved we weren´t on the Sea Cloud, which was much smaller and accompanied us on the same itinerary. It usually listed at least twice as far as the Sagitta in any waves.
Mike and I are heading to banos tomorrow for some realxing spa action to unwind after the cruise, and will swing through Riobamba on my way back to Quito for my flight home. Hopefully the Hurricanes in the southern states won´t affect my connecting flights in Houston...
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