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Published: March 18th 2005
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I've just spent the past few days sailing around the Galapagos Islands. We visited the islands of San Cristobal, Esponola, Floreanca, and Santa Cruz. I think the lasting memory of the islands that I'll take back home with me is going for my first swim at a beach in San Cristobal. I hadn't been in the water for more than 2 minutes when I noticed a dark shape in the water nearby. It turned out to be a sea lion pup who had swum by to say hello. "Got any spare fish on you, mate?"", it asked. "Sorry, buddy. I don't eat seafood", I had to reply rather regretfully.
Luckily my new mate wasn't too offended and let me take several photos of him when he later went to do some sunbaking on the nearby rocks. He was soon joined my lots of his friends and family who had swum up to the rocks and beach as well.
The wildlife in the islands is so amazingly diverse and most of it is endemic to these islands. I think the most special thing about this place is how tame the wildlife is and how untouched it has remained since it was first discovered. I believe it was my old mate Chuck Darwin who remarked, "No other place on Earth is like any other, but the Galapagos are the least like any other place", or something like that.
I've seen plenty of sea lions, marine and land iguanas, turtles, giant land tortoises, sharks, sting rays, and an abundance of sea life to last a lifetime. The animals are so completely unperturbed by the presence of us clumsy humans that it makes you a little frightened for them. They simply would not know to run, swim, or fly away if hunters or poachers ever visited the islands. Luckily, the Ecuadorean government and the local naturalist guides seem to be taking the conservation of the islands very seriously. We were told that 95% of the ecosystems on the islands have remained intact and its quite easy to believe. Walking along the beaches, or by inland lagoons, or in the scenic foothiils, its easy to imagine that you're the only person to set foot on the island for decades. Everything remains so pristine and untouched by the ravages of tourism that its perfect.
I reckon the naturalist guides also deserve medals for the wisecracks they have to put up with every time they talk about the many blue-footed boobies and masked boobies (types of birds here) that inhabit the islands. Or maybe that's just my juvenile sense of humour talking.
I've also done some snorkelling at some local marine life hangouts, one of which is called the Devil's Crown. Its a circular rock formation off the coast of Floreanca island and the many rock formations provide ample opportunities to spot the abundance of sea life around it. The waters weren't as clear as we would have liked but I still spotted plenty of turtles, colourful fish, sting rays, eagle rays, and octopus. Our guide offered to pour some blood and throw some hacked up pieces of fish into the water with us to increase the chances of us spotting some sharks, but we declined his offer with thanks. As it turned out, some sharks did arrive but fortunately they were of the non-Aussie-eating-tourist variety. They seemed happy enough to glide around the bottom of the ocean floor.
Although I've been waxing lyrical about the wonders of the Galapagos, it hasn't all been fun and games. During our first night on our ship, as it sailed from San Cristobal to Espanola Island, my mate Mark and I, being the landlubbers that we are, both had awful bouts of seasickness. Between midnight and 5am, Mark had his head over the side railing feeding the fish, whilst I lay passed out at the stern of the boat with my head spinning at about a million miles an hour whilst inhaling the ship's diesel fumes. I think the ship's cook must have been having a go at us when he served up a prawn curry for lunch the next day. Suffice to say, that we both didn't eat much whilst on board. I don't think I've got my land legs entirely back yet as the room still seems to be rolling from side to side every now and then.
Well, I'm back in Quito now and its time to check out some more of the city's sights. Quito isn't a pretty city by any stretch of the imagination, but there is some wonderful colonial architecture to be seen in the Old city. I think my favourite building is La Basilica, a huge cathedral that resembles Notre Dame. Looking down at it from El Paniciello, a giant hill located in the middle of the Old City with the statue of the Virgin de Quito at its summit, its easy to see La Basilica standing like an imposing gatewarden on the border between the New and Old cities. In the centuries since La Basilica was built its a little sad that the best we've been able to come up with are the ugly generic office buildings and hotels that stand beside it.
I've also had fun wandering around the cobblestoned streets of the Old city, checking out the many quaint cathedrals and monasteries that feature in the decorative plazas located throughout. The detail and carvings on the doors to some of the buildings and the ornate gold decorations inside are beautiful to look at. We were lucky enough to wander through the Old city on a Sunday and see mass being observed at La Basilica and the other cathedrals.
We've read in the guidebooks that Quito is not a particularly safe city, especially at night. At the meoment I'm in an internet cafe and there's a security guard standing by the front door wearing a bulletproof vest with a revolver tucked into the front of the vest. Its only 8pm. Every time some shady looking person walks by the security guard moves his hand slowly towards that revolver. His hand has been moving quite a lot in the last hour.
Well, over the next few days I'll be seeing some more sights in and around Quito, trying to improve my Spanish (still haven't mortally insulted anyone yet), trying to stay away from the characters that make that security guard so nervous, and of course avoiding all American tourists. Until then...
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riding the porcelain bus
give my regards to markus for his fish feeding efforts!!! top stuff. i'm surprised you didn't hurl as well, but i'm imagining the sight now in my head! apparently the tip to avoid the sea sickness (and mark should know this from when we went to the great barrier reef) is to ride towards the back of the boat, and to jump INTO the water at the first available opportunity...don't ask me why, but you feel a whole lot better when you get in the water. stay away from those shady characters - i'm sure the DPP business cards should provide ample fear in the protaganist. - Dan