Galapagos

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Itinerary
Day 1 Sunday: Arrival on Baltra airport - North Seymour
Day 2 Monday: Chinese Hat - Bartholomew - Sullivan Bay
Day 3 Tuesday: Genovesa: Prince Philip Steps - Darwin Bay
Day 4 Wednesday: Puerto Egas - R¡bida
Day 5 Thursday: Darwin Station - Highlands of Santa Cruz
Day 6 Friday: Espatola: Punta Su¡rez - Playa Gardner
Day 7 Saturday: Santa Fe - South Plazas
Day 8 Sunday: Black Turtle Cove - Baltra Airport

Everything you have heard, read or seen about the Galapagos Islands pales in comparison with the actual experience. There really are no words to describe it, it must be felt, seen and heard with your own senses.

I’ve included a few pictures from my first days on the island. In an effort to bring my faithful readers an up close and personal picture of my encounter with a hammerhead shark while snorkeling, I broke my camera! It was supposed to be waterproof, but, some water leaked into the battery compartment. It was actually freeing to not have a camera. It allowed me to focus more on what our guide was telling us and appreciating the animals instead of getting the perfect shot. Fortunately, I changed out my memory card before I went snorkeling so my pictures didn’t get destroyed! I’ll let what few pictures I took speak for themselves. My pictures aren’t award winners. There is no way to compete with all the professional pictures that are out there. So I’ve posted fotos that hopefully will give you an idea of the experience. Enjoy!

Our boat was called the Angelito. The crew of the boat was fabulous! Diego, our guide, was not only informative but very funny! We became fast friends as I was always talking to him in Spanish in order to keep practicing my Spanish! He was very patient with me. One of my most memorable experiences was sitting on the top deck of the boat, chatting with Diego, viewing the foreign southern hemisphere stars and watching these beautiful and graceful white swallow tailed gulls fly alongside our boat looking for food. They made these amazing clicking noises. They were like tiny angels surrounding our boat, protecting us. Even after Diego left, I stayed for a long while watching these birds and the stars. It was so incredible!

I also became friends with the bartender, Fernando, who made me canelazo (remember the drink recipe from my last posting) on my first night. Since he spoke no English at all, I got to practice my Spanish a lot on him! He actually dared me into jumping off the bridge of the boat one morning. It really wasn’t that high, maybe 40 feet. But, I don’t think he is used to seeing chicas jump from that high up! We also had fun doing back flips from the panga (the little boat used to shuttle us to and from the big boat to the islands).

One night we docked at Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz. One of the other passengers, Karen, another gringa from Pittsburg, and I decided to go dancing. She had started an on board romance with another crew member, Mario. After walking around for awhile, we headed back towards the docks to try and find a bar that Diego had recommended. Down the street, we spotted our boys, Mario and Fernando looking for us! They took us to a local bar, Limon Cafe, where we drank and salsa danced the night away! That night, I fended of the advances of Fernando and went to bed exhausted!

The next day, I woke up sick! I don’t know from what. I ate and drank the same stuff as everyone else. Up until then, I had been eating like a little piggy. For some reason, I was ravenous. It was nice to not to have to think about where to go or what I wanted to eat like I had to do in Cuenca. So, when they put plates of food in front of me, I couldn’t stop eating! Well, I think I paid for this gluttony! I missed the tortoise day on Santa Cruz. All of it. Didn’t see Darwin Station, Lonesome Henry, or George, or whatever the name is of the tortoise that is the last of his species. Missed seeing the tortoises in the wild. The only thing I was able to do was to go ashore and get some ice cream. It was all I could eat. I slept the entire day and night and woke up the next day normal. Go figure. After that, I started eating regular portions of food.

My traveling companion, Andrea, was wonderful and I will be forever indebted to her for finding this trip and inviting me to go! In addition to being very easy to travel with and funny, she is a walking encyclopedia! Anything you want to know, just ask and the answer comes out of her mouth!

In total, there were 16 passengers on the boat. Can you believe they were all nice, interesting people? From all over the world! Besides Andrea and I, there were couples from Canada, Austria, Spain and Switzerland. A father and his daughter from Italy, cousins from Charlotte and Santa Fe, and two other girls from Pittsburg! There was not one offensive, obnoxious person around! How lucky can I possibly get?

However, all good things must come to an end. And, the Galapagos leg of my journey is no exception. It was a perfect vacation! I returned to Guayaquil and said goodbye to Andrea who is returning to Cuenca. I stayed an extra day to find a camera which takes the same type of memory card as my broken camera. Lucky for you readers, I had success and am able to post these pictures for you!

I’m on my own for dinner again. I found a crab house. The choices on the menu were in Spanish with some interesting English translations. Sudado de Mariscos which the menu translated as Sweaty of Seafood and Una de Cangrejo al ajullo or Nails of Crab with Garlic. I passed on those and settled on a dish of crab out of the shell in garlic. Fantastic! It was literally a plate with a small mountain of crabmeat sauted in garlic and butter! Remembering my gluttonous experience on the boat, I didn’t eat all of it. But, it was quite tasty with a cold Corona!

I am now traveling solo, heading for Vilcabamba looking for a horse to ride. My journey so far has been so amazing and incredible. I can’t help but wonder what the universe has in store for me next!

Wish me luck!

LuAnne

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Photos

Angelito
Home for the week. A great boat, great crew. Check out http://www.angelitogalapagos.com

Angelito Crew
Diego, our guide, is 2nd from the left. My favorite bartender, Fernando, is 2nd from the right! The first night, the crew ´dressed up´ for a few minutes as Diego introduced them. Then, they immediately went and changed into more casual cloths. I thought it was funny! The entire crew, from left to right, Wiliam, Diego (Guide), Mario (Captain), Fernando and Miguel (Cooks), Fernando II (Bartender) and Juan!

Blue Footed Booby
Mario (from Italy) and a Blue Footed Booby. Yes, the animals are really this tame. You actually have to be careful not to step on a bird, iguana, or other animal as you walk on the trail!

Baby Sea Lion
The baby sea lions are so curious. On the first day, one of them waddled right up to me and gave me a good sniff! We were all in awe! Little did we know this would soon become routine. By the last day, I don´t think anyone took notice of the sea lions!

Dry Landing
Here is a dry landing in the panga (don´t get your feet wet) on the island of Bartolomé.

Bartolomé Viewpoint
Me at the top of the Bartolomé Viewpoint. A short hike up to an amazing vista!

Baby Night Heron
Brian (from Canada) getting aquainted with a new friend on the island of Genovesa.

Red Footed Booby
The rare and beautiful Red Footed Booby on the island of Genovesa.

Great Frigate Bird
When we first saw this bird, we were all so impressed. But, we learned it is a true pirate. It steals everything from other birds -- fish, nesting materials, even regurgitated food from birds as they feed their babies! We turned their name into a verb. As in, ¨Hey, Andrea, can you frigate the salad from the other table for me?¨

Marine Iguana
I figured I needed to include a picture of an iguana since this is the Galapagos. There are a huge variety of them. Each day and each island seemed to bring a new and different kind. This one is, I believe, a Marine Iguana on the island of North Seymour.

Comments

[Eric]

Wow....
Very very cool. Now I feel like I should've made a trip out there last time I was in Ecuador. Maybe I'll take a special trip there soon.