Trying Out Our Sea Legs

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In order to prevent excessive eyestrain on the part of those reading, we have decided to break down the Galapagos into several entries. When last we spoke, Sara and I were preparing for dinner at the Secret Garden and, like any good bedtime story, we will pick back up at that point.

Dinner at the hostel was excellent, with a set menu of marinated chicken for Matt and marinated vegetables for Sara, with a starter and dessert to boot. This was followed by watching a pirated copy of 'Madagascar'. All over South America, 99% of the DVD are pirated, $2 a pop, with greatly varied quality. This particular title, however, was on the low end of the quality scale, with the run time less than 30 minutes and skipping ahead every minute or two. On the plus, this enabled an early bedtime as our flight was at 9:30 in the morning, with a Dramamine (or Bonine, the new version) taken in preparation for the boat.

The next day we woke early to finish our packing, folllowed by a quick trip upstairs for the all you can eat, $2.50 per person, breakfast. We settled our bill and reserved a room for our return, leaving the hostel a little before eight. The main drag of Quito was two blocks away so, with some trepidation, we walked the distance and hailed a cab. Our 20 km journey was only $3, much less than we had expected, so there was some thought that perhaps the addition fare might be taken in some other way. Fortunately, our previous travels have just heightened our awareness, and we arrived safely at the airport. After going through a cursory check of our bags, we made it to the boarding gate safely. There were some groups that already had guides for their Galapagos tour, so we used them to help figure out that our flight was delayed for an hour. Even with this, the two people behind us were kind enough to give us several false alarms. Once our plane was actually ready for boarding, about an hour late, the remainder of the trip went smoothly, with a stop between Quito and Galapagos in Guayaquil, on the Ecuadorian coast. From the plane, it looked a bit like Miami, though from what we hear the crime rate is extremely high.

Sara and I first saw the Islands a little after noon, flying over San Cristobal (which we would not visit) and then Santa Cruz (our first stop). A safe landing at Baltra followed shortly, and after paying our $100 entrance fee we were official visiting the Galapagos! The first animals we saw were the practically impossible to identify "Darwin's" finches. There are 13 species that all have the same coloration, with the males black and the females brown. The only difference has to do with the beak size, which is a rather difficult identifying feature. Sara found a wildlife book, though it did not specify the differences between the finches or have a complete list of the birds. A guide met up at the airport to take us to the boat which was about an hour bus and ferry ride to reach. On the way, a blue heron was within 3 feet of us without comment from him. We reached Puerto Ayora, on the island of Santa Cruz, and had a short panga (think a small motorboat) ride to the Golondrina I, our home for the next 8 days, for lunch at 1 pm. The food was a bit excessive, though over the next few days we would adjust to the vast quantities of food put before everyday at 7am, 12pm, and 7pm.

We settled into our room after lunch, which had a private bathroom but the expected small accomodations on a boat. So far, both Sara and I felt fine on the boat, though we were in a very protected harbor. Another panga ride followed at 3pm to see the Charles Darwin Research Station, which is where they captively breed the giant tortoise as well as the land iguanas for certain islands, notably Santa Fe which has its own species. The tortoises were the most impressive part, with some over 500 lb. We were allowed in the corral and they came within a foot or two of Sara, very, very slowly. Lonesome George, the last of a subspecies from Pinta Island, was in one of the corrals, though we were not allowed to visit inside that one. They have tried several different females from other subspecies, with no success. There were also pens filled with small tortoises, at about 4 months, 1 year, and 2 to 4 years. At about 4 years, they are large enough to be introduced into the wild without fear of predations. There were three land iguanas in pens, though we would see many more over the following days. The unidentifiable finches were flying everywhere as well as endemic species of mockingbirds and flycatchers. After a short walk through town, during which Sara popped into every store looking unsuccessfully for a bird guidebook, we heading back to the boat. We had a quick orientation about the boat, meet the remainder of the passengers (3 Danish, 2 British, 1 Swiss, 1 Canadian, and 5 other Americans about our age) and our guide for the next 4 days, Priscilla, and had a cocktail prior to our dinner. We turned in right after dinner, ready for a good nights sleep, of which partial credit goes to the Dramamine. Unfortunately, the room was quite warm as we were below decks and the air conditioning was in the hallway, not our room. We propped open the door using a shoelace (attached, of course, to a shoe) which served its purpose. Daylight would reveal the true nature of the problem.

The next morning I check out the door, and just the the left was a fan, designed to bring the cool air into the room. Unfortunately, when turning off the light the night before, I had turned off the fan as well. Live and learn. Right after breakfast, we heading to the highlands of Santa Cruz to see Los Gemelos, two collapsed volcanic chambers. Each was about 200 feet deep, but the most impressive parts were the plants and the birds, one in particular. One the flora side, there was a unique tree which had developed from a daisy like plant to reach about 30 ft tall with a very thin trunk. The fauna included, in additional to the finches, the vermillion flycatcher which is not endemic, but impressive due to its bright red coloration. After hiking for some time without seeing any, one alighted right in front of us, with another spotted 20 feet further up the trail. Everyone had a chance to get a good picture, though our guide said that normally the flycatcher is not so still. On the hike back we saw several of the flycatchers hunting, flying back and forth across the sky. A short bus ride later and we were back on the boat for lunch.

Now, for the first test of the Dramamine/Bonine. Immediately after lunch, we left harbor for the first time to head to Santa Fe Island. Sara and I both decided that to avoid reliving lunch, we would retire to our cabin for the trip. We reached the island without any hint of motion sickness so we were feeling quite good about the medicine, which would serve us well for the whole trip. Once there, we were fitted with snorkelling gear and jumped in the water for our first trip to see the world under the sea. Sara swam with sea lions, green sea turtles, and several types and schools of fish, while I sat on the boat watching. I had forgotten the most important rule of snorkelling on vacation: shave first. My beard, or more specifically moustache, would immediately let water into my mask, making for an unpleasant experience. Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me that night. Following the snorkelling, we had a half hour break followed by a panga ride to Santa Fe Island. The main attraction were the sea lions, a subspecies of the California Sea Lion, and the land iguanas. On the beach, the sea lion pups would come right up to Sara's feet and sniff her toes. Apparently their eye sight is poor on land, so they sniff to check whether or not you are their mother. The pups quickly realize their mistake, as I'm sure Sara smells quite different. We took a quick hike around a portion of the island, seeing many of the land iguanas, endemic to this island only. There were beautiful views of the ocean from the bluffs above, though we also saw a dead sea lion that had a shark bite on its side. There was a second dead sea lion back on the beach, though there were not any marks on this one. These would be the only two dead sea lions we saw on the trip. Back on the boat for dinner, Sara and I started our nightly ritual of sunset pictures, with each one spectatular in its own way. Following dinner, we headed for our usual location: bed. After all the hustle and bustle of the trip to date, we have fallen a bit behind in our sleep. Either that, or Dramamine commercials should should replace those of every sleep medication on the market, as we slept all night of what Sara later told me was a bumpy ride to Espanola Island (while she slept well, trips to the bathroom don't wait).

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Photos

The Galapagos Greeter (Baltra)
This huge Great Blue Heron met us soon after our arrival, and was quite comfortable with the tourists 5 or 6 feet away.

The Famous Residents (Santa Cruz)
Though we never saw them in the wild, the tortoises at the research center were good enough.

Vermillion Flycatcher (Santa Cruz)
This male flycatcher may not be endemic but he sure is brilliant!

Us and the Crater (Santa Cruz)
Here we are next to one of two huge lava craters on Santa Cruz, the main island of Galapagos.

Sara's New Friend (Santa Fe)
This little guy mistook Sara's for someone else, or was just curious enough to check out her feet. Conclusion? Not what he was looking for.

The First Wild Iguana (Santa Fe)
They may look like dragons, but in reality they are pretty lazy and harmless.

Comments

[John Timberlake]

Have you met Jill
I put a comment on the next blog. Just wanted to know if you had met up with Jill yet. Love, John

[Kat Timberlake]

Dramamine
I have to add, as the pharmacist, that Dramamine, Benedryl and all OTC sleep medications are essentially the same thing. It just depends what you are taking it for. If you taking it for allergies or nausea, sleepiness is a side effect. If you are taking it for Sleeping, dry nose and mouth are side effects. They are Diphenhydramine or Dimenhydrinate.