Diary/Photo Journal
Week of February 08, 2004
Galapagos! Those incredible islands that gave birth to an idea that is still heatedly argued and passionately defended: Darwinisn or rather, the Theory of Evolution.
We arrived at the airport on Isla Baltra which is a ferry ride from Isla Santa Cruz. We arranged to stay on a boat (that accommodates 16 people) for the four days and we arrived with just enough time to say "Hello" to our shipmates and then off for a tour of the highlands.
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Gerson on the ride to the boat. The Guantanamera |
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Gerson among the spanish moss Our motley, but friendly tour group |
The highlands of Santa Cruz are famous for their enormous tortoises and even a lava tube. We quickly adjusted to the tour mode and were happily traipsing around the upper tropical landscape. What took a little time to adjust to was seeing those huge, and I mean HUGE giant tortoises up close. We even got to see two tortoises in the process of mating (or at least discussing the possibility).
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This tortoise was about 4' across the shell |
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Tortoise eating and our frisky
partners His shell is over 5' from front to back |
Our first full day in the islands was just that - full! After a terrific breakfast, we were dropped off on Isla Rabida and taken on a tour of the red sand beaches and the highlands. I could describe in detail the awesome walk, but I will let the pictures tell the tale.
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Sunrise over Rabida and sunset over Genovesa |
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Up close and personal with several sea lions. That gorgeous golden fur and those adorable whiskers are feather-soft. The 5th picture shows a baby feeding What a life they have! |
As you can see, I was able to lay next to a juvenile sea lion and receive a fishy kiss. What a fantastic experience! These animals are not so much tame, as they are fearless because they don't have any island enemies. Imagine living without fear...
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Ghost crab - rare to get a photo of
these - its eyes are on the 1/2" to 1" antennas on top of their head. Blue Footed Booby (no, I did not make that name up) The male attracts the female by lifting each of those fabulous blue feet in a little dance. |
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Views from the top of Rabida |
We also enjoyed a wonderful snorkel around the cove and we ran into: five 4' and longer white-tipped reef sharks, large schools of colorful fish, a marble ray, many parrot fish, and the occasional nosy sea lion.
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Gerson with a Marble Ray (see under rock in front) and the many white-tipped reef sharks (4'-6') that swam below and around us. They are not aggressive, just curious. |
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Just two of the many, many different and ornate starfishes to be found around the islands. |
After Rabida, we headed for Isla Bartolome for some diving and hiking. The diving was not quite as good as we would have liked due to a confusion in communication with the Dive Master and his losing Gerson and the other diver while we were 60' down under. Unfortunately, too much time and too much air were wasted and we were not able to enjoy much of the underwater wonderland. However, the hike on Isla Bartolome, the boat ride around several coves and especially, an impromptu snorkeling expedition made up for the disappointing dive.
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On the way to Isla Bartolome - can you believe the water! |
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Isla Bartoleme and neighboring Isla Isabela. Lava flows and cinder cones dot the landscape |
Isla Bartoleme is a volcano scarred island but the life forms in Galapagos have ignored this. The animals you see are either from other parts of the world and have evolved to adapt to the Galapagos life or they evolved into entirely different sub-species.
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Galapagos penguins Beautifully ornate sally crab (about 6") Galapagos marine iguana |
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Gerson just south of the Equator Endemic lava cactus grows out of the barren terrain The crew going ashore |
A note about the penguins you see - these penguins are the ONLY penguins that have ventured into the Northern Hemisphere and are the ONLY penguins that inhabit warmer water. You are looking at another example of adaptation of the animal species (but then, can you blame the penguins for adjusting to sunshine and warm water!).
While cruising along the coastline, we saw pelicans, penguins and sea lions being very active along the cliffs and rocks. I asked our Naturalist Guide, Hansel, if we could snorkel before it got dark and he sped us back to the boat to get our snorkeling gear. In the 30 minutes afforded to us by the sun, we saw a white-tipped reef shark, many penguins, several pelicans, an eagle ray, a green sea turtle, several sea lions and too many fish to count. It was an adrenaline filled 30 minutes.
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Very large (3'+) parrot fish Puffer fish (1'+) A rather large sting ray (about 3' across) and again, a large colorful fish (18") (don't know the name) |
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My favorite character to watch. These zippy little penguins were very difficult to get to pose for the camera. What fantastic creatures! |
That night was spent enjoying a little something that Gerson whipped up in the blender. While we were toddling with the tortoises, Gerson was picking up passion fruit that fell to the ground. He walked out of the reserve with bulges in his pockets and with a grin on his face. A stop in the local market and he was prepared for his surprise. The drink is called Batida (Ba-tee-da) and it is comprised of passion fruit, rum, condensed milk, cream and ice. What began with polite sips quickly evolved to gulps to seconds and thirds. Needless to say, along with the Brazilian music, the night passed very pleasantly.
The next day, we were off to Isla Genovesa for land tours and snorkeling. The land tour was quite remarkable seeing as we got up close and personal with the inhabitants.
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Red-footed Booby and chicks Can you imagine |
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The two boobies (the feathered one is a Nasca, which actually has green feet) Say "Sardines" "Who is this guy anyway?" |
We passed on the afternoon land tour so we could enjoy one last snorkel in the waters of these magnificent islands. We swam with sea lions, white-tipped reef sharks, eagle rays, marble rays, sting rays, huge parrot fish (some up to 3'), incredibly large schools of fish, barracudas, yellow fin, angel fish, and the list goes on.
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Gerson taking a swim after our hot hike |
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Our boat: cabin with a double
lower bunk and private bath behind the wall Upper party deck Galley Sundeck |
Our next (and last) island stop was at Isla Seymour where we took an early morning walk across the island. Again, we found ourselves surrounded by dancing boobies (say that with a straight face!), sea lions, iguanas and frigate birds. And again, we found all the animals to be unbothered by our close presence.
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- Frigate family (it takes him 20
minutes to inflate his red neck sack and 40 minutes to deflate it) - Frigate chick - Land iguana - Marine iguana (know a good manicurist?!) |
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Is there a chiropractor in the house? Where yoga instructors |
Alas, our exciting trip aboard the Guantanamera came to an end and we were deposited back on Isla Baltra/Isla Santa Cruz. Since we were flying out to Guayaquil the next day (Monday), we spent the day around Puerto Ayora wherein we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station.
The Charles Darwin Research Station features an information center, a museum, a baby tortoise nursery, an iguana and an adult tortoise enclosure (including Lonesome George - a tortoise that is the last of his particular island's species). Around the winding pathways you will find a variety of plants and birds unique to the Galapagos Islands. In addition, among the flora and fauna, you will find the famous Darwin Finches - those little birds that inspired that big idea.
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Baby tortoises - about 4" across (can
you believe they will grow to be 400-500 pounds!) These two were fighting for the cactus - the long neck is an adaptation to reach the higher plants (and for stealing that cactus away from its short-necked friend) |
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One of those famously adaptable little birds - the Darwin Finch A heron and pelican just walking through town |
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