Galapagos Islands, Ecuador – January 30 – February 2, 2011

I am writing this blog way after the trip to the Galapagos so these are just my recollections and thoughts from notes scribbled on a piece of paper. Hopefully it makes sense.

We flew from Quito to the Galapagos Islands very early on the morning of the 30th. That was the first time it was truly sunny in Quito and we finally, from the tarmac as we boarded our plane, got to see the nearby snow-capped volcanic mountains. Literally everyone getting on the plane stopped on the tarmac to take a picture. The mountains, especially Cotapaxi, were very impressive against the bright blue sky.

The Galapagos Islands are located about 1,000 km off the Pacific coast of South America and belong to Ecuador. The archipelago includes 13 major islands and lots of tiny islands and of course they were made famous by Charles Darwin in his theory of evolution. The islands are home to some o the strangest and most wonderful wildlife including birds than can swim but no longer fly, aquatic iguanas, dragon-like lizards and giant tortoises. The islands cover nearly 5,000 square kilometers and are now a national park. The park board maintains and controls the environment of the park and they are very strict about what comes into the area. The interior of our plane was sprayed before we landed and our bags were supposedly sprayed as well.

The airport on Baltra in Galapagos is definitely a small airport. There is one runway and a couple of small buildings around but that is about it. The airport is just a covered waiting area with a few solid walls in the interior. There were lots of people waiting to board planes back to the mainland, which is the only place you can fly to from here. It seemed to take a really long time to get through security but that may have just been due to the number of people getting off the big plane and the number of officer in the small airport. Galapagos is not a different country but the islands are a national park and reserve and it takes time to go through all their controls and collect their fees. The admission price for the park was $100 plus there was another $10 charge for something else as well. I got a Galapagos Island stamp in my passport and I’m never quite sure how these places manage to get away with doing this since it is not an official country stamp. However, it’s nice to have the stamp in the passport so I wasn’t going to argue. Outside the airport there was a market area with people selling their local souvenirs and it was very popular as there was absolutely nothing else to do in the area.

We boarded our bus for the short trip to our boat, the G1, which looked pretty small from the outside. Once we got on board and saw our rooms we realized just how small and crowded it really was. Our room was two bunk beds with about three feet of extra space to the side and at the end. The bathroom was off the end and also very small. The boat holds 16 guests in eight rooms all with bunk beds. There are two decks on the boat with the top deck having two to three rooms on each side, the navigation room at the front and the bar/meeting room/library at the back. The bottom deck has two rooms on each side and the kitchen and dining room at the front. At the back on both levels there is some open deck space and on the lower level there is a pontoon area for getting into and out of the water/dock/zodiacs. The boat was small but it was definitely workable for the time we were on it.

The food on the boat was great and we all ate way too much. Our first meal was lunch and it was a big bowl of soup that was so delicious and filling. And just as you’re feeling satisfied the rest of the meal comes out and it was meat and potatoes and salad and vegetables. This was repeated again at dinner but also with dessert. Breakfast was always big and equally delicious. We could not possibly have gone hungry but still when we returned from a walk or snorkeling there were always quick treats for us to eat, especially at happy hour. I don’t know how the cook managed in the tiny space he had to work in but he certainly did a great job. And the guy serving us also did a fantastic job. The entire crew was great. I don’t think the captain did anything other than captain the boat but everyone else did multiple jobs such as serving food, making up our rooms each day, driving the zodiacs, acting as tour guides, keeping us safe and in the right areas while snorkeling, etc. We thought our days were long often starting with a 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. breakfast but we knew their days were even longer.

The weather was warm on the islands, much warmer than in Quito, but it was also very wet. Somehow the wet didn’t really bother us as we went on our walking tours or went snorkeling or sailed from place to place or just relaxed. Except for a couple of real downpours that occurred when we were on the boat, all other showers dried very quickly.

On many occasions we were treated to wildlife shows right on the boat. Birds would come up and sit right on the side of the boat, especially the pelicans, and the large frigate birds would glide along overhead, sometimes as many as ten of them. The first night the crew left the lights on the boat and perhaps threw some food over board because we had quite a display. It was amazing watching the dolphins, sharks, penguins, pelicans and smaller fish all trying to get a piece of the action. It was hard to stop watching and go to bed that night but we had to because of the early morning. And what you didn’t realize while watching the display from the top deck was that a mass of bugs that looked like large flying ants had gathered on the bottom deck under the lights. That’s where our room was and the door was covered with hundreds of them so by the time we got in the bugs were everywhere. The following morning the crew members hosed down the whole boat to get rid of all the bugs, most of whom were dead by that time. And in the morning there were a couple of sea lions sleeping on the pontoon at the back of the boat but we had to kick them off too.

On one of our walks a little bird came down and sat on someone’s backpack. As we all gathered round the bird jumped to someone else’s shoulder. Then they hopped to someone’s hand while they held a camera. And from there they jumped to the long black lens on someone else’s camera and sat at the end of the black shutter staring into the lens at its own reflection (we assumed). It was very cute and we all had fun watching him watching himself. The animals have no predators here so I guess they feel quite safe getting close to anything that comes by. They also don’t mind if something else comes close to them. On one of our first walks there was a sea lion feeding her very young pup and we were all taking pictures from just a few feet away. On other occasions there would be several pups on the beach waiting for their mothers to return and we could get very near to them. We could not touch any of the animals or take any plants or stones but we could enjoy everything quite up close and personal.

We saw lots of lizards and iguanas including the sea iguana that swims quite well. Only his head is above water and the rest of his body sways behind him just under water. The iguanas like to sun themselves on the rocks to get warmed up so we really had to watch where we were stepping because they sometimes just blended into the rocks and you didn’t even know they were there. But if we got too close to them and they weren’t happy about it they would definitely let us know. Sometimes there would be dozens of them just on one rock – obviously a nice, warm rock.

The red crabs were also quite interesting. Their top outer shell is definitely red so they are appropriately names. The rocks in some pools just seem to come alive with these crabs crawling over them. And it really wasn’t their back that was fascinating to me. When they got up on their big legs and started walking, their undersides were beautiful shades including blue and white so quite spectacular. Apparently these guys shed their shells from time to time as we often found the discarded ones on the beach and the tour guide said they would simply grow a new one. On some of the islands we could see the paths left by the sea turtles coming up to lay their eggs on the beach and some of the huge holes they had dug out for their nests. We weren’t allowed to go too close to those areas.

The sea lions also seemed to be everywhere. When we were near a colony the male would certainly let us know about his presence by bellowing quite loudly. The females and pubs on the beach were ever so much quieter and more enjoyable. The one day while we were snorkeling I had one sea lion right near me and he kept going down into a deep cavern between two rocks and then he would suddenly come shooting out and fly into the air and then back into the water again. I watched him above the water sometimes and sometimes under the water and it was always quite impressive. I’m sure he knew I was there so he was probably just showing up.

That snorkel was the same one where we swam with the tortoises. The snorkel started from shore (sometimes we started from the zodiacs or the boat) and right from the start there were lots of small colourful fish darting all around. Then, not thirty feet from shore, I had a tortoise swimming beneath me and I followed him for quite a while. I like the tortoise speed much better than the sea lion or dolphin speed. I couldn’t keep up to those guys but the tortoise was just fine. Around one of the big rocks was where I first saw the sea lion so spent some time with him. Then when I went back to serious snorkeling I realized I had a shark right under me. That was a bit spooky but he seemed totally disinterested in me and quickly disappeared.

On another snorkel we started from the shore and went out around a point and back again. I was a bit slow off the mark because the current was really strong going into shore and I was trying to go out. It was a cloudy, windy day and the water was pretty churned up so it was harder to see anything. I just couldn’t seem to find a good view. Then I heard someone shout so I looked up and there were a couple of dolphins just about to go past me. I swam toward them and kept up to them for probably all of twenty seconds but it was pretty cool to say I was swimming with the dolphins. Of course they made the swimming thing look quite easy while I was indeed struggling to move at all.

The islands are different in soil and vegetation with the newer islands having much less vegetation. And the islands have different types of rocks and soils depending on whether they were created by a fast cooling or slow cooling lava. Some islands have rocky bluffs down to the ocean and some have sandy beaches – some white and powdery and some back and course. The islands make for wonderful scenery while you are travelling on the boat. I certainly took many pictures so hopefully some of them turned out. And did you know that the Galapagos Islands are growing on the west side, that is all the new islands are appearing on the west side, while the Hawaiian Islands are growing on the east side. (I hope I’ve got that right!) It all has to do with the earth’s plate and how it is moving. It’s the same fault line but it’s to the west of the Galapagos and the east of the Hawaiian Islands.

If I remember our schedule correctly, on the afternoon of the 30th, our first day, we went for a walk on Bachas Beach and then went snorkeling from the beach. On the 31st we went to Chinese Hat (an island shaped like a Chinese Hat) and Bartolome or Bartholomew Islands and had a walk and snorkel on each. The walk on Bartolome was mainly along a wooden pathway and it was quite a hike up to the highest point on the island. There is very little vegetation on the island, just some low shrubs in places, as it is a reasonably new volcanic island. At the top you have a magnificent view of the island itself and of the many surrounding islands. It was quite spectacular and well worth the climb.

On the 1st we were up early yet again and had breakfast at 6:15 so we could get off the boat and start our walk at 6:45. We were in Puerta Egas on Rabida Island which is a very volcanic rock and dark sand island. We saw iguanas, turtles, birds and sea lions on our walk. We also saw a few flamingoes but certainly not as many as we were expecting at the nearby lagoon. It was during our snorkel here, which was in really clear water, that I saw a shark, turtles, sea lions and lots of coloured fish.

We then sailed to Rabida and took a dinghy ride to see the blue-footed boobies and sea lions. There weren’t many boobies but at least we can say we saw them and they really do have beautiful blue feet. The walk was interesting as there was not much vegetation on the island. There were some cactus and some small trees that looked dead. In fact they are dormant for eight months of the year and the moss that was hanging on them helps them survive the dry periods.

On the 2nd we were up even earlier, had breakfast at 5:30 and were on our way by 6 a.m. We docked at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, the main port of the Galapagos. Our bags went off to the airport while we went for a walking tour of the Darwin Research Station. The research station has lots of tortoises including a nursery of little ones who are kept until they are three years old and then released. The little guys are definitely a lot smaller than their giant elders. Some of them are only a couple inches in diameter. By the time they are three years old their shell is hard and they supposedly can survive better. Lonesome George is probably the most famous tortoise as he is the last of his breed. They keep putting females or a related species in his cage hoping he will be attracted but so far George just doesn’t seem interested. They have just put two new tortoises in so there is still hope. Diego is the other famous tortoise and I think his claim to fame was his age. I forget exactly how old he is (not sure anyone knows for sure!) but I think they estimate him to be at least 100 years old. Some tortoises live to be 200 so I guess that means Diego is must middle aged.

From the research station we went to the airport and flew back to Quito. Once back at our hotel we all took our laundry down and started rearranging things for the next leg of our journey. All in all the Galapagos was great and I’m certainly glad I took the time to go there as I probably will not make it again. It’s definitely a very unique and beautiful place.