We Could Get Used to This

To San Baltras, Galapagos, Ecuador -- April 14-15

Our taxi to the airport yesterday was scheduled for 4:30 a.m. Though we’ve been getting used to these early mornings, getting up at 4 a.m. is a little extreme. Unlike our previous taxi rides, I actually tried to say a few things to our driver. He was very nice and spoke clearly so we could understand. He mentioned what a strong winter they have been having, which has resulted in lots of land slides in the mountains and, in particular, northern Peru, which has apparently been in the news lately.

Kylie... very early in the morning...

Tickets to the Galapagos

We managed to get our tourist cards and special Galapagos baggage check done before getting to the ticket counter.  By 10:30, after a stop over in Guayaquil, we were off the plane in the warm and humid island of San Baltras.  The first thing that struck us was how dry the island appeared. It reminded me of Baja California with small shrubs and the occasional cactus. The only hitch getting out of the airport was due to Dex’s piece of coconut shell he’d been carrying around since Cambodia. Any organic material (wood, seeds, fruit etc) is strictly forbidden. Fortunately, there was no fine or penalty, just a bit of extra paperwork  (Kylie’s rocks from Nepal were, apparently, ok).

It was clear we were in the Galapagos when we walked to a small, covered, outdoor waiting area to be ferried to our boat and there was a sea lion laying in the corner under one of the benches! Galapagos wildlife is famous for having no fear of humans. I wonder if the animals in New Zealand were the same way when humans finally arrived. The big difference, however, was that the settlers there (both the Maori and Europeans) were not as benevolent as those now visiting the Galapagos (hence the extinction, for example, of the huge flightless Moa.)

Our group on the boat is a good one, largely North Americans and, not surprisingly, somewhat older. Barb and Alex are from Edmonton, Canada; Trudy and Bill, avid divers are from Florida; Paula and Bob from near Washington DC; and Becky, a nurse from Cleveland. Additionally there is Jon and Jackie from London, although Jackie grew up in Hong Kong and they have plans to live there after their four plus months in South America. Finally, Jos and Christa are from Holland, though have lived for a time in the States. The group is, without exception, well educated and well traveled.

Becky, checking out the view

Jackie and Jon

Jos and Christa

Our excursion yesterday was fairly brief but included a short walk along the north shore of Santa Cruz Island and an initial snorkeling session from the beach. Dex was very disappointed with having to listen to all the information Pedro was giving us about endemic, native, and introduced species. Almost immediately, though, we saw the red Sally Light Foot Crabs and the black-grey sea iguanas. We were also lucky to see a couple American Flamingos in a small brackish pond near the shore. The snorkeling was not very good due to the poor visibility. I was lucky enough, though, to spy a giant Green Sea Turtle feeding just an arms length away, which, of course, was really, really cool.

Fish feeding at the side of our boat

Today, has been much more impressive. Kylie, Meg, and I were up before 6:00, so we got to watch the sun rise. We were peacefully sailing to our first destination, Isla Santiago. I always enjoyed being up early on a giant cruise ship, but this is even cooler. Plus, we spied a few dolphins jumping in the distance.

Isla Santiago (a.k.a. San Salvador), is particularly noteworthy for a volcanic eruption, which took place just a hundred and twenty years ago. As a result, a huge portion of the relatively flat island is now covered in a layer of black, lava rock clearly showing the flow patterns. After a hundred years just a few hardy plants have started to take root and break down the rock.

Kylie in a lava hole

Twice today we got to snorkel, which is a ton of fun. Dex and Kylie seem to really be taking to it. Dex was bragging that he was able to swim among and between the big jagged rocks since he's so much smaller than everyone else. I think he likes the challenge of avoiding the rocks and fighting the ocean surge. It was awesome to swim among schools of hundreds of small and large fish. A penguin swam right next to us for a few minutes and Dex and Becky spotted a shark (lucky ducks!). Becky joked that their reactions were quite different -- she swam away, Dex swam towards!

Our "little" boat is fantastic. One of the advantages of the catamaran seems to be the extra space compared to a single hull boat. That, and the fact it should rock less. For fifteen passengers and eight crew, there is a plenty of room. Each room has it’s own bathroom, drawers and closet, windows and AC. For common space there is a dining room in back, a small meeting room in front with a row of slanted windows and padded seats, a small upstairs sitting area with a small bar, and then a large top deck with lounge chairs and clothes line.

Meeting room up front

Main hallway

Top deck

I have a feeling, we could get used to this.