You Go Nate!

SOUTH AMERICAN ADVENTURES - Week 5

I took a morning taxi to the airport where, after the usual rigamarole, I was soon on the plane heading towards the Galapagos Islands. I couldn´t wait to get there.

I got a great view of Quito nestled between the mountains, from the plane.

After a couple of hours we began our descent. Soon I saw small islands out the window and I knew I had arrived.

Landing on the small island of Baltra, we got off the plane on the tarmac in the warm equitoreal air.

I was met by a guide from the tour company I had booked with. We took a bus and a ferry to the neighboring island of Santa Cruz and that is where Day One really began.

One of the first things we visited were two ancient volcano craters that had long ago been filled by erosion and covered in plant life. These strange islands were created by the volcanoes and while most are inactive today, the lava rocks and evidences of their existence is everywhere.

Next we headed to the town on the south part of the island called Puerto Aroyo. It´s one of the larger of the few cities in the Galapagos and essentially geared completely towards tourism. There were frigate birds flying overhead constantly. These beautiful birds are found all throughout the islands.

Our next stop was the Charles Darwin Research Station where much of the scientific and ecological activity takes place.

It didn´t take long until we began to see some animal species endemic to the Galapagos Islands. Endemic means that they are found here and nowhere else in the world. One of the first or these animals we saw were the famous Darwin finches. There are several varieties of these finches found throughout the islands. It is with these very birds that Darwin developed his monumental theory of evolution. The finches were quite friendly and liked to hang out around the snack counter at the research station.

One of the star attractions here at the Research Station, of course, are the mighty giant tortoises. There are several subspecies of these tortoises, each one unique and endemic to an indivual island.

They were napping....

The most famous tortoise of all is Lonesome George. George is the last tortoise of his species. He is from the small island of Pinza. His age is unknown, but the average age of these toroises is around 150 years old. Here you can get a glimpse of Lonesome George eating his lunch.

We also got to see the nursery where they raise and study baby tortoises.

After visiting the research station we had some free time to spend in the town. I ran into the elders here. There are only two, only on this island and they service a small branch here. Waiting to board our boat we watched the sunset over a game of volleyball near the waterfront.
Soon it was time to board our yacht - the Encantada. It is a small tourist-class boat with sails that sleeps twelve tourists and a crew of six.

Our cabins were small but comfortable. I had the top-bunk. My cabin-mate was a Timothy from California. Another 20-something backpacker but a nice guy.

My fellow passengers were Timothy, two cute Swiss girls (twins!) and eight older Danish folk. The Swiss girls spoke English great and so did a couple of the Danes. Everybody got along well and we had fun. We always ate three great meals together in the small dining room on the boat.

Also on board were the captain, a few crew members including the cook and our naturalist guide.

After boarding the boat we ate dinner and went to bed. That night we sailed due south to the island of Floreana.

We woke up to find ourselves next to a beautiful green island. We ate a great breakfast and headed off to the island.

Whenever we were anchored calm inshore waters these puffer fish were always seen swimming around the boat and eating barnacle from the hull.
We took boarded a raft that took us to the beach. The wildlife was abundant. This yellow-crowned night heron was one of the first things we saw. You can see sea turtle tracks in the background.

Our first stop was the Post Office Barrel. For over 300 years sailors, whalers and even pirates have used this barrel to leave and pick up letters. Today you can leave a letter or a post card without postage and see if it eventually makes it to its destination. (I´m still a little unclear as to how it happens) so I sent myself a postcard.

We´ll see....

Waiting for the raft to come back and pick us up we explored the beach a little bit. It wasn´t long before we spotted a young sea lion resting in the sun. One of the most remarkable things about the Galapagos is how almost all the animals are completely unafraid of humans. We would soon see this to be true everywhere we would go.

Back on board the Encantada we ate lunch and headed off to a different part of the island.

We got to a nice beach where we had some time to relax and go snorkeling. There were a few sea lions sleeping around and crabs crabs crabs everywhere.

It´s forbidden to touch the animals or take rocks, leaves, shells or anything else from the islands. So you could still see some beautiful seashells lying in the sand.

Armed with my underwater camera I headed off to do some snorkeling. I saw some beautiful fish.

Of course the Brown Pelican is a common site around the islands.

Back on the boat a sea lion decided to hop up on the rear platform and take a nap.

Later he got up on the raft and took a little ride with us as we headed off to another snorkeling site.

Our next snorkeling site was called the "Devil´s Crown" It was excellent snorkeling.

We took the raft around to the other side of the rocks and jumped in. Immediately we saw a couple of sharks and a ray.

The volcanic rocks covered in coral and other sea creatures were stunning.

While swimming around taking pictures and exploring these underwater rocks all of a sudden something large and fast came swimming right towards me from the shadows of the rocks. I about soiled my swimsuit and then I realized that it was a sea lion. There were several of them swimming around, curious about these new visitors. I was swimming with the sea lions!

After some great snorkeling we headed back to the Encantada and had some snacks and fresh fruit.

Late in the afternoon we went back ashore to the flamingo lagoon. There were several flocks of pink flamingos there feeding and resting.

We then crossed a small peninsula in the island to another beach. All the trails on the islands are well marked. It is prohibited to leave the designated trails or to even be on an island without a certified guide.
This next beach had very fine white sand and the water was extra warm. Our guide said that in this little bay there were a lot of sea turtles and sting rays. Sure enough as we looked out into the water we saw a bunch of dark shapes floating about - the sea turtles. We also saw a few of the rays.

Back on the ship we were able to clean up and enjoy the sunset over the ocean as we headed off to our next island.


That night as it got dark, the sea got a little rough and the boat started to really rock. Right before dinner I started to get really sea sick. Luckily one of the Danish ladies was kind enough to give me a motion-sickness pill.

I awoke the next morning resfreshed and ready to explore a new island. We ate breakfast and then went ashore the island of Española. One of the first and many things we saw were the famous, endemic marine iguanas lounging around on the rocks. They are only aquatic lizards in the world eating seaweed and algae.

Of course there were also the Galapagos Sea Lions everywhere even on the path. This little pup didn´t even bother to get out of our way.
The marine iguanas were everywhere and thoroughly indifferent to us.

There were also these endemic lava lizards crawling about everywhere you went.

We walked along a trail that took us to some rock cliffs. It was the breeding ground of the Nazca and Blue-Footed Boobies. The area was covered with birds, nests and guano.

And there were more marine iguanas...

While walking along the nesting area this endemic Galapagos hawk landed fearlessly next to us on the path marker.

I was really excited to see the boobies. There were boobies everywhere. I like boobies.

The boobies also showed no regard for humans and we could approach them easily. Here is a blue-footed booby with her egg.

Although the blue-footed boobies are not endemic to the islands, it is estimated that three-quarters of the world´s population of this species live here on the Galapagos. The Nazca Boobies are actually an endemic sub-species of the masked booby. Here´s a Nazca Booby and her chick.

Here I am with a couple of blue-footed boobies.

We returned back to the pier where we spotted some marine iguanas swimming.

It was kind of funny watching the sea lion pups chase and play with the marine iguanas when they´re in the water.

Another curious, endemic animal here on the islands is the Galapagos Mockingbird. These birds are found throughout the islands and always interested in the human visitors.

Later we headed off to another beautiful white beach. There were sea lions lying all along the beach resting.

I will be using the image below in a poster that I can sell in elementary school book orders. It will have a caption that says, "Will you come play with me?"

We went out for some more snorkeling...

Luckily that night I avoided getting sea sick and I slept great.

We awoke the next morning to find ourselves in a beautiful little bay with shallow, crystal clear waters.

We boarded our raft and headed over to the land. A few curious sea lions followed us.

On shore there were quite a few sea lion pups sleeping and hanging around.

How can you resist taking pictures of cute sea lion pups.

You can´t.

And of course, more marine iguanas.

There were some beautiful yellow warblers flitting about as well.

A blue-footed booby couple was also hanging around.

After visiting the island we did a little snorkeling. I got a close-up of this puffer fish beneath the boat.

After snorkeling we headed off to the island of Santa Fe and ate some lunch. After arriving we were able to do some more snorkeling in the clear warm water. There was a huge school of fish creating a huge black moving mass on the seafloor. It was weird swimming right into them. The would just create a hole and you couldn´t touch them if you wanted to.

There were plenty of fish everywhere.

And of course, before long the local sea lions had to come investigate us. There were a bunch of them swimming all around us. Some would swim right at you and then turn at the last moment.

Just as we were getting ready to leave a few rays passed beneath the boat.

Being on a sailing ship made me feel like a captain. I would often give orders to the passengers and crew. A frequent "Look alive there!" or "Set the royals and stuns´ls" and an occasional, "clap that Danish man in irons!" led to my being thrown overboard by the end of the fourth day.

Ok... not really.

After snorkeling we went ashore where there were strange looking cactuses all about.

Before long we came across the endemic (to this one island) Santa Fe Land Iguanas. They were big, gentle but this one came lumbering along right towards me.

They just ate the grass and didn´t mind us a bit.

Wow.

For our final day in the islands we woke early in the morning and visited the small island of Seymour.

More baby sea lions.

This island has a huge nesting area of Frigate Birds. One of the interesting characteristics of these birds is the inflatable, bright red pouch on the males. They were all around trying to impress the females.

I tried to impress the females too. But as usual... it just didn´t work.

This huge bull sea lion came over to us barking and showing off how great and powerful he was. However he was so fat he couldn´t go very fast.

This marine iguana is giving a lava lizard a piggy-back.

There were some more blue-footed boobies on this island as well. Here is one in courtship display. They do this with their wings and then do a little dance with their blue feet.

Here´s a boobie in flight.

Here I am enjoying some more boobies.

Here I am trying to touch some boobies....

Don´t worry, I didn´t...

The endemic Swallow-Tailed Gull is the only nocturnal gull in the world.

This was a common scene along the shores.

As we got ready to leave in the raft, this little guy wanted to come with.

But his mother just wouldn´t allow it.

We went south of the island and ended up back on the island of Baltra where the airport is located. There were a few marine iguanas in the water to bid us farewell.

Here´s a Great Blue Heron... a common bird across the Americas.

After disembarking the boat and getting to shore we found a few sea lions using the benches for their beds. It is one of the continual reminders that humans are simply guests in these islands. The animals are the kings.

Soon I was on the plane heading back to Quito. My five days in these islands had been one of the great experiences of my life. As a kid who grew up checking out library books about sea lions, reading about the frigate bird in the encyclopedia and looking up boobies on the internet (just kidding!) this was like a dream come true. I am grateful I had this opportunity.


Now what?


Well... I will be traveling around Ecuador for the next two weeks with a tour group and then I return home on the 17th of February. I´ll hopefully be able to update my blog next week, but if not... definitely when my trip concludes.