FLYING 960 KILOMETERS, WEST OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN COAST, BROUGHT US TO THE GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO. THESE UNIQUE THIRTEEN MAIN ISLANDS, SCATTERED NOT AND SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR , ARE RELATIVELY YOUNG, GEOLOGICALLY SPEAKING ... BETWEEN 3 AND 5 MILLION YEARS OLD. NINE OF THE MAJOR ISLANDS ARE VOLCANOS, SOME OF WHICH ARE STILL ACTIVE...THE FIVE MAJOR VOLCANOS ARE: WOLF, DARWIN, ALCEDO CERRO AZUL AND LA CUMBRE...ALL OF WHICH WE SAW FROM ISLA ISABELLA ONE CLEAR DAY!
AFTER PAYING OUR $100 PARK ENTRY FEE UPON LANDING ON SAN CRISTOBEL ISLAND (THE GALAPAGOS NATIONAL PARK WILL BRING IN ABOUT $20,000,000 IN FEES THIS YEAR!) OUR NATURALIST GUIDE, DANIEL, MET US AND TOOK US TO THE PIER WHERE WE DONNED OUR LIFE JACKETS AND TOOK OUR FIRST OF MANY ¨PANGA¨(INFLATABLE BOAT) RIDE OUT TO THE SEAMAN II.
WE HAVE CABIN #1 RIGHT IN THE FRONT OF THIS HUGE CATAMARAN. NOTE THE TOWELS FOLDED LIKE SAIL BOATS, THE NEXT CHANGE OF TOWELS THEY WERE FOLDED LIKE A TURTLE! THE SEAMAN HAS ROOM FOR 16 PASSENGERS BUT THERE ARE ONLY SEVEN OF US. WHAT A TREAT! 2 NEW ZEALANDERS, 2 ECUADOREANS, 1 JAPANESE, AND US. ON WEDNESDAY WE PICKED UP 9 MORE PASSENGERS, A FAMILY OF FOUR FROM CALIFORNIA, A COUPLE FROM OREGON AND A FAMILY OF THREE FROM FLORIDA, WHO ARE SAILING AROUND THE WORLD, AND A YOUNG COUPLE FROM LONDON, ENGLAND.
EVERY DAY WE FIGURED OUT, AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS, WAS BASICALLY THE SAME SCHEDULE....WAKE UP CALL BY DANIEL ¨BUENOS DIAS AMIGOS!; UNBELIEVABLE BREAKFASTS WITH ANY KIND OF OMELET YOU MIGHT DESIRE, FRENCH TOAST OR PANCAKES, FRESH FRUIT, CEREAL, YOGURT, FRESH SQUEEZED JUICE, TEA AND COFFEE!
BY 7:45 AM WE WERE IN THE PANGA FOR OUR MORNING EXCURSIONS...EVERYDAY A DIFFERENT ISLAND...SAN CRISTOBEL, LION DORMIDO, LOBOS, FLOREANA, ESPANOLA, SANTA CRUZ, ISABELLA, FERNANDINA, BARTOLOME, SOUTH PLAZA, RE-FUELING AT BALTRA THEN RETURNING TO SAN CRISTOBEL ON OUR LAST DAY. AFTER OUR MORNING HIKE WE USUALLY SNORKELED (WITH SEA LIONS AND GIANT SEA TURTLES, PENQUINS AND MILLIONS OF COLOURFUL FISH...ALL WITHIN 5 INCHES OF OUR MASKS!!!) OR HIKED ON THE DIFFERENT ISLANDS TO DISCOVER FOR OURSELVES WHAT DARWIN EXPERIENCED!
LION DORMIDO...WE DID NOT SCALE THESE ROCKS!
FRESH AIR LUNCH OUTSIDE ON THE UPPER DECK .
BACK ON BOARD, SOMETIMES BY PANGA, SOMETIMES
SWIMMING A KILOMETRE THROUGH THE AQUAMARINE WATERS BACK TO THE CATAMARAN, WE PEELED OFF OUR WETSUITS AND WERE READY FOR OUR ECUADORIAN LUNCH OF WONDERFUL SOUP, FRESH FISH, A MYRIAD OF VEGETABLES AND FRESH FRUIT AMIDST CALM SEAS. AFTER LUNCH WE HAD OUR SIESTA, WHICH GAVE US A CHANCE TO WRITE UP OUR BLOG COMMENTS...WE HAVE 20 PAGES...CONDENSED IT AND WE ARE GOING TO LET THE PICTURES DO THE TALKING! KEVIN, THE EVER-READY BARTENDER GREETED US EVERY AFTERNOON, AFTER OUR SNORKELING EXPEDITION, WITH EITHER FRESH JUICE OR HOT CHOCOLATE DEPENDING ON HOW COLD THE WATER WAS...IT RANGED FROM 18 TO 23 DEGREES CENTIGRADE, DUE TO THE CHILLY HUMBOLDT CURRENT! DANIEL, WHO WAS OUR FABULOUSLY KNOWLEDGABLE NATURALIST, MET US FOR A MEETING EVERY EVENING TO EITHER INTRODUCE US TO THE CREW, WITH A WELCOME OR ADIOS COCKTAIL, OR GIVE US OUR EVENING TALK ABOUT OUR ACTIVITIES FOR THE NEXT DAY...IT WAS ALWAYS GOOD TO KNOW IF WE WOULD HAVE A WET OR DRY LANDING! DINNER, ALWAYS VARIED AND DELICIOUS WAS SERVED AROUND 7 PM, JIM AND I WERE SLUMBERING BY 9 PM TO PREPARE OURSELVES FOR THE NEXT DAY!
PRE-HISTORIC LOOKING FRIGATE BIRDS IN THE SKY ABOVE PERFORMING ACROBATICS AS THEY TRY TO STEAL FOOD FROM BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES, PELICANS OR GULLS. THEY OFTEN HITCHHIKE FROM ONE ISLAND TO ANOTHER ON THE DIFFERENT VESSELS AS THEY CAN NOT LAND ON WATER!
UNBELIEVABLY WE ARE NOT USING THE ZOOM ON OUR CAMERA! THERE IS A POPULATION OF ABOUT 20,000 SEA LIONS IN THE GALAPAGOS. THE FEMALES MATE WITH THE PREDOMINATE MALE, WHO DURING THE MATING SEASON PATROLS HIS SECTION OF THE BEACH TO KEEP OTHER MALES AWAY. THE MALE SEA LION CAN WEIGH OVER 400 LBS, BUT WHEN DEFENDING HIS TURF HE HAS NO TIME TO FIND FOOD SO CAN LOOSE UP TO 1/4TH OF HIS BODY WEIGHT. THEREFORE, A MALE SEA LION´S DOMINANCE ONLY LASTS BETWEEN 27 AND 51 DAYS. THE FEMALE SEA LION HAS ONLY ONE PUP A YEAR AND HER GESTATION PERIOD IS LONGER THAN OURS .. 42 WEEKS. CUBS CAN BE NURSED UP TO TWO OR THREE YEARS IF THE MOTHER DOES NOT HAVE ANOTHER CUB DURING THAT TIME. ABOUT 40% TO 45% OF THE CUBS SURVIVE.
JIM LIKES THE IDEA OF DEFENDING HIS TURF AND WANTS TO BE A SEA LION!
BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES DOING THEIR MATING DANCE!
TWO OTHER BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES!
SEA LION PUPS CAVORTING IN THE SURF!
MARINE IGUANA
ISLAS GALAPAGOS WERE FIRST DISCOVERED IN 1535 BUT DID NOT BECOME FAMOUS UNTIL CHARLES DARWIN´S VISIT 300 YEARS LATER.
BECAUSE THE WILDLIFE IN THE GALAPAGOS IS SO WELL RESPECTED, THEY ARE NOT FED OR TOUCHED, YOU DO NOT EVEN TAKE PICTURES OF THEM WITH A FLASH... THEY ACT AS IF YOU ARE NOT THERE. OUR NATURALIST GUIDE, DANIEL, WHO WE HOPE WILL BRING HIS FAMILY TO VISIT US IN THE USA, STATED IT PERFECTLY WHEN HE SAID, ¨ WE DON´T JUST TALK ABOUT CONSERVATION WE PRACTICE IT!¨
CLIMBING UP THROUGH A POROUS VOLCANIC ROCKY TRAIL WE MADE OUR WAY THROUGH THOUSANDS OF MARINE IGUANAS LATCHING THEMSELVES ONTO THE ROCKS TO SUNBATH. QUITE FASCINATING REPTILES ... THEY FEED ON SEAWEED, BUT FIRST MUST SCALE DOWN THEN UP THE CLIFFS. BOTH THEIR FRONT AND BACK CLAWS ARE EXTREMELY TENACIOUS AS YOU CAN SEE. ALTHOUGH THESE REPTILES ARE CALLED MARINE IGUANAS THEY DO NOT LIVE IN THE SEA BUT DO DIVE FOR SEAWEED AND HAVE LONG STRONG TAILS TO HELP THEM SWIM. THEY HAVE GLANDS AT THE TOP OF THEIR HEADS THAT ALLOW THEM TO DESALINATE SEA WATER AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEM SPITTING OUT THE SALT.
AN EQUADOREAN LIGHT BEACON, ALONG SIDE A PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS, FOR OUR LIGHTHOUSE ROOM AT SIX BEARS EAST!
AS WE FOUND OUT MONDAY, OUR FIRST NIGHT, CABIN #1 HAS THE DISTINCT PLEASURE OF BEING RIGHT BEHIND THE ANCHOR CONSEQUENTLY AT 1AM WHEN THE CREW HAULED THE ANCHOR IN WE WERE AWAKENED WITH A JOLT! SOON WE WERE LULLED BACK TO SLEEP BY THE GENTLE MOVEMENT OF THE WAVES. SAME AGAIN AT 6AM WHEN THE ANCHOR WENT DOWN - A GOOD WAKE-UP CALL! AS YOU CAN SEE THE DOLPHINS HAD GREAT FUN CHASING THE PONTOONS!
ONLY A SAMPLING OF THE MANY SEA CREATURES ON THE GALAPAGOS!
JUST THE SEVEN OF US WERE ON THE SEAMAN II FOR FOUR DAYS!
MARINE IGUANAS AND SEA LIONS SHARE THE CRYSTAL WHITE BEACHES! CLIMBING UP THROUGH A POROUS VOLCANIC ROCKY TRAIL WE MADE OUR WAY THROUGH THOUSANDS OF MARINE IGUANAS LATCHING THEMSELVES ONTO THE ROCKS TO SUNBATH. QUITE FASCINATING REPTILES ... THEY FEED ON SEAWEED, BUT FIRST MUST SCALE DOWN THEN UP THE CLIFFS. BOTH THEIR FRONT AND BACK CLAWS ARE EXTREMELY TENACIOUS AS YOU CAN SEE. ALTHOUGH THESE REPTILES ARE CALLED MARINE IGUANAS THEY DO NOT LIVE IN THE SEA BUT DO DIVE FOR SEAWEED AND HAVE LONG STRONG TAILS TO HELP THEM SWIM. THEY HAVE GLANDS AT THE TOP OF THEIR HEADS THAT ALLOW THEM TO DESALINATE SEA WATER AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEM SPITTING OUT THE SALT.
RED SALLY LIGHT-FOOT CRABS PERSERVERE THE CRASHING SURF!
ISLA FLOREANA, POST OFFICE BAY...A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, SAILORS LEFT THEIR MAIL TO THEIR LOVED ONES IN THE ABOVE BARREL..OTHER SAILORS WOULD TAKE THE LETTERS, ONLY IF THEY COULD DELIVER THEM BY HAND...WE LEFT SOME POSTCARDS FOR OUR FAMILY IN CANADA AND THE USA...WONDER IF AND WHEN THEY WILL EVER RECEIVE THEM! WE ALSO TOOK TWO, ONE FOR HAND DELIVERY IN TORONTO AND ONE IN CHINA, MAINE!
A LAND TURTLE IN THE WILD....THIS GUY WEIGHED ABOUT 80 LBS. GALAPAGOS MEANS ¨SADDLE¨ REFERRING TO THE CARAPACE, OR THE TURTLE´S SHELL. THEIR LIFE SPAN IS UP TO 200 YEARS. THE MALE TURTLE HAS A CURVED CARAPACE FOR MATING WITH THE FEMALE, THE FEMALE´S CARAPACE IS FLAT FOR STABILITY! SHE WILL LAY UP TO 50 EGGS IN A HUGE DEPRESSION THAT SHE DIGS IN THE EARTH, COVERS UP THE EGGS AND OFF SHE GOES! NO REPTILES ¨HATCH¨ THEIR YOUNG. THE EGGS TAKE 3-4 MONTHS TO MATURE, THERE IS ONLY A 3-5% SURVIVAL RATE DUE TO FERAL CATS, DOGS, GOATS AND RATS THAT ARE ON THE ISLANDS...A GOOD PART OF THE $20,000,000. THE PARQUE NACIONAL RAISES EACH YEAR IS USED TO ERADICATE THESE UNWANTED ANIMALS AND RODENTS.
LAND TURTLES AT THE CHARLES DARWIN CENTRE.
DANIEL SHARED HIS WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE WITH US REGARDING THESE SEEMINGLY PRE-HISTORIC REPTILES. WE DISCOVERED AFTER BEING WITH DANIEL, THAT HE IS FIFTH GENERATION, GALAPAGOS ISLANDER, HIS FATHER, WHO IS NOW 84 YEARS OLD, WAS THE FIRST BOTONIST TO WORK, FOR THE BELGIUM FOUNDED, CHARLES DARWIN CENTER IN 1959. DANIEL´S SON IS 7TH GENERATION!
THE MALE TURTLES ARE UP TO 100 YEARS OLD AND ARE STILL CAPABLE OF MATING SO THEY ARE KEPT SEPARATE FROM THE FEMALES! THE SECOND REASON THAT THEY ARE KEPT SEPARATE IS BECAUSE DNA TESTING MUST BE DONE SO ONLY TURTLES FROM THE SAME ISLANDS ARE MATED. ONE BABY TURTLE, RAISED IN THE CDC, COSTS $1000. PER YEAR, AND THEY ARE KEPT FOR FIVE YEARS BEFORE THEY ARE RETURNED TO THE TERRITORY AND ISLAND FROM WHENCE THEIR PARENTS CAME.
LAND IGUANAS ST AWAY FROM THE SEA AND FEED ON CACTUS AND OTHER PLANTS.
VOLCANIC CACTUS
SHARDS OF VOLCANIC ROCK THAT WE HIKED OVER MOST DAYS!
GALAPAGOS ALBATROSS...WE WALKED THROUGH THEIR NESTING SITE ON ISLA ESPANOLA...OBSERVED TWO DOING THEIR MATING DANCE, AND THESE MAGNIFICENT BIRDS SOARING OVER OUR HEADS !
PELICAN AND SEA LION EVER HOPEFUL AT THE FISH MARKET ON SAN CRISTOBAL
NON-FLYING COMORANTS WITH MOM ON THE NEST AND DAD ON GUARD.
THESE BIRDS NEVER NEEDED TO FLY BECAUSE SO MUCH FOOD WAS AVAILABLE SO THEIR WINGS OVER THE CENTURIES BECAME VERY SHORT: THEY DIVE FOR FOOD AND SWIM WELL.
THE GALAPAGOS PENQUINS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN DELIVERED HERE FROM THE SOUTH BY THE HUMBOLT CURRENT...THEY LOVED SWIMMING WITH US!
I ASKED THE CAPTAIN IF HE WOULD STOP SO WE COULD SWIM ACROSS THE EQUATOR - HE SAID YES.. EVERYONE WAS SO EXCITED ABOUT THE PROSPECT! ON THE WAY A HUGE EAGLE RAY SLID SLOWLY BY US. THE HORN BLEW THREE TIMES AS WE APPROACHED THE EQUATOR AND WE SPRANG INTO ACTION DIVING OR JUMPING FROM DIFFERENT HEIGHTS ALL AROUND THE CATAMARAN. THE HUMBOLT CURRENT ENSURED THAT WE ALL SWAM QUICKLY ACROSS THE EQUATOR!
WE HAVE HAD A MOST MEMORABLE BEAUTIFUL TRIP TO THE GALAPAGOS AND FOR ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED WE WILL SHARE THE 800 PLUS PICTURES WE TOOK IN 8 DAYS!!
