Monday, April 03, 2006
The week of blue footed boobies
You know you have been sailing on a boat through the Galapagos Islands for the past 8 days when...you have returned to mainland Ecuador and cannot stop rocking, as if you were still living at sea. Hopefully, this too will pass.
The week ended, and I am left with a plethora of memories, fabulous photos, a pretty nice tan...if I do say so myself, a few new friends, and a feeling of awe when I think about the Galapagos. This place was very different from any other destination thus far, and perhaps any yet to come, but these islands do not this credit to make them special. I am unsure of the best way to tell the story of my week...
I know you have a million questions, so for this entry, I think I will just fill out my own FAQs section. How convenient...
Q---Marci, how did you get off mainland Ecuador, into the Galapagos, and onto the boat?
A---Early morning on Monday, March 27, I entered the domestic departure section of the Quito airport. I sat among suited businessmen and women (a sight that I am not really accustomed to any longer in South America), destined for Guayaquil, Ecuador´s largest city, located on the southern coast. We boarded a short, 45 minute flight to Guayaquil, touched down to replace the business folks with international tourists in straw hats and tropical printed botton down shirts, and returned to the air for a longer flight into Baltra Island, the site of the only airport in the Galapagos. Upon arrival, we passed through an organized immigrations desk, just to make sure that we were not bringing any illegal goods...like fruit (whoa...crazy)...into this national park. After paying a hefty sum for the simple entry into the islands, I picked up my pack from the pile of bags the airline unloaded (no baggage conveyor here) and located my patiently waiting guide, ship name on a sign in hand and all. He stood in the corner of this completely open air, corrugated tin roofed structure waiting with other passengers. Together, we then hopped on a short bus ride to the dock, where we met about 8 huge sea lions...simply resting on covered benches nearby. A few photos and ohhhhhs and ahhhhhs later, we loaded into a dingy (which we would later find to be a staple of our Galapagos lives) and first entered the Angelique, our home for the next 8 days.
Q---What did the boat look like?
A---The Angelique really looks like a pirate ship, if you really want to know. The front is decorated with a deck area and plank-like, narrow bow that one can (and did) sit or walk upon, and carries enormous empty masts (lacking sails...uses only the motor). There is a small dining table in the back for all passengers, and a covered, indoor, library-like area in the center of the boat, where the passengers frequent a small bar and the crew watches television, and the minimal number of channels. Through the library area, a small staircase led to the bottom floor, which was where the cabins are located. The boat holds a total of 16 passengers, in 8 cabins, and within the space of an American minivan, each cabin holds a shelf, set of bunk beds, porthole, and bathroom with what I would deem some of the best shower pressure I have seen in South America.
Q---Who else was with you on the boat?
A---The group that I was with changed a little bit when on my fourth day, seven people left and there were seven new arrivals. But, since we were living together and all, I got to know everyone relatively well. I was the youngest, but not by much, of the single travelers. However, we did have three on the boat who were younger than me, and they were kids. There was a delightful family of 6 from France/Germany, with three wonderful little girls who I spent a ton of time with. I could often be spotted on Galapagos beaches lined with colonies of sea lions, running through crashing waves with the girls or singing ¨Adel Vice (their favorite, from the ¨Sound of Music¨) while building a sand castle. Their parents were a very kind pair, who I spent a great deal of time talking to as well, and their German grandmother was also in toe. This family has an amazing story---the kids are 6, 8, and 10, and speak three languages, as they have one parent who is English and one who is German, and spent the last few years living in France. Their family is en route to moving to Germany, but decided to take a year to travel as a family throughout the Americas. They began in Alaska, and have moved through the Americas in a camper. They are ending in Rio in the coming months. I thought this was one of the most amazing things I had heard.
There was a couple from California, currently living in Bali, Canadians, Australians, a girl from Alaska, and a few from Switzerland. We had some interesting cultural and political discussions, with the wide range of backgrounds. Mostly, we ate together, lounged on the boat deck together, and stared at each other in awe when seeing or experiencing yet another Galapagos wonder.
Q---What about the crew?
A---The crew was really funny. 7 men run the boat, and the guide changes every week. They each have their own jobs, but kind of had a way of helping one another that I often forgot who was really doing what. There was a waiter, a cook and assistant cook, a captain, a first mate, a sailor, and an engineer, and all of them are REALLY informal. None of them spoke English fluently, and very few of them knew any English outside of ¨water¨, or a few other assorted words. From what I understand, not too many of the tourists usually know any Spanish at all, so, the crew was pretty excited that I could talk to them. Now, I am, by any stretch, fluent. However, I got on in some pretty long, in-depth conversations. And, since most of the other passengers were in their cabins for bed no later than 8:30 at night, and I was still sipping my glass of wine, we were usually left to speak Spanish. Sometimes, we would speak until the wee hours, or until they had to go to work and get the boat moving, as wwe mostly moved during the night. These guys are hysterical, and they had a real spirit present on the boat. I got to really enjoying their company, and hearing about their adventures on the boat over the last few years. They had great stories-all of them.
Q---What did you do on that boat in the Galapagos Islands for 8 days?
A---That is a really good question. We had a schedule, and since the boat does the same circuit each week, there is a pretty solid program. Since the boat was mostly nocturnal, in terms of sailing, Waking up between 6 and 7 to have an early breakfast, we would often go onto the islands for a walk first, when it was hot...but not as hot as it would be in the middle of the day. We would walk to lookout points to catch a good view or snap a few photos overhead beaches, fantastic lava formations from volcanic eruptions gone by, interesting trees, and you know, flamingos. Sometimes, we walked to find animals, like red-footed, blue-footed, or masked boobies nesting, frigget birds, Darwin finches, Galapagos hawks, mockingbirds, marine and land iguanas, flamingos, penguins...the list goes on. The amazing thing about these animals is that the vast majority of them are endemic, which means that they only live there, in the Galapagos. Therefore, all of you will have to come here to see how amazing they were.
After our walk, we would often go to various...sometimes more than one...site around the island to snorkel. Here, we could and did swim with sea lions, sharks, turtles, rays, and all kinds of colorful, unique fish. I had my underwater camera, and I did take pictures, but being underwater with these creatures, up against the mossed over, underwater lava, was the kind of fantastic that I do not even know I could capture.
The afternoons were often the same, with other walks and other snorkeling sites...but basically, just a rotation of wet landings and dry landings and water activities and land activities. I got used to being salty all the time, and slathering on the SPF 50 sunscreen pretty much every chance I had.
The itinerary looked like this:
Monday, March 27-Bachus Island
Tuesday, March 28-Genovesa Island
Wednesday, March 29-Bartolome Island, and Sullivan Bay
Thursday, March 30-Puerta Ayora, Charles Darwin Research Center, and the Highlands
Friday, March 31-Floreana Island
Saturday, April 1-Española Island
Sunday, April 2-Santa Fe Island
Monday, April 3-North Seymour Island
(For those of you who have been to Galapagos before, or plan to do research after reading this because you want to go...which you should immediately...remember, the islands each have several names.)
Q---What did it look like?
A---These islands are an Ecuadorian national park. This means that they are protected areas. Therefore, there is absolutely no human development. When we would get off the dingy onto these islands (other than the few other tourists groups who were there), we would often feel like the first people to have ever arrived on the island. Sure, there were marked trails for hiking and all, but yeah, those could have been there naturally (I crack myself up). Anyway, untouched...the islands are just wildlife sanctuaries, and are majestic, scenic, and amazing as such.
One of the most amazing parts of these sanctuaries is that the animals have no fear. Becuase they are protected areas and no one is coming to hunt or act as unnatural predators to these animals, they never learned the fearful behavior patterns. They do not hide from people at all...instead, they come right up to you. The birds, the sea lions, the iguanas...everything...they almost bump into you they are so close. Sometimes, as we were walking on a trail, we would have walk over them. This did not mean that I was petting sea lions-they are still all wild animals and although I got my rabies shot, I was reluctant to get too too too close. I got just close enough to get some good photos.
Q---Did you ever get seasick?
A---No, but I thought about it a few times. My first night of sleep was rough, and then, I guess I got my sea legs.
Q---Did you get to visit the Darwin Research Center?
A---You bet I did. This place is located on the island of Santa Cruz, in a city called Puerta Ayora, which is a little port village with a lot of people in fact. The center itself is home for oodles and oodles of hyper protected giant turtles and iguanas. It looks a little like a park meets zoo meets museum, with cages, green areas, and exhibits, and expanses over a lot of land. I did not see so many scientists, and there was no picture up of Darwin himself, but I still really liked it.
I also really enjoyed Puerta Ayora. That was where I was when I posted the blog entry from the islands, as it is one of the few places in the islands with human development and population. The main streets border with the port, and are lined with small restaurants, shops, bars, and internet cafes, to cater to tourists and the few thousand people who in fact live there...and of course, the crew members of all the ships who dock there. This is the main port in the Galapagos, in terms of boat collection, and when we were there, I would guess that there were about 20 other boats of matching size, or a little larger (little being the key word here) than Angelique.
Q---What was your favorite part of the week?
A---This is a tough question. While the whole week was really phenomenal, I can pinpoint two points in time that were my favorite. The first only happened once...on Floreana Island, there is a special place called Post Office Bay. This is a place that years ago, acted as a post office for the passing soldiers who happened to be moving through Galapagos. Back then, these men would dock and approach the bay, letters in hand. They did not need postage, and could not get it there, for it was not a real post office. Instead, it is a set of barrels or containers with letters and postcards. People could leave a letter or look through some and see where they were going, and if one was heading the same way, they would take the letter headed in that direction with them. So, it is kind of just a human transport service. Today, this bay works the same way, with the containers of mail waiting to encounter another person headed in the right direction. Now, it is mostly just for tourists. I wrote a postcard to my mother, and it may take a week or a year for another tourist to come through en route to Michigan. But, she will get it eventually. I cannot wait to see how long it takes to get back to East Lansing.
The other real highlight of my week happened nightly. One of the best parts of the Galapagos for me was at night. Everything was quiet, calm, and still (except for maybe our boat, which could or could not be coasting along). The sea lions would chase flying fish around the boat, and sharks would often come around, showing off their fins, as they were attracted to the mast lighting. Once the night had really seet in and the other passengers went to sleep, the mast lighting was turned off. And, that was when I would lay on the outdoor wiker couch and watch the night sky. There were more stars up there than I could possibly imagine, and definetely more than I had ever seen before in my life. It was as if the sky had been littered by flecks of salt, and no one could bear to clean it up. I was mesmorized.
So, that was the trip in a nutshell. I guess this form was the easiest for me to get everything out comprehensively, and it allows for a kind of open forum. If you have more questions about my Galapagos week, post them. I will answer as soon as I can. But, it was a wonderful week, and is something that I think that anyone who has the means and the time should absolutely experience.
I am back in Quito now, but just for a few hours. I leave tomorrow for Santiago, where I will meet up with my old friend, Mollie. Mollie is fufilling my dream of convincing one of my friends to quit their job and leave their life for a little while to come travel with me in South America. At 7:30 AM on Wednesday, April 5, Mollie and I will meet in the Santiago airport. Our plan is to move from Santiago to Buenos Aires, through the southern portion of the continent. So, we will be heading down into Patagonia, as far as our clothing will allow in the impending winter. This is the last portion of my trip, the last month. I am ready for another memorable, distinctive, exciting phase of travel.
The week ended, and I am left with a plethora of memories, fabulous photos, a pretty nice tan...if I do say so myself, a few new friends, and a feeling of awe when I think about the Galapagos. This place was very different from any other destination thus far, and perhaps any yet to come, but these islands do not this credit to make them special. I am unsure of the best way to tell the story of my week...
I know you have a million questions, so for this entry, I think I will just fill out my own FAQs section. How convenient...
Q---Marci, how did you get off mainland Ecuador, into the Galapagos, and onto the boat?
A---Early morning on Monday, March 27, I entered the domestic departure section of the Quito airport. I sat among suited businessmen and women (a sight that I am not really accustomed to any longer in South America), destined for Guayaquil, Ecuador´s largest city, located on the southern coast. We boarded a short, 45 minute flight to Guayaquil, touched down to replace the business folks with international tourists in straw hats and tropical printed botton down shirts, and returned to the air for a longer flight into Baltra Island, the site of the only airport in the Galapagos. Upon arrival, we passed through an organized immigrations desk, just to make sure that we were not bringing any illegal goods...like fruit (whoa...crazy)...into this national park. After paying a hefty sum for the simple entry into the islands, I picked up my pack from the pile of bags the airline unloaded (no baggage conveyor here) and located my patiently waiting guide, ship name on a sign in hand and all. He stood in the corner of this completely open air, corrugated tin roofed structure waiting with other passengers. Together, we then hopped on a short bus ride to the dock, where we met about 8 huge sea lions...simply resting on covered benches nearby. A few photos and ohhhhhs and ahhhhhs later, we loaded into a dingy (which we would later find to be a staple of our Galapagos lives) and first entered the Angelique, our home for the next 8 days.
Q---What did the boat look like?
A---The Angelique really looks like a pirate ship, if you really want to know. The front is decorated with a deck area and plank-like, narrow bow that one can (and did) sit or walk upon, and carries enormous empty masts (lacking sails...uses only the motor). There is a small dining table in the back for all passengers, and a covered, indoor, library-like area in the center of the boat, where the passengers frequent a small bar and the crew watches television, and the minimal number of channels. Through the library area, a small staircase led to the bottom floor, which was where the cabins are located. The boat holds a total of 16 passengers, in 8 cabins, and within the space of an American minivan, each cabin holds a shelf, set of bunk beds, porthole, and bathroom with what I would deem some of the best shower pressure I have seen in South America.
Q---Who else was with you on the boat?
A---The group that I was with changed a little bit when on my fourth day, seven people left and there were seven new arrivals. But, since we were living together and all, I got to know everyone relatively well. I was the youngest, but not by much, of the single travelers. However, we did have three on the boat who were younger than me, and they were kids. There was a delightful family of 6 from France/Germany, with three wonderful little girls who I spent a ton of time with. I could often be spotted on Galapagos beaches lined with colonies of sea lions, running through crashing waves with the girls or singing ¨Adel Vice (their favorite, from the ¨Sound of Music¨) while building a sand castle. Their parents were a very kind pair, who I spent a great deal of time talking to as well, and their German grandmother was also in toe. This family has an amazing story---the kids are 6, 8, and 10, and speak three languages, as they have one parent who is English and one who is German, and spent the last few years living in France. Their family is en route to moving to Germany, but decided to take a year to travel as a family throughout the Americas. They began in Alaska, and have moved through the Americas in a camper. They are ending in Rio in the coming months. I thought this was one of the most amazing things I had heard.
There was a couple from California, currently living in Bali, Canadians, Australians, a girl from Alaska, and a few from Switzerland. We had some interesting cultural and political discussions, with the wide range of backgrounds. Mostly, we ate together, lounged on the boat deck together, and stared at each other in awe when seeing or experiencing yet another Galapagos wonder.
Q---What about the crew?
A---The crew was really funny. 7 men run the boat, and the guide changes every week. They each have their own jobs, but kind of had a way of helping one another that I often forgot who was really doing what. There was a waiter, a cook and assistant cook, a captain, a first mate, a sailor, and an engineer, and all of them are REALLY informal. None of them spoke English fluently, and very few of them knew any English outside of ¨water¨, or a few other assorted words. From what I understand, not too many of the tourists usually know any Spanish at all, so, the crew was pretty excited that I could talk to them. Now, I am, by any stretch, fluent. However, I got on in some pretty long, in-depth conversations. And, since most of the other passengers were in their cabins for bed no later than 8:30 at night, and I was still sipping my glass of wine, we were usually left to speak Spanish. Sometimes, we would speak until the wee hours, or until they had to go to work and get the boat moving, as wwe mostly moved during the night. These guys are hysterical, and they had a real spirit present on the boat. I got to really enjoying their company, and hearing about their adventures on the boat over the last few years. They had great stories-all of them.
Q---What did you do on that boat in the Galapagos Islands for 8 days?
A---That is a really good question. We had a schedule, and since the boat does the same circuit each week, there is a pretty solid program. Since the boat was mostly nocturnal, in terms of sailing, Waking up between 6 and 7 to have an early breakfast, we would often go onto the islands for a walk first, when it was hot...but not as hot as it would be in the middle of the day. We would walk to lookout points to catch a good view or snap a few photos overhead beaches, fantastic lava formations from volcanic eruptions gone by, interesting trees, and you know, flamingos. Sometimes, we walked to find animals, like red-footed, blue-footed, or masked boobies nesting, frigget birds, Darwin finches, Galapagos hawks, mockingbirds, marine and land iguanas, flamingos, penguins...the list goes on. The amazing thing about these animals is that the vast majority of them are endemic, which means that they only live there, in the Galapagos. Therefore, all of you will have to come here to see how amazing they were.
After our walk, we would often go to various...sometimes more than one...site around the island to snorkel. Here, we could and did swim with sea lions, sharks, turtles, rays, and all kinds of colorful, unique fish. I had my underwater camera, and I did take pictures, but being underwater with these creatures, up against the mossed over, underwater lava, was the kind of fantastic that I do not even know I could capture.
The afternoons were often the same, with other walks and other snorkeling sites...but basically, just a rotation of wet landings and dry landings and water activities and land activities. I got used to being salty all the time, and slathering on the SPF 50 sunscreen pretty much every chance I had.
The itinerary looked like this:
Monday, March 27-Bachus Island
Tuesday, March 28-Genovesa Island
Wednesday, March 29-Bartolome Island, and Sullivan Bay
Thursday, March 30-Puerta Ayora, Charles Darwin Research Center, and the Highlands
Friday, March 31-Floreana Island
Saturday, April 1-Española Island
Sunday, April 2-Santa Fe Island
Monday, April 3-North Seymour Island
(For those of you who have been to Galapagos before, or plan to do research after reading this because you want to go...which you should immediately...remember, the islands each have several names.)
Q---What did it look like?
A---These islands are an Ecuadorian national park. This means that they are protected areas. Therefore, there is absolutely no human development. When we would get off the dingy onto these islands (other than the few other tourists groups who were there), we would often feel like the first people to have ever arrived on the island. Sure, there were marked trails for hiking and all, but yeah, those could have been there naturally (I crack myself up). Anyway, untouched...the islands are just wildlife sanctuaries, and are majestic, scenic, and amazing as such.
One of the most amazing parts of these sanctuaries is that the animals have no fear. Becuase they are protected areas and no one is coming to hunt or act as unnatural predators to these animals, they never learned the fearful behavior patterns. They do not hide from people at all...instead, they come right up to you. The birds, the sea lions, the iguanas...everything...they almost bump into you they are so close. Sometimes, as we were walking on a trail, we would have walk over them. This did not mean that I was petting sea lions-they are still all wild animals and although I got my rabies shot, I was reluctant to get too too too close. I got just close enough to get some good photos.
Q---Did you ever get seasick?
A---No, but I thought about it a few times. My first night of sleep was rough, and then, I guess I got my sea legs.
Q---Did you get to visit the Darwin Research Center?
A---You bet I did. This place is located on the island of Santa Cruz, in a city called Puerta Ayora, which is a little port village with a lot of people in fact. The center itself is home for oodles and oodles of hyper protected giant turtles and iguanas. It looks a little like a park meets zoo meets museum, with cages, green areas, and exhibits, and expanses over a lot of land. I did not see so many scientists, and there was no picture up of Darwin himself, but I still really liked it.
I also really enjoyed Puerta Ayora. That was where I was when I posted the blog entry from the islands, as it is one of the few places in the islands with human development and population. The main streets border with the port, and are lined with small restaurants, shops, bars, and internet cafes, to cater to tourists and the few thousand people who in fact live there...and of course, the crew members of all the ships who dock there. This is the main port in the Galapagos, in terms of boat collection, and when we were there, I would guess that there were about 20 other boats of matching size, or a little larger (little being the key word here) than Angelique.
Q---What was your favorite part of the week?
A---This is a tough question. While the whole week was really phenomenal, I can pinpoint two points in time that were my favorite. The first only happened once...on Floreana Island, there is a special place called Post Office Bay. This is a place that years ago, acted as a post office for the passing soldiers who happened to be moving through Galapagos. Back then, these men would dock and approach the bay, letters in hand. They did not need postage, and could not get it there, for it was not a real post office. Instead, it is a set of barrels or containers with letters and postcards. People could leave a letter or look through some and see where they were going, and if one was heading the same way, they would take the letter headed in that direction with them. So, it is kind of just a human transport service. Today, this bay works the same way, with the containers of mail waiting to encounter another person headed in the right direction. Now, it is mostly just for tourists. I wrote a postcard to my mother, and it may take a week or a year for another tourist to come through en route to Michigan. But, she will get it eventually. I cannot wait to see how long it takes to get back to East Lansing.
The other real highlight of my week happened nightly. One of the best parts of the Galapagos for me was at night. Everything was quiet, calm, and still (except for maybe our boat, which could or could not be coasting along). The sea lions would chase flying fish around the boat, and sharks would often come around, showing off their fins, as they were attracted to the mast lighting. Once the night had really seet in and the other passengers went to sleep, the mast lighting was turned off. And, that was when I would lay on the outdoor wiker couch and watch the night sky. There were more stars up there than I could possibly imagine, and definetely more than I had ever seen before in my life. It was as if the sky had been littered by flecks of salt, and no one could bear to clean it up. I was mesmorized.
So, that was the trip in a nutshell. I guess this form was the easiest for me to get everything out comprehensively, and it allows for a kind of open forum. If you have more questions about my Galapagos week, post them. I will answer as soon as I can. But, it was a wonderful week, and is something that I think that anyone who has the means and the time should absolutely experience.
I am back in Quito now, but just for a few hours. I leave tomorrow for Santiago, where I will meet up with my old friend, Mollie. Mollie is fufilling my dream of convincing one of my friends to quit their job and leave their life for a little while to come travel with me in South America. At 7:30 AM on Wednesday, April 5, Mollie and I will meet in the Santiago airport. Our plan is to move from Santiago to Buenos Aires, through the southern portion of the continent. So, we will be heading down into Patagonia, as far as our clothing will allow in the impending winter. This is the last portion of my trip, the last month. I am ready for another memorable, distinctive, exciting phase of travel.
