Sunset in the GalapagosAs we descend the land is flat and green with wet flooded fields, cold and overcast. We cross a wide river a mud soup with viscous brown curdles. We take off again over hills of endless trees. This is the coast of Ecuador. 'Coast' refers to any land west of the Andes no matter how far away it is from the ocean.
The trees disappear below clouds. The clouds disappear into featureless bright white. When I next look out the window the world is blue above and below with a dividing band of hazy cloud.
It's a decent sized plane with over a hundred passengers. As we land with a sudden dip and bounce a boy behind me exclaims, "wee-hoo!" with delight. "Wee-hoo," I agree, with additional undertones of relief.
We unload onto Isla Baltra's small military airport and are taken by bus to a small port. There are about ten sea lions lounging on the pier, oblivious to our presence. This gives us our first taste of excitement at experiencing the uniqueness of the Galapagos.
(Note: The sea lions are what I would normally just call 'seals'. Technically, this is correct as a sea lion is a specific type of seal. In South America the sea lion is called 'lobo marinos' which translates as 'sea wolf'.)
We are transported by motorised dinghy to our boat, the yate 'Darwin'. A man missed his connection in Peru and had to cancel his trip. This resulted in me having a cabin to myself. I am fortunate to have one of the two passenger cabins on the top deck with a nice window.
The kitchen / bar, dining area, lounge and two more cabins are on the middle deck. Four more passenger cabins are below deck and there are four cabins for our crew of seven. Each passenger cabin has an ensuite with toilet and shower with hot water.
We have a marvelous lunch and set sail. We come to an island and use a motorised dinghy to land on the beach. There are hundreds of red crabs scuttling over the rocks. We briefly spy a green turtle swimming nearby. We snorkle looking for turles but don't see them again.
No matter. There are lots of pretty fish. I see a sea eel covered with brown spots twisting and swimming near the sondy bottem - it looks like a slithering snake. The water is cloudy and my mask is foggy when I see a large fish about two metres long swim past about five metres away. I suspect it is a shark and my heart beats faster.
We sail through the night and I get up early to watch the sunrise over new islands.
Birds wing around nearby rocky shores. Sea lions bark in the distance and I use my binoculars to watch them.
After breakfast we take the dinghy to the island. The sun is hot. Iguanas sit under prickly pear cactii waiting for the fruit to drop. The rocks by the beach are shiny, polished by centuries of sea lions crawling over them crushing and smearing their dried droppings over the surfaces. We pass the remains of a long dead sea lion. White bleached bones crushed and wrapped in a flat leather skin. We pass live sea lions as well.
"I hope you don´t get tired of sea lions," says our guide Sergio, "because you are going to see a lot of them every day."
On higher ground we look down from cliffs and watch many birds flying by. We also see them and their young nesting in the rocks.
In the afternoon we snorkle from the boat and see a turtle on the sandy sea floor ten metres deep below. We swim to nearby rocks. SPLASH!! A huge sea lion dives into the water right next to me. There is that fast beating heart again. Soon there are other sea lions swimming playfully beside us. I curl up halfway into a ball and position myself defensively in case a sea lion should attack.
Our time in the Galapagos is magical. Each day brings new and exciting experiences.
We go snorkelling every day and have walks on the various islands.
Each Island is different. Some are bare. Lots of cacti. Some have small shrubs, some large shrubs, some with light trees. One island is bare volcanic rock and sand and dust. We climb to the top and examine the various volcanic cones.
The sun is ferocious and in general there is no shelter on the land. Escaping the heat means going swimming or hiding in my air conditioned cabin. The food on the boat is excellent. Good enough for a Christmas dinner.
Walking on many of the beaches we have to wind our way between sea lions. I get used to swimming with the seals. Also the sharks. I get a bad sun burn and start snorkelling with a tee-shirt wrapped over my head. One day I spend fifteen minutes watching a huge turtle feeding two metres away from where I snorkel.
The islands also have lots of iguanas in different varieties. The aquatic iguanas are as black as the rocks they rest upon. On one island the cactus fruit grow close to the ground. The iguanas grow big and fat as they don´t have to wait for the fruit to drop.
The blue footed booby birds dance and squawk and whistle on the rocks and sand above the shore. Their feet are blue. How about that? Go figure.
As we sail between the islands flocks of huge frigate birds accompany us taking advantage of the breeze above the boat. One day we sail alongside a pod of about a hundred dolphins.
A town on a large island has a population of sixteen thousand. On this island we travel up into the highlands to see giant land turtles.
Giant turtle in the highlands.
Look at me! I'm a turtle.Frigate birds, nesting on an island, balloon up their red throats as part of their courting ritual.
Every day reveals something new and surprising. I wonder, if I stayed longer would this continue? After eight days I regret that I have to leave.
The Galapagos are wonderful. I would enjoy returning someday.
Will I? Who knows? (Do you know?)
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