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Wildlife is King in the Galapagos The Galapagos is all about the wildlife. Having few natural predators the animals of the Galapagos Islands have no fear of human beings. The sea lions and marine iguanas seem only slightly curious about our presence. From almost the moment we landed in the islands we were surrounded by sea lions, marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs, blue-footed boobies, albatross, and penguins.
We were onboard a Lindblad Expeditions ship on a joint venture with National Geographic. We met the ship on the island of Baltra where we arrived after a short charter flight from Guayaquil, Ecuador. Baltra is just a stopping off point for planes to meet ships to visit the islands. There is something to be said for taking the group flights. We made our own reservations which coincidentally were the same as those made by Lindblad. The flight from Miami to Guayaquil was cancelled and we were to leave the following morning. Fearing we would miss the flight from Guayaquil to Baltra we were nervous the whole way not knowing what to expect. Lindblad ground crews did a great job however by chartering a flight just for our group of some 30 passengers, the majority of the 47 passenger count for the cruise. Only 47 passengers aboard a ship designed for 82 made for a very comfortable group. We had 5 naturalist guides on board so the individual group size for the Zodiac excursions was quite intimate. Zodiacs are the small inflatable boats used to move us from the ship to the shore. We arrived at the ship around 5:00 PM and had time to make a quick trip by Zodiac to nearby North Seymour Island where we were greeted by dozens of sea lions of all ages ranging from nursing pups to the watchful beachmasters. That night was the Captain’s welcome cocktail party where we formally met the crew.
The Galapagos is best known for its relationship with Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Due to their remoteness, the Galapagos Islands are home to many unique species of wildlife which formed the basis for Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”. On our first full day at sea we awakened at 6:30 for an early breakfast and lifeboat drills. We were in the Zodiacs by 8:45 to visit Espanola Island which we had cruised to overnight. We broke into groups of 8-10 people assigned to a Zodiac and naturalist guide. On land we hiked a looping trail, first encountering sea lions and marine iguanas. Soon we spotted a colony of blue-footed boobies, followed by Nazca boobies and then albatross. We counted 11 separate albatross babies in their nests. Later we saw lava lizards, a Galapagos hawk, mockingbirds, and finches. The trail winds for around 1.75 miles and we took 2 ½ hours to make the loop, stopping frequently to discuss the wildlife. On the windward side of the island there are rocky cliffs and pounding surf. The view was breathtaking. When all the groups returned we had a briefing on kayaks and snorkeling scheduled for afternoon. After a lunch of local Ecuadorian specialties, the Zodiacs took off from the ship. Guests had three options for viewing underwater sea life: a deep water snorkel (20-50 ft.), a shallow-water snorkeling primer/refresher course, or a glass-bottom boat ride. On our deep water snorkel we spotted large schools of fish, young sea lions playing, and a large spotted ray. The Galapagos waters do not support a reef system so it is not like Caribbean snorkeling. The structure is all boulders and lava. Later in the afternoon people went out in one and two-person kayaks. Dinner is off a menu and we were offered three entrée choices each night -- a meat, a fish, and an alternative such as pasta. After dinner there was a power point overview of the Galapagos given by one of our naturalist guides. The guides are Ecuadorians who have several months of formal training on the wildlife and geology of the Galapagos. Every group of visitors to the islands must be accompanied by a naturalist guide.
The geology of the Galapagos is as unique as its wildlife. Formed over the years by a mixture of volcanic activity and shifting plates the islands have a rugged and sometimes barren landscape. The remains of lava flows were everywhere. The Galapagos are not typical tropical islands with lush greenery and white sand beaches although there are some of those. It is essentially a desert environment with lots of scrub bushes and cactus. The next day there was an optional early morning outing to Post Office Barrel, located on a beach at today’s destination, the island of Floreana. Here, travelers can leave postcards destined for all over the world without stamps. The idea is to go through and find ones that are near your hometown and you are supposed to hand deliver them to the addressee. The tradition dates back to when whaling ships were out at sea for several years at a time.
After breakfast we were off for another round of snorkeling, this time in deep, rough water. Some of the people couldn’t handle the chop and returned to the Zodiac. Those who stayed saw lots of schooling fish, a couple of large sea lions and a white tip shark. Later in the morning a boat went out for bird watching. After lunch there was a lecture on the geology of the Galapagos presented by one of our naturalist guides. After that were kayaking and a short 1 mile hike on the island. Our Zodiac landings were mostly wet on the beach so you needed to carry your shoes. The following day’s big event was the crossing of the equator line. Everyone gathered on the bridge and forward deck to count down to the crossing. We were given certificates of crossing, making it official. Then out on the Zodiacs for a1 ½ hour wildlife expedition. We sighted green sea turtles, flightless cormorants, penguins, a mola mola (giant sunfish) and Galapagos fur seals. Then back to the boat for a quick change into wetsuits for a run back to the island for some snorkeling. We snorkeled with sea lions, green sea turtles, diving flightless cormorants and puffer fish. We moved to Fernandia and took the Zodiacs ashore to what is essentially an island that is one big lava field. Complete with ripples and fissures the landscape reminded me of what the surface of Mars might be like. This is the home of marine iguanas -- dozens congregate on the rocks one atop the other. The iguanas are cold blooded. They go in the water to feed on algae growing on the rocks, then quickly become cold and must return to sun themselves to regain their body heat. As the sun warms them it triggers the digestive process to digest their recent meal.
Today’s scheduled stop was the island of Santa Cruz which has the highest human population of all the islands --15,000. The town of Puerto Ayora is home to the Charles Darwin Research Station. The research station raises tortoises which are then distributed back to their respective native species island. Each island has a unique species of tortoise. The tortoises were once plentiful on the islands, but hunting in the 19th and early 20th century decimated the populations. The tortoises were favorites of sailors as they could be brought aboard and could survive for months at a time with no food or water. Also, introduced species caused a further population decline. Goats which were introduced and became plentiful ate all the vegetation that the tortoises needed to survive. Pigs uprooted the nests and ate the tortoise eggs. The goat populations were eliminated with a controversial kill program. The Research Station is home to famous Lonesome George, the last individual of his species from Pinta Island. Believed to be 60-90 years old, George is considered middle-aged. Attempts to mate him with similar females have not been successful so when George dies it will mean the extinction of another species. We also traveled by bus to the Santa Cruz highlands where we toured two pit craters which are essentially volcanic sinkholes dropping down 500 ft. or more. After the pits we traveled to a 900-acre farm where wild tortoises were to be found. There were about 40 on the property and we got some up-close time with them. The farm owner prepared a lunch of barbeque chicken for us.
That night after dinner we enjoyed a performance by a local music and dance group. The next day was another early day with a pre-breakfast excursion to Cerro Dragon, a desert-like terrain that is home to land iguanas. We saw lots of holes that they had burrowed but spotted only two of the creatures themselves. After breakfast there was a deep-water snorkeling trip where we spotted sea lions and white tip sharks. Before lunch we had a lecture by an MIT literature professor about Herman Melville and his relationship to the Galapagos. After lunch we moved to Sombrero Chino (Chinese hat) for some more snorkeling. Penguins swam with us as well as a large shark. After snorkeling we jumped in the kayaks but had trouble maneuvering as there was quite a bit of wind and waves. In the evening was an outdoor cocktail party followed by our daily briefing and a barbeque on deck. The next day featured a 372-step climb up to a mountain top. The view from the top was spectacular. Later we hiked over a sand dune to another beach where there were two sets of mating sea turtles. You could plainly see the tracks up the sand of turtles that had made a nest and laid eggs. There was also a large group of white tip sharks milling about close to shore. We returned to the other side of the dune for a snorkel around a pinnacle rock, one of the settings in the film Master and Commander. That night was the Captain’s cocktail party followed by a dinner of filet mignon or mahi mahi.
It was our last day in the Galapagos and we left the ship after breakfast to make our flight back to the mainland. Once in Guayaquil we had a city tour hosted by one of our naturalist guides who makes his home there. We visited the waterfront area which had a recently refurbished promenade with lots of monuments and entertainment venues and visited part of the old town that has been converted to an artist community.
We can learn some valuable lessons about conservation from the Galapagos. The efforts there by many to maintain a wilderness area have been successful and create a model for conservation efforts in other parts of the world. In 1997, for example, Lindblad began a program to help protect the Galapagos’ eco-systems, and has raised more than $4 million for various environmental protection projects. We realize that we have been privileged to visit there and now have the responsibility to go home and spread the word about this magical place.
-- Scott Linde
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