Galápagos

Waking up at 3 AM was utterly insane. We had breakfast at the Sierra Madre anyway, or for those who felt at all that they could start their days with food that early! There was a huge confusion about the bags, so the suitcases that were to stay in the bodega at the hotel went with us at first and when it was discovered that an error was made, everyone had to get out of the bus and identify their suitcase that was to stay so that everything could be rearranged. One of the guests lost his and his wife's passport, so we called the Hotel Aliso, where the alumni were staying, and managed to ask that the wrong safe be looked at. When we were told that no passports were in the safe, there was desperate searching for the passports. Finally the correct safe was examined, and the passports were found and we picked them up at the other hotel. We arrived at the airport before the doors were open.

When we were checking through to get our boarding passes, we learned that our park tax had not been paid, which meant that we could not travel to Galapagos. It took some finagling to have that taken care of, so when we arrived at Baltra on the islands, we were allowed entry. Disaster averted again.

We arrived too early, and there was no one to greet us. We were to take a tour through Baltra, which was once an American army base, because our boat was not yet ready for us. We had an opportunity to learn a little about the local history, and introduce ourselves to the hot arid landscape of Baltra and Santa Cruz, and see a few finches and lava lizards.

Our boat was nearby and we embarked by the noon hour, but then waited for other guests to arrive and I fell asleep. It was noon and we had been up for nine hours!!!!

The boat accommodates 50 guests, and we took over most of the boat, much to the chagrin of the handful of other passengers. I imagine they feel overwhelmed by our gaggle of children. I like the boat. Maya and I were slated to sleep with one of the alumni, but when we entered the small confines of the cabin, she immediately called the manager and found herself another room nearby. The room was simply too small for two unrelated adults and a child.

The afternoon excursion was a walk around North Seymour, where frigate birds nest. We encountered our first sea lions and learned about seals versus sea lions. There were marine iguanas and land iguanas and lava lizards. The blue footed boobies were scarce, having had their babies and no longer nesting.