Sunshine and Fish

January 14

Our time in Galapagos has been too short. I like the boat and the eight day itinerary is the best, but the overall experience has been a little unfriendly and rushed. I feel that we are herded from activity to activity without as much explanation or opportunity to reflect. And we did not see enough, although the students are happy and uncomplaining. Greg, Eric and I organized and distributed the tips last night and I felt we were far too generous for what the guides actually do, but they expected more and I felt guilty about that. I also felt that they did not deserve what we gave them. The Sacha guides, especially the native ones, work so hard from morning till night, making sure our experience is amazing. In the Galapagos the guides do not seem to care about our experience and I am not sure why. They do the minimum.

That does not take from the Galapagos. I enjoy it as much as I do the rainforest. I learn something each time I visit.

Our wakeup call was early, and in no time we were at Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz, where I learned that Freddie 'zapatos locos' was still plying his illegal tourist trade and that nothing had come out of my complaints. I definitely heard that he would be removed from the island, but of course, that did not happen for long, and he is operating as usual. I had gone to the Ministry of Tourism in Puerto Ayora and in Quito when my friend Rebecca and I had been so poorly treated by Freddie and was assured he would no longer operate as a tourist guide on the island. So much for my efforts. I saw the mafioso harbor master starting the day with the boats and wanted so desperately to do something to change the reality, but I did nothing and do not expect anything to change anyway.

We drove to the highlands to see the huge land tortoises, and I tasted the coffee sold at the farm where the tortoises live. The tortoises are huge and shy and congregate in large groups in muddy water where they hang out and enjoy the cool mud and sunshine. I found finches and anis and cattle egrets and perhaps other birds but did not concentrate on the birds as much as I had earlier. Dr. Ball was thrilled to have seen a rare mockingbird on Floreana. When the rest of us were snorkeling he went on the glass bottom boat and then convinced the pang driver to take him to the Floreana shore where he found one of the few mockingbirds existing on the island. He was so delighted to have found such a rare species and was happy to tell us the story over and over again.

We were rushed to the airport and passed 'los Gemellos', huge sinkholes from collapsed lava tubes. We did not stop, but peered at what we could see from the side of the road. We had to traverse a canal to get to Baltra, and the airport experience was one of mass confusion, where we had to collect all passports which were not needed once we collected them all. It was a relief to get on the plane without incident, although we were the last ones to embark. The trip was uneventful.

We were met by Tomas at the airport, where we were whisked off to Cayambe to visit 'La Compania de Jesus' hacienda, once belonging to the Jesuits, but for the last hundred years to a family running a rose plantation. The house was full of roses, and beautifully furnished in early 19 century style, but warm and inviting rather that cold and austere. We were plied with desserts and coffee and were given a guide of the hacienda chapel and granary where roses were displayed. I thought we were to visit a rose plantation, but it was too late in the day and we had to drive to our hotel before too late. The alumni stay at Cusin, another lovely hacienda, while the students and professors stay at Las Palmeras' which is perfectly fine to stay in too.

Dinner was hardly necessary after our snacks at La Compania, but I stayed for the talk afterward, which was a review of what we had seen and experienced in the jungle and the Galapagos. Unfortunately I missed most of it because Maya had to go to bed and was too afraid to go to sleep on her own in our room. A hotel worker brought us hot water bottles to sleep with, which was a treat. Most rooms have fireplaces for the cold nights, but we have a suite without one, so a hot water bottle will have to do.

January 13

It was our last full day on the boat. I woke up early to watch the sunrise and did a half hour of sun salutations and meditation to welcome the day. We had anchored off Floreana Island, which has a colorful history of pirates, whalers, interesting characters who chose to live 'off the grid' and start a new world on the Galapagos

Islands which turned out to be more daunting than realized. Our guide Rocio had given us a lecture about the island inhabitants. A woman who claimed to be a baroness came with two lovers and took on a third, tried to create her own utopia on the island and one day disappeared along with one of her lovers and is presumed to have been murdered, but no bodies have ever been found. The Wittmers came with their children and lived in the old pirate caves in the highlands and lived off the land, again trying to design a new ideal world in what they believed to be a paradise. They persisted and now run a travel agency with three boats cruising the Galapagos.

Floreana has fresh water, so there have a handful of inhabitants who farm and fish. The island was full of invasive species such as rats and cats and dogs and goats and therefore much of the wildlife had disappeared when the islands became a park. The park rangers have worked hard to eliminate the goats, but the feral cats keep the birds high up in the trees and the rats still run wild. There is an effort to eliminate the invasive wasps so the original bees, which were responsible for pollinating all the plants on the island, can thrive and recover.

I had visited the pirate caves during my last trip to the island when I came with my friend Rebecca, and the giant tortoises as well. For today we focused on snorkeling and a short walk to look for flamingos on a lagoon. They had not been here this season because it is a 'la nina' year and there are no crustaceans in the brackish lagoon where they usually feed. The flamingos are such regal creatures. I love seeing them balance on one leg and scoop the bottom of the water with their curiously shaped beaks. I have been on this walk before and there have been several flamingos each time, so it felt unusual to see the lagoon deserted. Our guide focussed on the plants that are returning to the island and successful spreading and establishing themselves. Some finches joined us, and I took photos with the plan to identify those I saw later. I believe there are seven species of finch on Floreana, but I saw only a couple on our walk along with a yellow flycatcher, related to the one in the rainforest but smaller and tamer (staying high in the trees to avoid the cats). As opposed to Espanola where the finches were all digging in the dirt, in Floreana the only birds to survive are the ones that stay off the ground and away from predators.

We encountered a lava lizard unique to the island, camouflaged on a branch of a dried out palo santo tree (the path was full of them). He did not move as we watched him and photographed him and exclaimed about him.

Our guide led us up and down the path, focussing on the plantlife. On the other side of the island was a gorgeous fine sand beach, of the consistency of flour. The dunes were full of sea turtle nests, and the water dotted with stingrays. They like this spot, perhaps because the sand is rich in their preferred food, and I was terrified to venture too far in the water. A few sea turtles floated offshore, their heads peeking out occasionally to check us out. Sally Light Foot crabs scrambled around the rocks and I spent some time watching one of them gobble us some seaweed. It was remarkable to watch the crabs busy claws tearing up the seaweed and bringing it to his mouth, it almost looked human.

Our walk back was uneventful, but I tried to identify the finches that I saw. I want to stay close to Dr. Ball who is a birder and is better able to name each finch or bird we see, but the professors spread out and try to be available to the students in all groups, so I felt I had to stay where I was. Eric looked peaked and complained of chest pain. He has not been sleeping much this trip, but in truth he never sleeps much when we come to Ecuador anyway, but perhaps he is more stressed this year, or is older and more vulnerable. He did not want to join Maya or I in snorkeling for the latter part of the morning. I thought Maya would want to kayak, but she decided not to, so we snorkeled off the green beach (from lava remains of olivite) and saw fishes and a lovely sea turtle, whom I followed for a while snapping photos and admiring how gracefully and delicately it moved through the water. I love to snorkel and could stay in the water forever especially with a wetsuit so I never feel too cold. The sea is quiet and peaceful and full of life, and I lose track of time in the deep. I was thrilled to see penguins swimming in the bay. None of them swam near me, but their heads popped up while I was walking along the shore.

We had a lecture about Darwin after lunch. I listened but learned nothing new. I am always amazed when I hear about how ill he was and how miserable he felt traveling in the 'Beagle', thinking that he continued for five years in the boat, suffering and learning and contributing so much eventually to science and biology.

Our afternoon snorkel was in a deep water location , and it was the best of the snorkeling spots for us, off Floreana Island in Champion Bay. The fishes were numerous and colorful, and the sea lions swam with us, which is absolutely marvelous. Some people saw white tipped sharks, but they stayed away from me, which is not a bad thing, because they scare me. I am told they are well fed and therefore not interested in me, but I do not want to risk being dinner for one of them. Maya frolicked with Eric and me, and I was happy to get a few good photos.

We are rushed from activity to activity. There was a short break to shower and change and a panga ride and a walk to Post office Bay, where people leave postcards to be hand delivered by other travelers. A few of our group took postcards to bring to the addressees. There were none from Baltimore, so Maya and I did not take any. I had written a dozen cards and I wonder if any will get to their destination. The sun was sinking as we walked back to the panga and rode to the boat for snacks and drinks and a last look around as the sun disappeared. Our evening was rushed and over too soon and our last night in Galapagos was gone. I tried to identify stars in the heavens and saw Orion's belt and the southern cross and many more unidentifiable stars.