Galápagos Islands Idyll
First we fly from Quito (capital of Ecuador) to harbor town Guayaquil. From there we reach the Galápagos Islands. It takes at about two hours. The Islands are located some 620 miles from mainland Ecuador, the Islands are a national park. In the plane I’m seated next to a couple who will join us on the expedition boat. We get acquainted.
Island Hopping
We land on the small island of Baltra. By bus and dinghy (a small boat to reach a bigger boat) we arrive at our boat called ‘Nemo II’. We have a nice room with a view. One can see every single space is used on this boat. It’s small though. Our son calls it a ‘Five Star Broom Closet’.
There are two expedition boats, Nemo I and Nemo II. It seems that on all American and British people are assigned to the first boat. The second one – ours – includes all the other nationalities. In our case mostly people from the Netherlands and a Danish couple. In my youth I learned a few Danish words. I try them to the Danish couple but somehow my pronunciation is wrong or I forgot the right words. Better talk English to each other!
We try on the life jackets. After a security drill we land on Bachas Beach, the northern tip of Santa Cruz. Guide Peter takes us around. There is so much to see here. Flamingo’s, pelicans, Darwin birds, iguana’s, colored crabs. The animals are not afraid of humans. Because the Galapagos Islands are one of the planets last remaining pristine wildlife refuges tourism is limited.
Next island we visit is Bartolomé Island. A must see. Beautiful nature, wide panorama’s. The camera registers it all. Lots of Sea Lions here. We look at them, they look at us.
Snorkeling
Snorkeling is great fun in this miracle underwater world. Every day we spend some time doing this. We see reef sharks, surgeon fish, stingrays and a green sea turtle. But there’s even a nicer part in the snorkeling experience. Sea Lions are very curious. They swim in our direction and really accompany us. Where we go, they go. And all they time watching us, following us, swimming around us. Peter warned us for the bulls, they can be quite protective of their habitat and family. One time we see one on the shore while we’re in the water, we make sure to keep our distance.
On Punta Suarez we spot lots of Blue-footed Boobies. Strange but interesting birds. One of the highlights of the trip is walking between nests of the proud Albatross birds. Again, no bird is afraid of humans. They just keep doing what they are doing. It’s amazing, we are so close. My wife becomes a little emotional. She cries for the sheer beauty of the view.
We visit more islands. See more birds and other animals, including the Galápagos Land Iguana. Sailing through this archipelago is like sailing through a fairy tale…
Puerto Ayora
On the southern shore of Santa Cruz Island there’s a town called Puerto Ayora. We visit Tortuga Bay. There are lots of very big Galápagos Tortoises here. Impressive animals.
In the Darwin Center – on Avenida Charles Darwin of course – you find a lot of information and also animals. The most famous one is a big turtle by the name of ‘Lonesome George’. This is a Pinta Island tortoise, the last of its kind. Hence the term lonesome. All mating attempts have been unsuccessful. Lonesome George was found in 1910. A few years after our visit it died in 2012. This news hit the world press.
Leaving the Galápagos
Visiting Galápagos Islands is like going back in time. You see the world when it was young. So pure, so clean. And an amazing biodiversity. A slightly different Darwin Finch on every island. All separate developments in animal life on all islands. Reason for this are the sharks. Animals willing to swim to another island seldom survived the trip.
One of the younger girls of our group is not that interested in the islands. She doesn’t look at all the animals. There’s another focus in her life. She fell in love with guide Peter. Well that’s nature too…
This trip was made in 2007.
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