Saturday, July 31st
We started our day at 6am to ride the high tide onto shore. We started our day on a tiny little islet called Mosquera. The island was literally a long sand bank filled with numerous sea lions and calves, lava gulls and marine iguanas. The sea lions here rule the roast and rarely see people. Because of this, they have a healthy curiousity and quicky approach you when you deboard the boat. Within a few minutes of being on the beach, I had a 3 month old calf wobble up to me and touch my leg with it's nose and tickle me with it's whiskers. You should have seen my face. I so badly wanted to lay down and play wrestle with it. After Mosquera, we hopped back on the boat and sailed 5 hours to our next destination - Santa Fe. On route, I was told to look out for mating humpback whales, sperm whales or orcas. I refrained myself from taking a nap to use all my energy to find the whales. After an exhausting 5 hour ride, I sadly saw nothing. We arrived at Santa Fe and snorkeled straight away. The water was pretty murky today. We saw alot of the same fish that we've seen in all of our previous snorkels. However, this aquatic adventure was unique. There were 3 sea lions who were in the water with us swimming all around us. They would dodge in and out, between our legs, and right up to us and at the last minute would swim away. It was soooo cool! After flirting with the sea lions, we came across 3 huge green sea turtles and swam alongside them for a bit. These turtles were the most tranquil and chill turtles I've ever seen in the wild. They didn't even try to swim away. It was incredible! I desperately wished that I had an underwater camera to film it all. Then we went aboard changed into clothes to go on a quick hike around the island. We had a uniquely rare siting of 4 nocturnal rice rats (endemic to Galapagos and it's one of only two land mammals on the islands, the other is the Galapagos bat). We also saw some endemic land iguanas, lava lizards and more sea lions. From the beach we spotted a group of about 30 spotted eagle rays and white tip reef sharks in the water. The zodiac came to pick us up to get a better view of the rays. The rays were gorgeous. I've never seen so many of them in one group and so close to the surface of the water. We then headed back to the boat and set off to sail for another 5 hours to San Cristobal, which is where we began our trip. Less than 30 minutes into our voyage, we saw (possibly humpback) whales breaching in the distance. What a perfect last day on the boat!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Bartolome And The moon
Friday, July 30th
Woke up on Isla Bartolome and hiked up numerous steps to the top of the island. This is the only island where they have built a wooden walkway. The reason for this is beause the entire island is made of ash and volcanic rock. Scientists say that this island is the closest thing to the surface of the moon. In order to preserve the island's surface and shape, they needed to built a walkway so people aren't destroying the natural environment. The view from the top was incredible and it really did look like something from another planet. After summiting, we hiked to another part of the island where there was beach known to house black-tip reef sharks. Sure enough we saw a few of them swimming very close to shore. Next, we jumped in the frigid water and snorkeled around a "famous" point called the pinnacle rock. It's famous because you see a picture of this rock in almost store that sells postcards in the galapagos. The rock is also very unusual looking. It's a tall, black, volcanic, cone-shaped, pointed rock with a spiral like formation from the base to the top. It really is quite unique and fascinating to look at. During the snorkel we swam with lots of fish and some galapagos penguins. The penguins were unbelieveably fast. They are like the cheetahs of the sea and you couldn't try to keep up with them if you tried. Following the exciting swim, we set sail for 4 hours to an island called North Seymour. There on the island, we hiked around for a few hours and saw much of the same species of animals that we have seen on all the other islands.
Woke up on Isla Bartolome and hiked up numerous steps to the top of the island. This is the only island where they have built a wooden walkway. The reason for this is beause the entire island is made of ash and volcanic rock. Scientists say that this island is the closest thing to the surface of the moon. In order to preserve the island's surface and shape, they needed to built a walkway so people aren't destroying the natural environment. The view from the top was incredible and it really did look like something from another planet. After summiting, we hiked to another part of the island where there was beach known to house black-tip reef sharks. Sure enough we saw a few of them swimming very close to shore. Next, we jumped in the frigid water and snorkeled around a "famous" point called the pinnacle rock. It's famous because you see a picture of this rock in almost store that sells postcards in the galapagos. The rock is also very unusual looking. It's a tall, black, volcanic, cone-shaped, pointed rock with a spiral like formation from the base to the top. It really is quite unique and fascinating to look at. During the snorkel we swam with lots of fish and some galapagos penguins. The penguins were unbelieveably fast. They are like the cheetahs of the sea and you couldn't try to keep up with them if you tried. Following the exciting swim, we set sail for 4 hours to an island called North Seymour. There on the island, we hiked around for a few hours and saw much of the same species of animals that we have seen on all the other islands.
Red san beach of Rabida
Thursday, July 29th
Rabida was an incredibly unusual looking island. It was one of the few islands in the world with a red sanded beach. The color of the sand was brick red and it was slightly more course that the other beaches. Here we saw some new animal species - the galapagos hawk, American oyster catchers, pelicans, and of course the usual sea lions laying abound. After hiking around the islan for a few hours, we snorkeled around the pennisula. During the snorkel we saw all the same species of fish as the other snorkels in addition to 2 white tip reef sharks. After the swim, we sailed a few hours to Santiago Island. On the island we would arrive on a black sand beach called James Bay. It was beautiful! Then we hiked around the to the other side of island to Puerto Egas. The earth here was very black, rocky and volcanic. The twists and weaves of the island floor kinda reminded me of the rocks in Zion national park. I was fascinated by the patterns of the earth under my toes. Here lived lava lizards, loads of marine iguanas, sea turtles, galapagos fur seals (which is really a different type of sea lion), striped herons, and mockingbirds. This side of the island where all the animals roamed was like a completely different topographic world from the beach side. I loved this island. It quickly became on of my favorites. After our hike, we sailed in the evening for 5 hours to an island named Bartolome.
Rabida was an incredibly unusual looking island. It was one of the few islands in the world with a red sanded beach. The color of the sand was brick red and it was slightly more course that the other beaches. Here we saw some new animal species - the galapagos hawk, American oyster catchers, pelicans, and of course the usual sea lions laying abound. After hiking around the islan for a few hours, we snorkeled around the pennisula. During the snorkel we saw all the same species of fish as the other snorkels in addition to 2 white tip reef sharks. After the swim, we sailed a few hours to Santiago Island. On the island we would arrive on a black sand beach called James Bay. It was beautiful! Then we hiked around the to the other side of island to Puerto Egas. The earth here was very black, rocky and volcanic. The twists and weaves of the island floor kinda reminded me of the rocks in Zion national park. I was fascinated by the patterns of the earth under my toes. Here lived lava lizards, loads of marine iguanas, sea turtles, galapagos fur seals (which is really a different type of sea lion), striped herons, and mockingbirds. This side of the island where all the animals roamed was like a completely different topographic world from the beach side. I loved this island. It quickly became on of my favorites. After our hike, we sailed in the evening for 5 hours to an island named Bartolome.
South plaza
Wednesday, July 28th
We arrived into Plaza Sur island with a huge cloud of fog and mist overhead. The island was tiny; you could walk from one end to the other within 10 minutes. Plaza Sur was so absolutely beautiful. The island was speckeled with red and orange plants that mirrored the colors of the sunset. In addition to the colorful plants, the island was filled with these crazy cactus trees called opuntia. The "tree" stood about 15 or 20 feet tall and they all produced fruits called prickly pears. Upon embarking the island we saw numeorus land iguanas. One of the iguanas was chowing down on a prickly pear cactus fruit. It was hilarious to watch becuase the fruit was way bigger than the size of his mouth and he was trying to swallow it whole. After many attempts to swallow it, the iguana eventually got it down his throat without chewing it. On this island there is also the only hybrid iguana found in all of Galapagos. It's a cross breed between a marine and land iguana. Because it is a hybrid iguana, it can live and eat like both species. Sadly, however, it cannot breed at all because they are all infertile (only 4 of them exsist). This iguana looks like a little gremlin and is much darker in color than the other two species.
Here on this island was also a breeding colony of sea lions, a plethora of petrels, pelicans, the famous "red-rimmed eye" swallow tailed gulls. This island was my favorite so far; from the topography to the colors to the wildlife.
Next, we sailed during the day for 3 hours to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. This city is the major hub for tourists and locals alike. From Puerto Ayora we drove to a giant tortoise reserve named el chato. The reserve had loads of giant tortoises, ones so big
I could ride them in the Kentucky Derby. Each tortoise weighs anywhere between 200 and 400 pounds. You could tell the age of the tortoise by looking at how smooth its shell was (the smoother the shell the older it was). Our guide, John, told us that the oldest living animal in the world was a Galapagos tortoise that eventually died at the youthful age of 173 years old. After dismounting my shell of speed, we left the reserve and headed to a research station called the Darwin station. There we saw more tortoises, and land iguanas. The highlight of the Darwin station is a giant tortoise named "Lonely George." The reason for the "lonely" title in his name is becuase he is the only one left of his kind. Numerous scientists have tried to figure out a way to get George to breed. One major part of the problem is that he had no sex drive. John told us a story about a Dutch scientist who came to the Galapagos to study George's breeding habits. After some time she figured out a way to (I'm not kidding when I say this) electronically stimulate his penis. She, the scientist, was at it for 3 years and was unsuccessful. The only reason the project was haulted was because her visa ran out and she had to go back to Holand. A few years ago, George did in fact mate with a few females but all of his sperm were infertile. So sadly when George dies, he'll take his entire species with him as well. After talking about all this tortoise sexy time we got back on the boat and laughed about the day. Again, we were setting sail around midnight to travel to an island called Rabida.
We arrived into Plaza Sur island with a huge cloud of fog and mist overhead. The island was tiny; you could walk from one end to the other within 10 minutes. Plaza Sur was so absolutely beautiful. The island was speckeled with red and orange plants that mirrored the colors of the sunset. In addition to the colorful plants, the island was filled with these crazy cactus trees called opuntia. The "tree" stood about 15 or 20 feet tall and they all produced fruits called prickly pears. Upon embarking the island we saw numeorus land iguanas. One of the iguanas was chowing down on a prickly pear cactus fruit. It was hilarious to watch becuase the fruit was way bigger than the size of his mouth and he was trying to swallow it whole. After many attempts to swallow it, the iguana eventually got it down his throat without chewing it. On this island there is also the only hybrid iguana found in all of Galapagos. It's a cross breed between a marine and land iguana. Because it is a hybrid iguana, it can live and eat like both species. Sadly, however, it cannot breed at all because they are all infertile (only 4 of them exsist). This iguana looks like a little gremlin and is much darker in color than the other two species.
Here on this island was also a breeding colony of sea lions, a plethora of petrels, pelicans, the famous "red-rimmed eye" swallow tailed gulls. This island was my favorite so far; from the topography to the colors to the wildlife.
Next, we sailed during the day for 3 hours to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. This city is the major hub for tourists and locals alike. From Puerto Ayora we drove to a giant tortoise reserve named el chato. The reserve had loads of giant tortoises, ones so big
I could ride them in the Kentucky Derby. Each tortoise weighs anywhere between 200 and 400 pounds. You could tell the age of the tortoise by looking at how smooth its shell was (the smoother the shell the older it was). Our guide, John, told us that the oldest living animal in the world was a Galapagos tortoise that eventually died at the youthful age of 173 years old. After dismounting my shell of speed, we left the reserve and headed to a research station called the Darwin station. There we saw more tortoises, and land iguanas. The highlight of the Darwin station is a giant tortoise named "Lonely George." The reason for the "lonely" title in his name is becuase he is the only one left of his kind. Numerous scientists have tried to figure out a way to get George to breed. One major part of the problem is that he had no sex drive. John told us a story about a Dutch scientist who came to the Galapagos to study George's breeding habits. After some time she figured out a way to (I'm not kidding when I say this) electronically stimulate his penis. She, the scientist, was at it for 3 years and was unsuccessful. The only reason the project was haulted was because her visa ran out and she had to go back to Holand. A few years ago, George did in fact mate with a few females but all of his sperm were infertile. So sadly when George dies, he'll take his entire species with him as well. After talking about all this tortoise sexy time we got back on the boat and laughed about the day. Again, we were setting sail around midnight to travel to an island called Rabida.
Floreana / post office bay
Tuesday, July 27th
We arrived at Floreana island in the wee morning. Our first stop on the island was to Post office bay. The "post office" was originally set up back in the day when pirates and sailors used to sail the ocean blue. The so called "Post office" was literally a bird house looking box with a door where you would leave mail to be delivered to various parts of the world. Sailors back in the day would leave mail behind hoping that someone would eventually come to the island and be heading toward the direction of where the letter was going and hand deliver it to the person who it is addressed to. So, here on Galapagos they try to keep to tradition alive and ask tourists to drop off some postcards and take some that are left behind and hand deliver it to the person it is addressed to. I grabbed 2 different cards for folks in Brooklyn and I left behind 4 (one for mimi, one for my friend Cesar, one for my friend Katti, and one for my friend Jill...I hope they all get to you!)
After sending off my mail, we hiked to some lava tubes on the island. We then climbed down inside of them and hiked around them in the pitch black darkness. These tubes in the ground were formed from layers upon layers of lava flowing through the earth and creating holes large enough for you to climb around inside of them. They were huge. It was pretty cool!
After the tubing around, we hiked to the top of a viewpoint called Empress point. This island was extremely dry with some pockets of greenery; but nonetheless, it was gorgeous.
Next we got back on the boat and changed into our swim suits and took the dingy to a giant rock, Devil's crown, to go snorkeling. There we saw loads of the same fish as before as well as two white tip reef sharks. After a successful snorkel we went for another hike around the island to Punta cormorant. There we saw a reddish-colored salty lagoon where supposedly flamingoes roam but sadly we saw no flamingoes. The lagoon kinda reminded me of the salt flats in Bolivia. We hike to the opposite side of the island and came across an absolutely beautiful isolated beach. There we just relaxed on the sand and watched the animals around us. Kicking it on the beach with us were sea lions, stingrays, marine iguanas, and these vividly-colored yellow warblers. After some time on the beach, we headed back on the boat and ate some grub. Again, we would set sail for our next destination - Plaza Sur.
We arrived at Floreana island in the wee morning. Our first stop on the island was to Post office bay. The "post office" was originally set up back in the day when pirates and sailors used to sail the ocean blue. The so called "Post office" was literally a bird house looking box with a door where you would leave mail to be delivered to various parts of the world. Sailors back in the day would leave mail behind hoping that someone would eventually come to the island and be heading toward the direction of where the letter was going and hand deliver it to the person who it is addressed to. So, here on Galapagos they try to keep to tradition alive and ask tourists to drop off some postcards and take some that are left behind and hand deliver it to the person it is addressed to. I grabbed 2 different cards for folks in Brooklyn and I left behind 4 (one for mimi, one for my friend Cesar, one for my friend Katti, and one for my friend Jill...I hope they all get to you!)
After sending off my mail, we hiked to some lava tubes on the island. We then climbed down inside of them and hiked around them in the pitch black darkness. These tubes in the ground were formed from layers upon layers of lava flowing through the earth and creating holes large enough for you to climb around inside of them. They were huge. It was pretty cool!
After the tubing around, we hiked to the top of a viewpoint called Empress point. This island was extremely dry with some pockets of greenery; but nonetheless, it was gorgeous.
Next we got back on the boat and changed into our swim suits and took the dingy to a giant rock, Devil's crown, to go snorkeling. There we saw loads of the same fish as before as well as two white tip reef sharks. After a successful snorkel we went for another hike around the island to Punta cormorant. There we saw a reddish-colored salty lagoon where supposedly flamingoes roam but sadly we saw no flamingoes. The lagoon kinda reminded me of the salt flats in Bolivia. We hike to the opposite side of the island and came across an absolutely beautiful isolated beach. There we just relaxed on the sand and watched the animals around us. Kicking it on the beach with us were sea lions, stingrays, marine iguanas, and these vividly-colored yellow warblers. After some time on the beach, we headed back on the boat and ate some grub. Again, we would set sail for our next destination - Plaza Sur.
Española boobies
Monday, July 26th
Today, we would wake up alongside the beautiful island of Espanola. The game plan for the day was to hike around Punta Suarez and see various species of endemic animals. Upon first landing on the island, it kinda looked like Cape Cod (same color sand as the dunes in the cape and some green shrubbery scattered around the beach). One major difference between the Cape and here is that that there's a plethora of marine iguanas lining the beach and chillin' on the volcanic rocks. As we continued to hike around the island we saw albatrosses mating, blue boobies doing their mating dance (a.k.a "the discoteque" nazca boobies, Sally lightfoot crabs, lava lizards, various species of Darwin finches, mockingbirds, and galapagos doves. The middle of the island was desert-like and it was rimmed on one side with a sandy beach while the other side had sheer volcanic cliffs. I never knew what to expect of the islands, but I never imagined them to be so dry.
After Punta Suarez, we headed off to Gardener bay to go snorkeling. The water was unexpectedly frigid, about 58 degrees. The winter (occuring now) was the best time of year to snorkel/ dive becuse of the upwelling that occurs (bringing lots of deep water marine life to the surface). John (the Norwegian) was my snorkeling buddy and together we saw various species of fish including- needlefish, parrotfish, hogfish, wrasses, surgeonfish, tangs, anglefish, sergeant majors, barberfish, pufferfish, porcupinefish, triggerfish, labrisomid, scorpionfish, and hawkfish. We also some saw turtles and sea lions swimming about without a care in the world. After snorkeling we headed back on the boat for dinner and set sail late in the evening to arrive to our next destination by the am - Floreana island.
Today, we would wake up alongside the beautiful island of Espanola. The game plan for the day was to hike around Punta Suarez and see various species of endemic animals. Upon first landing on the island, it kinda looked like Cape Cod (same color sand as the dunes in the cape and some green shrubbery scattered around the beach). One major difference between the Cape and here is that that there's a plethora of marine iguanas lining the beach and chillin' on the volcanic rocks. As we continued to hike around the island we saw albatrosses mating, blue boobies doing their mating dance (a.k.a "the discoteque" nazca boobies, Sally lightfoot crabs, lava lizards, various species of Darwin finches, mockingbirds, and galapagos doves. The middle of the island was desert-like and it was rimmed on one side with a sandy beach while the other side had sheer volcanic cliffs. I never knew what to expect of the islands, but I never imagined them to be so dry.
After Punta Suarez, we headed off to Gardener bay to go snorkeling. The water was unexpectedly frigid, about 58 degrees. The winter (occuring now) was the best time of year to snorkel/ dive becuse of the upwelling that occurs (bringing lots of deep water marine life to the surface). John (the Norwegian) was my snorkeling buddy and together we saw various species of fish including- needlefish, parrotfish, hogfish, wrasses, surgeonfish, tangs, anglefish, sergeant majors, barberfish, pufferfish, porcupinefish, triggerfish, labrisomid, scorpionfish, and hawkfish. We also some saw turtles and sea lions swimming about without a care in the world. After snorkeling we headed back on the boat for dinner and set sail late in the evening to arrive to our next destination by the am - Floreana island.
Off to the galápagos!!!
Sunday, July 25th
Today I woke up early to catch my 6am flight to the Galapagos. I was flying with another guy named Matt, from England, who also booked his tour through Paul. Matt wasn't exactly the most social or happiest guy but he had his moments. The flight flew by and before I knew it I was flying over the Galapagos. It was a super cloudy day so I couldn't see all the island from the plane but right before we lande the sun came out and I could begin to see the islands from above. They were beautiful. As soon as we disembarked the plane the other passengers immediately took out their cameras and started clicking away. It was slightly ridiculous. We arrived on an island called Baltra and all it contained was the airport. We took and boat to a bus to get to the inhabited and populous island of Santa Cruz and more specifically the town of Puerto Ayora. The town was very cute but definitely touristy. It was a mixture of traditional basic Ecuadorian architecture and expensive lookin modern hotels. All the locals on the island walked by you with a smile on their face. When I arrived in the town, I met some tourists, had lunch with them, and then booked an 8 day boat cruise. The boat left the island in less than 10 minutes when I booked the tour so I has to hustle to the dock. I had to take a 2 hour boat taxi ride to another island called San Cristobal to meet up with the boat over there. The boat taxi ride was ridicoulously choppy and rough. I had to hold on to my seat the whole ride and stare at the horizon or I was gonna be severly ill. The two passengers on either side of me were passed out and leaning on me with their full body weight and sitting across me was a young girl breast feeding her child. It was a boat ride to remember! When I arrived on San Cristobal I walked around the city Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. The town was small and the main road ran alongide the water. Along the road was a small playground with your typical swing set and slides; however, ther was something quite unique about this playground. Instead of a bunch of children running around and playing there were numerous sea lions sunbathing in the park. It was helarious! Our sailboat arrived in the evening to pick us up. The boat slept 10 passengers, 2 to a room. On the boat was 3 brits (Jules, Rich and Fishy), 2 Germans (Kristina and her mom), 2 Norweigans (John and Monica), and 2 Danish (Ann and Mads). We also met our guide/naturalist John who was well versed in the history, plant, and animal life of the Galapagos. The whole group was cool and we all got along swimmingly. I had to shack up with Fishy for the first half of the trip; he seemed like a nice enough guy to live in a tiny and cramped space with. The plan for the first night on the boat was first eat dinner together as a "family" and then to sail to an island called Espanola. We would set sail around midnight and travel for about 7 hours to our destination.
Today I woke up early to catch my 6am flight to the Galapagos. I was flying with another guy named Matt, from England, who also booked his tour through Paul. Matt wasn't exactly the most social or happiest guy but he had his moments. The flight flew by and before I knew it I was flying over the Galapagos. It was a super cloudy day so I couldn't see all the island from the plane but right before we lande the sun came out and I could begin to see the islands from above. They were beautiful. As soon as we disembarked the plane the other passengers immediately took out their cameras and started clicking away. It was slightly ridiculous. We arrived on an island called Baltra and all it contained was the airport. We took and boat to a bus to get to the inhabited and populous island of Santa Cruz and more specifically the town of Puerto Ayora. The town was very cute but definitely touristy. It was a mixture of traditional basic Ecuadorian architecture and expensive lookin modern hotels. All the locals on the island walked by you with a smile on their face. When I arrived in the town, I met some tourists, had lunch with them, and then booked an 8 day boat cruise. The boat left the island in less than 10 minutes when I booked the tour so I has to hustle to the dock. I had to take a 2 hour boat taxi ride to another island called San Cristobal to meet up with the boat over there. The boat taxi ride was ridicoulously choppy and rough. I had to hold on to my seat the whole ride and stare at the horizon or I was gonna be severly ill. The two passengers on either side of me were passed out and leaning on me with their full body weight and sitting across me was a young girl breast feeding her child. It was a boat ride to remember! When I arrived on San Cristobal I walked around the city Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. The town was small and the main road ran alongide the water. Along the road was a small playground with your typical swing set and slides; however, ther was something quite unique about this playground. Instead of a bunch of children running around and playing there were numerous sea lions sunbathing in the park. It was helarious! Our sailboat arrived in the evening to pick us up. The boat slept 10 passengers, 2 to a room. On the boat was 3 brits (Jules, Rich and Fishy), 2 Germans (Kristina and her mom), 2 Norweigans (John and Monica), and 2 Danish (Ann and Mads). We also met our guide/naturalist John who was well versed in the history, plant, and animal life of the Galapagos. The whole group was cool and we all got along swimmingly. I had to shack up with Fishy for the first half of the trip; he seemed like a nice enough guy to live in a tiny and cramped space with. The plan for the first night on the boat was first eat dinner together as a "family" and then to sail to an island called Espanola. We would set sail around midnight and travel for about 7 hours to our destination.
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