Jan 22

Overnight, we sailed to Sante Fe Island. Thank goodness for earplugs! After breakfast, we got in the pangas for a wet landing on the island. Sea lions galore and all ages. There is only one adult male and this is his turf. He will let you know if you are too close to the ones he protects and sometimes the female moms will also say stay away from the little ones. Otherwise, they are remarkably casual about our presence. This island was our first sighting of land iguanas and lava lizards. The land iguanas here are a remarkable yellow colour and they are only on this island. Later in the morning, I went snorkeling off a dingy and it was fun. The water was a bit cloudy but I enjoyed my first snorkel here anyway.

More Tortoise

We did see a male "pursue" a female and was successful. New tortoise on the way!

Day One Afternoon

After a briefing and a safety drill, we had lunch and then returned to Santa Cruz to visit a lava tunnel and the giant tortoise. A few people were already on board and had been visiting the islands for a few days. We then made the total about 14 (full boat is 20).

The lava tunnel was fascinating. The islands are all part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Earthquakes occur daily although we don't notice them. The evidence of volcanic activity is everywhere. The tunnel was caused by flowing lava hardening on the outside while the inside continued to flow like a river. This one was lighted a bit (unlike one we will see later) so we would be in awe of the mineral colours and formations. The lava tunnels are closed in the rainy season as water from above will cause rock falls.

The giant tortoise are amazing creatures. A lot of work is being done to preserve what are left and to help repopulate other islands with the tortoise that belong there. Galapagos is the Spanish for saddle, named for the saddleback tortoise the Spanish first encountered. The giant tortoise were almost descimated by pirates, whalers and fishers as they were easy to catch, could stay alive for long periods of time without food or water so they made good "fresh meat" for long sailing voyages. Sailors would take 200 at a time. Amazing there are any left. The ones we saw were on a private farm. They are wild as no one feeds them or tends to them. These tortoise are in the highlands and were breeding while we were there. Both male and female will make the long trek to the lowlands to lay the eggs. These slow moving creatures are very driven as movement is difficult due to their shape and weight.

Jan 21 Day One

We left Hotel Quito after a good breakfast. We were escorted to the airport by a GAP rep who arranged for our boarding passes and we checked our bags. Last night we put what we wanted to take with us in GAP canvas bags and left the rest of our stuff at the hotel. We landed on Baltra Island at Baltra Airport (I've seen bigger bus stations in small towns) and were met by another GAP rep. We were put on a bus for a short ride and then a short "ferry" ride to Santa Cruz Island. It was raining and I got soaked but I was wearing my quick dry pants and a cotton shirt so no worries. We then took a number of Toyota trucks (there were 10 of us) across the island to Port Ayota. The land and vegetation at sea level makes you wonder why anybody ever stopped there. It was sparse and bleak and very grey. However, as we went up in elevation it got greener, more plants, flowers and eventually some evidence of farms (primitive, but farms). Santa Cruz is one of a few of the islands that has human permanent population. Back down to sea level and it got bleaker again. Another GAP rep met us and we were taken by panga (inflatable boats) to GAP 5, our new home.

Back In Quito

We returned to Quito yesterday after our adventures in the Galapagos Islands. The islands were wonderful and the things we saw were terrific. I had some especially gratifying experiences which will unfold over the next few days as I try and recap what we did and saw. The boat was fine and sea sickness was not a problem for either of us (it was for some others) but Linda did have a loss of a day and a bit due to some gastric difficulties. She is fine now. Late January is entering into the rainy season, but we really didn't have much rain. It often started cloudy in the day (which started for us at 7am) and cleared only to cloud up again around dinner (7pm). The last two nights onboard we could actually see stars and a couple of nice sunsets so that was a nice way to end the voyage. We did a day tour of Quito today with Robin, Anne and a woman we met on the ship. Gloria just finished a 3 week trip in Peru and tacked on a few days in the islands to end her holiday. She is from Vancouver and was great company. We are now back in the old city at Hotel Real Audencia and are heading to the cloud forest and Mindo tomorrow.

Hotel Quito

We met with a GAP Adventures rep today and met 3 other people joining the tour: a young couple and an older man who uses a cane! Hotel Quito is certainly upscale for us. We had a swim, hot tub and swim again. The view from the restaurant is wonderful. I'll take some shots at breakfast tomorrow. We leave for our adventure at 8:30am.

Protest

There has been great unrest in Ecuador as the current president attempts to make changes to the police (the police had an uprising in Sept and the President was rescued by the army) and the judicial system. There are also proposals about what media companies can own and about animal blood sports. I encounted a protest rally at Plaza Grande today and I have no idea what it was about. I asked but those who would attempt English would not tell me. I think there were unions involved but I'm not sure. I didn't see any media presence. I wandered through the crowds and took my pictures. The police were heavily armed and I assume the President was expected in the area but I'm not sure. I have searched the net trying to get news but I found nothing.