Lonesome George

Jack and I went to the Galapagos Islands off of Ecuador on October 11th. We arrived in Quito and immediately welcomed the cool weather. We actually had to wear jackets and I put on my down vest. From Quito we traveled to Baltra in the Galapagos Archipeligo. Jack and I were so tired that we fell asleep for most of the plane rides (yes rides) and were completely disoriented, not to mention hungry, when we landed. Because we were so tired from our trip from Costa Rica and the 12 hour delay in the Panama airport, we missed most of the free food on the plane. I have to give this to Ecuadorian airlines - they certainly know how to feed people. The worst part was that I kept dreaming about them serving food, but was too tired to wake up to get any. So when I did wake up, taking off my eye mask, the loud and loquacious man from Philly behind us told us straight off how wonderful the food service was and all about the delicious little sandwhiches. We, however, had to settle for plantain chips and a coke in the airport.

We soon discovered that our adventure was going to make us intimate with our boat, GAP III, some of the wildlife and the eight other passengers onboard.

We traveled to four of the 13 large islands. The first day we went to a very small island to see sea lions. The docks of San Francisco Bay are nothing compared to the beaches in the Galapagos. We were so close that we were stepping over them to walk along the beach. Most were harmless, but watch out for the male sea lions! Get this - they only have control over the harem of females for four months before they duke it out with the other males again. I guess its natures way of making sure they´re not too inbred. I think we know more than we´d ever want to about sea lion mating.


Anyway, our second activity, snorkling, took us to frigid waters where we both almost died, not from the cold per se, but from the extreme waves. Brrr! I´m cold and tired just thinking of it. At some point, my senses came to me and I decided to hoist myself back in the boat. I felt a bit like a huge fish wrigling on the boat deck - and then there came Jack, an even bigger fish! I think his lips were actually blue. So much for him always being about 10 degrees hotter than me.

Our hiking adventures and subsequent snorkling activities were much more successful. We saw some turtles, sting rays, sharks (they were asleep than goodness!), and penquins in the water. Fish included of course. On land we saw the famous finches, land, marine and hybrid iguanas, hugh albatrose birds, pink flamingos, blue-footed boobies, and so many more birds. The hikes were my favorite. That´s where we got to see the most wildlife, plus the waters were cold and almost too cloudy to see anything.


One of my favorite hikes took us to Floreana, or Charles Island, where Charles Darwin spent 5 weeks studying the finches. I don´t care much for birds, so that didn´t interest me too much, but I was fascinated by the landscape. Everything was dry and it all looked barren. We learned that when El Nino that hit the island and made the flamingo population drop from the thousands to only a few hundred. Our guide explained that although hte plant life can survive for long periods without rain, the animal populations are extremely vulnerable. This makes it difficult for the islands, becuase they continue to move closer to Ecuador each year. Combined with the four different wind currents and the increasing tourism, the Galapagos are threatened in multiple ways - tourism and invasive species being the most dangerous. If you want to know more about convervation efforts, visit www.galapagos.org.




Another great trip was to the tortoise conservation center. There were met George. He´s the last of his species left and he refuses to mate. I would too if I were over 100 years old. Anyway, Lonesome George was amazing to see.


Everything was amazing to see. I do have to warn any future visitor though that the stay on the boat is not too much fun. First, although our group was really nice, you have to spend so much time with other passengers, so beware beforehand. Second, I, lover of all boats, got extremely sea-sick! Our cabin smelled of diesel and mildue, and everything stayed wet the whole trip. It took 2 days for me to feel steady again, just in time for my hike through the Andes. In short, we´re glad we went, and we´re glad to be off the boat!