Well after being back in Quito for a few days already, it´s already difficult to put into words the past week at sea, touring around the Galapagos with my dad, and his girlfriend Mary. It was such a visual and visceral experience that I will probably keep this short and hope the pictures can start churning your imagaination, but of course, my pictures dont smell like the islands, make funny sounds like the sea lions, sway like the boat, or burn like seawater in your eyes.... having said that, this is going to read more like a stream of associations and memories than a day by day account.
There were 16 passengers (from the States, Australia, Ecuador) on our boat and 10 crew and 2 naturalists (all Ecuadorian). Each day was started by a 6:30 or 7pm wakeup call (¨good morning my friends, you are about to experience another beautiful day here on the galapagos islands, this is your wake up call - followed by various animal and bird noises-¨). Each day we had a morning and an afternoon activity, sometimes several... variations of walks, snorkeling, swimming. On the boat we had either ¨dry landings¨ meaning we take the plancha-motorboat- to land, versus ¨wet landings¨where we all clumsly threw our legs over the side of the boat as it motored onto the beach. Some days we would be on the move during the day, other times we would be navigating through the night. As you may imagine the trip was also a study in small group dynamics, when we left the animals on the islands, we only had each other to turn to and observe.
In 7 nights we hit most of the islands, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Santiago, Isabela, Espanola and Fernadina. Each island was similiar but each had their unique qualities, different species and vegetation. My first thought was how inhospitable the terrain seems. Since the islands formed from volcanoes under water, over time, most of them have a crumbly, desolate, moon-like, barren, grey quality. Because the carpenter bee is the only pollinator, there are not many flowers, hardly any. At this time of year, the trees were just beginning to show little leaves... cactuses were common on some islands.. the highlands of Santa Cruz were quite green by contrast. It makes sense that different habitats support diff species.. here is where we found the giant tortoises, who need the greens for food (can can eat up to 40 lbs a day).
The Islands, at this moment, are very regulated. A Private permit can cost 100,000 per day and must include 2 naturalists to accompany the boat.. obviously this is discouraged, and as a result behaviour is reinforced and regulated. With regards to not touching anything, especially never the animals (which is tempting bc they let you get so close). For example, our guide tells us, when we swim with the sea lions, if we are to touch them, and pass on our Hawaiian tropic scent, the mother will not be able to recognize her kids and will desert them. Scent is very important to the sea lions, it´s how they communicate and find each other. You figure after existing for up to 7 million years, 50 years with people is not much time to develop a fear of humans.
The history of the islands includes a long stint of fishing which was the cause of much elimination of several species, particularly a threat to the tortoises, bc they were hunted and used for food. At one time the islands were also used as a penal colony. One island, Baltra, was used as a US military base after pearl harbor, the effects of the bomobing practices are still visible. The islands were officially secured as a national park in 1959. For this reason, it being fairly recent that people are a presence, is one factor in why the animals and birds are so tame, and seemingly unphased by humans. However in the accounts I read when Darwin, and others were on the islands, they also commented on the tameness of the animals... it´s like walking around inside a zoo, without the bars. Whats incredible in some areas it is just full of life. YOu worry about turning around and stepping on an iguana tale, or bumping into a sleeping sea lion... birds, also lots and lots of birds. The boobies, finches and friggats were the highlights, and most common. The red feet coloring comes from the carotene in the crab that they consume. However it is not known what causes the blue feet? The friggat birds have this double tail structure and remind you of a prehistoric taradactel. There were also little penguins.
The giant tortoises move at about 150 meters per hour. And even at this rate, it´s a struggle. They can wieght up to 500 lbs, so you can imagine they are not going anywhere fast. However they lay their eggs up to 2 km away. The sex of the tortoise is determined by the temperature of the egg, if it is above 27deg C it will be female, below it will be a male. They live up to 119 years old, many of the ones we saw were 100 yrs old. LIke trees their shells exhibit rings up to age 60 in which you can count to determine their age. If they are over 60 the rings are no longer visible.Like the iguanas (and all reptiles) they shake their heads to communicate, they dont make any noise. This is really amazing to watch. <if you get too close to an iguana or tort they will shake their heads to warn you they are about to advance... wait for the video to really see this in action, it´s quite remarkable.
There is almost too much to say, and yet it´s better not to say anything. The tranquil beauty and uniqueness was very powerful. BY plane it took about 90 mins from the mainland, so you really are out there hovering over the equator very far from everything.
I guess for now, this is all I can type... more later...
