There is so much to say about the Galapagos trip I think I will break it into two posts.
It´s hard to explain the experience in words. Before I get into an explanation of our trip, I feel I should explain my mixed feelings about this beautiful place. I love that I was able to interact and observe the animals the way I did, and yet I can´t help but wonder what the islands would have looked like if we hadn´t interfered the way humans always do. To be totally honest, I feel like we always ruin nature! These islands are so gorgeous, even though they´re all volcanoes or made of hardened lava, and they have some of the most rare species on this earth. And here are hundreds of tourists a day bothering the animals and trampeling around on the land. In one aspect, I was so awe struck at how close I was able to get to the animals and how curious they seem but on the other hand it makes me sad to know that we are affecting them. There are so many boats in the water, so many snorkelers crowding one animal, sometimes there is litter on the beaches, and then of course there are the annoying tourists that want to touch the animals or bother them because they think its funny. I truly did my best not to disturb the animals and just observe them. It´s just unfortunate that not everyone thinks in this way. I suppose the tourism provides an economy for keeping it a national park and for the naturalists to do what they can to preserve the area. Otherwise it may have been turned into fishing grounds or probably, knowing humans, torn apart for oil. Lets hope the damage we do here is offset by some of the good they try to do.
Anyways, about the Galapagos! Where do I start? We took off from Quito early Sunday morning and landed in Galapagos without incident. The weather here was so hot and humid, but it had been fairly cool in Quito so we were quite happy about it. We found our tour guide and met our new friends that would be with us on the tour. A group of retiree´s from France touring Ecuador and Peru were with us. Unfortunately they didn´t speak English or Spanish but thanks to Anik we were able to talk a little. Since finishing high school, french is no longer in my vocabulary! We also met the two Israeli guys that have been backpacking South America for quite a while now, and three girls from the US. On a brief side note I´ve noticed that people from everywhere but North America travel for 6 months to a year at a time. Almost everyone we met backpacking has been traveling for more than 6 months!! And in Canada my 2.5 month trip is a big deal! Anyways, we were taken to our home for the next 5 days, the Yolita II. We had our first stop at Bachas Beach where we saw marine iguana´s for the first time. The marine iguana´s are only found on the Galapagos Islands as they have had to adapt to the environment here. Since the land is all hardened lava, there sometimes isn´t much for them to eat. They spend hours in the sun heating up their bodies so they can spend 45 minutes diving in the ocean for red and green algae to eat. After being in the ocean, they spend time in the sun again to warm up and this is when they snort out salt since they ingest too much when they go diving. Crazy right? This was also the first beach we saw and it was seriously the whitest beach I´ve ever seen with the softest sand. Soft like flour! Our guide, Washington, explained that the beach was shit! Literally. Fish eat the coral on the bottom of the ocean and excrete it and then it washes up on the shores of the islands to make this beautiful white beach. At this beach we were able to snorkel, so Anik and I went touring around. So beautiful and my first time snorkeling. It took some time to get used to it since it made me feel claustrophobic but it was amazing to see so many colors of fish. I had a blast and we´d only been in the Galapagos for 3 hours! The water here is also the bluest blue I´ve ever seen. It´s so clear you can snorkel quite a ways out from the coast and see everything clearly. After the beach we had some down time on the boat and Anik and I discovered the best place to sit, the bow of the boat on comfy lounger chairs. We were later introduced to the crew, which was when I realized I was feeling sea sick and just kept telling myself ¨You´re not going to throw up. You´re not going to throw up. It´s okay¨. As soon as introductions were done I raced to our room to curl into a ball in hopes of feeling better. Anik´s a great doctor and took care of me so I slept almost 12 hours through the night! Best sleep I´d had in a long time. I think the rocking of the boat actually helped me sleep like a baby.
Day 2 - We were up at a decent time for breakfast. Our first stop - South Plaza Island. This was our first encounter with seals! They put on a good show for us while playing in the water. On this island there are many land iguanas. the males find a cactus and guard it as they needthe water inside it to drink. The female iguanas then flock to the cactus for water And the male can mate. This island had a rock cliff along one side so we had some gorgeous views of the ocean. After lunch we were at Santa Fe island. Here we did some more snorkeling and saw so many fish! the water in the bay of the island was the most unbelievable teal color. This was the first time being in the water with seals although every time we skorkeled after this day we swam with seals. They are so curious and just look at you with interest under the water. We also found a sea turtle and were able to swim around the bay with it for a while. It was so relaxed and peaceful and I couldn't believe how close we got to it! we also had a chance to land on the island right on a beach with a seal colony. Most didn't pay much attention to us. There were even baby seals which are the cutesy things ever. The funniest thing is how the seals walk for a bit and then plop on tue ground as if the two second walk was hardest thing ever! I could have watched them for hours. this night was the first night we would be moving while sleeping, which I thought would be better with less rocking but I was wrong. It was a rough night.
Day 3 - Early morning. Like 530 am early so we could be the fist on Espanola island. First thing we crossed was another colony of sleeping seals. This was our fist close encounter with the famous blue footed boobies. They were also very curious and stared at us with interest but weren't the least bit scared of us. We all got some great pictures. My favorite bird of all though is the albatross. It has a wing span of 7 ft and is enormous but sooooo beautiful. I wanted to touch one because their feathers look so soft but of course I didn't. We even got to witness their famous mating dance. These birds mate for life and after spending a long time apart they have this unique and interesting dance. This island also had a blow hole that shot water to ridiculous heights. Made for some great pics. In the afternoon we went snorkeling again around Gardner island this time. More sea lions in the water and the clearest blue water. We were looking for sharks but never found any here. After that we landed on Gardner beach which went on for miles, was white and soft like flour, and had a sea lion colony on it. More fantastic pictures and here we saw the blue footed boobies dive into the water to fish. It's quite a site to see as they sore around above turn on the spot and. Dive bomb into the water! after dinner we were relocating again and Anik and i got to see the night sky in all it's glory. Out in the middle of an ocean the sky is really something. we also saw bioluminescent algae which looked like blue sparks cOming off the boat.
I think this is enough for now. I am currently using Aniks iPhone to type so I apologize for the typos. Tomorrow we leave foe the jungle so I am hoping I can finish my galpagos blog on the bus. I will post pictures when I can!! I have some amazing ones!
No comments:
Post a Comment