“Ray! Ray!” Gino shouted as our zodiacs closed along the bay. Snorkel gear on, we rolled into the warm, azure water with a splash, quickly swimming towards Gino, frantically waving as he bobbed around. Poking our heads below the surface revealed a 3.5 m Manta Ray gracefully gliding below as those with cameras took aim. He was an imposing figure making a short flick of his wings with the meter long tail waving effortlessly behind. It seemed that day four in Galapagos was going to be another great day.
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| Majestic 31/2m Manta Ray |
It’s hard to fathom that 13 seemingly inhospitable volcanic islands spread across 45000 sqkm 1000km from the South American mainland could be at the forefront of changing humanities perspective of nature. For us this was to be a highlight of our South American exploration.
Galapagos – so named after the tortoises that inhabit the islands – have a colorful history beginning with the 1500’s landing of Spanish explorers. Barren, with little arable land for suitable agricultural it escaped permanent settlement until the mid 20th century.
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It was once a popular haunt for pirates who used it as a base to plunder ships sailing along the Ecuadorian coast. Shortly after gaining independence in the 1830’s Ecuador declared sovereignty posting a military presence to stake it’s claim. While the pirates moved on, the advent of the Pacific whaling industry made it a popular supply port; close to the migratory whales that followed the cold Humboldt current and access to provisions, namely the giant tortoises who because they could survive up to a year without food or water were popular food items. Of course it was naturalist Charles Darwin’s exploration of the islands that have left their most important legacy.
Darwin was just 22 years old when he was invited aboard the British ship The Beagle as a naturalist. It was a 5-year, around the world journey. He was prone to terrible seasickness, eager to spend as much time on land as possible. Describing the islands as “harsh” and “inhospitable” he nonetheless made copious amounts of notes and took numerous samples of marine and land creatures. The diversity of life and mutations of species prompted him to assert his theory of evolution by natural selection.
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| Can you see the very dangerous 'Scorpion Fish'? |
Our days quickly established a comfortable routine; Early am wake-up often viewing the sunrise slowly from the east under calm or wavy conditions while we enjoyed a hot drink and soaked in the peaceful scene. Breakfast promptly at seven – a varied menu but usually something to fill us up. An excursion to a nearby island with a ‘dry’ or ‘wet’ landing followed by a walking tour and plenty of opportunity for a snorkel.
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| The Lovable Sea Lions! |
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| The playful Fur Seals |
Returning to the boat we set course to our next island over lunch and a siesta repeating the morning schedule before an impromptu ‘happy hour’ under the late afternoon sun before dinner and lingering conversation with the other guests.
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| New Friends |
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| With brilliant sunsets |
It was an excellent mix of guests aboard our boat – five young Orange County firefighters, most on their first extended vacation of their lives; two couples from Australia and Ireland who had charted similar trips around South America for the past few months, two curious Norwegian teens on their own, and finally an American family from Brooklyn in the midst of a sabbatical, moving to Cuzco where their inquisitive girls aged 16 and 11 are learning Spanish and having an incredibly authentic cultural experience. Further inspiration!
Among the group not one ‘full Darwin’, those two-week Western tourists completely outfitted in the latest Columbia, Patagonia outerwear in earth tones only with the matching hiking boots. While we both had all the wardrobe ourselves we had a good laugh at them and ourselves. Everybody has their Everest…
After spending most of the night on the move to Santa Fe Island we came ashore for walk shortly after breakfast. We were greeted by a colony of 60 odd sea-lions stretching lazily on the beach napping in the early morning sun. They were incredibly tame a result of both their isolation and familiarity with tourists, allowing us to get very close. One playful baby even managed to steal Dee’s sandal initiating a quick chase as she broke for the water before causally tossing the sandal aside. We wandered to find iguanas all shapes and sizes sunning themselves, searching for food, paying no mind to the intruders snapping their cameras.
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| Hanging with the sea lions |
For our entire group however, the action happened in the water. The walk along carefully marked path searching for flora, fauna, and creatures was a precursor to our water excursions. It was clear after our first day’s visit to the Giant tortoises on Santa Cruz Island that we wanted to be in the water. Entrepreneurial farmers abandoned the coffee and guava business when the tortoises that continually returned to graze on the grasses of their vast properties turning to accommodating the gringo hoards that come to see these ancient relics lumber slowly along. Frank, from New York aptly called it ‘Farming tourists’ which was a great laugh.
Our snorkel in the crater around Santa Fe Island early on our second day did more than whet our appetite. After walking among the sea-lions on the beach, seeing our first land iguanas, and spotting the blue-footed boobies from the boat we dove in to have a first hand look. We immediately swam by curious sea-lions rolling and playing around us. The juveniles are most curious and would swim just a few feet from us to have a good look. While they swam by we paddled by Bobbies, pelicans, and frigate birds viewed us from their perch or dove like darts into the in sea in chase of breakfast.
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| Swimming with the sea loins |
Our final morning treat was a close encounter with a marine turtle as we snorkeled back to the boat. Snacking on kelp near the coral he was a little shy – or just a bit territorial - as we dove down to watch him effortlessly picking his meal while numerous small fish hung close looking for leftovers.
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| The graceful 'Sea Turtle' |
Another land excursion brought onto Isla Plata, a sanctuary for land iguana. The hillside was littered with the omnivores who spend their days search for the yellow flowers of the hortulaca plant that thrives here. The yellow flowers bloomed on the all around with the iguanas carefully picking the yellow tops while keeping a watchful eye on us.
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| Handsome 'Land Iguana' |
They are starkly beautiful creatures continuously molting their skin as they oversized feet propel them slowly across the grass. Full grown adults grow to be about 6 feet and although territorial we found the island full of them including some sunning themselves in close proximity to each other.
Our walk was broken up by some action in the water – a shark attack on the sea-lion colony playing in the water along the rocky coast – in the close distance. They large alpha males flew through the water to ward off the impending danger while mothers barked commands to the pups to find higher ground. The sharks, their opportunity lost glided down the coast, their distinctive dorsal fin a reminder of their presence.
By our fourth snorkel tour we were becoming a little blasé. We causally slinked by the rays, small white tipped sharks at times showing them the same indifference, hoping to see the more elusive sea turtles, and rays. The sheer number of schools of fish was impressive, not to mention the variety. Many variations of the colorful tropical fish we saw so often swimming in Bermuda.
Seeing our first Octopuses jammed in the rock crevasses was impressive. Gino managed find one while we boarded the zodiac to left the beach, slapping it on my bare back then prying it off when the frightened creature gripped on and took a bite!
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| Have you ever been bit by an Octopus? |
Our best snorkel was the trip to Bartolome Island. After walking the 380 steps to the island’s summit at the top of collapsed tuff cone we got a great view of the iconic Pinnacle Rock in the bay below. The harsh volcanic landscape completely devoid of life reaffirmed Darwin’s conclusion about the lifeless landscape that was full of life.
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| Famous Pinnacle Rock |
When Darwin returned to England in 1836 he was fairly certain that his theory of evolution by natural selection was legitimate. Fearing repercussions from the church and state at what was more than a controversial theory he sat on his research for over twenty years, amassing more evidence and looking for support from fellow scientists. When he published his book On the Origin of Species in 1859 it sold out in a day, and changed the course of biological history.
The unintended consequence of these ground breaking theories was a rush of scientists to the Galapagos Island all wishing to confirm and build upon Darwin’s discovery here. Like Darwin, many loaded their ships with endemic animals and plants bringing many to extinct or the brink of, ironically in the name of conservation.
Our final snorkel at Devil’s Hole brought us some close encounters. We saw our first spiny lobster trying to hide among the coral. Similar in size and shape to the one’s in the Caribbean, it was filled with blues and reds and not well camouflaged. He did however show the same protective instinct when I got up close, burying himself further from view in his cavern.
Dee spotted a sea turtle slowly meandering our way. We gave careful chase rising over a reef to find ourselves in the middle of 8 – 10 white-tipped reef sharks surrounded by our entire wide-eyed group. It was incredible, mesmerizing, not to mention eerie as they gracefully circled each other in a hypnotizing dance.
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| White Tip Shark |
Finally deciding to break away we continued along the rocky wall swimming past numerous schools of fish completely unique from other islands. ¼ of the Galapagos fishes are endemic and the great distances between seem to insure the species stay intact.
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| Golden Rays |
Today’s greatest threat to Galapagos seems to be humans. Introduced species such as dogs, cats, goats, and pigs ran roughshod on the local wildlife from the middle of 18th century as settlers tried in vain to make a go of it on these harsh islands before leaving them behind when they hastily left the island. Much of the 20th century conservation efforts have been attempting to eradicate these feral animals.
In 1959 the Galapagos open the Charles Darwin research centre on the main island of Santa Cruz with the expressed goal of protecting the island fragile eco-system. Training naturalist, carefully monitoring tourist interaction, and carefully reintroducing endemic species have been stated goals. While we found them greatly successful with all three goals, we couldn’t help but feel our ecological footprint as when we arrived by plane and while our diesel powered yachts rolled along the water. The islands and surrounding waters are now a UNESCO biosphere that insures the conservation effort will continue into the foreseeable future along with the many dollars needed to fund it.
After a thorough exploration of Florena Island – seeing the Pacific’s oldest post office, beaches with white, brown, and even green sand beaches with waters filled with stingrays – we began the slow journey back to Santa Cruz. It was a lovely afternoon. After a morning filled with turtle and sea lion spotting while we motored to our last stop, there was little to interrupt our discussions and reflections on these breath-taking few days.
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