With Larry Bieber’s travel group February/March 2009
Herwig G. Schutzler, Lacaster,PA
My story is in two parts, the opening part covers Ecuador proper and the second part covers the Galapagos Islands
The word Quitsato is from the Tsafiquil language of the Tsachilaspeople from the Ecuadorian coast. Quitsa means Middle and Tso means World – Quitsato therefore means Middle of the World.
Heidi and I celebrated 50 years of freedom from families!
February 16, 2009
We left Lancaster at 3 pm and arrived at our BWI hotel in good time. We had an excellent dinner at the nearby Marriott. Had to get to bed early, since we had to get up at 3 AM for a 6 AM flight to Miami.
February 17, 2009
After the early flight, watching the rising sun over the Atlantic, we arrived in Miami at 8 AM. Unfortunately, there were no other flights for us from here to Quito! Modern air travel is an amazing thing. Sometimes only a few hoursof travel separate nations and cultures, different people and an altogether different geographic scene. A quote from St. Augustine is proper at this time :“ The world is a book and those who do not travelread only one page.” Our connecting flight was to leave at 3:30 PM. Well, things went very differently. We saw people boarding a plane and about 45 minutes later, they all came out again! Technical problems. Then schedules started to deteriorate. Another plane was announced to have some problems. Our flight was reposted at 5 PM and again at 5:30 PM. Then we boarded the plane. We all sat in our seats and nothing happened. Then we heard a lot of rumbling and bumping noises in the hold below us. We were told, a drunken passenger wanted to get on the plane and was refused by the crew. Now they had to find his suitcase in the hold! All baggage was removed, his suitcase located and then all the baggage had to be reloaded. Our plane finally left Miami at 7:30 PM.
The flight turned out to be very fine at first and we were served dinner. Then we hit a lot of turbulences and rain. There was almost no visibility, as we approached the Quito airport. The pilot had to do an instrument landing in heavy rain and fog. We faced a very long passport line and then hunted for our luggage. I finally located a man holding up a sign with my name on it, our driver to the hotel. We arrived at Hotel Café Cultura at 1 AM February 18! Found a note to meet with Larry, our team leader, at 7:30 AM. Now we set the alarm clock and repacked some bags for the next few Ecuadorian day trips. Caught a little bit of sleep.
February 18, 2009
In the morning we realized that we are really in Quito, Ecuador, the second highest capital in the world at 9,350ft/2,850m .La Paz, Bolivia being the highest capital with 12,000ft/3,680m.
Quito, Ecuador
At breakfast we met with Larry and Nancy and then Pete and Judy and Liz and Tom. The first travel group was now assembled. We all stored our Galapagos luggage at the hotel. In the lobby we met our Ecuador travel manager Monica and our guide for our traveling days in Ecuador ,Andres Pepinos. There was a 20 seat touring bus parked in front of the hotel and at the wheel our driver Jorge.
Leaving Quito and into the Andes. The weather was mostly cloudy and we were taken through a magnificent countryside. Farm fields, villages, beautiful flowers, lava fields, mountain streams and up and up we went towards Volcano Antisana, about 25 Miles from Volcano Cotopaxi.
Canyons Waterfalls
The Andean scenery again was breath taking, mountains rising, intercepted by either very broad valleys, with streams running through them, or very steep canyons and the mountains depositing immense piles of rock and dirt. Then we came upon the caracara bird, hawks, flowers and wild current bushes with berries on them!
Andres had brought fresh baguettes and cheese along for a great lunch on the shores of Lake La Mica at the bottom of Volcano Antisana. It was very foggy and a cold wind was buffeting the water, bouncing some swimming ducks up and down. We were at appr. 3,500 meter ( 11,550ft ) elevation.
The roads back took us to the Papallacta Pass, at 4000 Meters ( 13,123 feet ) the highest paved road in Ecuador. Our goal was a resort with thermal spas called Papallacta, which means “Hot Springs”.Very beautiful, on the foothills of the Eastern Cordilleras. We received cedar clad rooms in small cottages, with full bath and comfortable beds. In front of about 4-5 cottages were steaming hot pools, laid out within the natural surroundings of the mountains, the pools separated by small natural stone masonry and exotic flowers and plants. The water coming out of the ground was boiling hot, heated by underground hot lava, so they mixed it with cold water to make it very comfortable for the body – a natural whirlpool. We all took full advantage of that. The thin air made us move slowly however.
Papallacta Spa
As a matter of fact, Heidi tried to do some light leg excises in the water and she got dizzy! One keeps forgetting the altitude we are at. We felt like rich tourists in this beautiful place. Originally we were supposed to be somewhere else, but the previous day’s mudslides in southeastern Ecuador had made many roads impassible and this was the other choice! Good!
Papallacta thermal pool
We had a fine dinner and went to bed early again, since we had to get up at 6 am . The cabin was unheated and the little space heater in the room did not helpmuch for sleeping comfort and the shower certainly was done very fast!!!
February 19, 2009
After breakfast, Heidi and I were out to take some pictures, when the rest of our group came out, telling us we were going on a hike. Alright, let’s go. At first we came through some cow pastures, with Holsteins grazing and then by some large vegetable plots. We looked at plants, birds, flowers and in front and to the side of us the rising heights of the Eastern Andes. As we walked we became aware of the thin mountain air, our lungs started to work overtime.
lush Andean valley, great for agriculture
The Ecuadorian oil pipeline was pointed out to us, running along the lower part of the foothills, having come from the eastern oilfields of Ecuador. Ecuador is independent of foreign oil, but at the moment has only one refinery, a second one being under construction. They do sell crude oil to Texaco.
Now we were encountering heavy vegetation, as the path was winding down into a small valley. Soon, we were in real rain forest growth. The path becoming more treacherous, slippery from water and full of rocks and roots. Heidi had a devil of a time to keep her footing, caused by her braced right ankle and the bad lower back. A lot of our people extended their hands at times, to give her assistance that she grudgingly appreciated, independent as she is. She surely showed a lot of strength and stamina.
Now we hiked along the edge of this small, but very fast mountain stream, every turn in the path offering another stunning view, the rushing of the waters giving it the right music. We came toa field, where there were alpacas grazing. There were flowers, orchids and birds to be seen everywhere.
PegaPega( Aeschynomene Americana )grows on the water’s edge
Alpacas, producers of fine, light weight wool
This whole walk was about4 Km long, the equivalentof about 1.5 Miles, not to bad, if you have steady legs and a good lung capacity.
Back into our bus and in driving rain on towards a Hummingbird sanctuary. Ecuador is home to 133 species of these tiny flyers and they said they have about 30 species at this sanctuary. Wow, I could not believe my eyes, there were hummingbirds all over the trees. They hung feeders for them and these little ‘critters’ were having the time of their lives! In so many different colors and shades of colors and shapes of beaks, our cameras were going crazy!
Hummingbirds are very hard to photograph, because of their fast flying motions, it also rained very hard that day.
Back into the bus and now we were on the way to Cayambe and the Equator Monument, the true and absolute GPS oriented location, about 30 Miles NE of Quito.
Herwig in the North & Heidi in the South !
Locally it is called :Quitsa To, the Middle of the World and they proclaim here : “ The Equatorial Line is not only an imaginary line, it’s more than this; it’s a profound sense of being. “
They built quite a complex array of markers and lines, simulating the Northern and Southern Equinoxes etc. and in the center is a very tall orange marker, it’s shadows marking the changing sun. Heidi and I stood at N 00° 00’ 00” and W 78° 10’ 29.9”!! If this would have been water, Poseidon would have baptized us.
A young lady, a student we presumed, gave a full lecture about Ecuador, the Equator and it’s related ( or unrelated ) importance’s to itself and the world. Earlier in the day, Andres had given us the Ecuadorian thoughts about how world maps should be oriented on Globes and Maps, namely the Equator as the Center Meridian, North being to the left and South being to the right !!! I had already rejected that idea and now this young lady was talking about it again. She had a small plastic globe in her hand and rotated it around the Equator. How about that my fellow Cartographers!
And of course Ecuador having the highest point on the globe for the Equator, itself is assuming an important position in the world. Travel is a very interesting adventure…..
We had a fine lunch at a 19th Century grain mill complex, converted by the present owners to a museum and restaurant, situated on well kept grounds.
Eastern Cordilleras ( Andes ) , one clearly sees the 3 climate zones: trees, grass and alpine.credit L Bieber
And on we traveled through immense valleys, dissected by very steep canyons, some as big if not bigger then the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Rich agricultural areas with a mix of vegetable fields and dairy cattle pastures. Then we traveled through acres and acres of flower fields and huge arrays of greenhouses. The export of flowers is one of the main incomes for Ecuador. What they told us about the roses intrigued me. They export roses to various countries in the world, including of course the United States, but the Russians prefer very long stem roses, at least over 1 Meter long ( more then 3 feet ).
We arrived at San Pablo, about 5 KM from Otavalo and stopped at Puerto Lago, a very beautiful resort, on the shore of Lago San Pablo. Elevation about 2,600 Meters ( 8,580 Ft ) and N 00° 12’ 00” !. It was raining, but we were looking in complete surprise at this fine looking place, imbedded in very well kept lawns, flower beds and colorful bushes and trees. There were wooden cottages assigned to us, insides cedar clad rooms, generous bedding and full showers.
Puerto Lago
Lago San Pablo, Puerto Lago
But…. It was very cold in the rooms, no heat, although they had wood fire places, that they offered to light for us. But knowing what a fireplace does, when the fire goes out, we declined. We had a very fine gourmet type dinner at the lake restaurant and viewed in the setting sun a native paddling a reed boat across the lake.
Tired we went back to the cottage and crawled into the cold bed, spending one of the coldest nights of our married life. Good reason to snuggle! The next morning, when we showered, we saw the steam drifting out of the bathroom into the front room like wandering clouds in the Andes!
Great breakfast at the restaurant and now we could see the Volcano Imbabura rise above the lake.
Back into our bus and on towards Volcano Cotacachi through some fantastic land again. Huge valleys, close and distant mountain ranges and to the right at times the snowcapped peaks of the Andes. National Geographic calls it the “ Avenue of the Volcanoes”. So very fitting.
The bus parked at the base of the caldera and we hiked up to the edge of the crater- lake. An astounding panoramic view greeted us. Here at 3,064 Meters, (10,111ft )was Laguna De Cuichocha. In the center were two islands, representing the typical center protrusions of a volcano, geologically this is still an active volcano.
Volcano Cotacachi
The weather was great, 50-50 clouds and blue sky with a steady breeze, eagles and other large birds and small birds flying and luscious vegetation. The thin air was now very noticeable to us. We hiked along a narrow caldera path halfway around the crater, sometimes the path was no wider then about 1foot, through rocks, loose volcanic soil, interspersed with lush vegetation, orchids, latex plants and grasses. The whole area has been declared an Ecological Canton.
Our next stop was the town of Otavalo, an Ecuadorian textile center and also , so it has been stated, home of the largest native craft markets in South America. We were quite impressed by the activity on this Friday noon.
Otavalo craft market
Rows upon rows of stalls and stands of people, dressed in their colorful Andean culture garments, selling anything from blankets, scarves, tablecloths, wall hangings, mats, baskets, hats, gloves, woodcrafts, jewelries and ornaments made from jade, corral and other fine natural stones. We did support the local economy, but unfortunately we had only 1 hour to do all that!
We also stopped at a craft shop, where native people demonstrated the ancient art of spinning, dying and weaving wool in it’s old and ‘new’ ways. There were so many samples of their work, rather then buying I just took pictures.
Now we proceeded a bit north of Otavalo to the historical Hacienda Pinsaqui for lunch. The hacienda is owned by an established Ecuadorian family for generations with the name of Freile. We were greeted by six serenading musicians at the gate and escorted by them to the main entrance, were we were greeted by a general manager and taken to our tables for another very fine lunch and a desert. I had a chance to meet the owner, Senor Pedro LuisFreileLarrea, and he and I talked about my friend Luis Freile here in Lancaster and discussed the possibility of some distant relationship of these families. Perhaps more to come in the future .
As it was becoming late in the afternoon, it was time to get back to Quito, about 100 KM, or 40 Miles south. I had a seat next to our driver, giving me a full view of the road and the ever changing impressive countryside. We now had spend 3 days in Ecuador, having seen so much, met so many very friendly people, it’s as if we had been there for a full week.
Back at the hotel, we had to start to repack for the upcoming trip to the Galapagos the following Sunday. But we have one more full day in Quito. We had dinner at the hotel, discussing the events of the last few days. In some respect, the impressions we had are a bit similar to our trip to Patagonia 2 years earlier. Also tonight 5 more people of our traveling group would be arriving.
One more observation. For all the natural beauty, the nice and friendly people, the great towns, historical places and small communities, Ecuador is in dire need of water treatment plants, and not just for drinking water alone ! You are not allowed to drop used toilet paper into the toilet, only into a special covered container next to it!!
February 21, 2009
Pam and Randy, Carol, Jim and Jason joined us this morning, completing Larry’s Travel Group to 13 people. With our faithful driver and our guide Andres we started out going north through the city of Quito, passed the International Airport situated right in the middle of the city! Our first goal this time was the extinct Volcano Pululahua.
When we stood at the craters edge, we were stunned. A huge crater with a high lava dome ( 500 Meters high) in the center had opened up before our eyes, all covered by a very lush vegetation, in all shades of green! At 34 sq km ( about 13 sq miles ), it is considered one of the largest craters in the world. The agricultural community on the crater floor was first settled by the Inca and is considered one of two inhabited calderas in the world. Besides being an Ecological Reserve, the people in the community grow Potatoes, onions, scallions, maiz( corn ) and beans.
Our next stop was the “ Inti Nan Solar Museum “. Another truly GPS confirmed location of the Equator. Here amid a replica of a pre-Columbian Indian village, we were given a number of demonstrations of what the physical influences of the equator can do. I will name two, one is how you can balance a raw egg on the head of a nail right over the equator line, it works.
The other one involved a filled water basin with a plug in the center bottom, supported with 4 legs. They floated some green leaves in the water, put it right over the equator and pulled the plug, the water drained straight down the center into a bucket. Than the basin was moved a few feet over to the northern hemisphere and the water drained clockwise, doing the same thing over the southern hemisphere did the counter clockwise draining. Quite a dramatic demonstration of the physical forces here on the Equator.
About 250 Meters from this site is a very large granite Monument, with the name of “ Mitad del Mundo “, City of the Middle of the World. This was builtover the site measured by a French surveyor in the 18th Century and had been considered the true position of the Equator in this country. Now, the two previously mentioned sites, having been truly located by GPS, are the more correct location. This fact does not diminish the grand layout of “ Mitad del Mundo “, including the monument with an enclosed museum and elevator to reach the top and the park like landscaping. It is worth a trip.
Now we had to go across the entire length of the city to reach the Historical City or “ Old Town “ of Quito. Our driver and his bus did an outstanding job, driving us up a very steep hill, almost 45°, to our first stop at a hilltop restaurant, near San Juan Park called “El Ventanal”. What a fantastic view we had of the old and the new city, one side we looked down to the basilica, across we looked straight at the huge statue of the ‘Virgen de Quito’ and to the other side we looked at a chain of mountains. We had a superb gourmet lunch and then proceeded down the steep streets to the basilica and the Jesuit church La Compania, then went on to the original Spanish plaza with the traditional arrangements of Presidential ( Governors ) Palace, the Cathedral, the Archbishop’s Palaceand city hall. The foundations of all these buildings contain stones cut by the Inca people, quite visible to the observer!
Plaza San Francisco,Quito
At the San Francisco Plaza we went into some shops within the colonnades of the building and Heidi did not see, in the dark of connecting rooms a small step. She stumbled and her left arm hit some metal in a wall, tearing of some skin. We stepped outside and observed some heavy bleeding, that we stopped with liquid antiseptic gel. I cut off the skin flap with my pocket knife (surgery without a license!)and we band-aided it. Now Heidi has left some skin in Quito.
Back at the hotel, we repacked, leaving the heavy clothing, shoes etc at the hotel lock up. The Galapagos need different clothing.
The Galapagos Archipelago
Our eight day Galapagos Adventurenot my map
The Giant Tortoise, symbol of the Galapagos Islands
February 22, 2009
We got up at 4 AM, had to be at the airport at 6 AM. At the airport our team leader Larry had things well in hand, within an hours time we were sitting in a 737 and were on our way to Guayaquil and then on to the Galapagos Islands.
Our plane landed at Baltra, a small island just off Santa Cruz Island. Quite a few hundred of us “ Eco Tourists” were processed by the Ecuadorian officials and they happily collected the $ 100 entry fee from each passenger! Larry’s friend on the Island Juan Carlos, greeted him and then us. Our baggage was loaded by some crew members of our boat onto a waiting open truck and we boarded a bus taking all of the people to the ‘harbor’. That was a small bay, containing various size boats and small ships, representing the different tour companies, including the ‘Lindblatt/National Geographic’ people or the ‘Celebrity Cruise’ people!
Our boat and home for the next 8 days was the “ Pelikano “, a 16 passenger, 72 feet motor yacht, with a crew of 6 and one Naturalist. Our small group of 13 fit very nicely. Two zodiacs, here called a panga, took us to the boat, were we stored our luggage into our cabin. AC, shower, one large lower bunk and one smaller upper, with drawer spaces etc., quite remarkable for a small boat. We then received a sea safety talk from Juan Carlos and he introduced the crew to us. Siesta time, it rained for the next 1 ½ hours on and off, the only rain we would have for the entire time. After siesta the captain took the boat towards a small beach on the north side of Santa Cruz, were we landed by panga and took our first steps on these “ Enchanted Islands” an early Spanish name for the islands. We were getting a first taste of the nature of most of these islands, lots of black sand ( volcanic origin ), lava flows, some low growing plants, sea birds on the beach and in the air, flamingos and iguanas. Heidi and a few others went for a swim. After dinner time, we watched the wonders of the Equatorial night sky! The Orion straight over our heads in the center of the sky, the very bright planet Venus and the extremely spectacular sight of the undisturbed Milky Way! After a few years not sleeping in a rocking boat, Heidi and I felt at ease and at home in the “giant cradle” as the boat motored out into the night to our next destination.
February 23, 2009
After breakfast we took the pangas to shore for a wet landing. Young sea lions greeted us at the shore. Let me interject an early Spanish seafaring observation here. These ancient explorers called the sea lions “ sea wolves “ and Juan Carlos said that some Spanish speaking areas still call them that. To me , they sure look much more like dogs or wolves than like any lion. There, right near the waters edge, perched on a volcanic rock, sat this beautiful Galapagos Hawk, resting or looking for prey. There were various species of gulls and other water birds and the very beautiful Galapagos dove, that are not much larger then our robins at home.
Galapagos Sea Lion
Galapagos Sally lightfootedcrabs
Galapagos Marine Iguana
Now we saw, among the piles of volcanic rocks, more and more sea lions and numerous marine iguanas. All throughout this there were the Galapagos crabs, called “ Sallylightfooted crabs “. They are creatures all of their own. The adults are painted in orange, red, yellow, white and green, with two large telescoping bluish purplish eyes! The young crabs are black or just dark, blending into the dark rocks, therewith trying to avoid predators. As we walked along the dark beaches we came across some unusual white sand areas, the remnants of corral that once was growing off the waters edges. The Galapagos islands are constantly going through some geologic changes, some islands are emerging and some islands are dipping below the waters surface, as the Pacific plates pushes under the Continent of South America, all in the span of millions of years. In addition are the ever present strong Humboldt, Peru and Pacific Ocean currents, either pushing cold or warm waters in and out of the archipelago.
On the way back we had a chance to see up close the Galapagos penguins. To Heidi and I they have a very strong resemblance to the Magellan Penguins of Southern Patagonia and it is the strong believe among scientists that they arrived as such a long time ago as “drifters”. They no longer migrate however.
A la Cousteau
Our snorkeling adventure opened the marine page of the Galapagos book, with 4 species of rays ( tiger, golden, diamond, marble ), yellow tailed surgeon fish, angel fish, Mexican hogfish and ‘grazing’ ( on algae ) marine iguana.
white tipped reef shark resting
Oh, the fun of snorkeling, pix by Heidi
MarineIguana grazing on algae( pix by Heidi )
Star fish ( credit L Bieber )
The hike of the ‘red-shirted Larry group’ to the top of Bartolome
After siesta and some motoring with the ‘Pelikano’we had arrived at BartolomeIsand, famous for it’s great pinnacle of rock just off the shore. We made a dry landing with the pangas and started quite a strenuous walk/climb through volcanic rock fields, lava fields, ( often using wooden steps – 400 of them ! ) to get to the top of the island. The payoff is an astounding view, that is often used by the Ecuadorian tourist industry as a promoter for the Galapagos. A team picture was in order.
Trough lava, dust, no vegetation
400 steps! No other comment necessary
On top of Bartolome!
A full view of two calderas, with an isthmus in between, the leaning rock and the sea and our anchored boats. A travelers dream, a fulfillment for a Cartographer like myself, all surrounded by the evidence of the Earth’s actions of the past and of the present—-
After a deserved fine dinner, presented by our creative cook ‘Pescalito’,( a nickname meaning little fish) it was time to talk a little bit, write a little bit, take a last look at the Milky Way in all it’s glory and thank the Creator for the privilege to see all this.
February 24, 2009
Up very early, before sunrise, just some coffee. Our experienced guide Juan Carlos knows, that we will see more wildlife very early in the morning. After about 10-11 Am the heat becomes so strong, forcing the animals into their burrows or whatever shade they can find. There are generally no trees on the islands, with the exception of some agricultural areas like on Santa Cruz Island. It’s barren, volcanic ground, with some very low scraggy bushes and cacti. Survival for plants and animals is an ever-ongoing struggle; one change in wind, or ocean currents can spell disaster for a specie. And man of course has done his damage to the fauna and flora of the islands. Just the introduction of goats almost wiped out the entire wild population of Giant Tortoises! Methodically the goats are being removed now. There are many stories similar to that.
We saw many different finches ( Darwin’s specialty ! ). They are very approachable and relatively easy to photograph. And the funny and sort of aggressive mocking birds are a photographers delight. Then we came upon a very rocky ‘beach’, left over’s from a long ago lava flow and very difficult to walk through, but there were sea iguanas, crabs and sea lions in all sizes and shapes. Water birds, pelicans, blue footed boobies, flycatchers, warblers,no end to the bird life. Our ornithologist Randy and Juan Carlos had another field day. The guys know a lot about birds.
After 2 ½ hours of this exercise we went back for breakfast. Our cook prepared very excellent dishes. Fish and meat, great vegetable and fruit salads, potatoes, rice, pasta and deserts.
We stopped at the small island of Rabida, known for it’s red beach, a result of heavy iron content in the volcanic rock. The visit was short, but what we saw was very beautiful, leaving a lasting impression on all of us.
He was very protective of his family
Marine Iguana on Rabida Island
Our naturalist, Juan Carlos ( Darwin’s successor! ) , has great knowledge and presents it with a great sense of humor. He is well appreciated by our group. As is the case on trips like this one, the participating people appreciate very similar things in life and are usually well traveled. That makes life more harmonious on a small vessel like this. Even though, we still have enough personal space. Sometimes we rest, some- times we read and sometimes we talk. And since we also have no connections with the events of the outside world, we are not constantly bombarded with ‘news’, what a relief! The modern people in the fast tech world have no connections with nature, they have no quiet time that would allow them to think things through. The young generation in particular is becoming the big looser. What they learn is in the schoolroom, from the computer and from an array of technical gadgets. No personal conversations, no ‘real’ observations, no practical experiences.
And as I am writing this, Pescalito presents me with a specially backed maize cake, with raisins in the center and wrapped in some leave, wow. He speaks no English and I almost no Spanish and we still struck up a very friendly relationship.
We are now motoring to Santa Cruz Island, in some heavy seas, and we will anchor off Puerto Ayora.
February 25, 2009
We are up at sunrise, looking at a very busy harbor. Many large and small sailboats, fancy and simple motor yachts, all kinds of small vessels and some cargo vessels. With the pangas we went to the Darwin Research Station. Here quite a lot of serious research is being conducted. The preservation of the Galapagos Giant Tortoises is one example of that effort.These reptiles have had a very rough life within the last 200 years. First the whalers used to catch them and store them aboard their ships for food and then the settlers introduced goats, rats , dogs and pigs, competing with the food supply of the reptiles or eating them. The laid eggs of the tortoises are put into incubators and after they hatch, the youngsters are kept for about 2 years and then introduced into the wild.We were meeting famous “ Lonesome George “, a saddle back tortoise found on Pinta Island in 1970 , the only survivor of his kind. His age is estimated at about 80 years and his job is to try to fertilize females.
We then came upon a group of tortoises in a protected area of the facility, that at one time over the last 100 years had been removed from the islands by rich people and used as ‘pets’. The Darwin station some years ago had made an appeal to people to return them. Some did that as we could now see.
We are both thinking perhaps
The Giant Tortoise can weigh up to 500 lbs and may reach the age of 200 years
There are some colorful land iguanas at the facility being kept for breeding purpose, to assure a continuous presence of this type iguana. At present there are about 1,400 of these reptiles throughout the islands.
There are many species of trees ( a rare plant in the Galapagos ), cacti, bushes , flowers and birds to observe , of course some of the facility is not open to the public.
After lunch and siesta at our boat, our group was taken by bus to the highlands north of Puerto Ayora, giving us a chance to observe the Giant Tortoises in the wild. Throughout our hike through some fantastic landscape, walking through very tall elephant grass, coming upon open areas dotted with giant Cuban Cedars we counted seven tortoises, males and female of various sizes and ages.
With a wild tortoise on our ‘50th’ Our expedition leader Larry
As I write this, there is very typical harbor life to see and hear. Pangas come and go, water taxis bringing people from town, voices of people shouting or laughing or talking,
February 26, 2009
We have arrived at Floreana Islandand after early breakfast on to the first island hike. Very peaceful, observing finches and mockingbirds and coming to the edge of a very large lagoon with the water so clear, we could easily see the bottom, the colors of algae built-up and mineral deposits. We came down to a very unusually white beach and there on the water’s edge were two large sea turtles in the process of mating. Since we unfortunately had disturbed them, thy slowly went into the water, but stayed close to the shore. Here were two very large drift wood trees, giving us a chance to sit and observe the peaceful surrounding. When we left, we saw the turtles coming back to shore…..great.
Back at the boat, we motored to a small island with a very rough shore, pounding waves and no beach. Snorkel time. There were a whole bunch of young sea lions on the rocks and in the water giving us this rare and privileged chance to swim with them. What a wonderful experience for humans. At times they would swim at full speed directly at us and at the very last moment pass us. They were under us, looking up and waiting for these slow two legged creatures to follow them.
As we climbed back into the panga, Heidi noticed an old man a bit off our boat, swimming sort of painfully, without fins! Not a good idea for a swim in choppy waters! Our panga driver took us to him and we saw that he was about to loose his strength. With a lot of heaving and shoving we got him into our panga. He was about at the end of his power. His own panga driver had no idea of all this. Then we saw another man struggling along alone in the water. By that time the other panga came along side and we worked hard, he was overweight( about 350 lb), to get him rescued. They were from another of the many boats sharing these waters and I might say so, had no business being alone in the water . No buddies, no flippers, overweight and not strong enough. They could have drowned. Their own pangas finally picked them up.
Our captain took us with the Pelikano to the very famous Post Office Bay of Floreana and with the panga we went ashore. About 200 years ago, the whalers and other wayward sailors had established a barrel, resting on a post, to have it off the ground. In this barrel, these sailors would deposit letters to their loved ones, wherever home was. When other people stopped by doing the same thing, they would look for the addresses and if convenient, would take them along, hoping that the same would happen to their own letters. This ‘ posting system ‘ has been used uninterrupted ever since. We looked for mail, took some along and deposited our own. Will we get it in this lifetime?
One thing we always had to ‘fight’, were the numerous other vessels. At one time I counted 9 boats, anchored in sometimes very small bays. There are too many tourists and they complain, that business is down because of the bad world economy!
credit L B
too many boats ( Baltra )
I am writing this, sitting on the top deck and taking in the colorful sea and the various colors of the islands around me. Low and big volcanic hills, rocky outcrops painted with different vegetation greens. The breakers making gushing, white explosions on the cliffs. The whole scene is topped by a great blue sky, interrupted here and there by puffs of white clouds. Wonders of the ocean world.
February 27, 2009
We are now at Espanola Island. Up at 5 AM, coffee and crackers and we had been advised, that the upcoming hike might be a bit rough to do. So Heidi decided to stay on the boat and work with her concert music( Brahm”s Requiem) coming up in April.
For the next 2 ½ hours we again experienced the Galapagos scenery and life at it’s best. We made a dry landing by stepping out of the panga onto some cemented rocks. We were greeted by a whole bunch of sea lions, male, female and young ones and they did not want to move. Juan Carlos clapped his hands to make them move, some reluctantly did so, to let us through. We came upon a small sand beach and in the water we saw many young sea lions . It looked like a sea lion nursery. They were ‘frolicking’ in the water with lots of crying noises that mimics goat cries. The trail now became extremely hazardous, with very irregular shaped rocks, up and down. We came upon a magnificent cliff, with a sheer drop of hundreds of feet down to the breakers.
Swallow tailed gull
Bird life all around, blue footed boobies, nazca boobies, swallow tailed gulls, some nesting with and without fledglings, some flying and some just resting. Our eyes could see across the endless waters. The sounds of the breakers below and the birds around us filled the air.
As we proceeded, we came to an area were we could see the action of ‘blow holes’. As the waters rush to the shore, the pressure will pump it up and force it through volcanic holes in the lava rock. Some of these explosions will reach heights of over 70 feet!
Later we wet-landed on Gardner Island under some trying circumstances. There were large rolling waves and our pangeros and we had to do the timing right to get out of the pangas without getting toppled over. Heidi lost her footing and had to be “rescued” by our nicepangero, before she was swallowed by a large wave.
Perhaps 50-70 sea lions populated the very white sandy beaches, giving us a wonderful chance to observe these animals very close up. Beach masters, females and many crying young ones. Here the air was filled with the thunder of the breakers and the many different calls of the animals and the birds in the air.
After dinner, we saw the sickle of the waning moon almost swallowing planet Venus. The stars shone brilliantly above us, with Orion straight overhead. This Galapagos trip brought all of us closer again to see the creative power that has shaped and is still shaping this living planet.
February 28, 2009
After a rough, six hour long ride that made going to the “head” an adventure, we arrived at Santa Fe Island. Again, as we arrived for the early morning hike, we were greeted by a welcoming committee of sea lions. As we stumbled through some rough volcanic rocks, we now saw many land iguanas, some eating cactus flowers or cactus stalks, some slowly walking along, some resting in the sun, not minding us whatsoever.
Land Iguana
We now could observe these reptiles in the wild, most other iguanas we had seen so far, hade been marine iguanas. Although they are not big by any means, no more then about 16“ to 20” from the top of the head to the end of the long tail, they look very fierce. And yes, sort of ‘ Jurassic ‘.
The Galapagos animal and plant world is very different from most other places on our globe. They have their own species, developed over eons of total separation from any other influences. Yes, Darwin’s observations of life’s adaptations and developments seem to be correct and bear witness all over the islands. But I will not go so far as to agree fully, that life in all it’s forms and shapes was never created but has ‘evolved’. Creation does not immediately have to mean a religious process. Scientists create a theory today and say with serious conviction: “ This is how it happened.” Thensometime later another scientist will refute it and it will be said: “ This is how it really happened.”. Human life, when compared to the geologic processes on this planet, is nothing but a second in time. Modern sciences have not been around long enough to prove with any certainty how life ever came to this planet.
Our snorkeling time around Santa Fe was interrupted by the sighting of a bull shark by Juan Carlos. No way do you want to be in the water with any of those guys.
Our young travel companion Jason deserves to be mentioned here. He is a delightful and polite person, a good listener and seems to enjoy life.He is a good swimmer and with his Dad made wonderful swimming buddies for Heidi. He never wore the ever present music ear button of the modern youth in the presence of other people. I believe he learned a lot on this trip, without being side-tracked.
Our next destination was South Plaza Island of the Plaza Islands Group, where we took another walk/hike. The ‘Pelikano’ was anchored between the two islands and as we had lunch and siesta time, we watched the idyllic scenery. The azure blue ocean, some white caps in the distance and birds diving for fish all around us; the two desert islands framed the whole picture.
Around the boat swam diablo fish ( milk fish ? ) or yellowtail mullets , kingfish ( the experts on board were obviously not sure what they were ); and the ever present Target-puffer fish. And about 100 feet off the boat a parade of manta rays swam by, with the left and right wingtip sticking out of the water and occasionally doing flips through the air. Apparently they do this to impress females!
South Plaza is tilted up by geologic forces on the SW side, dipping into the ocean on the opposite side, creating a great cliff. As we landed, the local sea lion population gave us the usual mixed welcome, the young ones very curious, the females sort of indifferent and the male making a lot of fuss. He and Juan Carlos had quite a conversation and at the end, the human backed off!
We hiked through a desert landscape, yellowish, reddish and some green color, painted by some vegetation and some mineral content in the soil. Throughout were magnificent prickly pear cacti, in full yellow bloom and in their shade rested land iguanas and lava lizards.
Prickly pear cactus
It was very hot, about 100° F as we proceeded along the trail to the top of the cliff. We were rewarded with a nice sea breeze coming up the cliff. Again we observed red beaked tropicbirds, swallow tailed gulls, frigates, boobies and pelicans, shearwaters and petrels. One could sit there for hours!. We also had this great view of both plaza islands, with our boat riding the anchor in the dark blue water of the ocean. Walking back, we had to be very careful not to step on either lava lizards or land iguanas. Some of these walks proved to be hard on Heidi’s poor foot/back, although she would never complain, but grit her teeth.
To put it in her words: “ If I would have known how difficult this trip would be on my back, if would not have dared to go along. Having done it now, I am very glad I did!” We had cocktails with a white dressed crew and they and we serenaded each other with some singing, accompanied by guitar played by Juan Carlos and Randy. Pescalito outdid himself with a multi course dinner and a chocolate cake with white frosting. The group sang to Heidi and I , celebrating our 50th, they lustily banged the glasses, urging us to kiss – no problem there.
March 1, 2009
Last time up at 5 AM for a visit to North Seymoure Island, a small flat island in the arid zone. The magnificent frigate bird and the blue-footed booby live and breed in harmony here. We again were the first people on the island and we saw the sun rise in the East as a large orange ball.
This little island is a paradise of wild life. You hear and see the birds, you hear and see the sea lions, all surrounded by the waves of the sea crashing into the lava rocks of the shore. Some of the frigates were displaying their bright red throat pouches, hoping to impress an available female. It takes them 3 days to fully inflate these and during that time, they cannot fly around. Incidentally, frigate birds have no oil glands; therefore they are not waterproof. If they would accidently hit the water, they would drown.
Some were flying with nest building sticks in their beaks, some rested andsome nested.
A male frigate bird giving a signal to a potential mate
And then these funny clowns, the blue-footed boobies! The males will perform quite some dance routine to attract a female. They will lift one foot up and then the other, they will lift the tail and spread and flap their wings and they will take a deep bow before the female, again and again. Ourcameras were just clicking away to capture these exciting scenes.
Dancing blue-footed booby
Got my mate !
This last Galapagos visit was a fine finishing touch to our eight day adventures, thank you Larry and thank you Juan Carlos. We hope this ‘outpost’ of fauna and flora will be preserved for generations to come.
We flew back, via Guayaquil, to Quito, were we stayed one more night, collecting all of our luggage.
March 2, 2009
Quito – Miami,Fl –Baltimore and back to snow, ice and winter – but, we now have great memories.