06 Feb Blog Your Way Around the World: the Galapagos Islands: Days One through Four
In 2010, seven of Adventure Collection’s ten members sponsored Blog Your Way Around the World, a unique online travel contest that challenged contestants to write a short essay about why they deserved to win eight of the world’s most amazing adventure vacations and how, if selected the winner, they would write about their experiences to inspire others. Beth Robbins won the contest by receiving the most votes from readers. Beth recently enjoyed, and blogged about, one of her prizes, a Galapagos Islands cruise aboard the National Geographic Endeavor, courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions. We are pleased to share her dispatches here.
Day 1 and 2: Travel to Galapagos and San Cristobal Island
Customs, take off, landing, customs, take off, landing, customs, take off, landing. It took most of the day and three planes to get to Guayaquil, Ecuador. When our bus arrived at the hotel from the airport it was 2:30 AM. Amazingly nobody had a meltdown and everybody laughed when they announced that our wake up call would be for 5:30 AM. That was January 18, 2013, the first day of our adventure.
The next day we boarded buses, took off yet again and landed in the quaint town of San Cristobal, an hour and a half west off the coast of Ecuador.
The amazing warmth of the equatorial sun and the delightful crew made the transition from land to boat easy. From the moment we stepped off the bus to board our Zodiacs until this moment as I write this blog, we have been exposed to some of the most amazing creatures ever created. A large sea lion cooled itself under the bus stop bench. In the distance hundreds of these same docile animals lay across rocks or slept peacefully on uninhabited fishing boats. The greatest amusement came when a Zodiac pulled up to take our group to the Endeavor with its own sea lion mascot on board.
Before this energetic day was over we entered our staterooms, heard from the captain, did a safety drill, had a hearty a buffet lunch, and listened to a lecture on the indigenous animals of the Galapagos. That was all prior to boarding our Zodiacs for our first official adventure.
Humans inhabit only three percent of San Cristobal. The other 97 percent is the sacred preserve of indigenous species and plant life. We got to do our first wet landings on the Zodiacs into the amazing world of sea lions, the lava lizards, marine iguanas, sally light foot crabs, and ghost crabs. .A wet landing simply means that we get out of the boats in shallow water rather then on land or a dock.
After a walk around the beach some guests swam with the sea Llions while others took photographs and just gawked at the incredible animals from less than four feet away.
I am exhausted! It’s not even dinnertime yet. I could pass up dinner and get some sleep…….or not. Maybe I’ll go try the cocktail party first!
Day Three: Espanola
As we soundly slept aboard the Endeavor we cruised from San Cristobal to the island of Espanola. We are heading westward so that we will have the opportunity to see all the different inhabitants of each island along the chain.
Our day started with a briefing about water activities. I am experienced in both snorkeling and kayaking, but I found the 20 minute presentation a really good refresher course. We also got fitted for our wet suits, snorkels, flippers and floatation devices. It was really hysterical to witness sixty people of various shapes, sizes and ages squeezing into wet suits and maneuvering into flippers. Somehow they found a fit for everyone and we were ready to forge ahead a try them out.
This morning was filled with water experiences. We boarded the Zodiacs with all of our gear and had the choice of either deep water snorkeling or heading to the pristine beach to snorkel and play. Playing consisted of amusing ourselves with the antics of the hundreds of sea lions. They warmed themselves along the beach; turning it into what looked like one huge chocolate chip cookie, their bodies dotting the white beaches with randomly flung about singularly or in clusters. Baby sea lions jumped and played inches from our masks, occasionally dive bombing us by playfully jumping into us. One even came up and sniffed at the heals of a passenger, and then nuzzled the back of her leg like a pussy cat.
Wait!!!! The morning wasn’t over. We paired off and boarded a string of yellow kayaks, which were let loose to explore the waters about forty feet from land. Rough, choppy waters made it a more challenging experience. Challenging, but lots of fun. My overwhelming feeling upon getting back into the zodiac was……… ” I’m hungry.” We had worked up appetites with all of the activity. I couldn’t wait to shower and grab lunch on deck.
The afternoon was another unique experience in “Camp Galapagos.” Zodiacs transported us to Espanola where we trekked over lava rock and boulders for more than three hours. Though tiring, it was extremely worthwhile. Our first view was of huge colorful Iguanas. It’s mating season so the big males looked like red and green creatures from another era. They lay about on the black lava rock sunning themselves on display for the courting females. Then we passed a veritable nursery of young sea lion pups. They frolicked in the water waiting for their mamas to return from the sea to provide milk for their hungry offspring.
As if this wasn’t enough excitement, we also saw bird at every turn. The blue-footed boobies have enormous baby blue webbed feet that they show off in mating dances.
I think the most wonderful part of the trek was passing a flock of Nazca boobies who had recently hatches babies. The white downy balls of fluff look like cotton balls next to the glorious black and white of their parents. The time literally flew by. Before we knew it darkness was descending.
To my delight, we stayed on the island untitled the last zodiac arrived. We were able to catch a sunset that can only be described as fire lighting up the sky. The sun descended into one of the most breathtaking displays of reds, oranges and yellows I have ever seen. I hope my photographs do justice to this entire day of awesomeness. I am blessed to have experienced the land that wildlife allows us to share.
After a lovely dinner with newfound friends, exhausted, we headed back to our cozy stateroom and literally fell into bed.
Buenos Noches.
Day 4: Floreana Island
Today was a little different for the passengers of the Endeavor. We started out very early with a hike on the amazing island of Floreana. It was another wet landing, this time at 6:30 AM. No one was quite awake when we started but the trek was so fascinating that we were in total awe by the time we boarded the Zodiacs to return to the ship for breakfast.
This is the mating season for many species of sea turtles. We ventured across the tiny island to the white beaches where huge green sea turtles swam around in the shallows near shore. Evidence of their egg laying preparation, deep holes in the sand, turned the beach into a series of dugouts. Tracks of the great creatures led to the sea where they swam about waiting for prospective mates. We learned that turtles can mate for up to fifteen hours at a time. After absorbing that incredible fact we had the opportunity to watch them and take some interesting photos.
It is amazing to see how passionate our guides are about these islands. They make sure every tourist that visits with them never disturbs the natural habitat. Our particular guide described in depth the efforts made to ensure that this habitat and the wildlife remained untouched by our visit. It was so exciting and interesting to listen to his discussion while we observed turtles, stingrays and yellow finches on the beaches and in the water.
On our way black to the zodiacs we stopped at a fresh water pond and saw a lone flamingo foraging for a meal. After breakfast, we donned our wetsuits and grabbed our gear to do a deep-water snorkel around the island called Champion Islet. The Zodiacs took us close to the shore and around the side of the island where the current would carry us along the periphery. One look beneath the surface transported us to a world of marine life gone wild. Colorful angel fish, parrot fish, an eagle ray and even a few white tipped reef sharks swam by us as we drifted with the current. The hour went too by quickly and we had to head back to the ship. There was so much to photograph and to enjoy in the breathtaking sea we were sorry to have to leave.
Once again we returned to the ship for a shower and a meal. The afternoon offered a wide variety of activities for those interested. A boat ride around the island took a large portion of travelers away after lunch. Another group went down a lava tunnel and experienced icy cold water in the depths of a crater. We heard it was an awesome adventure. Some passengers enjoyed the time to catch up on email, reading or simply relaxing on deck chairs topside. A school of dolphins entertained us with their jumping and spinning antics not far from the stern of our ship. It was almost like they were trained just for our enjoyment.
At the end of the day a recap of activities was held in the lounge. Our guides reviewed the events and clarified information about the animals we had observed. A presentation on sharks made for a complete afternoon.
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