Sweating and swimming (aka day 2 Galapagos)

Thursday, March 10, 2011

What an incredible day!  I’m totally exhausted, yet again, and since I didn’t sleep well last night, I’m really hoping for some quality zzz’s tonight (planning to take half an Ambien just to be sure).  But, before I do that, I wanted to write about today’s activities.

It all started with a wake-up announcement at 7am, followed by breakfast at 7:30 and retrieving snorkel gear at 8:15.  By 8:30am we set out on dingys to explore Rabida (aka Jervis) Island.  The island is comprised of lava that had poured out of scoria cones and which is very rich in iron oxide and magnesium (typical of the basaltic lava of the Galapagos, which when exposed and rusting gives the island its reddish color).  The tall red cliffs covered with a green blanket rose out of the sea in front of us as we approached the shoreline.  The water beneath us was so clear that we were able to spot some fish, even from the dingy.  Made me very excited for snorkeling.  We had about an hour ride discovering part of the coastline and finding the following wildlife (photos on shutterfly):

• Blue footed boobies – this was our first bird sighting of the day, nicely perched on the top of a rock with a Brown pelican sitting nearby
• Great blue heron
• Lots more blue footed boobies
• Fur sea lions – lazing on the rocks
• More brown pelicans
• Lava heron
• Galapagos sea lion
• Marine iguanas baking on the rocks
• Sally light foot crabs
• A blue footed booby with a marine iguana and Sally light foot crab with a cactus in the background –another National Geographic $100 photo according to Daniel (this seems to be his catch phrase)
• Yellow tail surgeon fish
• More fur sea lions playing in the water and others lounging on the rocks

Blue-footed booby, marine iguana and Sally light-foot crab

After our dingy ride we took an hour walk around the Rabida Island.  Right as we got off the boats, a sea lion family (dad, mom and pup) was playing on the beach.  At first they appeared to be fighting in the water, then came out to settle on the beach, but a minute later they went back into the water.  Quite the show for us onlookers.  The mom and pup eventually came back on the red sand beach while the dad bobbed around in the water.  There were a few marine iguanas and brown pelicans dotting the rocks and red sand.

Daniel guided us through the path and pointed out the small type of Prickly-pear cactus and explained the differences from the cactus yesterday, such as that this one is the only to bear fruit.  As we looked back to the north beach from where we’d walked there was a small pond while the east side of the island had clear turquoise water, dramatic shoreline and a beach with more sea lions.  More birds spotted the cliffs.  Scurrying around the island were tiny lava lizards.  Additionally, we saw the fruit of the Galapagos tomato plant and yellow flowers on a cactus.  We eventually made a loop back to the beach for snorkeling.

The water is extremely warm now, and coming from me that is saying something.  Denni kindly helped me put sunscreen on my back and we set off.  I was a bit of a mess putting on my flippers and snorkel and remembering how to breathe, but I kind of got the hang of it.  There were tons of fish in the clear blue water.  Visibility was amazing.  I saw various schools of fish, including the yellow tail surgeon fish and angelfish and some other larger fish.  I’m not sure of their names and the only pictures I got were with the waterproof camera I purchased at the airport, so I can’t ask our guide, but we all swam quite a distance from the north to east part of Rabida Island.  There was a pelican diving for food, quickly coming in and out of the water.  I had some problems with my mask and Louis, in the support boat, came over to help me out.  Eventually, I’d had enough and not-so-gracefully climbed in the support boat. 

Louis was still patrolling, so we ended up in the area where Heather and Leonie were swimming.  They’d just spotted a shark, so I jumped back in the water to observe for a minute.  A couple from the Michigan group joined me on the dingy and when we were closer to shore, we all got out to swim back.  It ended up being a bit farther than I thought, but it was pleasant seeing the fish again.

Back on board, we had a bit of time before lunch, so I took a quick shower before joining Lorilee, Susan, Denni and Amy at the bar.  I ordered a strawberry daiquiri which I sipped until we sat down for lunch.  I started with salad (this time a delicious avocado, tomato and onion one) and cheese (seems to be a trend) before getting some calamari, chicken and zucchini.  A tasty meal with lovely company.  Denni proceeded to tell me that while we were snorkeling I was making noise when I saw various fish and that she was following where I looked based on my noises.  Funny since I didn’t notice.  I can just see myself now under the water going, “hmmm” and “ohhh”.  Haha.

Me, Lorilee, Susan, Amy and Denni

Post lunch I was in desperate need of a nap, and kind of slept for about an hour.  At 2:40pm I pulled myself out of bed to change for our afternoon landing on Santiago Island at Egas Port, another wet landing with a walk followed by snorkeling.  Egas Port was visited in 1835 by the HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin, who described a group of Spaniards salting tortoise meat with the salt extracted from the island.  In the past, a Spaniard set up a monopoly collecting salt from the island.  Fortunately things didn’t turn out well and he ended up leaving the island before it got too developed.

Unlike Rabida Island, Santiago Island has a volcanic black beach with fabulous rock landscapes.  The rocks looked like thin slabs piled on top of each other.  The island rose up with a green covered mountain at the center.  On our hour plus walk we saw the following wildlife, as well as the black volcanic rock and a few grottos:

• Galapagos flycatcher
• Darwin finches
• Whimbrel
• Ruddy turnstone
• Tons and tons of marine iguanas, sunning themselves in the water or drying out under the rocks
• Lava lizards
• Sea lions
• American oyster catchers
• Yellow crowned night heron
• Fur sea lion colony – our first, perched on the rocks of a grotto, a stunning blue-green color coming from the water
• Fur sea lion playing in what Daniel called the toilet – a hole which kept filling with water then flushing out, the sea lion was playing around in the tide
• Galapagos dove – with amazing blue irises
• Mockingbird

On our walk, Jane (83 traveling with her brother Fred, 77) slipped and fell on the rocks.  She and her brother aren’t physically able to walk in the heat and can’t do most of the activities.  Watching them makes me realize how much one needs to live life in the moment and not wait until we’re too old. 

Egas Port, Santiago Island

Santiago Island

Lava lizard

Following our walk, we had an opportunity to snorkel with the potential of seeing some sea turtles.  I flippered through the water towards the point with the turtles but no one seemed to find them.  Unlike the morning dive, the water was cloudier and the sun wasn’t always shining, so visibility was poorer.  I watched a sea lion swim past me and then another one came from behind about four feet from where I was swimming.  Was amazing, but made me a bit nervous.  While I was looking around, I noticed an animal coming towards me, slowly flying through the water.  It was a sea turtle!  I got so excited that I snapped a few photos and swam with it for about ten seconds before needing to come up to clean my snorkel.  By the time I got back underwater, the turtle was gone.  After that I saw a couple different types of rays, another two sea lions, and many more schools of fish and coral.  I was one of the last divers coming back to shore.

On board, I relaxed in the Jacuzzi before finally showering and preparing for dinner.  I sat at the bar with Lorilee and her daughters and ordered a tequila sunrise.  When we moved into the dining room, I decided to sit with Heather, Leonie and my roommate Margarida to change it up a bit.  Soup, salad and cheese to start with fried shrimp, a slice of meat, and mixed vegetables for dinner.  I finished with dessert, finally sampling their cake along with a sweetened banana.

Bill, me, Margarida and Heather

Leonie, Heather, me and Margarida

We had our post dinner briefing for tomorrow and after talking to Heather for a bit, I came back to the cabin to go to sleep.  I should mention that the boats been rocking a fair bit since the first day.  You can definitely feel the movement.  I haven’t taken any seasickness medication and seem to be fine for now, knock on wood.  It’s now 10:45 and we’re waking up at 7am again.  Night night.

I love boobies! (aka day 1 Galapagos)

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Today has been a fabulous (but very long) day.  I’m sitting comfortably in my moon (instead of standard) cabin, roommate asleep, typing about today while trying to keep my eyes open.  It all started this morning at 5am when my alarm sounded.  I had a terrible night sleep, a combination of fear of missing my alarm but mostly the constant coughing, nose blowing and bathroom going by the guy in my dorm.  Not wanting to turn on the room light, I dragged my items slowly into the hallway and packed up.  At 5:40am I got a taxi to the airport and arrived just before six, as recommended.

To my surprise, a Klein Tours representative was not present, so I waited in front of the AeroGal check-in and mentioned to a flight representative that I was looking for a Klein rep.  About ten minutes later I was told the rep was at the desk.  No sign, no badge, nothing to indicate that she worked for Klein tours, but I went up and introduced myself anyway.  She directed me to the baggage check (no fruit, plants, etc, allowed on the Galapagos) and told me to return once the check was completed.  My bag was strapped with a normal luggage tag followed by the Klein tours sticker and room tag.

When the rep handed me my voucher and my M/Y Coral I yellow sticker (which I was to wear all morning), I found out my room was upgraded to a moon cabin from the standard.  I wasn’t complaining as she provided me with a black fanny pack and spiral book containing information about the M/Y Coral I ship and the Galapagos Islands.  The short line at security took no time and I bought a latte and fruit salad at the one open restaurant after security.  I noticed a few yellow stickers sitting near me but decided to save the chit-chat for later.

Just before 8am we took off for the 30 minute flight to Guayaquil.  I met a couple women on my boat (Lynn and Judy, from Ottawa and British Colombia) during the bus ride to the plane.  After a brief stop at Guayaquil airport to refuel and change passengers, we set off for the Galapagos.  The clear sky over Guayaquil resulted in some nice views during takeoff.  Another hour and a half later we began our descent to the Galapagos and the airport on Baltra Island (aka South Seymour).  I snapped a few shots out the window of beautiful turquoise waters and four boats waiting for passengers. 

View of Guayaquil

Flying into Baltra

At 10am we landed on Baltra.  I couldn’t believe that I was actually on the Galapagos.  After checking in with Klein Tours and hitting the loo, I popped into the airport shops to pick up a waterproof camera and a cover-up.  At $15 a camera, I took a chance that it’d be less than the price onboard the ship (if they had them) and purchased two.  I made it out of the store just as my group was boarding the bus.  A quick ride to the beach where we boarded a couple of dingys to take us out to the M/Y Coral I.  But before we left shore, I got my first glimpse of wildlife.  A couple sea lions moved from land to sea while brown pelicans waded in the water and flew overhead.  But the highlight for me was the blue-footed boobies relaxing on the lava rocks.  The boobies, with their bright blue feet, are the birds I most wanted to see.

Blue-footed boobies

Once we all piled onto the ship there was an introduction meeting.  The M/Y Coral I is a 36 passenger vessel (I think we’re at 33 guests at the moment), unlike the Coral II which only holds 22.  I was hoping to end up on the Coral II (you can’t really choose) but it turned out the entire boat is a group of University of Michigan alumni of all ages.  The guide explained the facilities on the boat before letting us go to our rooms and holding a safety drill where we all practiced putting on our lifejackets.  By this point, I’d met some more people on the boat including:

• Lorilee, who was in the Galapagos last year, with her three daughters who are in their early 40s (originally from Virginia but Lorilee splits her time between Virginia and Florida, Denni an ER trauma nurse lives in Wisconsin, Susan works for her parents real estate business in Virginia, and Amy, the daughter-in-law also lives in Virginia).  They kindly offered to have me join their group for meals.
• Bill and Catherine, a dad-daughter duo from Tennessee.  Bill is an ENT doctor and Catherine is a senior in high school at a boarding school in Virginia who will probably be starting Georgetown in the fall.  Brought back fond memories of travelling with my dad in China.
• My roommate, Margarida (slightly younger than me) from Portugal is an architect working for the Portuguese Ministry of Culture in Quito for a year and is cruising the Galapagos with her parents (in the cabin next to us).

My moon cabin on the Coral I

Eventually, I sat down for a buffet style lunch with Bill and Catherine.  I had some salad and cheese to start followed by the vegetarian lasagna and vegetables and some fruit for dessert.  The food was very tasty and I think we’re in for some great meals in the next four days.  Following lunch, the boat started moving towards our first location, Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz Island and one of our three guides, Victor Hugo, explained the excursion.  We were told we’d be disembarking at 4pm and had time to relax.  Even though we reached the island at 3pm, we didn’t get off the boat until 4. 

Dragon Hill, Santa Cruz Island

I went on the first dingy with one of our guides, Daniel, and 13 other passengers.  As we approached shore, the first thing I spotted was the Sally light-foot crabs then two different types of birds, the ruddy turnstone and lava heron.  When we started the trail, we saw a male marine iguana eating its way through the low green vegetation.  Sadly, the flamingoes which can be found in a pond just off the beach were not present, but plover birds, white-cheeked pintail ducks, and common stilts bobbed on the water.  In addition, we spotted a lava gull which is somewhat rare.

Sally light-foot crab

I'm on the Galapagos!

Ruddy turnstone

Male marine iguana

Pond with Plover birds, Bahamas duck, white-cheek pintail, common stilt and lava gull

As we continued on around the pond, Daniel pointed out a couple plant species including the candelabra prickly-pear cactus and the holy stick tree.  Next thing I knew, Daniel was leading us to a male land iguana.  Apparently at the time of day of our landing, there is no guarantee for seeing the land iguana because they are usually resting.  The iguanas change colors based on their moods, and the one we were looking at, with a bright yellow face and brownish-yellow body was happy.  Not sure we’d see another one, we all tried to get our best photo of the iguana.  As Daniel said, “This is your National Geographic $100 moment.”

Prickly-pear cactus 

Landscape on Santa Cruz Island

Land iguana

The path continued around Dragon Hill and we spotted some Darwin finches (of which there are 13 kinds on the Galapagos), ground finches and a Galapagos mockingbird (one of four kinds found on the Galapagos and famous for their unique song and inability to copy songs like most mockingbirds).  As we walked up to the viewpoint, we saw three more land iguanas.  So much for being a rare sighting.  

Darwin finch

Ground finches

Land iguana

Galapagos mockingbird

Another land iguana

The lookout point gave a beautiful 360 of the surrounding islands and part of Santa Cruz Island itself.  A path nearby was pretty dead due to the introduction of goats on the island (happened on a few but they have now mostly killed them off) and Daniel explained the human impact on the islands.  While we stood looking out towards the ocean, two bright pink flamingos flew past our boat and towards the pond.

As we ventured back towards the shore, passing yet more land iguanas, I was excited about the prospect of seeing two flamingos in the pond.  But when we arrived, there were actually four (and apparently there are only 5-10 in this area).  So amazing with their bright pink coats.  I stood watching, and taking pictures, for as long as I could before heading back to the dingy.  I spotted another marine iguana in the distance on my way down the beach.  Two hours after departing, we returned to the Coral I.

Land iguana

Angry land iguana, notice the black body

Greater flamingo

Greater flamingo

I sat on the ledge of the Jacuzzi, which was being newly filled with sea water, soaking my feet for a while and talking to Heather and Leonie, a couple of Canadian girls who are interning at a cloud forest in Ecuador, before going to the cabin at 6:30 to shower for dinner.  At 7:30pm we all met up at the bar area of the boat for an introduction to our crew, and a grasshopper cocktail (which I thoroughly enjoyed and drank three of in the course of the evening – they were small drinks and two people didn’t want theirs).  I sat with Lynn and Judy and introduced myself to a young couple, Stacey and Evan from New York, originally from northern California and 2004 Berkeley alum. 

Judy, Lynn and me with our grasshoppers

Catherine and Bill

For dinner I dined with Evan, Stacey, Susan and Denny.  After a salad to start, I took small samples of the main course options, fish and goulash with broccoli and strawberries and cream for dessert.  As it approached 9pm, we all gathered back in the bar area to hear about the two excursions tomorrow, including two snorkeling opportunities.  Before coming back to the room, which is small but spacious enough, and definitely better than the standard cabin (so happy I got an upgrade), I went through my photos with Victor Hugo to identify the wildlife and stood on the deck looking at the stars and searching for sharks in the water.  I got a glimpse of a shark and watched as a sea lion breached itself on the back of our boat.  I’m now totally exhausted and hoping for a good night sleep.

The M/Y Coral I

Quiet Cuenca and Quito + Inca ruins at Ingapirca

Saturday, March 5, 2011 – Tuesday, March 8, 2011

(just a short summary of the past few days.  pictures to come.)

Saturday we spent the majority of the day travelling from Baños to Cuenca, stopping in Ambato (1 hour later) where we were originally told all the buses to Cuenca were full.  Miriam pilled us in a pickup truck and we got a 9:45am bus.  Took 6.5 hours from Ambato.  When we arrived it was pouring rain, so Miriam made a reservation at the hotel restaurant for dinner and gave us a couple hours to relax.  Lovely meal at the Italian restaurant.

Dave and I decided to make the trek to Ingapirca on Sunday, so we set out at 8am from the hotel to the bus station with Miriam.  Good thing to because the bus drivers kept insisting the bus she was talking about didn’t exist; it did.  After the two hour drive, we had two hours to explore the site with an English speaking guide.  Ingapirca is the most important and largest Inca ruins in Ecuador.  We returned to Cuenca at 4pm and Miriam took us on a walking tour.  The city was dead due to Carnaval and there were limited dinner options.  We ended up heading to Café Eucalyptus where we all ordered Thai food.  Craving something sweet, we all headed to the ice cream shop.

The rest of the group left for Peru on Monday morning, leaving me with a day in Cuenca on my own.  As I already mentioned, things were mostly closed for Carnaval so I walked a bit around the old town.  Got sprayed by foam stuff twice and water a few times.  Back at the hotel I relaxed then left for the airport for my flight to Quito.  All was straightforward with the flight and a Tucan representative was waiting for me in Quito to transfer me to the hotel.  When I got out of the van I banged my leg on the road stump – really unpleasant. 

On Monday I explored some of the old town in Quito, which, like Cuenca, was mostly closed due to Carnaval.  Spent my afternoon chilling at The Magic Bean.  Had a horrible night sleep because the guy in my dorm was sick and kept coughing and going to the bathroom.  I’m just crossing my fingers I didn’t get anything.  And now I’m off to the Galapagos.  Woohoo!!!

Biking and basking in Baños

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - Friday, March 4, 2011

(more text and photos to come later)

Well, I haven't finished writing about Baños but I'm off to the Galapagos shortly.  Thursday I spent five hours biking from Baños to Pailon del Diablo, almost 20km in total.  The biking itself didn't take that long, but Dave and I stopped to take pictures and used a couple of the cable cars to get a closer look.  We hitched a ride back into town and I spent the rest of the afternoon having a massage, facial, manicure and pedicure.  Not top quality, but nice to be pampered.  Didn't get back to the hotel until 8pm and Dave and I went to a French restaurant for dinner.

Friday I spent the majority of the day relaxing in the sunshine.  Miriam and I went to a thermal bath close to our hotel in the afternoon, but it was more like a warm-water public pool.  Tons of families around and not particularly relaxing.  Marie-Ann, Lyle, Miriam and I ended up eating dinner at the hotel again.  I took their recommendations and ordered the filet.  An excellent piece of meat.

Riding down the Rio Napo

Tuesday, March 1, 2011 – Wednesday, March 2, 2011

On our final day in the Amazon we traded in our rain boots for trainers and moved around the jungle on the Rio Napo.  After a lovely breakfast of eggs and fruit, we piled into the narrow dugout boat and rode across the river to a somewhat construction-like area.  Nearby a couple trucks were transporting stones, splashing us with muddy water as we walked down the road.  Livio started cutting down tree trunks, while Adonis and Israel from the lodge and our boat driver helped us carry the 6 inch diameter and 15 to 20 foot logs down to the river. 

When we’d successfully aligned all nine tree trunks, three of which I aided in transporting, Livio got to work binding them together with a rope.  With one smaller piece perpendicular on the top, he wove the rope through the logs with Marie-Ann’s help.  Once the rope had gone the full length, he went back to the start to tighten the slack.  The other side of the raft was tied together using the local plants which had been tied to each other to form a long string.  I’m sure Livio would only use the plants in his construction, but I’m guessing we used the rope for safety.

Less than 45 minutes after the first tree was cut down, David, Lyle, Marie-Ann, Miriam and Livio boarded the raft and started floating downstream.  Given my circumstances, I opted for the boat travel which turned out to be a smart option since the 15 minute ride was actually an hour.  The sun shined brightly on the river as I watched my group have water fights on the raft and swim down the Rio Napo.  I was extremely relaxed sitting in the shade of the boat gazing out at the trees and random bird-life as we moved down the river.  At some point we branched off to a different river (so I think) and then abandoned the raft, removing only the rope, at some shallow landing.

We continued on to the Kichwa Indian museum, highlighting various traditions of the upper Napo communities including hunting techniques, musical instruments, cooking utensils and medicinal herbs.  There was a 20 minute beer stop before Livio explained each and every trap in the museum, about ten, in full detail.  Maybe I should have drunk some beer because the detailed descriptions were making me antsy.  After hearing about other traditions (like those listed above), we had a chance at using the blow gun.  My first attempt, to my enormous surprise, hit the board.  It must have been beginners luck because my next two tries missed completely; it was hard to figure out how much force was needed in the blow.

Back in the boat we ate our lunchboxes, plastic containers filled with cold rice with chopped up vegetables, chicken and meat and an apple for dessert.  Even though the rice was cold it had good flavor, especially with a bit of the spicy sauce.  We persisted further downstream while we ate, eventually coming to the animal rescue center (as they call it).  The rescue center was our one chance to see the natural wildlife of the area.  Sadly it was not in the wild, the cages were quite small.  Our Australian tour guide took us to various cages – macaws, woolly monkeys, capybara (world’s largest rodent), borugos, ocelot, peccary, turtles and more – while squirrel monkeys swung in the branches above (these seemed to have free rein).  A couple of the squirrel monkeys carried babies and another type of monkey had just given birth that day, tightly clinging to her mother’s back.  Most of the animals in the center cannot be released because they are too used to humans and would find themselves in a village being killed for their meat or skins.  So in some ways it is positive that the center exists, the animals just don’t seem to have much space.

On our way out of the animal rescue center, Miriam got accosted by a monkey who climbed up her leg and almost onto her face.  We all tried to walk calmly to the boat as to avoid any monkey bites (and here’s a monkey bite – Mrs. Doubtfire anyone?).  It was already coming on 4:30, but our day wasn’t over yet.  The last stop brought us to a town, Ahuano, where we sat through short demonstrations in pottery and balsa carvings, with the obligatory walk around the shop afterwards.  Post the balsa carving demonstration we sat on the curb while Lyle and David enjoyed a beer and everyone except me bought French fries from the street vendor.  In the hour and a half we were in Ahuano I didn’t bother to take a single photo.

The sun was setting as the boat drove upstream 30 minutes back to our lodge.  We arrived just after 6:30 and were told dinner would be ready at 8pm.  So after a shower, I sat around talking to Livio, mostly in Spanish and writing down some key words.  Turned out dinner wasn’t ready until 10pm, at which point we were all hungry.  Marie-Ann insisted that all the guys join us for dinner, so we extended the table from five to eight and eventually ate.  I have to say it was my least favorite meal, the meat had an odd taste and texture, the cabbage salad was bitter, and the vegetables and mashed potatoes were ok.  I was also frustrated by the fact that we were eating so late when we were told dinner would be two hours before.

Just as we were finishing some conversation at the table at 11pm the lights went out.  I got ready for bed by candlelight in the bathroom before retrieving my flashlight in the room.  Slept like a log.

Another 8am breakfast today consisting of fruit and some type of potato/veg dish before leaving our lovely lodge to head back to civilization.  We took the boat to the town of Mishualli for an hour bus ride to Tena.  In Tena, we had to wait around (we all popped to the supermarket for some snacks) for the direct bus to Baños which took four hours.  A pretty ride with another horrible movie blasting from the speakers as I listened to more podcasts.

After taking a taxi to the hotel and dropping our stuff in the rooms of Posada del Arte, Miriam gave us an orientation tour of Baños which ended at an adventure tour center.  I’m considering an activity which involves abseiling down the waterfalls but haven’t made up my mind yet.  We all agreed to meet back at the hotel at 6:30pm for dinner and David and I set out to have a quick look at the church and a cup of coffee.

The hotel has a varied menu and I ended up ordering a hamburger for dinner (Americans run the place) along with their own beer.  Tempted by Miriam’s high recommendations of the chocolate cake, I got dessert too.  Just like the other nights, we sat around talking at the table for a good hour after finishing our food.  Tomorrow I’m hoping to go bike riding along the waterfall route with David since I don’t want to go on my own.  We’ll see what he thinks in the morning.  Good night.