| Submitted by: Colin J. Churcher United States |
| Submission Date: 15 February 2005 |
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The boat is lurching wildly and the sky is very dark but I manage to get some wonderful pictures of the penguins both on the rocks and in the ocean with the 200 zoom lens by using a shutter speed of 500 with 4.0 aperture. We pass several of the flightless cormorants, along with a number of brown pelicans and various other birds like the ruddy turnstone, and the brown noddy who live in sea caves.
Lunch today is a special Ecuadorian feast with roast pig and other regional specialties. The younger children have staked out a table at the far end of the dining hall, and this is where we bring Gabriel as soon as we've finished with the main meal. Everyone sings 'Happy Birthday' as they bring out our small cake, which they've decorated with marischino cherries. Luckily it is very rich and we are able to cut it into enough pieces for each of the 12 or so kids under 18 and ourselves. I have brought two of his presents (the coloring book and crayons) for him to open at the table; he opens the rest back in our cabin afterwards. This is actually the second birthday celebration of the trip- one of the girls turned 13 on the second day of the 8-day itinerary, a day before those of us on the 5-day cruise joined the boat. After lunch Tomas and Gabriel play in the jacuzzi. It looks like fun, but is forbidden to me because of the fetus.
The afternoon excursion is a highlight for many people. On Isabella, we are greeted by so many marine iguanas that they seem to form a lava flow. You actually have to watch carefully to not step on any. They are wonderful creatures to see; they look like miniature dragons and they spit salt water. Our group is very lucky and spots a galapagos snake in the sand under a tree. At first we think it is burrowing under the sand out of shyness, but we soon discover that it is hunting a small lava lizard who has hidden nearby. The snake strikes quickly, but the lava lizard is quicker still and escapes with his life. The guide says that this is the first time he's been able to see this snake hunting; apparently they spend most of their time hiding and are not often seen. Around the tidal pools we see more birds; the guide points out some wandering tattlers and we get to see an American oystercatcher devour a crab in its unique 'legs-first' manner. I get a very close look at another beautiful Galapagos dove as we return through a wooded area to our panga.
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DEC 20th: GALAPAGOS- JAMES & BARTOLOME
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This is our last full day in the islands, and we can't belive that the trip will be over so soon. There is so much new to see on every island, and we would have loved to stay for another two weeks.
Our early morning excursion takes us along the shore of James Island, past the tidal pools where baby sea lions are being born. We don't get to see an actual birth but there are many newborn pups. Our guide says that this is a good place to watch for Galapagos hawks, who like to eat the sea lion placentas. I have read that there are only about 100 pair in existence, but on this one day we see five or six including a juvenile. I get a wonderful picture of one hawk who has perched beside the ocean; he seems to be waiting for a specific placenta and lets us get quite close. The scenery is simply stunning with black lava rocks, clear blue ocean, and hundreds of bright orange crabs. Other birds I identify for the first time today include the large-billed flycatcher (a rather plain-looking small brown bird with puffy feathers on its head), sanderlings, and a great blue heron. We see more fur seals, and have the opportunity to photograph yellow warblers against the black rocks.
After lunch Tomas and Gabriel opt to continue their siesta while I join the other passengers for a very steep walk up to an overlook on Bartolome. There is absolutely no wildlife to be seen, and very little plant life besides a few scrubby white things and an isolated cactus or two. Apparently this is one of the places that have been devestated by the feral goats brought over by early settlers. Efforts have gone on for quite a while to eradicate the goats along with wild donkeys and other formerly domestic species that have wreaked so much destruction on the larger islands, but it is a difficult task.
We have one last opportunity to snorkel. Tomas and Gabriel play on the beach while I swim with sea lions, sea turtles and penguins. It's very exciting, and the animals will get quite close and then swirl around and underneath you. I am startled by a penguin that appears out of nowhere just a few inches from my mask and swallow a large mouthful of water. We follow a large turtle for many minutes; its movements are very graceful and I would love to get a picture but have forgotten our underwater camera on the boat. Returning to shore, one of the other snorkellers tries to show me a 4-foot long white-tipped shark, but I am too slow. Five other people have already seen it, but like Tomas I miss my shark-viewing opportunity.
All too soon the day is over and we return to our ship. We join the other passengers for a farewell cocktail and another superb meal. I retire early to pack, as we must be out of our cabins by 8:30 the next morning.
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We disembark at Baltra and after puchasing some matching mother-son Galapagos T-shirts at the airport we depart for the mainland. With the time change, traffic and other delays it is nearly 6pm by the time we get checked in to the Quito Hotel. I very much want to shop for some nice artwork to remember the trip by (our house is full of things from all of the places we've travelled to, and I don't want South America to be unrepresented). We have time to visit only one place, and purchase a Salasacan tapestry for the livingroom. This part of Quito is very nice, and we walk to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Gabriel falls asleep as we return to the hotel.
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Our flight to Miami leaves early the next morning, and we are fortunate to be flying business class. Gabriel gets his own seat, and his own meal of shrimp with pasta followed by a hot fudge sundae. It is my first time in firstclass for a long international flight and I am impressed that they give us a bag of tiny gifts (toothbrush/toothpaste, ear plugs, socks...) and a small box of Godiva chocolates. The Yugoslavian family from our cruise is also on this flight and they are also flying first-class. This is great for us, because Gabriel and their little girl play for about an hour together, giving Tomas and I a very welcome break. We change planes in Miami and use the last of our soon-to-expire upgrade stickers to standby for first-class on the Miami-Mexico flight as well. We arrive around 4pm and take a taxi to my in-law's place in the hills above the city, where we will be staying for the next 8 days before returning home to Chapel Hill, NC.
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