The person at the desk understood my plight and retained my Passport, while I walked out to collect my Baggage and obtain the money for the entrance fee. I always split my cash / TCs and keep a small amount of it in my checked in Baggage. Once the fee is paid, you are given a receipt where you have to fill in your Name and Passport Number. This is to be retained by you at least until you depart the islands.
ALDO from Galasam was waiting outside the baggage area. We then boarded a bus and set out to the quay where our boat was waiting. On reaching the quay I spotted ANTARTIDA, on which we would be cruising the Islands for the next 7 days. It was truly a piece of work. It looked like a dilapidated fishing boat rather than a cruise boat intended to ferry tourists. Three folks from Switzerland were also joining the cruise on the Antartida with me. In addition to the 4 of us, Aldo informed us that there were 6 tourists on the boat who were halfway through their 7-day cruise. There were 5 crewmembers on the boat. It looked like we may wind up sleeping on top of one another to fit in!
A small motorboat (dinghy) set off from Antartida and came to pick us up. On reaching Antartida, Aldo informed us that the 2 women from the Swiss trio would room together, while I would room with the Male member of the Swiss trio. He was the father of one of the Swiss girls and seemed to be a nice guy. The Cabin was quite cramped and was barely enough for the 2 of us. We had bunk beds and a washbasin in the main area. The cabin was equipped with a shower and a toilet as well. We were told that we would have enough water for 1 shower (per person) a day and washing of clothes should be avoided. There was to be absolutely no dumping of Toilet paper in the Toilet bowl. It was to be dumped in a wastebasket next to the toilet bowl. The toilet bowl had a long handle that was to be worked up and down to flush the toilet ! This trip is going to be quite an experience. A unique and memorable one, I hope.
The Galapagos authorities do take their conservation work seriously and any boats that are caught violating the code could be subjected to fines and possibly even a ban on cruising the Galapagos. In addition, the Captain and the crew of the offending boat could get their licenses revoked. It sounded like a sensible plan to conserve the ecological balance of these islands and the waters around them. As Aldo explained to us, the Itineraries of these cruise boats are set by the National Park authorities to avoid certain Islands getting overcrowded with tourists while others hardly get any. They ensure that the tourists are distributed evenly across these islands. The tourist companies have no control over these Itineraries. When Aldo explained our 8-day Itinerary to us, it seemed that we would be covering different parts of the same island! (It was not so) We were also told that we would not be visiting the Island of Isabela, where flightless cormorants abound. Our Itinerary was as follows:
Baltra - Santa Cruz - Sombrero Chino - Rabida - Bartolome / Santiago - Santa Cruz / Calega Tortura Negra - Baltra - Islas Plazas - Sante Fe - Isla Lobos - San Cristobal - Espaniola - Santa Cruz / Puerto Ayora -- North Seymour - Baltra
The 6 other members of the group arrived. There were 2 Americans, 2 Canadians and 2 Swiss. We were introduced and chatted for a bit until our lunch around noon. I spotted sea lions playing near the quay at Baltra. After Lunch (which for me for boiled rice & salad) we set sail for the Island of Santa Cruz. I was finally sailing in the Galapagos and the feeling was good. We reached Santa Cruz around 3 PM. The dinghy took us close to shore but we still had a wet landing. Everyone except me was in shorts and sandals. Aldo took us for a short walk around some sections of the island. I spotted my first ever Marine Iguana. Quite a moment! We came across giant crabs, Pelicans, winged cormorants and even nests of sea turtles. We also spotted a lone flamingo (which is unexciting, if you have ever visited Lake Nakuru (or) Lake Naivasha in Kenya where flamingoes congregate by the millions).
The Blue-green colour of the water will be with me for a long time to come. We were done touring the island by 3:30 PM and Aldo informed us that, the dinghy would be back to pick us up only at 4:30 PM. The rest of the group, promptly stripped and went swimming / snorkeling in the waters. Being the sole individual with no knowledge of swimming, I explored the other areas of the Island for a little while before settling down to ogle at the semi-naked bodies. There were 6 young women in this group of 10, of whom 4 were unattached. (Not that, attachment of any kind, interferes with my Ogling)
The Dinghy picked us up at 4:30 PM and on reaching the boat, we were informed that we could have a shower within the next 15-20 minutes. The next shower would be around the same time tomorrow. After a quick shower, I settled down to write my log for the day, until dinnertime. We were heading towards Sombrero Chino (Chinese hat) close to Santiago Island. Writing my diary along with the rocking movement of the boat is about to give me a headache. It eventually did give me headache. I went outside and caught the Sea breeze for an hour or so, to get back to normal. After dinner, I played cards with some members of the group before turning in for the night.
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Woke up at 6:45 AM and had breakfast by 7 AM. We left the boat at 7:30 AM to visit Sombrero Chino (Chinese Hat). We reached Sombrero Chino 15 minutes later. We had a wet landing, where we had to wade in knee-deep water. We walked on the Island for 45 minutes, with Aldo giving us an explanation of rock formations on this Island, the Name of the Flora and Fauna. I took a picture of the waves crashing on the rocks and sending up huge sprays of water in the air. As we were heading back to the landing point, I spotted a few Sea Lions playing and sat down as close to the water as possible, without disturbing the Crabs sunning on the rocks. The Sea Lions were in a playful mood and I watched them mesmerized not only by their behavior but also by the fact that I was watching them live in the Galapagos. The thought occurred to me that at this point, I was incommunicado with the rest of the world. It was nice to be Ignorant of the goings on around the world, not having to answer phones or even check e-mail messages. We left the Island around 9:00 AM and boarded the dinghy. It simply refused to start. All it had was a single Oar / Paddle. We managed to row to a point where we were in the sights of Antartida. Once they noticed us hardly making any progress in moving towards them (the single Oar was hardly a match for the waves that kept pushing the dinghy towards the shore), they headed towards us and picked us up. It was an interesting experience.
As our resident engineer and the Captain were servicing the dinghy, the plan to visit another Island to do some snorkeling was shelved. (Not that it made a huge difference to me). After lunch we headed to Rabida Island. This is where one can observe Pelicans nesting. The dinghy was repaired by now and we set off for the Island. We walked around the Island for an hour with Aldo showing us the various Flora and Fauna and the nesting of Pelicans. While the rest of the group went for their obligatory dip in the water, I strolled along the beach. The sand here is red in colour, indicating a lot of iron. I spotted around 10 Sea Lions sunning themselves along the beach. I approached them and sat about 5 to 6 feet away from them and just observed them. There was no one else to disturb OUR tranquility. It was wonderful. On the instances when my Camera Shutter clicked, the sea lions would open their eyes, look at me and then ignore me until I took my next picture. I tried to take as few pictures as possible, to avoid disrupting their siesta.
We got back to the boat around 4 PM and set sail for the Island of Bartolome. It was a rough ride on choppy seas and we were informed that we had to take our showers during this ride, as the boat would not stop until it anchored at Bartolome. The shower was an experience. I was knocked from side to side within the confines of the shower stall and though I felt clean afterwards, I did wind up with another headache. One of the Swiss girls who was seasick on day 1, could not handle it anymore and she openly cried for mercy. As for me, I headed to the rear of the boat on the upper deck and let the sea air do me some good. It worked. If you cannot handle seasickness, pay a couple of hundred dollars more and take a luxury cruise. The boat will be far bigger and therefore will be able to handle choppy seas much better than ANTARTIDA.
After dinner, we chatted for a while, played cards (Hearts - I won), before turning in.
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I woke up at 7 AM and was late for breakfast. We left the boat for Santiago Island a little after 8 AM. We walked on volcanic rock for well over an hour. It was a fascinating experience. Aldo explained the formation of this Island and showed us some flora and fauna that thrive on these volcanic rocks. From here we headed to the Island of Bartolome where a Marine Iguana greeted me on the landing steps. Though a wooden stairway has been built all the way to the top of the Island, it was a strenuous hike. The view from the top is magnificent. On our return to the landing, someone told us that a luxury ship passing nearby was carrying some Hollywood stars, including Robert de Niro. Paparazzi watching in the Galapagos! Beat that!!
After a GOOD lunch (my first on this Cruise), I wrote some diary and had a short siesta. We departed at 1:30 PM to visit another section of Bartolome Island. It was a wet landing that wetter than expected (we waded through thigh deep water). We walked over a small hill, to a beach on the other side. We spotted Sharks in the water. These were swimming quite close to the shore (5-10 feet away) and were not large. While the rest of the group departed to the other side of the beach to do the usual (swimming / snorkeling), I stayed back to observe the sharks. It turned out to be rewarding. I spotted a group of stingrays (8-10) swimming close to the shore. I spent around 20 minutes in quiet solitude observing the Sharks and stingrays. On getting back to the other side of the beach, I spent some time chatting with Aldo. Despite being the youngest son, he is the only member supporting his mother and two elder brothers who are jobless. To become a guide in the Galapagos, once has to write an examination where one's knowledge about the flora/fauna is tested, in addition to spoken English and Ecology quotient.
On reaching the boat around 3:30 PM, we were told that we had 15 minutes to take a shower before the boat headed to the Island of Santa Cruz. I allowed my cabin mate to shower first. By the time I started my shower, the boat was heading towards Santa Cruz. The 20-minute shower gave me a headache again. This time around, the Fresh Sea air did not do the trick. I came back to my Cabin and tried to sleep. It turned to be the longest (2-½ hours) siesta, I've had thus far on this trip. (Despite our sailing)
Woke up around 6:45 PM and was ready was our 7 PM dinner. The cook surprised us after dinner with a large cake that he had baked. Since 6 members of our group were leaving tomorrow, this was the cook's way of saying goodbye, I guess. Some of these cooks are amazing. |
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