Category: Galapagos 2012

Ecuador Trip: Day 14

Galapagos Cruise: Day 9

Ever seen this picture? It’s probably one of the more photographed Galapagos Islands settings:

And for good reason. It’s a breathtaking view!

This shot is from the top of Bartholomew Island. That little white dot in the ocean to the right is a yacht or catamaran. The pointy rock it seems to be heading toward is Pinnacle Rock. To see this view in a magazine or on a postcard is breathtaking. To see it in person…well, there’s a reason our guide kept saying the Galapagos Islands were “paradise.”

To get to that amazing view on Day 9 of our cruise, we set out bright and early only to be faced with this hike:

You can see a little windmill at the top. Okay, it’s probably not a windmill. It’s probably a marker of some kind. I can’t be expected to remember everything! Sheesh.

So the marker was a long ways away, and it was a warm morning. But on the way up, you get to look at stuff like this, so who’s complaining?

At least we had a boardwalk of sorts.  You get a boardwalk, you’re steep-walking. Don’t be a wimp.

I know, I know, I’m one to talk, considering I visited the Galapagos relatively “early” in my life. If I can offer a Travel Tip! of any sort, visit the Galapagos in your personal best physical condition. Unless you’re a high-endurance athlete. Then you can visit the G.I. whenever. If you’re a granny from Sweden, probably 89 is a good age to visit. Swedish grannies could skip to the top and poke fun at the North Americans (like me) huffing and puffing our way along.

The problem (as I see it) is that, unless you’re super wealthy, you’re probably not visiting the Galapagos until mid-life somewhere. Or, you’re visiting the G.I. in your early twenties, but on a boat that sea lions wouldn’t venture onto. But you’re young. What do you care? You can handle it!

Me, I waited for mid-life. I wasn’t second-to-last-picked in gym class for nuttin’.

Never forget at least one bottle of water per person when you’re visiting Bartholomew. If your itinerary calls for you to visit Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island in the afternoon of that same day, stock up on TWO bottles of water. And take extra sunscreen. Because, at Sullivan Bay, man, you’re sweating it allllllllll off. You’re sweating off the backs of your knees. You’re sweating on your eyelashes. You’re sweating on—never mind.

We last saw Santiago Island on Day 6 of the Galapagos when we went snorkeling at Espumilla Beach and got mega-rained on. So, three days ago. On Day 9 of our cruise, there was not a drop of moisture in the air! Sullivan Bay, where the pangas dropped us off and we hiked all over lava, reminded me a lot of our hike on Moreno Point on Isabela Island, during Week 1. You need to be pretty able-footed for these “walks.” Your guide will always caution you to take a walking stick, which are plentiful on the Cormorant. Depending on your agility, take one. However, sometimes balancing the cameras with the walking sticks just becomes a PITA. On Moreno Point, I learned to rely more on my developing sense of balance and less on the stick.

You can also see, in the picture above, how rocky the lava was!

Below…looks like a moonscape!

We came across this hole in the lava. Harry looked at me and said, “Get in.” I wondered what he was on! “No,” I said. He said again, “Go on. Get in.”

“No way on earth I’m getting in that hole,” I said. See, I thought he was teasing. I didn’t realize it was SAFE to get in the hole. I didn’t realize he was providing a photo opp. The photo opp. would have been more clear if he’d said, “It’s all right. It’s a photo opp. You’ll look very brave if you’re the first to get in the hole. If you’re the second, you’ll just look like a follower.”

But he didn’t say any of that, so I refused to get in the hole. Instead, the youngest member of our group (by which I mean she was in her late twenties or early thirties, I can’t remember which) got in. THEN I realized it was quite safe. However, by now I wasn’t the brave one! She was! Frog on a stick!

So then we happened along another area of lava where Harry said to my husband, “Go ahead, lie down. It’s a human barbecue.”

Of course, by now we all knew it was PERFECTLY SAFE TO LIE DOWN (if a trifle hot). So Steve got to look all impressive by lying down and making a snow angel on the lava, like a slab of meat on a barbecue (except they don’t generally move):

Ever wonder what encroaching lava looks like? Imagine running from this baby if it were molten hot!

Until next time…Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!

Ecuador Trip: Day 13  

Galapagos Cruise: Day 8

The thing about being the only people left on-board a cruise when New People arrive is that how you respond and interact with the New People can set the tone for the duration of your trip. So if you find yourself in the position of being on a previous portion of the cruise (ie. you have become Old People), the best you can do is welcome the New People with open arms. After all, they outnumber you and might beat you up otherwise (Travel Tip!).

If you come on-board as a New Person, regardless of whether the Old People are only two couples or five, it can be a bit intimidating. When friendships have formed and perhaps a bit of a clique mentality may have developed, there are still ways around it. if New People reach out and try to include you, if you WANT to be included, then respond likewise. The Group of Four decided during Week 1 not to stick together as a group all the time. This was especially important at meal times and when splitting the 16 travelers into groups of 8 for riding in the pangas. If you always go with the same four or six or eight people, or you always sit at the same spot for every meal, how are you going to get to know the others? In my not-so-humble opinion, if you are going to go on a cruise with 16 travelers total, it makes sense to open yourself to new experiences and friendships. Even if those relationships only exist during the cruise, they can make or break your holiday.

So, we had our fresh blood, and the first thing you basically do after the guide gets everyone introduced and settled in their rooms, is have a late lunch (that feels more like a dinner) and then go on your first excursion. Our first excursion with the New People was on lovely Bachas Beach on Santa Cruz Island. Bachas Beach is a nice introduction to the Galapagos, and we had a chance to swim (and perform headstands and on-your-husband’s-shoulders stands, etc.) after a nice little walkabout (not to be confused with an Aussie walkabout) in the lovely, warm waters.

No, that’s not the lagoon. That’s the ocean. But I loved the clouds that made the sky look like one huge marble.

I said this would be a short and sweet post, no? Let it be known that I can live up to my promises.

When we left for the Galapagos, I expected to see a lot more flamingoes than I did. So every time we came upon one, everyone quickly reached for their cameras. During Week 1, we saw a few flamingoes on Moreno Point, Isabela Island. Maybe 4 or 5 total around the lagoon. And they were always quite far away (thank God for zoom lenses). We didn’t see another flamingo until Bachas Beach. Later during Week 2 we visited Floreana Island, which is renowned for its flamingoes. But we spotted only one from a great distance.

It wasn’t that great a disappointment, however. I have seen flamingoes in zoos as a child, and I have seen pink flamingoes on lawns. I loved seeing the real thing in the wild in the Galapagos, however not seeing as many flamingoes as I would have liked would not have been akin to not seeing enough Blue-Footed Boobies! Then I would have been distraught. Inconsolable.

Next up, Bartholomew Island and a return to Santiago Island, which we had visited during Week 1 on our way to Genovesa. Then, we visited James Bay (Egas Port) and Espumilla Beach with a quick drive-by past Buccanneer Cove. This time we’ll visit Sullivan Bay, where I found myself up to my neck in lava. Great fun!

(I just realized I might not have reached my goal to write a short post. It’s just, um, shorter than most. Ooops.)

Ecuador Trip: Day 13

Galapagos Cruise: Day 8

It’s been a few days since I posted about the Galapagos. Click this link to read all about Genovesa Island, which was where we left off.

Day 8 of our Galapagos cruise aboard the Cormorant was a little sad, because our Group of Four were the only people staying on-board for Week 2. We had to say goodbye to 12 other guests, some of whom we had gotten to know very well and now counted as friends (while a couple of others we could have frankly done without anyway, so no harm, no foul). Plus, as we discovered later, we also had to say goodbye to some of our crew. We didn’t expect that. We somehow thought our favorite panga drivers and towel-folders and bartender would be around for Week 2. Some were, and some weren’t. Luckily, our guide, Harry Jimenez (who has a great blog that details more than I ever could about the Galapagos), was sticking around for Week 2. On the Cormorant, that’s not always the case, although maybe now that the 2 week cruises are in effect the cruise lines will try to ensure the same guide stays the entire two weeks. We found it very nice to have the same guide throughout our adventure and hadn’t anticipated that we wouldn’t. So we were surprised to not find out until the day before we swapped guests whether or not Harry would still be around.

I suppose the upside to switching guides partway through a cruise would be if you had a grumpy guide during Week 1. At any rate, if it’s important to you to have some continuity, you might want to check with your cruise line if you’ll have the same guide throughout your back-to-back weeks/days (Travel Tip!).

That said, two back-to-back full weeks are not the only options for organizing a Galapagos cruise. One couple during our Week 1 had already been on the Cormorant for four days before the rest of us arrived. For Week 2, we received 12 new guests, once more making us a group of 16. However, four of that group were not there the entire week. They stayed 3 or 4 nights and then left, after which four completely new guests came on-board.

Week 1 began and ended on Baltra Island, which is a military base where one of the two airports for beginning or ending your journey is located. So on the morning of Day 8, after traveling all night from Genovesa, we got up bright and early to visit North Seymour Island before saying farewell to the first batch of guests on Baltra. On North Seymour Island, we encountered several more bugs than we had anywhere else during Week 1. A lot of slapping of shins and calves occurred. So…Travel Tip!…take along bug spray.

But! We also encountered a LOT of my favorite bird in the Galapagos—the Blue-Footed Booby! Seriously, I can not recall at this point if we had seen a Blue-Footed Booby since our panga ride at Elizabeth Bay, Isabela Island, on Day 3 of our cruise. Well, on North Seymour Island, we had Blue-Footed Boobies coming out our ears!

Okay, now just to prove I might be the cleverest faux travel blogger out there, I googled “Blue-Footed Booby Two Step” and came up with a PDF of instructions for performing your VERY OWN BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY DANCE. Travel Tip! Instructions may be adapted to suit other Boobies! Download and practice at your peril. And beware sneaky people who might be taping you while you dance. Not that I know anyone who that happened to.

I do have a video of the Boobies dancing two pictures above on my Facebook page. If you want to see it, visit the page, then click Photos, then click Videos. There, you’ll find a smorgasbord of Galapagos videos).

Bon voyage, Week 1 buddies!

After we returned to the Cormorant, the other 12 guests left on the pangas, avec Harry, to travel to Baltra Airport. Harry would pick up some new victims—uh, guests—for us to greet later that afternoon. But what would we do in the meantime? Our Group of Four was left to our own resources while the crew busied themselves getting ready for the next boatload of guests. So we grabbed some cervezas, did some sunning and reading, and then asked for a tour of the boat. We had a wonderful tour.

Just when we thought we couldn’t take any more relaxation (and a bit of wondering if we’d like ANY of the people on Week 2)…

Okay, let me explain that. A Galapagos Cruise is “like a box of chocolates.” You know the rest. If you don’t, watch Forrest Gump. (“You never know what you’re gonna get”). We got along so well with one couple on Week 1 that the crew decided we must be related. Would we find another couple to replace Couple Uno? Or would be left as the sad and lonely Group of Four + Twelve New Blechy Strangers? What was wrong with Couple Uno that they had to leave after Week 1, anyway? Were they cheapskates? Did they not want to buy us any more red wine? Were they tired of us whining that we hadn’t brought enough money and where were the ATMs in the Galapagos, anyway? And would they work? (These questions and more will be answered in a future post).

We needn’t have worried (note expert use of “needn’t”). The twelve new victims who came on-board partway through Day 8 in the G.I. had already had a chance to get to know each other before and after their flight. And that was great, because the Group of Four already knew ourselves, the New People were getting well acquainted, the Group of Four was friendly beyond belief and welcomed the New People with smiles and cheers and handshakes all around. And the next few days were an absolute blast.

We had not replaced Couple Uno. But we had a great assortment of new travelers with whom to enjoy Week 2.

Well, I had really intended to do the Morning and Afternoon of Day 8 of our cruise in one blog post. But I have rambled on, it seems. So, next time, a short (we like to think) post about our afternoon with the New People on Bachas Beach, Santa Cruz Island.

Ecuador Trip: Day 12

Galapagos Cruise: Day 7

We wound up Genovesa Island, Part I with a picture of a baby Booby. If you haven’t seen it already, pop down to the last post and take a look. I’ll wait.

Wasn’t it cute?

I have a funny story about the baby Boobies on Genovesa. Our naturalist guide was always showing us stuff we considered uniquely incredible, and Genovesa was no different. He spotted a baby Booby nested in a bush, and he had us gather around while he showed us how well he had the babies “trained.” If you stand in front of a baby Booby and move your finger up and down, or around in circles, its eyes and head will follow your finger. So at first we thought only Harry could do this. But then my husband tried it, and the baby Booby followed my husband’s finger, too. It was quite comical.

The video is on my Facebook page. I would embed it here, but I tried and the embedding follows the privacy settings on Facebook and also comes out huge. So it would behoove me to behoove you to visit my author page, click “Like” while you’re there, click on Photos, then click on Videos, then click on Baby Booby Being a Bobo. It’s a short, 4-second video, but very cute.

While you’re there, feel free to explore the other Galapagos videos on the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecuador Trip: Day 12

Galapagos Cruise: Day 7

Ahhhhhh, Genovesa Island. My favorite island of Week 1 of our two-week Galapagos Island cruise last April. If you look on a map, Genovesa appears out of the way. And it is. Also known as Tower Island, it’s the furthest island you can visit (by that I mean stop and climb up and have a look around). The other “far out” islands, Marchena and Pinta, are off-limits to tourists, although you might find diving tours that will take you to them and allow you to dive in the nearby waters (like with Wolf and Darwin, two acclaimed diving islands in the G.I.), but you can’t disembark onto the northern islands themselves. Aside from Genovesa.

For this reason alone, when I chose the boat for our cruise, I restricted my choices to those that included Genovesa Island in their itineraries. I would love to visit the Galapagos Islands again, but the sad fact is I probably won’t. Unless I win the lottery and/or decide to take up diving and return to explore the diving sites. Not because I didn’t love the Islands—my memories of my Galapagos adventures will live with me until I’m in the ground—but because there are so many other places in the world I want to see…and I started the travel game a little late in life.

Ahhhh, Genovesa, I’d love to touch your “shores” again!

I can not stress enough how much I enjoyed Genovesa Island. How much I would encourage you to include it in your Galapagos travel plans. Honestly, it’s not to be missed (Travel Tip Tip TIP!). The only island that came close in terms of bird life was Espanola, which we visited on Week 2 of our cruise. Espanola is amazing. But only Genovesa is Genovesa. Genovesa made me feel, at times, like I was in a Hitchcock film. I took a little video called “Birds, Birds, Birds” which you can access on my Facebook page (click that link to visit the page, then click “like” ON the page, then click the Photos link, then click the “Videos” link, then click “Birds, Birds, Birds.”) The video gives you an idea of the “mood” of Genovesa. Our guide was instructing us about cactus life and I was enthralled with the birds swarming above me. Bad, I know. I could not help myself. At one point, we just stood there as a group (after encountering various forms of bird life during our walk) and watched and listened in silence as nature blossomed in her glory around us. If you visit Espanola before visiting Genovesa, I dunno, the effect of Genovesa might not be the same. Except, something stood out on Genovesa that we didn’t encounter anywhere else. And that was the fun of getting there.

We needed to climb “El Barranco,” otherwise known as Prince Philip’s Steps or “The Cliff” to reach the top of Genovesa (which was flat once we arrived). I don’t have a picture of us approaching the Island in the pangas, but here’s one of the steps we had to descend again at the end:

Ecuador Trip: Day 11

Galapagos Cruise: Day 6, Afternoon

There are those who thought I’d never return to my travel blogging about our three-week adventure in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands back in April. Some of you doubted me. Most of you doubted me. “Cindy’s forgotten us,” you thought. “That damn Cindy has left us hanging.”

I would never do that. I might take a break, but I would never hang anyone.

It is kind of unfortunate, however, that I took my travel-blogging break in the middle of a travel day. If you want to see what happened during the morning of Day 6 in the Galapagos (Day 11 in Ecuador), follow this handy-dandy link. Hint: We visited James Bay (otherwise known as Egas Port), Santiago Island. It was a totally amazing experience. Really, follow the link!

If you have a hankering to follow my Ecuador posts from the beginning of the trip, follow this link to get to the first post in the Galapagos 2012 Archives.

Okay, got that settled? You’ve followed the links, refreshed your memory, and now you want to know if I remember the rest of the trip? This is why we take pictures, my friends. Pictures bring back memories. And what I’ve forgotten, well, you know I’ll just make up. Let’s not call this an annoying aspect of my writerly personality. Let’s call it an Adventure for Your Brain! If you doubt the veracity of my anecdotes, you can research the facts yourselves. An excellent source is the new Galapagos Island travel blog started by naturalist Harry Jimenez, who was the guide during our foursome’s two-week cruise aboard the Cormorant. Harry blogs about the Galapagos experience as a whole. I’m blogging about my personal experiences. You can be assured he knows more than I do. But I’m cuter. You can make your decision from there.

Now, as I was kind of aware of before we left for our cruise, but as I became very aware of during our cruise, every island in the Galapagos has at least two names. In my posts, I use the island names I learned. In other words, the island names Harry J. told us during his evening lectures. For example, Santiago Island is also known as San Salvador (named after the first island Christopher Columbus discovered) and it’s also known as James Island. Santiago means “St. James.”

I prefer to use the Spanish island names. My mother has a Spanish first name and so does one of my aunts. They both have Spanish surnames, as did my maternal grandfather. So, you could surmise that I have a wee bit of Spanish blood, courtesy of my ancestors falling off the fleet of the Spanish Armada when Spain attempted to invade England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (at least that’s my story of how they came to land in England).

Well, there you have it. I am a mutt. Mostly English, some Dutch Mennonite by way of Russia, and about 5 other tidbits including Spanish. My husband says I can lay claim to nearly every nationality in the world, which ticks him off. But there it is. I can not help it if I’m a mutt!

After cruising around Egas Port (James Bay) on Santiago Island, we had a chance to snorkel at Espumilla Beach. This was one of our best snorkel days. All the snorkel pictures are Photo Credit: BP. This first photo is of a fish we were advised not to touch. Because see those three little dots near its tail? Take a look: