October 30, 2011

Our yacht travelled for six hours during the night and we awoke on the western side of Isabela at Punta Moreno.  There were five volcanos in plain view sharing a common barren topography.

Breakfast was served at 7:00 am after which we headed out for our first excursion.  On our way to Punta Moreno we observed the Flightless Cormorant (a bird that cannot fly as its name implies), sea lions, sea turtles, Blue Footed Boobies, and to my personal delight, penguins.  The penguins were swimming so we only saw their little heads as they bobbed to the surface now and then.

We landed on volcanic rock and went for a walk.  The sun beat down on us and the lava rock heated us from below – it was sweltering and it was only 8:15 in the morning.  As we traversed the swirling black lava flow, our footsteps crunched loudly over the brittle rocks as if we were walking on broken porcelain dishes.  The landscape was beautiful in its desolate starkness.

 

Three sea turtles were swimming in a natural pond fed by sea water that flowed through volcanic tunnels below us. A few in our group were lucky enough to observe a white tipped shark in the same pond.

 

 

Near the end of our walk we came across a smaller pond that was a sanctuary for birds.  It was a beautiful oasis of vibrant green reeds of grass, contrasting sharply against the barren, blackish brown volcanic rock.  Stephanie and Laura got down to the water edge for a closer look.

 

 

While waiting for the dinghies to arrive, nature entertained us as a sea lion wrestled with a large fish it had caught.  A pelican swam close by, perhaps hoping to get a free lunch.  Overhead, a frigate swooned back and forth until suddenly he dove towards the sea lion and tried to grab the fish.  The sea lion was not prepared to give up his lunch so easily.  There was some commotion and splashing and in the end, the frigate left empty handed and the sea lion continued to play with his catch.  Undeterred, the tenacious frigate came swooping down, again and again trying to steal the fish, but the equally stubborn sea lion would not let go.  The pelican, perhaps wisely, stayed out of the way and watched the competition from a safe distance.

From the dinghy, we toured an outcropping of volcanic rock where penguins, huge marine iguanas (the biggest in the Galapagos Islands),  many Blue Footed Boobies, baby seals, and sea lions sun bathed in peaceful harmony.  I fell in love with penguins when I first saw their charming antics at the Biodome in Montreal many years ago.  The Galapagos Penguin is the only penguin that lives north of the equator in the wild; it can survive due to the cool temperatures resulting from the Humboldt Current and cool waters from great depths brought up by the Cromwell Current.

The average size for the penguins is 49 centimetres (19 in) and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lb). They have a black head with a white border running from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, to join on the throat. They have blackish-grey upper parts and whitish underparts, with two black bands across the breast, the lower band extending down the flanks to the thigh. Juveniles differ in having a wholly dark head, greyer on side and chin, and no breast-band. The female penguins are smaller than the males, but are otherwise quite similar.  The Galapagos Penguin is the third smallest species of penguin.

I was thrilled to see penguins in the wild – and felt enormously blessed for having this chance to witness the beauty of nature first hand.  Others in our group expressed similar sentiments; I think we all recognized the special place we were in.

We snorkeled today from the dinghy along a string of rocks.  The surge was strong, the visibility was low and the water a little cool, but we still saw lots of sea turtles and myriads of schools of fish.  Some even saw a penguin swimming in the water, and a commerant diving in to catch a fish.

We had spaghetti for lunch with two salads – our first spaghetti since Canada.  The pasta was served with two types of sauces: carbonera and tomato with meat along with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Dessert was a creamy strawberry mousse.  The food is plentiful, nourishing and tasty.  It is such a treat to have everything taken care of – no decisions to make, no worries if the food is safe to eat, no wondering if the water has been purified.

I feel we are quite pampered on this yacht beyond just the food.  For example, when we come back from snorkeling, we put our fins and masks into our designated bags, and our wet suits get dropped into a messy pile on deck.  The crew takes care of rinsing them and hanging them to dry as we go off to relax.  When we go out snorkeling, clean towels are at our disposal.  Every time we leave the boat, the cabin crew pass through our cabins and freshen them up, making beds, opening windows, replacing towels, removing garbage.  There is nothing for us to do but eat, follow the excursion schedule, relax, and sleep.  This is a life I could easily get used to!

After lunch, we had a few hours to relax as the boat lifted anchor and headed north to Elizabeth Bay which is located at the most narrow point of Isabela Island.  Once we reached the bay there was time to swim from the boat and then we were off to explore the coastline in the dinghies.  We began at an outcropping of rocks and were treated to myriads of Blue Footed Boobies, a few more penguins, masses of marine iguanas and a multitude of diverse birds.  We then traversed the open waters towards the coast.

It was surprising to see the coast open up into a mangrove of small waterways.  Out of the wind, this protected area was a haven for sea turtles, sea lions and many birds.  We spent a couple of hours, paddling quietly through these streams, listening to our guide tell us all about the animals and vegetation.  I was impressed with the depth of his knowledge and his versatility to switch from one subject to the next as we peppered him with questions.  He graciously split his time between the two dinghies so all could benefit from his expertise.

We saw many sea turtles in these shallow waters as well as a variety of birds – finches, warblers, herons, and pelicans.

A gorgeous sunset rewarded us as we returned to the yacht.

We were greeted with juice and snacks to tide us over until dinner which was again served promptly at 7:00.  After dinner, we were briefed about our activities planned for the next day and the route that the boat would take while we slept.  Such post-dinner briefings were now part of our daily routine.

We awoke under calm, sunny skies to find ourselves anchored at Puerto Vilamil, the main town on Isabela Island.  The wake-up call sounded at the crack of dawn (5:45) in order to allow us to visit Los Tintoreras, a small island next to Isabela Island upon which cruise ship passengers are only permitted to land between 6:00 and 8:00 in the morning.  Thankfully, coffee and biscuits were served before loading into the dinghies, making the early start a little more bearable.

I couldn’t believe that I awoke with a head cold – how’s that for timing?  I’ve been healthy as a horse ever since leaving Canada, and now I get sick.  Within minutes of getting up, Chris moved his head in such a way that caused something in his shoulder to misalign, causing shooting, stabbing pains that forced him to lie down immediately.   This has happened before and we knew it would take days to heal.   Great!  There was nothing we could do but rely on our trusty little pharmacy bag to manage the symptoms so that we wouldn’t miss a minute of the day’s activities.

At the boat landing, we were greeted by a sea lion who was lounging on the bench meant for visitors. Undeterred, Laura made herself comfortable, and offered a great photo opp next to the sea lion.  Sea lions are plentiful through the Galapagos Islands and are not fearful of humans whatsoever; this would be the first of many encounters.  There are two species of sea lions on the Galapagos: Galapagos Sea Lion and Galapagos Fur Seal.  “Fur Seal” is rather misleading because these are also sea lions, although this species is less commonly seen.

Los Tintoreras offers a unique and safe way to see white tipped sharks as they congregate in the shallow waters of a crevice. The white tipped shark is so named because of a distinct white tip on their dorsal fin and tail.  There were dozens of sharks sleeping on the bottom of this shallow pool of water and a few were swimming gracefully back and forth from one end of the crevice to the other.  The sharks come to this protected area to rest and sleep.

 

 

 

Marine iguanas similar to the ones we saw at Tortuga beach in Puerto Ayora were sun bathing along the walls of the crevice.

 

 

 

 

 

A small path wove through volcanic rock washed white with bird poop, leading to a beach area where we saw several more sea lions.

 

 

 

On our return, we saw our first Blue Footed Booby – a large sized bird that has, not surprisingly, baby blue feet.

Back to the yacht for breakfast and then a briefing as to the next activities:  a visit to the Wall of Tears, a stop at the lagoon to see flamingoes followed by snorkelling.  After another dry landing, we boarded an awaiting bus.  The bus that would provide our transportation for the day was nothing more than a truck with open air, wooden benches padded with very inadequate cushions.  As we bounced along the bumpy roads, our backs complained vigorously, louder for some than others.  Those with back issues (Chris included) soon made their way to the first row of seats and those of us with more spinal resilience remained in the back taking one hit after another for the team! Thanks to Enrique, our guide, for the photo of our bus.

The Wall of Tears was built by prisoners of a penal colony that was established in 1946 to house Ecuadorian criminals.  The wall served no useful purpose other than to give the prisoners something to do – a task that required carrying heavy lava rocks from the beach to the wall, a distance of over one kilometre.  This was where “the strong cry and the weak die”, a common saying amongst islanders.  The penal colony was built on the remains of a US Naval base that had previously been established in this location during the second world war.

 

The Galapagos Mocking Bird was a common sight throughout the Galapagos Islands.

 

 

 

 

 

At the lagoon, there were five flaming pink flamingoes.  We could not get very close as we were on a cliff overlooking the lagoon.  These were beautiful, graceful creatures – my only wish was that there were more of them!

 

 

 

We had to walk through a mangrove to the snorkeling site.  Mangroves are dense and quite impenetrable so it was an interesting walk along a man-made boardwalk that felt like we were in the middle of the mangrove.  Mangroves are a common site along the edge of water areas.

Snorkeling was good but not fantastic.  The bay was very calm, visibility was good but the water was rather fresh – good thing we all had wetsuits. We saw three sea turtles and three sting rays along with lots of little, colorful fish.

Lunch was served on the middle deck and was quite delicious.  It felt so indulgent and luxurious to be eating lunch in such serene and beautiful surroundings.  The first two meals were somewhat of a disappointment – mediocre at best – but perhaps this lunch was a sign of better food to come.  After lunch we had a couple of hours to relax.  Most guests retired to their rooms for a siesta.  We lounged in the sun for a while on the top deck and then also made our way back to our cabin for a brief power nap.  As I was lying on the top deck I tried to articulate the experience and the best I could come up with was that it felt as though I was sitting within a postcard.  Laura and Stephanie heartily agreed with that description.  The photo below captures the view from the top deck.

In the afternoon, we again did a dry landing, piled into our back-breaking bus and headed to the highlands for a hike to the Volcano Sierra Negra, the largest volcano in the archipelago and one that is still active – the most recent eruption was in 2006.  It was a 30 minute hike to the edge of the crater.  At the top, the clouds danced along the edge, descended into the basin below and then dissipated as they reached the other side.  One minute the entire area was obscured by clouds and then suddenly the view would open up again.

 When we returned to the boat, we were greeted by two new passengers: Dafne and Jasper, a young couple from Holland.  They had just arrived in the Galapagos Islands that morning and had enquired about available tours in the early afternoon in Puerto Ayora.  There were still five seats available on our boat.  But in order to join us, they had to take a boat taxi which departs daily from Puerto Ayora at 2:00 pm to Isabela Island in order to intercept our boat which would be leaving at midnight.  They quickly made arrangements and arrived on our boat shortly after 4:00 pm.  Now that’s what I call flying by the seat of your pants!

By dinner time, everyone was feeling pretty tired; after all, it had been a long, full day of activities. On top of that, both Chris and I were not feeling well.  After dinner, Chris and I headed to bed and slept for almost 10 hours straight.  Some choppy seas woke me during the night but I found the rocking motion to be soothing and was soon rocked back to sleep.