Virtual Galápagos

Tuesday, 31 July

Our 2013 non-Phaeton adventures are just 19 days away.  Where will we go?  The unveiling of our plans will be posted soon.

In the meantime, the prospect of tons of new video footage to process was all the incentive Mui needed to finish the editing work on last year’s wonderful trip to the Galápagos.

If you’d like to take a virtual trip to the Galápagos and walk in our footsteps, click here to go to the online album we created on Vimeo.  You will get to visit Santiago, Rábida, Isabela, Bartolomé, Santa Cruz, North Seymour, San Cristóbal, and Kicker Rock; not to mention explore Quito and its environs with us.  You will get to enjoy close encounters with fearless wildlife on land and sea, and in the air; and get to do some snorkeling, too.

If you’re interested in the story of our trip, click here to go to the first of many posts from our Itinerary B Xpedition trip with Celebrity.  All of the posts are in the July 2012 archive in the sidebar.

Santa Cruz: Charles Darwin Research Station

Saturday, 14 July (Part II)

Before going off on the morning landing that took him to see free-roaming giant tortoises in the highlands of Santa Cruz (post here), Mui had made arrangements with Carlos, the restaurant manager, to have a tray of bland food prepared for me.  So, instead of joining him in the Darwin Restaurant and enjoying the Ecuadorian buffet my friend MBZ had told me not to miss, I had a lunch of toast, white rice, and a glass of apple juice in bed :-(

By the time the afternoon landing came around at 3:00p, I was still not up to getting off the ship.  So, as Mui headed to shore with instructions once again to take pictures for me, I stayed aboard and was rocked to sleep.  And I mean rocked — though we were anchored in a protected bay, the movement of the ship was quite noticeable.  Luckily, I didn’t end up adding a bout of mal de mer to my misery!

The arrow points to the afternoon landing site in Puerto Ayora.
[MAP COURTESY OF THE GALAPAGOSISLANDS.COM WEBSITE]

Landing once again at the municipal pier, a 5-minute bus ride took Mui’s group to the Charles Darwin Research Station/Fausto Llerena Tortoise Center to learn about the tortoise breeding program.  The Galápagos Conservancy website describes the program, which is run jointly by the National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Foundation:

… began in 1965 to save the giant tortoise population on Pinzón.  It was quickly expanded to include other populations, in particular that of Española where only 14 individuals remained.  As of 2008, more than 4,000 young tortoises from eight different populations have been repatriated to their island of origin, with nearly 1,500 going back to Española.

Welcome to the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Though Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island tortoises, died just weeks before our trip to the archipelago, and Mui did not get to see this icon of the Galápagos Islands, the visit to the research station gave him a chance to see tortoises of all ages and sizes, as well as the two different carapaces that differentiate some of the species.

Lonesome George was estimated to be about 100 years old at the time of his death.
Though some giant tortoises have lived much longer in captivity, 100 is average for
a free-roaming tortoise.

While there are 11 surviving species of tortoises, the Conservancy website explains that:

Although there is a great amount of variation in size and shape among Galapagos tortoises, two main morphological forms exist—the domed carapace (similar to their ancestral form) and the saddle-backed carapace.  The domed tortoises tend to be much larger in size and do not have the upward thrust to the front of their carapace; they live on the larger, higher islands with humid highlands where forage is generally abundant and easily available.  Saddle-backed shells evolved on the arid islands in response to the lack of available food during drought.  The front of the carapace angles upward, allowing the tortoise to extend its head higher to reach the higher vegetation, such as cactus pads.

Tortoises belong to an ancient group of reptiles that appeared about 250 million years ago.
It’s believed that they arrived in the archipelago about 1,000,000 years ago.

Mui did take photos as requested, but I thought a short video showing these animals in motion — slow though they might be — would be more interesting.

Check out the giant tortoises that are part of the breeding program.
The video even comes with a “The End” shot!

Leaving the research station, Mui headed to Galápagos Jewelry to pick up the one I thing I wanted as a souvenir — blue-footed booby earrings.  We’d initially planned to get them from the jeweler that came aboard the ship today, but she didn’t have a pair.  As it turns out, it was a better deal to purchase them in town — not only did Mui avoid paying the 12% tax added to shipboard purchases, but he was able to charge them without the usual credit card surcharge.  (Word to the wise, Mui found the selection at the store close to the Darwin Research Station more varied than at the shop near the pier.)

I get a blue-footed booby pendant and earrings, and a bonus set of tortoises, too.

His shopping completed, Mui walked back into town, stopping occasionally to take pictures of things that caught his eye.

There’s a nice promenade leading into Puerto Ayora.

No escaping the marine iguanas; even in the middle of the street.

This land iguana was begging for selective color processing.

Colorful boats tied up not far from the fish market, where …

.. A sea lion and some penguins are waiting for scraps to be thrown their way.

Check out the action at the fish market.
What’s amazing is that they weren’t trying to steal from the counter.

And on that note, Mui made his way to the municipal pier for the zodiac ride back to the ship.

Glimpse of the municipal pier.

When Mui entered the cabin this time, he found me sitting up in bed, reading my book.  Though still a little weak in the knees, I was feeling much better.  In fact, I felt good enough to join him and the rest of our boatmates for the Best Pictures of the Cruise slideshow recap of our voyage, and the Captain’s Farewell Cocktail.  I was greeted with a lot of “missed you’s” and more than a few commiserations from fellow-passengers who’d been in the same boat as me earlier in the day … forgive the pun!

Collage of a few of the images from the Xpedition photo disk gifted to each cabin.

(Speaking of the slideshow and the disk of photos we received … the slideshow is a PowerPoint presentation; the music is not embedded.  Also, the photos on the disk are low-rez, and not all are in focus; some of the naturalists are better photographers than others.  Just a word to the wise for future Xpedition passengers to not rely on the photo disk alone for your memories of this great trip.)

Captain Fausto Pacheco wishes us all happy trails to wherever we’re headed next.

We joined the Passmans for one last dinner in the Darwin Restaurant.  It was a bitter-sweet evening of good conversation and re-hashing of memories of our shared experiences here in the Galápagos Islands.

My pitiful “special” meal and Mui’s selections from the Day 7 menu.
Yes, Mui did have two desserts; his excuse … the second one was on my behalf ;-)

We remembered to get a photo taken with the Passmans.
from left to right: Michael, Patty, Megan, and Dan.
Here’s to meeting up somewhere else in our travels!
(By the way, I’m wearing a surprise gift from Mui; check out my Blue-Footed booby tee.)

By the time dinner was over, I was worn out, but there was one more thing we wanted to do before returning to the cabin — make a donation to the Galápagos Conservancy.  Not only is this a worthwhile endeavor to support, the gift is tax deductible for US citizens.  On top of that, we receive an equivalent amount as onboard credit to use on a future Celebrity cruise.  I understand it takes several weeks before we will receive the OBC certificate, but that’s OK; we don’t have any leisure cruise plans in the near future.

We’d done most of our packing already and just needed to put a few more things in our bags before setting them outside our door as requested.  That’s the sign that we’re being kicked off the ship tomorrow!  Quito … here we come!

Santa Cruz: Free-Roaming Giant Tortoises

Saturday, 14 July (Part I)
Temps: 81F (27C) / 72F (22C)

The inhabitants … state that they can distinguish the tortoise from different islands; and that they differ not only in size, but in other characters. Captain Porter has described those from Charles [Floreana] and from the nearest island to it, namely Hood Island [Española], as having their shells in front thick and turned up like a Spanish saddle, whilst the tortoises from James Island [Bartolomé] are rounder, blacker, and have a better taste when cooked. CHARLES DARWIN (1845)

We were up early, excited about the day on Santa Cruz Island, which held the promise of seeing the iconic Galápagos tortoises both in the wild and at the Darwin Research Center.  The only problem — my GI system wasn’t feeling up to snuff.  Determined to tough it out, I got dressed and went to breakfast.  By the time I was finished with a bland meal designed to keep my system settled, I knew my hopes were for naught — I wasn’t going to be able to go ashore.  Drat and double drat!!!

What I didn’t know then was that I wasn’t alone in my misery and that there were a number of other passengers sharing my affliction.  Obviously something we all ate last night did a number on our digestive systems.  Hoping I’d feel better by the afternoon landing rolled around, I took an Imodium and went to bed.  After seeing me settled with a couple of bottles of Gatorade, Mui went off on the morning landing with instructions to take photos for me.

THE ARROWs POINT TO the two sites Mui visited on the morning LANDING ON Santa Cruz.
[MAP COURTESY OF THE GALAPAGOSISLANDS.COM WEBSITE]

In 1959, the Ecuadorian government declared the entire archipelago a national park, putting a halt on any new settlements, except where they already existed.  Puerto Ayora, today’s site for both the morning and afternoon landings, is one of those settlements.  In fact, it is the largest settlement in the islands.

So, I dragged a few words out of Mui to describe his morning.  Upon landing at the municipal pier in town, the group boarded a 20-pax bus for a 45-minute ride through farmlands and mist-covered forests to observe free-roaming tortoises in the Highlands.

William Cox gives Mui the thumbs up as he waits his turn to board the bus.

Access to the tortoises was from a private farm, where everyone was offered muck boots to wear on the walk.  I’d encouraged Mui to wear his trail hikers, because I had heard there was the possibility of fire ants in the highlands, but the muck boots were a better option since it was drizzling and muddy on the trail.  A word to the wise — take socks with you or be prepared to put on boots that might still be warm from the previous occupant (yuck).

You receive your boots on the left; useful to know your European shoe size.
you put the boots on and leave your shoes on the shelves in the room on the right.

The conditions on the trail apparently weren’t the greatest, but the reward of seeing the most recognized symbol of the islands — the giant Galápagos tortoises — was worth the sticky, muddy conditions endured during the hike.

The trail through the Highlands is wet and muddy.
And no, that’s not a statue of a tortoise, but a real one.

Weighing over 500 pounds (250 kg) and carrying shells measuring 59 inches (1.5 m), these tortoises are some of the largest on earth.  It is believed that they came to the islands from South America by rafting on driftwood carried here by ocean currents.  Of the 15 sub-species that once lived in the archipelago, only 11 remain.  The Pinta Island sub-species is the latest to go extinct with the death of Lonesome George just a couple of weeks ago (24 June, 2012; my post here.)  Due to the conservation efforts that were established by the Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora, 10 of the 11 species that were once endangered have been brought back to what is considered a “guarded level.”

Half of Two to Travel gets a photo op with a giant tortoise.

The Santa Cruz tortoises are one of the two largest of the giant tortoises,
and they have a dome shaped carapace.

Able to live on little food and water, the tortoises of the archipelago survived for millenia.  Then whalers, fishermen, and other seafarers arrived and hunted them for their meat and oil.  (Even Darwin comments in the quote above about the tastiness of their meat.)  Mankind’s impact on a species that once numbered in the 100,000s didn’t end there.  They also introduced species, such as goats, pigs, cows, and horses, which became a further threat to the tortoises because they ate the vegetation and crushed the tortoise eggs underfoot.

The Galápagos conservancy estimates that there are 20,000 to 25,000
tortoises living on the islands of the archipelago.

Another photo op rounds out the hike.

When they returned to the starting point of the hike, the bulk of the group went shopping.  Instead of joining them, Mui walked over to an area where he found a couple of tortoise carapaces that are used for show & tell discussions; not today, though.

these Carapaces are big enough to accommodate an adult human.

The next part of the trip took the group to see and walk through an extinct lava tube.  These tunnels are natural conduits through which lava once traveled beneath the lava flow.  “It was nothing special,” was Mui’s assessment.  I’m sure someone with an interest in geology would disagree.

Left & Center: Glimpses from inside the lava tube.
Right: The Galápagos Barn owl is one of two resident owls in the islands.

From the lava tunnel, the group was returned to Puerto Ayora.  Knowing there would be an opportunity to wander around town in the afternoon, Mui opted to return to the Xpedition to check on me — awwwww :-)

Heading back to the Xpedition!

When Mui quietly entered the cabin, I was awake, but quite weak and more than a little drowsy.  His response to my query about his trip — he enjoyed seeing the free-roaming tortoises.  At the same time, he felt that if I was going to be sick, this was probably the best day for it to happen as I would have been totally miserable on the hot, humid hike.  He knows I don’t tolerate either well, so perhaps providence had a hand in matters today.

Santa Cruz: Las Bachas … Snorkeling and Beach Activity

Thursday, 12 July (Part II)

Following our walk on the beautiful white sand beach at Las Bachas (post here), the snorkelers geared up and headed into the water without further ado.  When I saw him again an hour later, Mui was grinning from ear to ear — he’d spent a good chunk of his time snorkeling with a Galápagos Sea Turtle!  No wonder he was happy.

Join Mui for a 45-second snorkel with a sea turtle.

As for me, I spent my hour wandering along the beach, clicking the shutter when something caught my eye.  I didn’t take too many pictures, though, preferring to sit with the crabs, marine iguanas, and oystercatchers to observe their behavior instead.  Sometimes you just have to see things through your own eyes and not through the camera — it makes for a more complete experience.

the cloud deck is still low, but now we have patches of blue sky peeking through.
the soft light adds another layer of beauty to the landscape.

Hairy Opuntia (prickly pear) is found in areas where the cactus doesn’t have to grow
stiff spines to protect itself from land animals that would otherwise feed on it.

The spiny lobster is one of two species most taken from the Galápagos waters.
Growing concern over the lobster population has led to the establishment
of strict quotas; which isn’t sitting well with Galápagos fishermen.
[Note: the other most-taken species is the sea cucumber.]

Warming up on the beach is what marine iguanas do best.

I know, I know; how many pictures does one need of marine iguanas?
Just can’t resist clicking the shutter one more time.

Here come the American oystercatchers for their …

… morning constitutional on the beach.

who's going to blink first, the Sally Lightfoot crab or me?

For its size, the brown pelican is a very graceful flyer ...

… and it does such a great job of skimming along the surface of the water.

A Sally Lightfoot Crab convention in progress.

Time to go back to the ship for lunch and R&R …

Santa Cruz: Las Bachas Beach Walk

Thursday, 12 July (Part I)
temps: 82F (28C) / 70F (21C)

We woke up early, got dressed for the day ahead, and went out to the Beagle Grill on deck 4 aft as usual.  At that hour, the grill is not open, but that’s where the ‘early coffee and croissants’ are set up.  Nothing elaborate; just a pitcher of coffee, hot water for tea, and a plate of fresh pastries, but it serves nicely for early birds like us.  This area is also a good spot for watching the sunrise, but there was no color this morning.  In fact, the day dawned overcast with a low cloud deck that gave us some interesting lines and textures.

We’re back in familiar waters; that’s Daphne Major and Daphne Menor on the horizon.

The zodiacs are being readied for the morning; and the frigate birds are back on their perch.

Although we were in familiar waters, our landings today were at new-to-us islands.  This morning, we explored Las Bachas Beach on the north shore of Santa Cruz (Indefatigable to the English).  In the 1950s, a couple of WWII-era barges ran aground on the beach.  The locals mispronounced the word barges as bachas; hence the name by which the beach is known today.

Santa Cruz has been populated ever since settlers from Europe and the US moved here between the two world wars, but the area where we landed has no settlements.  The island’s proximity to the airport on Baltra makes it a tourist hub, but we didn’t encounter any other boats this morning; I imagine it will be a different scenario when we visit Puerto Ayora on the south coast of the island in a few days’ time.

The arrow points to our morning landing location on Santa Cruz.
[map courtesy of the GalapagosIslands.com website]

As always, there were two options for this landing — a beach walk and snorkeling, or just beach time and snorkeling.  We chose to do the walk and snorkel activity.  We did a wet landing on a white sand beach, and then walked on a sandy trail with some lava rocks; definitely an easy walk of about 1.2 miles (1.9 km).

We land on Las Bachas Beach under grey skies with interesting cloud formations
from earlier this morning still in evidence.

Looking ahead from our landing site, and …

… looking back towards our landing site (the beach on the far side of the rocks).

Las Bachas is a major nesting site for sea turtles.  Even though the breeding season is long over (November-January) and the hatchlings left the nests back in April, our naturalist rightfully kept a tight leash on us to make sure no one walked unaccompanied over the duneline where the nest sites are located.

We saw a couple of tracks made by mama turtles as they made their way between the beach and the ocean, as well as a couple of the huge indentations in the sand that mark the nest sites, but no sea turtle sightings on land.  No surprise as they only come on land to lay their eggs after they mate in the winter months.  But that begs the question about the presence of the fresh sea turtle tracks we saw!  Perhaps these turtles are on a different cycle; should have asked David.

David draws the outline of a sea turtlE As he explains that the oar-like flippers make deep indentations along the edges of the tracks.

Remnants of the WWII-era barges that ran aground on the beach in the 1950s poke out of the sand; don’t trip on them.

Continuing down the beach, we didn’t see anything that was new to us, but the walk was nice nonetheless — especially since the temp was comfortable and the humidity was reasonably low.

This is a good beach to get one’s ‘fix’ of Sally Lightfoot crabs.

You can see that this marine iguana is rather small; I’m guessing it’s a juvenile.

Strutting atop the sand dunes, this great blue heron takes flight briefly to get
around bushes in his way, and then continues his walk.

I’m enchanted by the bright red eye ring of the American Oystercatcher.

There are a couple of brackish ponds behind the sand dunes of Las Bachas that are popular feeding and resting areas for greater flamingos, ducks, and migratory birds.  Our hopes of seeing any flamingos up close were dashed when we saw them in flight as we neared the pond at the turnaround point of our walk.

greater flamingos are a relatively new arrival to the islands.
as such, they are still a bit fidgety around visitors.

We were resigned to having this glimpse of the five birds in flight being our only encounter with these brilliantly colored recent arrivals to the archipelago.  As it turns out, though, we saw another small flock in flight as we were heading back to the landing site.

flying towards us, the flamingos come so close that …

… when they are overhead I can only get a close up of two of them.

When the flamingos disappeared behind a dune, David took us to another pond in that direction and we found the foursome busy feeding there.  Three of them were on the far side of the pond, but one of them cooperated beautifully and came to feed close to our position.

I get to double my pleasure with a reflection.

greater flamingos are filter-feeders.  They feed with their heads down;
their oddly shaped bill has adapted accordingly.

Although flamingos are not endemic to the island, this does not diminish our
pleasure in the encounter.

The bonus at this pond was a close-up sighting of three black-necked stilts.  One of them was hobbling and walking on bended stilts; injured for real or perhaps doing the injured bird routine to draw attention away from its nest.  Not endemic to the islands, this is the only one of the ten stilt species worldwide to be found in the archipelago.

With legs anywhere from 8-10 inches (20-25 cm) long, these birds fit their name.

This stilt looks like it might be sitting on its nest.  After a while …

… it got up and hobbled to the edge of the pond; Note how its legs are not fully Extended.
Injured or pretending to be injured???

At this point, David called timeout; the snorkeling portion of the trip was at hand.  We asked if those not snorkeling could stay behind at the pond, but he nixed that idea, suggesting that we spend our time on the beach instead.  Nuts!  We didn’t have to like it, but we complied and followed him back to the landing site.