We learned so much from this trip. Initially, I thought we would go there and be able to explore on our own.... NOT HAPPENING! The Galapagos is protected and many things are prohibited. For starters, you are not allowed to wander around the protected islands without a "naturalist" to guide you, and some islands are not available for tourism at all. Large cruise ships are also prohibited. The largest ship allowed can only hold about 100 passengers, and many of them are much smaller than that.
Naturalists are highly trained tour guides that can tell you anything about any species of plant or animal on the islands. However, it's not very hard to learn the names of the animals. Many of them start with Lava something, Darwin something or Galapagos something.
Much of what they say is scripted, but it's still very entertaining (I think it's cheating that they say everything in a thick Ecuadorian accent. A cool accent automatically makes everything you say more interesting!) I realize that they make the same jokes with every new crop of tourists, but at least the jokes were good. I mean, I make the same jokes everyday, and they were never funny, so who am I to judge?
Proximity
Many of the species don't fear humans, because they haven't had any prolonged, negative contact with them. That's just how remote the Galapagos really is! The naturalists told us not to get closer than 2 meters to all the animals. Actually, you could get closer and many of the animals wouldn't run, but it's still a really bad idea. They are wild animals and will protect themselves. Besides, 2 meters is pretty close anyway, so don't be greedy! I did see one girl try to stand right next to a huge sea lion, and the sea lion pulled a "homie don't play dat!" It bellowed an incredibly loud and deep roar that sent the girl running for her life! I was 40 feet away, and I was scared. So, I imagine she was probably close to soiling herself.
Note: There won't be any sea lions in this post, because this is only about Day 1. But never fear, I have 100's of pictures of sea lions of all ages ;)
Punctuality
To go on a Galapagos cruise, you HAVE TO be on your boat when it departs. There are no exceptions! If you are late, you don't go. Jenni couldn't sleep much in our Quito hotel, because she was worried about sleeping late. She woke up every hour or so to check the time.
We got up at 4:00a.m. to get ready and make sure we didn't miss our flight to the Baltra airport. Our hotel reserved a driver to take us to the airport the day before, so we began the trip back down the mountainside.
At the airport, there was a La Pinta representative fishing all of us out of the crowd. We went through some extra security to ensure we wouldn't bring anything that could harm the mostly untouched ecosystems we would soon explore.
We took off in Quito, in the wind again, and then landed in Guayaquil. We had to stay on the plane, and pick up more passengers. It was weird to me. Also, the flight attendants got up and sprayed pesticide into ALL of the overhead compartments to ensure that we didn't bring any non-native bugs into the Galapagos National Park.Then, we took off again and headed to Baltra.
This little guy was the first wildlife we saw when we got off the plane.
Johnny's Soapbox
During the whole trip, there was this group... the Disney group. The people on the Disney adventure were wonderful people, but the "guide" was very standoffish to everyone that was not on his tour. We found it amusing the way he tried to make it seem like the Disney vacation was extremely different from our vacation, but we all did exactly the same things. (They did have some different things, extra snacks, and many of them had been traveling together through Ecuador before this part of the trip, but all the cruise activities were exactly the same... just at different times.) After a couple of days of us smiling and saying "hello" to him, he finally stopped "Mad dogging" us and accidentally said "hello" to us a few times. I'm pretty sure his name was Dave, but don't quote me on it. Disney Dave sounds familiar. He was just trying to do his job the way he thought best, but it really seemed like he didn't want the Non-Disney people hanging out with the Disney crew... which was kind of shame in my opinion. I digress.
Entering the Park
It took a long time to get through security, because we had to wait on everyone on the plane to get through before we could leave the airport. While waiting around I remember one of the security officers set his gun down on his desk and walked off. I thought, "What the hell are you doing?!" As a responsible gun owner myself, I would never consider leaving a firearm (let alone a loaded firearm) unattended on a desk when there are 50 people standing around. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but I doubt it. It's just bad practice.
Itabaca Channel Ferry Ride
After everyone finished, we hopped on a bus that took us to a canal. From there, we boarded a ferry that would take us across the water to the island of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is famous because it is the home of the Galapagos Tortoise. You would not believe how excited I was to see them.
Here comes the ferry
Amazing right? This is nothing. Galapagos has the most incredible crabs I've ever seen!
This is just the tip of the iceberg. You just wait until the next post. We literally have 100's of pictures of crabs!!!
Itabaca Channel
I've been wanting to see these tortoises since I was a little boy. Turtles have always been one of my favorite animals.
Peering at crabs off the pier
One lonely booby in the sky
This part of the island is arid.
Keep Calm and Oh My God! Where Are the Turtles!!!!
Boobies Everywhere!
On this ferry ride, I witnessed one of the most amazing displays of a wild animal.... the Blue-Footed Boobies feeding frenzy. Yes, they are birds called boobies... giggle and get over it, because they are incredible birds. 100 or more birds circled the overhead and then simultaneously dove into the water for fish. Because of their speed and bone structure, boobies are able to dive 20 ft deep into the water! I was so shocked that I forgot all about the tortoises and didn't want to leave the ferry. This trip was already off to a great start!
Landscape of Santa Cruz
Then, we got off the ferry and set foot on Santa Cruz. We hoped on another bus and hit the Santa Cruz Highway. Along the way, the naturalist explained how the ecosystems change as you increase the elevation. Just as he said, the landscape changed from a dry desert environment to a lush forested environment in matter of minutes.
Arid and dry...
A few minutes later!
This is the same island?
Time to Eat!
The people of La Pinta decided to torture me and make me wait a little longer before I could see the giant tortoises. Actually, we were all starving and welcomed the stop. We ate at a very interesting restaurant in the middle of the forest.
I wish I remembered the name of the place, but I don't. This place was great and even though it was a buffet, the food was excellent!
As soon as you got close to the door, they gave you this raspberry drink. I could drink those every day and not get tired of them!
Oh, how we miss you!
Great banana bread!
After eating our fill, we were off to see... the GALAPAGOS FREAKIN' TORTOISE!!!
A Boy's Dream Becomes Reality
We continued the trip and turned down a dirt road. We were all just gazing out the windows at the trees passing by when I saw a rock in the middle of the road up ahead. Then, the naturalist announced, "There is a small Galapagos Tortoise in the road!"
Tortoise Crossing
They own the road!
After dodging the tortoise, we pulled up to the Rancho Manzanillo and went straight for our stylish galoshes. While putting on our boots, we could see the tortoises wandering around in the distance.
Fruit trees
Are those Gucci?
Interesting Facts
Then we began our stroll through the ranch. We learned a few interesting things about these animals. Their resting heart rate is about 6 to 10 beats per minute. That's all! No wonder they live to be close to 200 years old. We also learned that we don't actually know how old they live to be, because they live so long. The group of tortoises they have now will likely be the first group with a known and documented birthdate, so future scientists will be able to know their exact age when the animals finally pass. We also learned that Galapagos Tortoises can be quite skittish and easily spooked by strange people getting too close to them. You could spike their heart rate up to (I think he said) 50 bpm, and the tortoise would then go into cardiac arrest and die. Needless to say, we respected the 2 meter rule the whole time we were there.
I could just put you in my pocket!
Tortoise food
We came across this strange pond that was completely covered in something, I think it may have been algae. It was so bizarre and interesting.
Our naturalist was very interested in this little guy. He said it was so rare that it was the first one he had ever seen in person. I don't remember the name, so we'll call it the Galapagos Rat ;)
Time to go and meet the La Pinta!
Jenni had to get another "Fun with Flags" picture!
The End of the Beginning
After a few hours the time came to leave the ranch. We took our time walking back to the gift shop area. At the time, a part of me didn't want to leave, because I knew I wouldn't see Galapagos Tortoises in their own habitat again for a long time... if ever. Little did I know that these beautiful creatures were merely a taste of the epic week ahead. I had no idea what I was getting into, and I loved almost every second of it!
