Day 2,174 of Traveling the World | Galápagos Islands | January 13, 2024
Jan and Mike
Before we get to the Galápagos blog, a few words about Ecuador. We spent a week in Quito before we flew to the Galápagos Islands. Although we were warned about crime problems, we never felt uncomfortable, nor did we notice any problems whatsoever. A couple of days after arriving in the Galápagos, however, all hell broke loose on the mainland. A major criminal broke out of prison, and according to CNN, the country has been rocked by blasts, police kidnappings, and prison disturbances. President Daniel Noboa declared the country to be in a state of “internal armed conflict,” and there have been nearly 900 arrests to date due to the violence.
Our ship for the past week, the Celebrity Xpedition, is registered in Guayaquil, Ecuador (though it normally stays in the Galapagos, rather than traveling to Guayaquil). One of the naturalists, who is from Guayaquil, said it is now the most dangerous city in Latin America. As we were leaving the ship at the end of our cruise, we found that of three ships Celebrity Cruises would normally be operating in the Galápagos Islands, carrying a total of about 160 passengers, two would be sidelined, and the 22 passengers who made it to the Galapagos would all be loaded onto our ship for the week’s cruise. We imagine that recent storms across North America may have contributed to the low showing, but assume that the significant factor was the violence.
Having said all of this, we have to say that the Galápagos Islands were completely calm and normal. Ecuador has been using the military to fight the violence, and we did notice a small contingent of military in the main city of Puerto Ayora, but they might have been there under normal conditions. But as one of the other cruise passengers said, if we didn’t have the internet, we wouldn’t have known there was anything unusual going on in the rest of Ecuador. It goes to show that no matter how bad the news in a country, another area might still be fine. So, when you hear terrible news somewhere, don’t panic! Go ahead and travel if you reasonably can. On to the Galapagos review!
Snorkeling with penguins, sharks, and dolphins…walking on lava fields…seeing blue-footed boobies, flamingos, pelicans, red-breasted frigate birds…walking aside various species of iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs, indigenous spiders, seals, sea lions, and Galápagos tortoises…the Galápagos Islands provided an overwhelming experience of untouched wilderness. Photos of these magnificent creatures are below!
We had heard for many years that the animals do not run when approached by humans, as they have never been hunted, and so are unafraid of harm. It is true. And, in a funny way, most of the wildlife seemed to preen and pose for the camera, since they “rule” on these islands, 650 miles off the mainland of Ecuador.
Every trip to an island to explore for a few hours was preceded by a zodiac boat trip from the Xpedition cruise ship, which never docked. The drill quickly became routine – the 44 passengers onboard were divided into smaller groups, then we donned a life jacket and were assisted into the smaller zodiac boats. Everyone became quite familiar with everybody else, being such a small group.
The Galápagos Islands are unique in all the world. The research center there is named after Charles Darwin, who of course wrote of evolution and natural selection in “On the Origin of Species,” first published in 1859. He changed the world view of life on earth. Even though many of the clergy objected to his deviation from stories in the Bible, he was buried in Westminster Abbey upon his death in 1882.
On our first day – a blue-footed booby. Little did we know that we would see hundreds of them over the next week.You know how we said the wildlife here seems to be posing for a photo?……
More blue-footed boobies on a rock ledge covered in guano, taken from a zodiac.
A little of everything – lava, stratified rock, ocean, mountains.
The trees are mostly bare until the rainy season.
This was a rather large land iguana, lumbering toward the shade of some shrubs.
A Sally Lightfoot crab – they were in and around the tide pools by the hundreds.
…and, of course, some of them become food for other animals. Survival of the fittest, and all that.
This fur seal was sleeping on the natural rock “steps” from the beach to the upper level. We had to find another route, as animals in the Galapagos cannot ever be touched ordisturbed. As we said above, they rule!
Natural and lava rocks along the coastline created lots of tiny pools that were inhabited by crabs and small fish.
…then there was the sand, sometimes hard to walk through.
Lots of dramatic rocks like this one, which everyone photographed from all sides.
Right in the middle of our path – a Galapagos tortoise! They were also in the path of our bus on a narrow dirt road. We asked – if they are blocking the road, can you move them, or do you have to wait for hours until they move? The driver said, “We can’t touch them, but we rub a branch across their tail, which they hate, and they walk away.”
…and in the circle of life, this was a dead tortoise on our walking path. They do not remove carcasses, but let them decay where they die.
A frigate bird, ready to take off.
Male frigates have red breasts, which they inflate to attract a mate.
Another seal, resting in the hot sun.
This iguana was sunning in the afternoon heat.
Right on our footpath…yet another iguana.
Flamingos! We had only ever seen them in a zoo.
With their huge numbers, birds appear in lots of our “scenery” photos.
Even though clouds gathered every day, it only rained on us once for a short time.
The cliffs were dramatic, and formed lots of sea caves and inlets.
A row of kayaks, lined up for another kind of exploration.
Two penguins while snorkeling. This was probably the only time we will ever swim with penguins, considering the frigid climates they normally inhabit.
Almost every day was sunny, with magnificent views like these.
There are lots of cacti on the islands.
A posing pelican.
A white bird on the left adds a dot to an otherwise very blue photo.
Dolphins splashed alongside our zodiac boat ride one morning.
Another frigate bird, soaring.
The deep, rich colors in this part of the world never got old.
Our on-board naturalist spotted this sea turtle when we were way off shore. As we pulled up, it started its s-l-o-w journey across the sand to return to the ocean.
We watched this penguin for 15 minutes or so, preening and cleaning itself in between posing.
This is how we all rode around in a zodiac boat.
This line in the sand isn’t from a stick, but from an iguana!
This old man was climbing up into the water source in the rescue center. There was no water, as the staff wants to simulate what the tortoises experience in the wild. So they provide water every few days and branches green with foliage three times a week. We watched as the green branches thumped onto the ground, and it certainly was the “dinner bell” for all the tortoises – they turned and headed toward the sound so that they could eat.
These babies were being fed, as well – it looks like a table for four!
The only town we were in was this one on the coast, Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. It had many restaurants, cafes, and souvenir shops.
Iglesia Catolica Santa Marianita, a modern Franciscan church in the heart of the town. There was construction taking place when we peeked in.
On the side of a building is this mermaid, a favorite of coastal towns everywhere.
Sunset in the Galapagos, with only the lights of a few other cruise ships.
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