Day 8, Isla Seymour Norte

On this, our eighth and final day in Galapagos, we had a dawn dry landing on North Seymour Island. We had the most amazing walk around colonies of mating frigatebirds, insterpsersed with blue-footed boobies, some of them nesting. There were great frigatebirds and magnificent frigatebirds. Frigatebirds can't dive into the water in search of food, because their long wings can get waterlogged in the process, leading to drowning. Frigatebirds engage in a fascinating form of mating behaviour. The male stays on land, close to a nest, puffing up his red throat pouch and making a shrieking sound, all in an effort to impress a females flying overhead. If the female is attracted, she lands by the nest and fixes it up a bit. Unless another male steals the female, mating begins. As for the blue-foooted boobies, Galapagos is home to three quarters of the world's population of this species.

By 8 AM we were back on board for breakfast, followed by a quick sail back to Baltra harbour, in time for our transfer to the airport for a flight back to Quito. In Balatra harbour I got to see the refueling operation of the cruise ships first hand- a rather precarious operation involving fuel barges that come right up to the cruise ships.

Day 7, Isla Bartolome

Our penultimate day in Galapagos started with a 6 AM ascent of the 365 steps to the top of Bartolome, at an altitude of 240 metres. The view out over Sullivan Bay, Pinnacle Rock, lava fields and a series of volcanoe tops is superb. No wonder the area was chosen for many scenes from the Hollywood film "Master and Commander" starring Russell Crowe in 2004. Our hike was followed by a lovely snorkel off the beach, in the vicinity of Pinnacle Rock. Unfortunately, our boat, the MY Aida Maria, rather spoliled the effect by pumping out raw sewage, right into the bay, not 200 metres from shore.

In the afternoon, after the boat moved to Sullivan Bay, we had another snorkel, followed by a fascinating walk on top of the lava fields. To top things off, our day ended with a panga cruise to view the penguins, seabirds, sea lions and other creatures around Pinnacle Rock, getting back to the boat just as the sun went down behind the clouds. It seems odd to find penguins at the Equator, rather than their original home in the Antarctic, but apparently Galapagos waters are cold enough to support them. There are said to be 3000 penguins on Galapagos,

Overnight we sailed to to our final destination, North Seymour Island.

Day 6, Isla Rabida, Isla Santiago

Our day began with a hike across a portion of Rabida Island, from one red sand beach to another, with a flamingo lagoon thrown in for good measure in between. At the end of the first beach, where we landed from the panga, there was an amazing nesting colony of around a dozen pairs of pelicans with their young. Typically, the mother would feed her young while the father flew off in search of food, returning to the nest shortly after. We were allowed to get within a few feet of some of these nests, with seemingly little adverse impact on the birds.

The vegetation on Rabida consists mainly of palo santo trees, which look dead at this time of year, but apparently are very green during the rainy season ( January-March ).

A local snorkeling outing was followed by a 2 1/2 hour cruise to James Bay, on Santiago Island ( Santiago is Spanish for "Saint James" ). Our panga dropped us off at Puerto Egas, the site of a former salt mine that was closed forty years ago when the Gaslapagos National Park was created. As it turned out, the grandfather of Reuben, our local guide, used to work there; he is still alive, at the ripe old age of 98.

I saw my first penguin at Puerto Egas. Upon arrival we snorkeled off the beach. This was followed by a very pleasant half hour walk along a path to a site with fur seal grottoes. Several fur seals were resting there. Although commonly referred to as "fur seals", they are, in fact, a type of sea lion, albeit one third the size of a Galapagos sea lion, and they have a fairly thick pelt which provide good insulation. They originate in the sub-Antarctic, and are the smallest species of pinniped in the world. Mike Jackson, our guide, reminded us that the basic difference between a seal and a sea lion is in the flippers. Seals have small flippers, and tend to stay in the water, whereas sea lions have big flippers, which allows them to propel themselves on land. Near the shoreline dolphins were spotted swimming.

That night we cruised to Isla Bartolome, on the eastern side of Santiago.

Day 5, Isla Santa Cruz

This was basically a day off from the boat, the water, snorkeling, etc. Our panga transported us from the MY Aida Maria, moored in Academy Bay, to the incredibly busy, chaotic little harbour of Puerto Ayora. From there, we were driven in a minibus up to the highlands of Santa Cruz, where we toured a couple of sinkholes on either side of the raod- Los Gemelos. Then we visited Rancho Primicias, a giant tortoise reserve on the edge of Galapagos National Park. In the afternoon we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station, where I had a productive business meeting regarding the threat of marine oil spills in Galapagos. Most of the rest of the day I was free to explore Puerto Ayora, shop for souvenirs, use the Internet, etc. I also spoke with Godfrey Merlin, a noted local environmentalist, over the phone, but unfortunately he failed to show for a scheduled meeting on the pier.

That evening, Thursday, we steamed towards Isla Rabida. to the northwest.

Day 4, Isla Floreana

At first light on Wednesday morning we arrived at Enderby and Champion Islands, where we saw lots of birds, but not the red-footed boobies we were anticipating. We then headed for nearby Post Office Bay on Floreana Island, where we mailed our postcards before entering the nearby lava tunnel. By 10 AM we were heading for Punta Cormorant, a greenish-coloured beach from which we hiked. We passed a flamingo lagoon on our way to a beautiful white sand beach on the other side, with sting rays and turtles swimming in the water. There are said to be only 500 flamingoes in Galapagos; they originated in the Caribbean.

From there we went to the Devil's Crown just offshore for a fantastic snorkel through the currents and corals; on our way there we saw a humpback whale. By 4 PM we were on our way to Santa Cruz, where we spent the night moored in Academy Bay.

Day 3, Isla Espanola

Espanola is in the southeastern quadrant in the Galapagos Archipelago. It is approximately 3.5 million years old, making it the oldest island in the archipelago. Since its inception on the original volcanic hotspot in the western sector, it has travelled over 100 miles. These two factors, remoteness from center and age, contribute to a high degree of endemism on Espanola.

Our day began with a 7 AM landing at Punta Suarez, where we had a fantastic walk, observing a colony of waved albatross mating and taking off from the cliffs near "Albatross Airport". The waved albatross is the largest bird on Galapagos, with a 7 foot wingspan. It can live up to 50 years. They go on long foraging trips of up to 2000 miles, and return to Galapagos after up to six months in the air. Partners re-bond, as these birds pair for life. Albatross mating involves a strange ritual of pecking, bobbing and weaving the head from side to side. When chicks are 6 months old, they take off with their parents, only returning 5-6 years later to breed.

There are said to be 12,000 breeding pairs of waved albatross, representing 90 % of the world's population, in Galapagos. There is only one other island where waved albatross are found, and that is Isla de la Plata off the Ecuadorean coast.

From the cliffs of Punta Suarez one can see all manner of seabirds, including Nazca boobies. redbilled tropicbirds, shearwaters, frigatebirds, swallow-tail gulls, Galapagos gulls, and even the Galapagos hawk. The Nazca booby is unusual in that the mother always hatches two eggs, three to six days apart, with the older one nudging the younger sibling out of the nest, ensuring its eventual death. This is a form of obligatory fledgling fratricide. As for the Galapagos hawk, there are said to be only 180 nesting pairs in the archipelago, which makes it quite vulnerable.

In the emerald waters below, there are Pacific green turtles and swarms of yellow-tail mullet. There is also quite an impressive blowhole at this location.

We snorkeled near Punta Suarez as well, getting right into caves along the rocky shoreline. In the afternoon we sailed to beautiful Gardner Bay, where we were free to walk by ourselves on the white sandy beach. Following this we had another snorkel. That night, Tuesday, we cruised to Floreana Island.

Day 2, Isla Plaza Sur, Isla Santa Fe

This was our first full day in Galapagos, and a fine day it was. We spent the first part of the morning hiking on South Plaza Island, where the most memorable sites were the bachelor colony of sea lions, the land iguanas and the cactus. The sea lions originated in California, and are much smaller than the ones seen in my native British Columbia. The bachelors, otherwise known as "losers", are basically relegated to an area where there is a very steep cliff. They have been shunned from the main colony located where the pangas land, because of a lack of mating opportunities there; it seems the beachmaster keeps his harem on a very tight leash. As for the numerous land iguanas on the island, they rely on cactus pads for their diet; cactus trees also provide them with shade from the sun and heat.

In the afternoon, we snorkeled off of North Plaza Island, starting off with a rather treacherous first attempt at body surfing over a reef, before steaming to Santa Fe Island, where once again we hiked, this time from one beach to another, observing sea lions, finches, a rice rat, nesting Galapagos hawks, and blue-footed boobies in the process. The Galapagos hawk is the top predator in Galapagos.

Three quarters of the world's blue-footed boobies live in Galapagos. They engage in an amazing courtship dance, whereby the male raises his foot and skypoints. The higher the foot is raised, the more the female is aroused, and the better the male's chances to find a mate. If the female is attracted, she counters, mirroring the male's every move.

On our snorkeling expedition, we saw a goood sampling of the 500 or so species of fish extant in Galapagos, including especially king angel fish and schools of yellow-tail surgeon fish. I also saw my first white-tipped reef shark!

What strikes me most about this place is how tame the wildlife is, and how various species seem to peacefully coexist alongside one an other. There is very little evidence of predation.

Monday night we steamed towards Espanola Island. I hardly slept a wink.

Day 1, Las Bachas

We boarded our home away from home for the next seven days, the MY Aida Maria, in Baltra harbour, not far from the airport where our flight from Quito had landed. An oil tanker, the Andes II, was tied up at the pier when we arrived. You can just see it in the upper left hand photo above. After our panga, or dinghy, ferried us to the mother ship, we headed towards nearbyLas Bachas, on Isla Santa Cruz, where we snorkeled and hiked, the first of many such events over the course of the next week. This was my first day in the Galapagos. It was sunny and warm.

That night we steamed to South Plaza Island, via the Canal de Itabaca between Islas Baltra and Santa Cruz. The seas were quite rough, and a number of my fellow passengers were seasick, apparently. One member of the crew was also said to have been under the weather.

Galapagos Adventure

I spent a week in Galapagos between July 20 and 27, 2008. Galapagos is a very special place indeed- the genesis of Darwin's theory of evolution, and the most pritine tropical archipelago in the world. Fortunately, 97% of the land area is part of the Galapagos National Park, and 95% of its native wildlife is said to be still intact. On the other hand, increasing numbers of tourists, an influx of Ecuadoreans from the mainland, and illegal fishing are all putting pressure on these, The Enchanted Isles.

Although my eight day cruise in this fabled region was essentially a pleasure trip, I am hoping to eventually be of service there, helping the region prevent and prepare for oil spills such as the Jessica incident which beset the islands in 2001. The Galapagos National Park reportedly received over $3 million US in compensation for that spill recently, and since the Islands were designated a World Heritage Site in Danger by UNESCO in 2007, the hope is that the authorities will reinvest some of the proceeds from that award to prevention of and preparation for similar incidents in the future.

Galapagos was also designated a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area ( PSSA ) by the International Maritime Organization ( IMO ) in 2005 on the understanding that Ecuador would take measures within two years to reflect that status.

Meanwhile, Travel + Leisure magazine recently declared Galapagos the world's best island travel designation, ironic given UNESCO's warning that the archipelago's future is in danger. Also bear in mind that the 1991 Jessica oil spill mentioned above involved a tanker that was supplying fuel to the cruise ships plying the area's waters. On the positive side, Ecuador will require tankers in the Galapagos trade to be double-hulled by the end of 2009. Also, a $4 million grant is creating a wind energy farm on Galapagos, resulting in an anticipated drop of 50% in bunker fuel imports to the region for electricity generation.

One of my guides on the trip was Mike Jackson, the noted Galapagos expert, whose book, Galapagos: a Natural History, is a perennial bestseller. For people who would like to learn more about Galapagos, watch the recent, three part BBC DVD on the subject, with its accompanying coffee table book by Patrick Stewart et al.