Thursday, June 29, 2017

Galapagos Islands

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS - 27 days of independent journey

Anna's entry:
I always wanted to explore the Galapagos, but do it in a different way - no cruises, no packages, no groups, and no constraining itinerary.  This special part of the world deserved exploration in its own special way, plus I felt that independent approach would allow us to see and appreciate the real Galapagos.  To do it right, I postponed our trip there for a number of years, and finally, through the collected "Galapagos DIY" research, we were finally ready to give it a try.  The approach proved to be the solid choice, and our 27-day independent exploration of the Galapagos Islands turned out to be one of the most memorable and invigorating adventures to remember.  Below, is a humble and understated recollection of that magnificent part of the world...



Isla San Cristobal
We arrived on San Cristobal Island (our first of three) after a sleepless night on cold tiled floor at the Quito International Airport.  After landing on San Cristobal, we picked up our backpacks at a local tiny island airport located very close to beach, and began walking to the town center.  Some roads were paved in otherwise desert-felt-and-looked-like landscape, cacti seemed to be the only option of greenery along the roads.  Our very first impression of Galapagos was not exactly what one would expect of the fairyland animal kingdom one reads about...   About half a kilometer into the town center though, we began hearing loud animal noises along the waterfront trail - when we got closer, we realized that our neighbors would be a large sea lion colony, and that was our first true introduction to what was about to come... 

We stayed at a local family-run hotel with large windows facing the harbour.  We purchased all our breakfast supplies from local limited grocery stores, and in the morning we would enjoy watching sea lions and pelicans dominating the waterfront in front of us.  In late afternoons, there seemed to be a tradition of chairs brought up along the main street for older ladies to sit down and catch up on the local gossip.  One morning, fishermen brought out their catch to the waterfront pier to cook an impronto BBQ, and dozens of large pelicans collected around them in hopes for left-over treats.  I took this opportunity to photograph the birds at short range.  I had never got so close (at arm's length) to the wild pelicans, so that type of wild-life photography was a real treat.  Fishermen seemingly appreciated my joy, and they began smiling and started offering me soda drinks.  During our evening walks, we got quite familiar with several sea lion families occupying the beach next to our place.  They seemed to have gotten comfortable with us as well - sea lion babies would play and show off in front of us, while their mothers and "nannies" would leisurely stretch for a snooze... 

We chose to spend our first 8 days on this island.  Normally, I describe our experiences in a narrative form, however, there was so much happening that I thought a diary might give a more complete picture.  Here is the synopsis of our typical daily activities.  

DAY 1 (arrival) - Walk along the beach with sea lions followed by the sunset from top of the lava-formed hill with cacti silhouettes above the ocean.

DAY 2 - Snorkeling with sea lions (in Las Tijeretas and Playa Mann) - one sea lion was particularly playful and kept bringing (what looked like) a sea urchin that was tossed to us like a water valley-ball; marine iguana decided to rest on the rock right next to our bags and snorkeling gear, this was also the first time I got introduced to the iguana's spitting (which I learned later on was the clearing of salt water from marine iguanas' bodies).

DAY 3 - Spent morning with giant tortoises (at La Galapaguera), walked 4 km down and then another 4 km up the hill (not counting high elevation view point walks) to Puerto Chino where we spent afternoon with a colony of sea lions; took a public bus ride through the island's highlands.  Communicating with locals was a little odd experience at first - I had not used my Spanish for almost 10 years, and a big part of our recent travels was spent in Indonesia - so, I kept mixing my Indonesian Bahasa (language) with Spanish words which caused very puzzled looks on faces of locals...

DAY 4 - I hiked to a local harbour La Loberia, and kept hiking along the La Loberia's coastal trail.  That would turn out to be our top favourite spot on Isla San Cristobal.  Numerous marine iguanas, breath taking ocean views from the cliffs, and best interaction so far with sea lions' colony.  I did not have my snorkeling gear that day, so I just enjoyed watching the nature above the water.  Sea lions playing and drifting along the sandy shore.  A baby sea lion on a beach kept following me and trying to get his nose into my camera.  To my surprise, adult sea lions did not interfere and allowed the baby lay down right next to me - it was so hard to resist an urge and not to pet him, but I declined the temptation (sea lion mothers are known to reject their babies if there is a stranger's scent on them).  One sea lion adult joined me and the sea lion baby, then 3 more adults joined in, then we were surrounded by all 4.  They kept one (opened) eye on the baby sea lion next to me (the other eye was used for napping, I think).  Then the baby sea lion began giving a show - flipping his fins, rolling in the sand, digging his nose in the sand, winking and nodding at me.  It was super cute and endearing.  A yellow canary bird was jumping next to the stretched out sea lions, white-cheeked pintails and frigates were soaring above our heads - there was such a sense of freedom in the air...  I knew we should come back to this spot and spend more time with its wild residents.

DAY 5 - Returned back and snorkeled at La Loberia - spent a looooooooooong time playing in the water with a juvenile sea lion, who kept bringing a long green kelp piece to play with. Then, I picked up a red kelp string as another toy to use, sea lion was so excited - kept swimming under me, around me, on his side, straight face to face - I could see his eyes looking straight at me and his exhaling bubbles right into my mask.  It was an incredible connection on the nature's terms...  Then I swam with large sea turtles (about 20 of them in total); one of them brought me to an eagle ray - I swam with that gracious creature for a long time around the harbour.  At once, I could sea 4 large turtles, 1 eagle ray, and 2 large sea lions.  Rob also had his share of fun - he played in the water with 2 sea-lions, and one of them accepted him as his play buddy and gently was nibbling on Rob's fins.  When warming up on a shore, a bird kept resting right on my knee like a tamed pet, while sea lions casually were strolling by our feet.

DAY 6 - Morning was spent snorkeling with sea lions at Las Tijeretas after the morning "photo-shoot" of wild pelicans on the pier by our hotel; afternoon was spent snorkeling at Punta Carola with 9 giant sea turtles and several sea lions - visibility was poor, I almost sat down on the giant sea turtle when putting my fins in the water; a sea lion swam under me and above the rocks - we all three had a near-collision - this is what you get when the waters are teeming with marine life!  Another large sea lion colony was enjoying the beach about 3 meters away from us.  I didn't even realize that a sea lion mother and her baby were patiently waiting for me to finish my photo taking process so they could pass - I did not see them behind me until Rob got my attention to look behind.  Evening was spent strolling along the beach near our hotel with yet another sea lion colony.  One super-cute sea lion baby wanted to play with us - kept following us, chewing a stick, rolling on his sides, just like a little puppy!  By now, adult sea lions have gotten used to us, and were totally OK with us being there.  The special connection with animals and nature was absolutely incredible! 

DAY 7 - Spent afternoon snorkeling with sea lions, giant sea turtles (over 25 in total, four times observed a group of 4), and a sting ray.  On one occasion saw simultaneously a giant sea turtle, sting ray, and sea lion all together in one group.  That afternoon a cruise group came to the same beach - felt sorry for them - they had only one hour to enjoy the nature, then gotta gotta go - expensive ship is waiting...  Wow - what a sorry way to see the Galapagos...  Conversely, Rob and I continued the afternoon surrounded by sea lions, frigates and marine iguanas.  Walking back to town, I spotted a yellow canary, it started jumping towards me - it got so close that I had to use a "macro mode" on my camera - the bird was less than two feet away.  In the evening we climbed to the top of the hill to enjoy another sunset over the lava forest surrounded by the ocean below, and on the way back down bought a freshly grilled chicken skewer from a lady-seller on the beach.
We also, developed a special connection with one family who had a small restaurant serving in the evening pollo y pappas (fried chicken and french fries, served with a special spiced up mayo and a salad).  The food was expensive on Galapagos, but this basic establishment had a very inexpensive and finger-liking meal and a great attitude - we ended up eating nearly all our evening meals with them.  At some point, we even were invited "behind the scenes" into their kitchen.  The day before our departure from the island, the lady owner brought us gifts to take back home - soft toys of sea lions and blue-footed booby.  We were so touched by the genuine connection - there is absolutely no way any tour-package or cruise group could experience that!  Staying on the island gave us an opportunity to get close to its all residents - both wild-life and the town locals, and most importantly - it was done on genuine interaction terms, which was incredibly important to us.  Now, months later, we still keep in touch with that local family, and every time I look at those gifts, the beauty of the island and connection with its special residents resonate inside of me in a very special way. 

DAY 8   - We dedicated this final day on Isla San Cristobal to our favourtie spot, La Loberia.  And, what a way to finish the island exploration!  Great snorkeling - spent about 30 minutes snorkeling side by side with a large eagle ray, it was as if he came back to bid his farewell.  At times, the eagle ray and I passed right over several giant sea turtles families, and then we were joined by a Peruvian torpedo stingray and several giant turtles; then 2 large sea lions came so close that I had to be gentle using my fins not to touch them; then another sea lion and a sea turtle interacted with our swimming group.  I felt so fortunate and grateful to be there and experience the incredible marine life encounters!  We were ready to leave the beach, when the entire "kindergarten" of baby sea lions - about 15 of them - showed up right in front of us.  They were playing, rolling over each other, chewing each other's fins, rolling upside down on the sand, AND, as always, were very curious about our camera - they kept coming VERY close to us.  The adult sea lions seemed totally fine with all of it.  Unbelievable memories to finish San Cristobal island.  When we were ready to leave, one baby sea lion sat down on the beach sand and began moving his fin up and down - almost like he was bidding good-bye.  So touching...  I will never forget this moment!
Isla Isabela 
We took a 4-hour speed-boat ride to our next island in the Galapagos - Isla Isabela.  While leaving San Cristobal island, a National Geographic ship was doing their story on the Galapagos - it was not the first time we encountered NG in the same locations we were in - it was a nice endorsement of correctly chosen adventures, except we had one advantage - freedom of time...  

We had to make a stop-over in Puerto Ayora in between islands to wait for our connecting boat.  While waiting, we had our self-catered breakfast on the main pier surrounded by sea lions sleeping on the public benches. 

DAY 9 (Arrival) - Isla Isabela felt different from San Cristobal.  There was only one paved road leading from the pier to town, other roads were all sandy.  The atmosphere was sleepy except from one beach strip where resorts were trying "to get into action in Galapagos" with over-priced restaurants, dive shops and dull (and spoiled) tourists on their daily-packaged tours.  Instead, we settled in a peaceful town center in a large, but mostly empty hotel owned by a local lady and her talkative smiling manager named America.  Because I had kept in touch with the hotel owner for months prior to our arrival, for our 9-day stay there we were given a very special rate in the best room they had.  Our large corner room was on the top floor adjacent to an outdoor terrace with hammocks and sweeping 360 degree views.  We also had an access to a guest kitchen, which allowed us to cook our own breakfasts and helped to keep the food budget cost reasonable.  After disqualifying all over-priced (and tourist-oriented) restaurants, we stumbled upon a small joint catering to locals that had a terrific set dinner value - $4 meal included a soup, an entree, and a glass of juice. Menu varied almost every night and was quite tasty.  For lunches we would pick up bananas (which were surprisingly very scarce to find) and freshly made empanadas (savory pies) staffed with melting cheese - from another local eatery that cooked them only in the afternoons.  They were super delicious accompanied by a cup of fresh coffee and enjoyed in a hammock on our open air terrace...

DAY 10 - Morning hike to salt lagoons with flamingos - our very first encounter with those beautiful birds.  Afternoon snorkel in Concha de Perla lagoon (saw 6 giant turtles, 2 swimming marine iguanas, sting ray).  New encounters with sea lions - these ones adapted to living around mangroves and wooden walkways.  One sea lion loved sleeping under the bench on the wooden platforms where we would change into our wet suits and snorkeling gear, on several occasions we almost stopped on his nose, which seemingly he grew accustomed to.  

DAY 11 - Morning snorkeling with 9 eagle rays (at once), 2 turtles and pelicans flying right above our heads.  On the way back, sea lions blocked our boardwalk by stretching out all across, I had to jump off to a mangrove (and had to pee) - all of a sudden, I heard loud snarling right behind me where I was squatting - it was a large sea lion sleeping under the boardwalk who I almost peed on, and obviously, who did not care for it...  ONLY in GALAPAGOS this story would make total sense!
In the afternoon, went to meet the sunset with flamingos, watching them for a loooooong time, with large marine iguanas lounging near by.  This was the first time we saw flamingos taking off and flying in their group with their powdery pink feathers tenderly illuminated by setting sun's beams.  Long walk on the beach back to our home.

DAY 12 - Spent about an hour in the morning swimming with 5 eagle rays.  Snorkeled through tunnels (lava rocks).  Marine iguanas and sea lions swimming around.  Had to share AGAIN the boardwalk with sea lions.  Lounging in hammocks on our breezy terrace with a wild yellow canary swinging on the hammock with us.  Enjoying views of volcanoes scattered around us.  Were lucky (they go fast!) to locate more of fresh bananas at a local store, cooked fresh "organic" eggs and real bread toast in our guest kitchen.  Observing the "REAL" local life and customs by living on the island v.s. "STERILE" cruise ship approach.  Sunset.  Free hot chocolate at a local street celebration.

DAY 13 - Boat Trip to Los Tuneles.  On the way there and back had a viewing of 20-30 giant manta rays (which happens VERY rarely) - some came very close to the boat, their gigantic wings' span near the water surface was absolutely incredible!  During 2-hour snorkel had a close-up encounters with 4 eagle rays; 15+ giant sea turtles; 8 Galapagos sharks sleeping together in a cave; 1 white tip reef shark; sea snake; 2 sea horses (one was likely pregnant).  On land saw baby heron in a nest; Naska Boobies; 2 Blue-footed Boobies (male and female) at a VERY CLOSE range (2 feet) - male Booby was performing his dance.  Returned back to Isabela in the late afternoon.  Witnessed an incredible sunset from the dock - the largest sun image we've ever observed.  

DAY 14 - In the morning took a 12 km hike along the beach and hidden ocean lagoons with herons, pelicans, flamingos, marine iguanas and their nesting areas, crabs, etc.  Hiked through mangrove lagoons with various birds (many sightings of mockingbirds) and pristine hiking trails around La Playita and Playa del Amor.  Explored various inland salt lagoons - one had a very unusual magenta colour to it.  Had an encounter with the giant tortoise in the wild.  In the afternoon explored the town's beach and Concha de Perla for possible Galapagos penguins' sightings - this time around no luck, but enjoyed the show put up by a young playful sea lion.  The sea lion put his head into the water (while stretched out on the boardwalk steps) and was blowing bubbles under the water, then periodically was looking at us and winking his eye as if saying "Come and play with me!"  Pelicans soaring close, canaries.  My goal for the next few days was still try and locate those Galapagos penguins.  One local guy (after observing my numerous efforts to "interrogate" the locals with all these penguins' questions) suggested that I would "camp out" on the pier with a book since I am so determined to find them.  Not sure about the book, but that pier location sounded like a good starting point.

DAY 15 - My efforts paid off!  Finally saw 4 Galapagos penguins - the special residents of this particular island!!!  Watched them for a long time playing and hunting in shallow waters close to the beach and mangroves.  Then had another show - a young sea lion trying to play with a marine iguana swimming in mangroves - he tried to chew iguana's propelling tale, which (as you can imagine) the iguana did not care for.  In the afternoon went for another snorkel with 2 sea lions, 4 eagle rays and 1 octopus.  Spending many hours in the water at that location, we could by now identify individual eagle rays in that group - we also noticed they gave each other a turn to lead the group, possibly in attempt to keep the family harmony at peace or maybe learning those leadership skills.

DAY 16 - This is the 2nd successful day for finding Galapagos penguins - watched 3 of them interacting with each other and sea lions.  Snorkeled with 3 eagle rays and a large female sea lion.  On land - my brightly coloured bag (and me attached to it) got chased (not normal) by an irritable young sea lion, who "selfishly" refused to share the public boardwalk (the only way to and from the dock in the mangroves) and kept blocking it - while other sea lions were casually and peacefully snoozing near-by.  At the same time, another young sea lion had no issues with sharing (quite normal) a resting rock with a marine iguana.  Enjoyed leisure time in hammocks on our breezy terrace overlooking the town and volcanoes' cones on the horizon.  Finished the day with our usual $4 cena (supper) at our regular local eatery - hearty crab-veggies soup, salad, rice with beans served with garlicky crispy fried chicken, and a glass of cold orange juice.

DAY 17 - Explored giant tortoise center, hiked back to the salt lagoons to watch flamingos (along with a large marine iguana stirring up lots of mud with its tail and bugging and confusing poor birds).  Beach-comb walk.  Rob encountered another Galapagos penguin.  Spent the rest of the afternoon on the terrace talking with our only neighbour at the hotel - a very interesting fellow of the Ecuadorian-American descent, who shared with us his experiences and life upon returning back to his country of origin - Ecuador.  Got a lot of local gossip, and learned about what is REALLY happening around this town, and peculiar local "customs and attitudes" which probably best not to expose on this website.  Had our "last supper" on this island prior to moving the next day to our third island in the Galapagos - Isla Santa Cruz.

Day of departure - similar to our final day on the previous island of San Cristobal, our departure from Isla Isabela was also very special.  By now, we have located, encountered, and interacted with pretty much all wild-life available on Isla Isabela.  Just a couple hours before our departure sitting at the long wooden pier, we were treated to the grand finale "performance" by local Galapagos penguins.  This time around, several families of penguins showed up to the harbour, and we watched them for straight 2 hours.  Sometimes, penguins, sea lions, pelicans and large turtle would be interacting at once!  Just right under our dock, 6 large eagle rays swam by followed by a sting ray, and then we spotted 3 Blue-footed Boobies on the rocks near by.  It was truly a wild-life fairy-tale, it felt almost surreal...  When we boarded our boat and were ready to depart, all of a sudden 2 Galapagos penguins showed up from nowhere and spent their time right next to our boat until we departed - again, it felt as if they were bidding their good-bye.  I am aware it is totally my interpretation, but I was nearly in tears (again) recollecting all the magic moments on the island...  Isla Isabela - we will always remember you and your incredible inhabitants! 























Isla Santa Cruz
DAY 18 (Arrival) - After several hours of crossing and a bumpy speed-boat ride we finally reached our last island of Santa Cruz.  We disembarked in Puerto Ayora, and were met on a wooden pier by a large white-headed pelican.  The town was quite a bit more developed (which I had known in advance from the prior research) with more package tourists (who usually started and/or ended their over-priced cruises here), more food options, a real well-stocked supermarket, better bakery, and red wine on offer.  Having spent prior 17 days in more isolated REAL Galapagos locations, we took advantage of the rest of afternoon to settle in and enjoy a nice meal ($5 set-dinner menu served on the street under the night sky) followed by hearty Chilean red wine and delicious cake (both purchased from the supermarket) which we consumed on the pier enjoying the harbour and lit-up boats in the distance.  We settled in for 9 days at another local family-run hospedaje, and were fortunate to get our own private bungalow (about $40 a night) surrounded by bright flowering shrubs, fruit trees, flowers and a hammock area.  We even had our own satellite huge screen TV - we had to slowly get re-acquainted with modern luxuries because after our Utopia-like lifestyle in the Galapagos we would be heading to the mainland Ecuador with very different views, attitude and lifestyle.  But, for now we still had 8 days ahead of us to enjoy the Galapagos we came for - the nature and wild-life away from the crowds.
     
DAY 19 - In the morning, took a local boat and then hiked to the unique Las Grietas for snorkeling through a long crevice/canyon - mix of ocean salt water and underground sweet water. Saw large parrot fishes and blue moray eel.  Snorkeling through this unusual canyon did not offer a wide variety of marine life, but it was a very unusual geographic phenomena that also happened to be very pretty.  Then, in the afternoon continued on trail along volcanic cacti forest to reach other lagoons.  Snorkeled in mangrove lagoon (at Playa Los Alemanos) - saw a young black-yip reef shark followed by a sea lion and a small sea snake.  Witnessed a kayak "drama" - 1 kayak used by some tourists capsized, 2 other kayaks drifted away.  In the evening enjoyed our $5 cena (supper) - lobster soup (!) along with an entree consisting of the usual rice-beans-salad and freshly fried piece of fish.  Finished up with our usual dessert from a supermarket bakery - delicious cake  (large puff pastry filled with cream) consumed on a breezy waterfront park pier.  ALSO - this was the night we discovered dozens of young black-tip reef sharks coming at night right to the pier!  We enjoyed watching them for a couple of hours right under us circling and hunting - along with two large pelicans.  Sharks were swimming close to the surface - right under our feet and under the floating platform we were standing on.  Bright light from the pier lanterns was shining into the ocean water, and we could see clearly their perfect silhouettes right next to us.  So Beautiful!  Sea lions were casually sleeping on pier benches - the sight we have gotten so used to... 

DAY 20 - Hiked to Tortuga Bay through cactus and lava forest.  Snorkeling in placid lagoon at Playa Mansa - that day we saw 6 baby white-tip sharks; 5 adult white-tip sharks (3 were sleeping next to each other, so I was able to take time and try to assess their size using my own dimensions - 1 was quite large, about 6 feet); 3 GIANT eagle rays - 1 came so close that his wing span almost brushed my shoulder and his long tail went right in front of my eyes - the water visibility was poor so I was lucky to avoid a collision with that eagle ray; on the way back saw a large number of marine iguanas in the surrounding areas.  In the evening after our cena, we enjoyed observing again dozens of young black-tip sharks circling in clear waters under the lights around the pier harbour - so peaceful to watch them!  While viewing the sharks, saw 1 mustard ray (NEW for us) swimming near them. 

DAY 21 - Explored the Charles Darwin Research Station along with its tortoises, land iguanas (new); on the way back walked through town and a hidden ceramic garden (no - not a tourist trap attraction, but a real garden built by real local people creatively utilizing ceramic pieces for designing the walls and landscape); watched sea turtles, marine iguanas, and red rock crabs from a beach.  Visited a local fish market - where sea lions and pelicans are hanging around the market sellers and fishermen waiting for their scraps.  Unfortunately, there were cruise-ship tourists with their simplistic views and ugly behaviour - beautiful giant lobsters were being sold and chopped up into pieces (while still alive) for Western tourists to photograph and purchase...  Tourists thought nothing of it, so what could have been an interesting market day turned into observing a slaughter house...  So sad...
Afternoon - enjoyed delicious freshly baked dessert from a local supermarket (and another one in the evening on the pier; and another one - ice cream cone - from a family run store (hoping for the best - questionable water/ice used; but all turned out OK).  Spent another evening watching graceful sharks and mustard rays at the pier.

DAY 22 - UNBELIEVABLE and unexpected snorkeling surprises at Playa Mansa.  GIANT 5 Peruvian torpedo rays with wings' span about 2 meters - their torso size was equal to ours.  The rays looked like large "carpets" swimming graciously under water.  Then, 8 large mustard rays together - they "stacked up" on top of each other forming a large swimming triangle like the ancient Roman army.  Then, several young eagle rays and sharks, and 1 LARGE shark.  I saw fishes jump above the water surface creating their own "wave" - there seemed to be thousands of them, they kept coming from all directions...  I thought "it's either several "somethings" or one "something large" hunting after them - it was the latter...  Rob and I had seen hundreds of sharks by now, but none seemed as BIG as this one.  Awesome snorkeling and a little spooky due to challenging water visibility in parts - we could only guess if there may have been more of these BIG ones swimming right under us.
Evening - enjoyed our street supper consisting of hearty fish soup served with fresh deep-fried fish, rice, beans, salad, hot garlic sauce and lime juice drink (all inclusive $5 set menu).  During our meal, a line developed around our table - apparently, famous Ecuadorian football players were visiting and everyone wanted a photo with them.  Finished evening with ice-cream and creamy puff pastry on a pier  (YES, travel life is good on Galapagos!),  followed by observing the (regular by now) "nightly show" of numerous young sharks swimming under the pier.   Some sharks we could recognize by now - they had unique features on their skin (one had a boat propeller's scars on its back - reminder that Galapagos is not immune for taking nature for granted).
 
DAY 23 - Possibly the BEST snorkeling day for VARIETY.  I went back by myself to Playa Mansa (7 km round-trip strenuous hike through cactus and lava forest and then along a pristine long (and hot) powdery white-sand beach - but definitely worth it!).  Had a better water visibility.  Saw the following - 3 GIANT torpedo rays (about 2 meters length including the tale); 2 small (about 80 centimeters) Peruvian torpedo rays; swam together with a large golden ray, then together with the largest (to-date) eagle ray; then came across 9 (!) sleeping in a group white tip sharks - the largest (about 2 meters) began circling around me as if asking "Are you dangerous, OR are you something to eat?"  After confirming that I was neither of those things, sharks calmed down and went back to form a group.  They behaved very calmly, but kept their eyes on me.  I spent some time observing them - their eyes were pretty and had a blue tint to them.  How often one has a change to gaze peacefully into the eyes of a shark in a wild?  Made me feel very special!  A medium size (about 1 meter) ray was sleeping right next to the sharks.  I continued swimming further and came across another group of 6 white tip sharks - these were quite active, four of them made several circles around me.  I tried staying calm (they were also large, about 2 meters), and then sloooooowwwwwwly swam further, and saw 2 more baby sharks sleeping between rocks.  So, that day enjoyed a total of 17 sharks!
Afternoon - finally found reasonably priced mangoes and bananas.  Feels great to have a healthy snack and a cup of tea in a hammock after an awesome experience with marine life one hour prior!  Took a boardwalk around mangrove forest lake.  Saw a couple of old ladies trying to climb (!) a tree for a better photo.  I said to them "Mui Buen!" and gave them a big thumbs-up.  They started laughing being caught "in the action" and gave me a big toothless smile - super cute old ladies.  Walking back to our place, I kept having associations with South Korea - street walls made out of stone (coral in this case) and large wooden gates...  And, sometimes, streets have a Mediterranean look to them.  Also, Puerto Ayora has nice modern bike lanes (completely separated from traffic).
Evening - after supper, Rob and I enjoyed our "pier tradition" - cake (tried a new one tonight - tasted like Russian Napoleon cake - yummy!); watched sharks, AND a nice treat to finish the day with - a large and a medium EAGLE RAYS went right under us!   

DAY 24 - Back to the sharks!  Saw at least 9 white-tips congregated together, then 4 more swimming in a group; then 4 more sightings of individual ones.  Snorkeled with 4 GIANT torpedo rays (about 2 meters) and 4 medium rays; encounter at arm's length with a Blue-footed Booby sitting on the rock in the middle of the lagoon.  Having hiked to and from the lagoon over the course of several days, officially made acquaintances with Jorge - the National Park ranger.  He was very impressed with our commitment to the nature, and every time upon return I gave him reports how many sharks and other creatures we'd seen that day. 
Afternoon - Had uve (grape) ice-cream for dessert.  In the evening, still high tide at the town pier - could only see a few black-tip sharks in deep waters.  Saw another Golden ray swim by there too.    

DAY 25 - Morning hike to Lava Tunnels - nothing special, but saw 2 tortoises in the wild.  On the way back, picked up mangoes and bananas from a local market, plus humita (local specialty of corn paste and cheese baked in leaves - tasted a lot better than a Mexican tamale), made fresh coffee at our "home casa" - enjoyed a great breakfast in our hammock area surrounded by blossoming trees..  Afternoon - snorkel at a local town beach Playa de la Estacion - nothing special, saw only one eagle ray.  Enjoyed another nice dinner and a bakery treat on a pier.  That night, the tide was quite high, saw only 1 shark near the pier.  Lot more Western people in town for their "Christmas cruises".  After our special experiences with the nature and local people, the tourists are nothing but annoyance. 

DAY 26 - Morning boat ride to "the other side".  Final swim in Las Gietas canyon.  When other people left and true silence descended on the canyon, I could hear droplets off my fins reflecting echo off the rocky cave walls.  Last look at blue moray eel and large parrot fish peacefully swimming in crystal clear waters along mystic canyon walls.  Last hike around lava forest and salt lagoons of unusual red and magenta colours, last board walk around the mangroves, and last boat ride across the harbour...  The next day we would be departing the Galapagos... 
We picked up food supplies for upcoming flights and a night at the Quito International Airport.  Had our last cena, cakes and wine at the pier in the evening.  We finished on a peaceful note by watching pelicans' and sharks' silhouettes near the dock where we had spent so many hours by now.  Great journey, incredible up-close encounters with wild-life, living among the locals, experiencing the beauty of the unique nature, and memories of a life-time.  Our independent journey in the Galapagos was most definitely worth the wait, and having experienced the islands independently and freely has turned out to be one of the most rewarding travel adventures we will cherish.
Transit Isla Santa Cruz - Quito International Airport

DAY 27 - Final day on the islands, and not your usual departure...
We took an early morning bus through the island's interior - sunken volcanoes, several sightings of wild tortoises along the edge of the road.  Rob noticed farm areas were a blurry border with National Park's boundaries.  We wondered what furture waiting for the Galapagos in years to come...  We decided to spend a couple of hours at a ferry dock on Balatra Island versus rushing to wait at the airport located a few kilometers away.  We were still surrounded by beautiful clear ocean water.  We settled on a pier bench and had our breakfast - Ecuadorian granola cereal and milk (which we made on a spot from a dry whole milk powder and which was surprisingly decent), crackers and chocolate.  Two sea lions came by, lots of Galapagos red crabs were making their way around the rocks, and then a Great heron landed on a near-by boat.  I got very close to the beautiful bird and it allowed me to take a lot of close-up shots - it almost enjoyed "modelling" for me.  
Eventually, time has come to make our way to the Balta Airport surrounded by desert and ocean in the distance.  We had a very nice flight from Baltra to Quito and made acquaintances with two lovely Ecuadorian flight attendants Alexandria and Sabrina, who gave me the whole large bag of Ecuadorian coffee to take home because I liked the flavour of it so much during the flight. 
Landing in Quito during the sunset felt almost surreal - incredible images from the height of the plane - sun beams penetrating the clouds below us, which looked like snow peaks and mountains above the actual mountains under us - the nature almost looked upside down, it all merged into one continuum, it was hard to tell where there was beginning and where was the end.  It was breath-taking to say the least.  We had taken a lot of flights, but this one stood out of them all... 

We had a 12-hour (night) connection at Quito International Airport - the second time around, almost like a deja vu of sorts.  We had our submersible heater with us - so we made spicy-noodle soup, and along with crackers, banana chips, peanut butter, granola cereal and milk, we were set for a looooong night at the airport and then another flight afterwards.  We found two comfy club-type chairs, and we were in biz!  We had many night hours ahead of us to recollect our fantastic Galapagos adventure and other experiences prior.  Both Rob and I occasionally go though raw emotions dealing in the recent past with our siblings' resentment and their clashes with our life choices.  Being a "divergent" is very rewarding, but in our case, it also produced cruel rejections (among other things) by a few others.  I thought family members are supposed to be supportive of each other?!  While contemplating about the obvious differences, I thought to myself - they can take away the love and family connection, but they can never take the memories and great experiences...  Did I mention that it was a day before Christmas?  Adventure does have lot of facets to it - obviously, but so does life...











posted by Rob and Anna @ 1:04 PM 2 comments