November 18, 2010
Just got back to the mainland where the ground feels very solid, compared to the Galapagos Islands, where everything seems to shift and change constantly.
I spent so much time on boats and in the water, that at times, my head was spinning
while walking on tierra firma.
Even though I had prolonged my stay at the islands to 12 days, it still seems like I just got back from a whirlwind trip. My mind is full of impressions, images and the sensory overload at 25 meters below the surface.
Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island is a fairly large city for Galapagos standards, with paved roads and a host of tourist shops, restaurants and hotels/Hostals everywhere.
The Charles Darwin Station and Research Center are located a short walk from town,where one can glimpse the first Giant Turtles, Land Iguanas and a host of Marine Iguanas roaming along the coast.
No one knows exactly how old these Giants can get, but one story tells of a captured
Turtle back in 1832, which died in 2005 in captivity. The life expectancy in the wild might be somewhat shorter. The islands are windblown, arid, rocky and seem harsh in nature. Due to the different currents arriving at the islands, there are always sizeable swells and waves, yet there are few big storms.
In the highlands of Santa Cruz, where it is more green with vegetation due to fog, the giant Turtles roam freely. You can have your own backyard Turtle, but you are not allowed to corral or feed it.
I opted for diving on Santa Cruz and was rewarded with 2 caves full of Whitetip Sharks. We also saw a Hammerhead and Galapagos Shark, but kind of in the mist. The visibility was not that great, until you caught a cold current, then everything looked very clear and magnified. The temperature drop from 20 degrees to 16 degrees was a very sudden and frigid experience however, but I loved every moment in the deep.
From Santa Cruz I set sail on the Angelique for 4 days. We visited Genovesa in the North, Bartolome, Santiago and Baltra Island. Each Island is very distinct. Genovesa is home to appx. 70% of all Marine Birds found in the Galapagos. Every day we stopped at different sites of whatever island we visited that day, walked for up to 3 hours amid birds nesting, feeding their young and feeding themselves. The second part of the day was spent either snorkeling or swimming, often with Sea Lions, Fur Seals, Sharks, Marine Turtles and large schools of fish. The Angelique is a relative small ship with only 16 guests capacity and had a great crew and food onboard.
One night the passage we were travelling through was so rough, many passengers got sea sick. It felt like the ship was falling into deep thoroughs and barely was able to climb out of it again, while also rocking and rolling from side to side.
After returning back to Santa Cruz safely, I headed off to Isabela Island with a speed boat. Puerto Villamil is a small city with unpaved roads, few services, a few shops, no Bank or ATM, but plenty of Guest Houses.
I fell in love with Isabela on first sight. One day I hiked up to Cerro Negro and Chico Volcano, which have amazing views of the lava flows, lava waves, parasitic craters and the other Volcanoes on Isabela. We had a clear view of Fernandina to the east and Santiago to the west. In the afternoon I went snorkeling with the aquatic life. The next day I took off on bicycle along the coast, to see the wall of tears, mangrove lagoons and the beaches, which are inhabitated by giant marine iguanas.
Along the way I also met 3 giant land Turtles, lots of lava lizzards, birds and the biggest marine iguanas I had yet set eyes on. I watched two males fighting over territory rights. Arranging a diving trip was a bit of a challenge on Isabela at first, as at least 3 divers are needed, because the sites are at a distance and they do not want to go out with only one or two, or they have to charge you an arm and a leg. Through a series of synchronistic events, I ended up receiving a discount and was able to go to 2 dive sites, that are normally not done together because of distance from each other.
The dives were magical. We came around a bend and started seeing Sting Rays, first one or two, then 4 or 5 together. Pretty soon they were all around us. I had never seen Sting Rays this enormous. They were so gentle, gliding through the water with such Grace or resting on the ground. I felt so much joy comming from them. In turn I was totally in love with them and would have stayed with them, if it was not for lack of air eventually.
Before I had come to Galapagos, I was told a Ruby Seed needed to be planted there. On the flight there, I heard, it needed to be on Isabela, thus I had planed my time on Isabela. In my mind I thought it would be somewhere on the Volcano, but up there, I saw a turtle in the ocean instead and was told to prepare the ruby seed until I would know where the site is.
Our dive sites were called Quadro Hermanoes and Isla Tortuga. It was at the second site where we ran into the giant Sting Rays. Right after the Rays I saw a snow white coral in the shape of a human head. All I heard was...now!
Back on Santa Cruz I had to go for one more dive location:"Gordon Rocks"!
I had been dreaming of seeing Hammerheads cruising above us. Well, they came and visited. It was awesome!!!!!!
