Ecuador Day 12/13 - Galapagos San Cristobel

FRIDAY

Everyone was a little melancholy Friday morning, knowing it was our last full day in the Galapagos. We had several activity options on San Cristobel Island, formerly known as Chatham. (All of the Galápagos Islands, incidentally, have multiple names. They had native Ecuadorian names, Spanish and British names. Some have additional names, from privateers and other visitors.). San Cristobel is the Galapagos island furthest east, and is home to the capital of the Galapagos provence. . It’s the first island that Charles Darwin visited while exploring these islands on the Beagle. Around 7,500 residents live on the island today.

This morning we landed at Punta Pitt, a volcanic point with an iridescent beach. You could see the sparkle from flakes of tiny precious stones in the sunlight.

Those of us who took the hike up a dry stream bed to the plateau at the top were rewarded with incredible views of the volcanic landscape and close encounters with nesting birds. Good walking shoes and physical fitness were recommended for the hike, which involved climbing over and around some boulders and sometimes slippery slopes. Once again, I was glad to have my walking sticks. 

This is the only area in the Galapagos where one can sometimes find all three species of boobies. They co-exist by having nesting and feeding habits unique to each species, so they are not competing for food and breeding space.

Red-footed boobies nest in bushes, sometimes on the flat areas but often hanging over the edges of ravines. They are striking, with light gray and white feathers, and a face that Picasso could have created during his Harlequin phase. The black eyes are surrounded by an intense blue, the bill is pastel blue, and feathers around the bill are salmon, black and white. 

As with all wildlife we’ve encountered here, the birds were aware of but unconcerned by our presence. 

Nesting red-footed booby, shifting for a more comfortable position on her egg

Showing off their red feet.

Nazca boobies nest on the cliffs, like blue footed boobies, but away from the shore..

Blue footed boobies build their nests in the sea cliffs, and fish by dive-bombing deep into the ocean.  

Despite the name of the point, there were no Brad Pitt sitings. That would have been the icing on the cake. 

After the hike, some people went swimming or snorkeling off the beach, but I returned to the ship to write and to ponder packing. 

In the afternoon we stopped at another pristine beach, at Cerro Bruno. The dramatic late afternoon light highlighted sea caves along the base of the adjacent cliffs. 

As the sunset rapidly progressed (as it always does near the equator), we cruised up to the Sleeping Lion (also known as Kicker Rock) formation we’d spotted from our anchorage at Cerro Brujo. This eroded cone of an extinct volcano is one of the most sought-after diving and snorkeling sites in the Galapagos. As with most sites here, you cannot visit alone but make arrangements for a day trip by boat with an authorized guide. 

We passed very close to the 500 ft high formation, which seemed to radiate light. We stood on the top deck, our 5-deck little ship dwarfed by the sheer cliffs which rose above us. It was a stunning close to our last day in the Galapagos. 

The rocks hosts blue-footed and Nazca boobies, tropicbirds and frigate birds. The narrow channel between the rocks is the ideal habitat for Galapagos and Whitetip sharks, sea turtles, reef fish, sea lions, etc. 

SATURDAY

On our last morning, we transferred by zodiac to the pier at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal. Everyone, that is, but Greg. While the rest of us were ashore before 7 am, Greg had a 10 AM private transfer to the pier and then the airport. His Galapagos experience, well, wasn’t much. Except that a sea lion had hopped aboard his zodiac and had to be encouraged to disembark by the driver. That’s as close as he got to an animal (except walks we were able to take together on our first full day in the Galapagos). 

The rest of us walked on a seaside road and boardwalk. One would think we’d all be tired of sea lions by this point, but they never cease to enchant. I watched a nursing pup just below my feet, saw a newborn pup wriggling by its mother, and was amused by a bachelor group of males proclaiming their dominance on a little beach oozing with testosterone. 

Newborn pup - the uncropped photo is below, to show how much bigger mama sea lion is.

We were taken by bus to a little pleasure area with a covered picnic pavillion, nice gardens for a stroll, and an outdoor gift shop. We were presented with box lunches (though, having just had breakfast, no one was particularly hungry) and wiled away a couple of hours. We decided that’s the way the ship got us all offloaded as early as possibly so they could prepare for the next group of guests, who would be arriving on the same plane we’d take back to the mainland. 

We were transferred back to the airport to catch our flight to Guayaquil. And, happily, there was Greg! I did get one photo to prove he had, indeed, been in the Galapagos. 

Fun fact: Panama hats are made in Ecuador, not Panama.

Ecuador Day 11 - Galapagos Santa Cruz Island

Today we returned to civilization, at least for a few hours.  Our zodiacs dropped us off in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz on an honest-to-goodness pier. We walked to small buses that took us to our island destinations with our naturalists. We were happy to be with Christian again. 

This is Christian’s home town, as it is for many of our crew. It’s a relatively small town with one main shopping street, but a thriving metropolis for the Galapagos. The first airport was built here, which helped, for better or worse, bring tourism to Puerto Ayora. It’s also the location for the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) and Tortoise Breeding Centre, which is (as you might guess from the spelling of Centre) a British organization. Their mission of scientific research and conservation efforts in a living laboratory has been ongoing since 1959, in close cooperation with the Galapagos National Park.

There is a raised boardwalk through part of the National Park adjacent to the CDRS. It leads through some tortoise breeding pens and exhibits explaining the breeding program, the impact invasive species have on native animals, a focus on recycling, etc. 

The goal of the tortoise breeding program is to restore at least 50% of the pre-human tortoise population on the islands. Each island had their own type of tortoise. There used to to be 200,000 tortoises in the Galapagos; today only 10% remain. They are extinct on some islands, and have successfully been restored on others. The CDRS is focusing on two islands now. Eggs are taken from nests on those islands, and incubated in a controlled environment. Once hatched, the tortoises are numbered (the color indicates the island) and cared for for 5 to 6 years until they reach a specific size, at which point they are released on their home island. 

Fun fact: the sex of tortoises is determined by the temperature of the incubated eggs. In nature, 3 times as many females Galapagos tortoises as males  hatch. The Breeding Centre keeps the same ratio, so 25% of the eggs are incubated at 28 degrees C (82.5 F) and 75% at 29.5 degrees (85 F). The high tech incubator consists of a hairdryer running in a top chamber, with a little fan to blow the warm air in the compartment below, where several plastic bins of eggs are topped with sand and wrapped in plastic. (The dark box simulates the nest.) 

Their first two years of life are spent in protected pens. These little guys will be returned to Floreana Island when they are big enough.

They are moved to bigger outdoor pens as they grow. 

The Floreana tortoises are saddlebacks. Because the shells don’t fully fuse until the tortoises are largely grown, the shape of their shells will change as the babies start reaching up for food. Saddlebacks have longer necks than domed tortoises, as they’ve evolved to eat vegetation that grows higher off the ground

Lonesome George was a saddleback tortoise from Pinta Island, the northernmost island in the Galapagos. The breed of tortoise was believed to be extinct, as none had been seen since 1906 when scientists from California removed what were believed to be the last three surviving specimens from Pinta Island to take back to the US  to preserve. However, in 1971 one was discovered by a scientist. After living by his lonely self for 65 years, he was moved to the Charles Darwin Research Station where he lived for another 40 years. After he died in 2012, Lonesome George was preserved by a taxidermist who did his best to preserve the essence of the famous tortoise, right down to sprinkling dust from Pinta Island as his back.

There’s a protocol to visiting him. You enter as a group through an air lock, where you have a to wait for a couple of minutes. Then you enter the room with LG. No flash photography, no eating or drinking, no crossing the white line around the display case. I mentioned that it was like the Mona Lisa, and Christian remarked that Lonesome George is indeed their Mona Lisa. 

Today is the anniversary of the 1859 publication of on the “Origin of the Species”. I tried to look appropriately solemn for the occasion. 

We walked down to the fish market, where Christian was hoping to see his parents. Unfortunately, they weren’t there. But we still enjoyed seeing the eager creatures hoping for scraps, and the woman fileting fish for her customers. The pelicans and sea lions were pretty well behaved, even the ones sharing a bench with some locals. 

I thought the frigate bird was fake until he turned his head. It’s hard to believe he can blow up that pouch into a giant party balloon!

We had about 20 minutes to wander our way back past the shops to reboard our minibus. 

The street is a typical beach district - lots of little shops selling similar items, like t-shirts, buffs, and other souvenirs. 

We were taken to El Trapiche, a little farm of sorts, operated by a local family They had demonstrations of extracting sugar cane juice, boiling down the cane juice to make brown sugar, fermentation/distillation of alcohol and some sampling of very potent moonshine. They also produce coffee and chocolate. 

In lieu of a donkey, fellow travelers powered the cane juicer.

The farmer splashed some alcohol into the fire running the still, demonstrating that it is, indeed, quite flammable alcohol. 

One has to wonder how someone figured out that the seeds in a cacao pod have the potential to make something as incredible as chocolate. The pulpy fruit itself is quite good and seems like it would be sufficient (though a lot of work for a little fruit). 

We headed into the highlands for a buffet lunch at Rancho Manzanillo. There we all donned long socks and rubber boots to traipse among the giant Galapagos tortoises. They live in the highlands where the grass and foliage is plentiful. They can live without food and water for up to a year, which is one reason so many were carried away by early ships to the Galapagos. It was an easy way to capture and transport months worth of tasty protein.

So many tortoises!


This is a fairly young fellow, as all of the rings in the carapace plates are still distinct. The rings start to fade and smooth out as the tortoise ages. 

A yellow warbler hitching a ride.

Tortoises take 30 (female) to 35 (male) years to reach sexual maturity. The mating process is a bit of an endurance event, as it can take upwards of three hours. It takes a lot of time and energy just for the male to figure out the right position and get ready. Then he needs a bit of a break before continuing. The female, meanwhile, is pinned in place. After the conclusion, she has to trek to the breeding ground to lay and bury her eggs.

The tortoises are pretty much blind and deaf, and sometimes startled when they saw us come up from behind. We’d hear a “whoosh” as they expelled the air from their lungs so they could retract their heads under the shell. 

Puerto Ayora

We had good news today. Our internet access has been out since late Monday. But we had connectivity near town, the captain and doctor conferred with the government health authority, and obtained permission for Greg to complete his quarantine period on board the ship and disembark with us on Saturday. Initially, we were told that he’d be taken off the ship today (Thursday), transferred to the responsibility of the health authority and put in a quarantine hotel until he was released - hopefully for our scheduled Sunday flight to the US. The new arrangements are so much better - at least we’ll be in the same place. He will still disembark separate from everyone else, but we should meet at the airport Saturday morning for our transfer to Guayaquil. 

Four more people tested positive today and were disembarked at Puerto Ayora. They were, understandably, not happy. They’ll complete their quarantine there and miss their scheduled extension to Peru. It’s a shame. Suddenly many more people are wearing masks on board. 

Ecuador Day 10 - Galapagos, Santiago Island

I had signed up for 6:15 kayaking slot this morning, but late last night, decided to cancel. I still woke up on time, but as some folks who went said it was pretty strenuous, I have no regrets. I opted for a kayak ride after breakfast instead, and we were treated to a display of manta rays feeding upside down in the rising current. They were super cool! One of the biggest fish in the Galapagos, they can reach a wingspan of up to 22 feet. The ones we saw were probably more in the 12 foot range - still pretty amazing. They are white on the bottom, and black with with polka dots on top. Sailers used to call them “devil rays”, but as plankton eaters, they are harmless to people. Their mouths are huge, with moveable side lobes to help scoop in food. They are related to sharks, and like them, give birth to live young. So they aren’t proper fish at all.

The group I didn’t snorkel with. 

These aren’t shark fins, but the two wingtips of a flapping manta ray. 

It looked as big as our zodiac!

The formation towards the right is known as The Monk (I thought it looked more like a Bali dances). Tradition holds that you can ask one favor of The Monk. (I think we all wished the manta rays would stick around long enough for us to snorkel to them.)

The cliffs are quite dramatic here, with edges of collapsed volcanoes and sea stacks. 

I actually hadn’t planned to go deep-water snorkeling today, but after seeing the rays, I changed my mind. I ended up in the zodiac with Salvador, the scuba master for the trip. 

He led us into a cave, a snorkeling first for me. When we turned around to come out, the blue water catching the light outside of the cave was incredible. 

And then we looked for the rays. We weren’t super close, but that’s ok! 

We swam over near the cliffs and saw the bubble plumes of a blue footed booby dive bombing for fish. 

Every day here is better than the last - so many surprises and experiences!

This afternoon we had a wet landing at Puerto Egas and walked 1.8 miles along an inland trail and coastal return. Wonderful lava rocks and sea lion drama. First we saw a few fur sea lions swimming and basking on the lava outcrops. 

Standoff


Fur sea lions have two hairs per follicle instead of one, as on Galápagos sea lions.

A triumvirate of marine iguanas, huddling together for warmth. 

Sea lion and pup