Galpagos

Land of Boobies

The Galpagos are a volcanic archipelago of many islands (depending upon ones
definition of island) 500 to 600 miles in the Pacific off the coast of mainland Ecuador, of
which they are a part. They were formed when the Nazca plate drifted east (with jogs
north and south) over a volcanic hot spot. The islands in the eastern part are, thus, the
oldest and their volcanoes extinct and eroded. Two islands in the westernmost part still
have active volcanoes. (Hawaii and the Aleutians are also volcanic archipelagos but the
plates drifted more in a straight line.)
After a 4-1/2 hour flight (delayed) from Miami and an overnight in a surprisingly posh
Hilton in Guayaquil, Ecuador on the mainland, we had a fairly short (1-3/4 hour) flight
on Sunday to Puerto Baquerizo on the island of San Cristbal, in the southeast of the
group. We were met by one of the naturalists, Antonio Adrian, who took us by bus to the
dock. We knew right away Antonio was a character with a great if somewhat dark sense
of humor. At the dock we learned how to put on life vests and board a Zodiac, which took
us to the National Geographic Islander, a 164-foot ship that held 48 passengers plus
crew. There were, however, only 31 passengers on our trip (one fewer than the number of
crew members!), which gave us all the chance for extra attention and to locate those we
wanted to spend time with. (Yes, there turned out to be some we didnt want to spend
time with.) Jan almost immediately felt the rocking of the ship but managed to get
through the abandon ship and safety drill. She skipped lunch but felt better for a
briefing about the rules of the national park and the first excursion.
We boarded a Zodiac (usually three Zodiacs went on each landing) for a short ride along
the western side of the island to Cerro Brujo (Wizard Hill) and a wet landingthat
is, the Zodiac goes as close to the beach as possible and then you hop out into the water
and walk ashore. This was apparently a beach on which Darwin landed. Here we had our
first encounter with the wildlife, which by and large is unfazed by humans even a few
feet away. We walked past sea lions, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, a mockingbird
(an important part of Darwins experience as Ill explain), yellow warbler (the same
species we have here), plovers, and pelicans. Our naturalist this time was Salvador Cazar,
not as funny as Antonio but also so very knowledgeable about geology, biology, and
history. Salvador become our favorite of the three (but they were all great).

Back in the Zodiacs before sunset (which on the equator occurs around 6:00 pm all year;
this seemed strange to us, used to late sunsets in warm weather) and the first of our
wonderful dinners. The food was delicious and varied, and the service impeccable.
Our cabin was on the top deck of cabins (there was a sky deck above us) and we had a
glassed-in terrace. We were a bit disappointed that we couldnt open the glass but it made
sense: They didnt want anyone getting up in the middle of the night and turning the
wrong way only to go overboard! Being high-up meant a little more rocking and the first
nightthe ship sailed from island to island overnightwas very rough, with not only
rocking and swaying but creaking and groaning of the ship itself. We didnt sleep well.
(Eventually, we got used to sleeping and walking with the rolling and I even miss it lying
in bed. Very soothing, I found. And, two days back home, we still feel it and still walk a
bit as if compensating for it!)
Monday was the southernmost island of Espaola where we had our first snorkeling
experience. The water was a bit rough and neither of us had snorkeled in years, but we
lasted 40 minutes and saw some lovely fish and swimming sea lions. Back to the ship and
a lunch of Ecuadorian food, followed by a hike, a dry landing this time, at Punta Suarez.
This was a rough hike, with lots of boulders, but worth it as, up on the cliff we saw sea
lions, marine iguanas, lava lizards, waved albatrosses (so called because the chest
feathers are a wave pattern), Galpagos hawks (one with a chick), Galpagos doves, bluefooted and Nazca boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, storm petrels, frigate birds, plovers
(same species as here), red-billed tropic birds (with their long narrow tails), Galpagos
flycatchers, Espaola mockingbirds, and assorted Darwins finches. Antonio was our
guide here and here his sense of humor really came out: The park officially closes at 6:00
and the sun was going down as we were heading back to the beach and Zodiacs. The sun
waits for no one, he said, in his Ecuadorian accent, and when it gets dark, we all die,
except the guide. Death was his theme, but in a dark-humor sort of way.
Before dinner each night was a briefing on some aspect of the trip, the Galpagos, or the
National Geographic/Lindblad partnership, and a preview of the next days activities.
There was also a two-sided schedule and description in our cabins when we returned after
dinner or after some after-dinner talk.
Tuesday we awoke off the island of Floreana (or Santa Mara) and did a pre-breakfast
walk at Punta Cormorant (named for a ship that wrecked there, not the bird). Added to
critters seen: flamingoes, white-cheeked pintails (in a small lake), ani (introduced bird),
more Darwins finches, pelicans, and, on the beach beyond the dry forest, a stingray in
the surf and the colorful sally lightfoot crabs.
After breakfast we took a Zodiac ride, with Antonio, around small Champion Island, one
of two small islets off Floreana that are the only home to the critically endangered (an
official category) Floreana mockingbird. Populations fluctuate widely but there are
generally no more than 150 total, making them one of the rarest birds in the world. Some
boat rides see none. We saw two, a definite privilege. Jan got some good photos. There

are attempts to increase the populations (in part by eradicating an introduced pest, fire
ants) but climatic conditions can play a big role, especially with such a small population.
We skipped the pre-lunch snorkeling but after lunch did our first kayaking. Rough waters
made it fun and our double kayak was very stable. A sea lion swam right up to the single
kayak of one of our shipmates. Back in the Zodiac and a wet landing at Post Office Bay,
another place Darwin is said to have landed. The name derives from a barrel left there
first in the late 18th century for whalers and others to leave letters home. People would go
through the letters and if there was one they could deliver somewhere, theyd take it.
Then theyd leave their own.
The tradition continues (not with the original barrel) and one of the first postcards our
group found (now in plastic bags) was from Farmington, Connecticut, about 15 minutes
from us. We plan to hand-deliver it to the address soon. We left three postcards, one to
ourselves.
Wednesday we were anchored off Santa Cruz, second largest island and economic hub of
the Galpagos. About 18,000 people live there, mostly in the town of Puerto Ayora. We
had a nice landing on the dock then took a bus to the Charles Darwin Research Station.
An important activity there is the breeding of the famous Galpagos giant tortoises, so
some can be reintroduced and try to restore the ecology of some of the islands.
We then walked back into town, past high-end shops as well as souvenir places. The fish
market was particularly interestinga table full of fresh fish, some women filleting them,
others with fly swatters swatting at the flies. Under and around the tables pelicans and sea
lions begged for a morsel.
We took a bus then into the green and sometimes rainy highlands, first to an artisanal
sugar and coffee plantation. We saw the old method of extracting juice from sugar
canea press powered by two people turning a long log. We got to taste a clump of raw
sugar you ate along with a couple of roasted coffee beans. Delicious. Then a long tub of
bubbling, fermenting cane juice and the ancient, crude still that turned it into moonshine.
We got samples. Our guide, Jonathan Aguas this time, said it was called agua fuego,
firewater. I dont know if it really was called that but it sure was, although I liked it,
kind of a high-proof rum, distilled directly from the cane juice. I finished Jans for her. In
the roof of the open building we saw a barn owl, same species as here.
Lunch at a restaurant in the highlands, overlooking a lush forest. The name of the place
was The Narwhal. I have no idea why since narwhals live in the Arctic. And then to
farm that is on the tortoises migratory route. We were issued Wellies because of the
possibly wet, even muddy ground and got to the tortoises via a lava tunnel, about a
quarter-mile long (but well lit with bulbs). These are formed when surface lava solidifies
but molten lava still flows underneath. Back on the surface we found many tortoises.
They are slow, lumbering, and so very prehistoric looking which makes you feel as if
youve gone back in time. It was a farm, with some mown grass in places, but this is as
close as we could come to those reptiles in the wild.

And, sadly, heres where the one sour note (but, for us, an amusing one) came in: a
handful of the other people who failed to pay attention to what the naturalists and
expedition leader said, for instance, about not touching the wildlife. One lady asked if she
could touch the tortoises shell. No, said Jonathan, we said it was against the rules. So she
had her photo taken as if she were about to touch it. Others, throughout, asked the same
questions over and over, or just plain stupid questions. The three naturalists were saints to
deal with it as gently as they did. (I would make a terrible naturalist leading trips like
this!)
On the bus ride back to town I noted the, to me, relative squalor and poverty many of the
people seemed to live in, but I dont think they would think of it in that way. It certainly
wasnt the abject poverty wed seen in other places.
After another wonderful dinner back on the ship, we were entertained by a local musical
and dance group who played some South American traditional pieces with some
traditional dances. They were quite talented. We bought two of their CDs.
Thursday began with a dry landing on South Plaza Island, off the coast of Santa Cruz
Island, again with Jonathan. Here we added a lava heron and a cactus finch to our life list.
This island, though volcanic, had been uplifted from the bottom of the sea by tectonic
action, so had some sedimentary rock and even old barnacle shells.
Before lunch Jonathan talked about the human history of the Galpagos. Way too much
to go into but there are stories of a dentist settler and his wife who pulled all their teeth
before coming so as not to get infections, the neighbors who supposedly murdered the
dentist by sending him poisoned chicken soup, a handicapped boy possibly drowned by
his stepmother. (See the documentary The Galpagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden for
details.)
After lunch, snorkeling off Santa F Island. I took some photos with an underwater
camera our friend Bob Weinberger had lent us, but, sadly, I think age and out-ofshapeness caught up with me. Possibly exerting too much effort I suddenly got a stomach
cramp, whether digestive or muscular I cant say, but I knew I shouldnt try to continue.
So I signaled the Zodiac to pick me up. Jan joined me. Too bad, because the others saw
sea turtles, sharks, and rays. Some new friends, a couple from Australia, Ali and Mark,
were kind enough to share with us the photos of those Ali had taken, and Jan got some
good photos of turtles and rays just shooting above the water.
Friday found us off Santiago Island and a morning Zodiac cruise around Sombrero Chino
(Chinese Hat) where we added to our list the brown noddy (a shore bird), American
oyster catcher, yellow-crowned night heron (the latter two the same as here), and the
surprising Galpagos penquin, a species descended from some Humboldt penguins from
the Antarctic that came on the famous Humboldt Current. This is the only penguin at, or
even close to, the equator.

After our return, the Islander sailed past Bainbridge Island, an ancient caldera with a
brackish lake in the middle. . .and flamingos.
After lunch Salvador gave a talk on Darwin in the Galpagos. Of course, I listened
carefully, gunning for mistakes, but there were none. All three naturalists, in fact, knew
what they were talking about in all areas they covered. There were a few discrepancies in
agreement on some details that we noted, but these tended to be things, such as how
many species of Darwins finches are recognized, that are legitimately debatable points.
In the late afternoon, when the sun was low, we landed at Sullivan Bay on Santiago for a
walk on the lava fields. It was the most forbidding, barren landscape we had seen,
nothing but black hardened lava, with some mounds of volcanic ash. The black lava was
laid down in an eruption about 100 years ago. The mounds of ash were from previous
eruptions. The black lava made patterns depending upon how it was moving when it
hardened, how thick it was, and how quickly it cooled. There were twisted ropes, globs of
molten rock frozen in time, patterns that looked like faces and other images one could
make out. The areas of volcanic ash, around which the recent lava flowed, could be
mistaken for Mars-scapes. Walking was hard, although Antonio did it barefoot.
We had a buffet BBQ dinner on the sky deck, the highlight of which was looking down
and seeing the lit-up water around the ship full of Galpagos sharks. Small fish are
attracted to the ships lights, which in turn attract the sharks. Some of these were 6 feet
long (but the species can reach 9 feet).
Saturday was our last full day and we spent it off Genovesa, way to the north. It is a small
island, an ancient volcano eroded flat on top with much of the southern end a bay,
Darwin Bay, in the caldera, about a mile by a mile-and-a-half. We began at 6:30 am with
a kayak trip in the caldera, where we saw Galpagos fur seals (really sea lions) and the
red-footed booby. (The blue-footed booby doesnt have blue pigment. The skin on its feet
is bubbly so the blue is a result of light refraction. (Same is true of our blue jays. Theyre
not really blue; its the light.) The Nazca booby had gray feet, the natural color. The
red-footed booby, which avoids competition with the others by feeding way out to sea,
gets the red feet from pigments in something it eats but that source is still unknown.
Similarly, flamingos are pink because of a pigment in the shells of the shrimp that make
up the bulk of their diet.) On the Zodiac ride back a red-footed booby, curious we
suppose, landed on the boat and then hopped/flew onto several peoples heads, including
Jans! (There was no fouling of Jans hat.)
After a well-earned breakfast, we landed on the beach in Darwin Bay with Salvador. The
island is really a huge seabird colony and we added to our list ruddy turnstones, great
frigatebirds (we had so far seen magnificent frigate birds, and Salvador told us how to tell
them apart), and the sharp-beaked finch, sometimes called the vampire finch because
besides eating seeds it will pull feathers out of seabird chicks to make them bleed and
drink the blood. We walked along an inlet where sea lions were lounging in the water, on
their backs, with their flippers crossed over their chests. What a life! One young one
decided to chase a stingray. They are very playful.

After lunch, the last walk, up Prince Philips Steps (named after said prince), from the
caldera to the top of the island. Thousands of Nazca boobies, many with fluffy chicks,
and, finally, a short-eared owl that preys mainly on nesting petrels. The owls are more
abundant on this island because the other main predator, the Galpagos hawk, doesnt
live here.
Sunday we took Zodiacs to the island of Baltra. It has a commercial airport and a military
base, descended, I guess, from the base the US set up during WWII after bombing it flat.
But we tried to ignore all that. A flight back to the Hilton in Guayaquil, a nice BBQ meal
a short walk from the hotel, and the shock of learning that they dont sell booze after 2:00
on Sunday. Bed at 7:00 because we had to get up at 3:00 to get our flight to Miami. The
rest went smoothly.
A note on Darwin and the wildlife: The popular story is that Darwin, who spent five
weeks in the islands in 1835, but only 19 days on land, saw things, had a moment of
revelation, and came up with his theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwins
finches are usually proposed as the catalyst for this. Not so.
There are 13 or 14 species of Darwins finches (depending on ones definition of species)
and they are hard to tell apart. (The term Darwins finches, by the way, was only coined
in 1947.) The biggest difference is the shape and size of the beak. Our naturalists could
tell them apart but only after a close look and not too long ago someone wrote that the
only people who could tell them apart were God and Peter Grant. (Grant is probably
the major authority on this group of birds, all endemic (that is, limited) to the Galpagos.)
Darwin didnt even see they were finches and didnt see the differences in beaks and was
mislead because there are more than one species of finch on each island. As a result, he
simply collected a bunch from the four islands he visited and took them home to England
without labeling them as to island. There, ornithologist and painter John Gould (kind of
the Audubon of England), told Darwin they were all finches and that their different beaks
were indications of different food source adaptations. Darwin probably did a head-slap.
Fortunately, some crew members on the Beagle as well as Darwins servant, Sims
Covington (yes, Charles had a servant on board), did note which island the specimens
came from, so Darwin was able to reconstruct the provenance of them all. Still, oddly, he
never really understood what he had. He never mentioned the finches at all in Origin of
Species. We now know the finches constitute one of the best examples of Darwins
model. Thirteen (or fourteen) species have all descended from an estimated 30 original
individuals who, from a species on the coast of South America, were probably caught in
wind currents and carried to the islands, where they gradually differentiated and adapted
based on location and food source.
Same with the tortoises. Darwin was told by the governor of the islands that he could tell
which island a tortoise came from by looking at its shell. Indeed, there are very obvious
differences. Darwin didnt pay attention and, in fact, didnt collect specimens. The shells
of the tortoises that were taken on board the Beagle for food were tossed overboard.

Darwin focused on the mockingbirds. There is only one species of the four on each island
and they can be identified. This hinted to Darwin that perhaps they had diversified from a
common ancestor adapting to different conditions on the different islands.
So it wasnt until Darwin returned to England in 1836 that he really began putting all his
observations together to gradually and carefully develop his theory of evolution by
natural selection.
A final note, about the future of the Galpagos. There are great efforts to restore as much
of the ecosystem as possible to its pre-human conditions. Humans had brought in goats,
donkeys, dogs, cats, rats, and fire ants, and these had obvious negative effects on the
natural wildlife. Most of these have been eradicated and, as noted with the tortoises, there
are breeding programs with some of the natural species.
But climatic effects occur as well, one of the most influential being El Nio, periods,
every three to five years, of abnormally high ocean temperatures, heavy rains, and
interruptions of nutrient-rich cold currents. The Galpagos ecosystem is especially
vulnerable to such episodes, which can last a few months to two years. With fewer
nutrients in the waters there are fewer food sources for the marine iguanas and sea birds.
Sometimes populations plummet. The heavy rains change the vegetation. There might,
thus, be more food in the highlands for the tortoises but they can also get mired in the
resultant mud and suffer population loss as well. There is a fear that the current trend of
global warming will make El Nio episodes more frequent and stronger. This could have
devastating effects on the Galpagos.
Our advice? Go there soon. Its an experience you wont forget. And we highly
recommend National Geographic/Lindblad tours. Super-organized, friendly, and
knowledgeable.
Jan and Michael