Sunrise: 5:53
am/Sunset 6:57 pm
Charles and I awoke at
5:20 a.m. I grabbed my camera and
snapped pictures of the towering spearheaded obelisk before my eyes. It was
Pinnacle Rock, the eroded remains of an old volcanic tuff cone formed when
magma was expelled from an underwater volcano on Bartolome. Bartolome is a small volcanic islet just off
the east coast of Santiago Island. It was named after Bartholomew Sullivan, 2nd
lieutenant on the HMS Beagle.
By
5:45 p.m., Charles and I had grabbed a cup of coffee, some fruit and a thin
slice of date nut bread to fortify us for an early morning hike to the top of
Bartolome. It would be a 359-foot climb
up 399 steps. Jill, Lauren, Charles and
I were in the panga with our
naturalist/certified photo instructor, Juan Carlos Avila, by 6:15 am. It was clear no minute of our vacation would
be wasted with this operation!
The
long wooden boardwalk and staircase was built to control erosion of the fragile
volcanic tuff. The first wildlife we
encountered was Sally Light-Foot Crabs and lava lizards. It was easy to tell the male and female
lizards apart. The females have a
red-throat.
Our
guide gave us unique insights into species adaptation as we climbed. The
Tequila plant, which appears to be dead brush, is actually made of leaves
covered with small gray hairs, which help prevent moisture evaporation and
reflect sunlight.
The
few lava cacti we saw are considered a “pioneer” or colonizer plant. It grows in a clumped formation in elongated
banana-like shapes with soft furry spines and yellow-tipped coloring. The new growth is yellow, turning to brown,
which darkens to gray with age. It does produce white flowers but we did not
see any.
As
we continued, we saw various volcanic formations, including spatter and tuff
cones and lava flows. The landscape
looked like one would imagine exists on Mars.
We
learned that scenes from the movie Master
and Commander, starring Russell Crowe, were shot on the island.
The
summit provided spectacular views of Pinnacle Rock, the immense black lava
flows at Sullivan Bay and the rest of Santiago Island, and Daphne Major and
Minor.
Jill
commented, as she surveyed the scene, that this image was on her computer
desktop. The video chronicler, James
Napoli, who was following us, asked her if she would repeat that for the
camera. While embarrassed and not so
inclined, she graciously agreed stating that the view was ten times, no a
hundred times, better in person. The
view would have been a thousand times better, I feel, if the day had been sunny
and cool rather than overcast and muggy.
Our imaginations were able to “fill in the blanks.” It was indeed spectacular.
We
returned to the ship for breakfast, which was served from 7:45 – 8:30 am. If anyone needed a wetsuit refit, the guides
were on the sky deck to help out. Before we left, we had bought full-body
rashers to prevent sunburn and jellyfish stings. Lauren, Charles, and I posed for pictures in
ours in our cabin. Charles looked great
in his!
By
9:00 am, our family, Bonnie, Dave, and Robyn were suited up for our deep water
snorkeling expedition off the Zodiacs.
Snorkeling off the island’s white and pink sandy beach was offered for
those who felt uncomfortable with deep water diving. We weren’t.
Wow!
The water was cold! It was 78 degrees,
which doesn’t sound cold but it was!
I
had purchased waterproof cases for our iPhones so we could capture underwater
scenes and take video footage. Lauren
was able to video the three white-tipped sharks just below us as Enrique
tickled them out of the cave they were resting in.
There
was a lot to see underwater – even chocolate chip sea stars -- just at the base
of Pinnacle Rock. As penguins nest just
behind the Rock, we had hoped to see some.
We did not but I believe others did.
When
I got into the panga, I was deeply
chilled and my shivering was uncontrollable.
I believe this was due to the fact that, while diving, I unzipped my wet
suit twice. My body just could not keep
up with heating and reheating my core. I
was shaking all over even while in the hot shower. I had to put on clothes and get under the
covers. I rested for 45 minutes.
Before
lunch, Juan Carlos gave a talk about nature photography. I enjoyed that.
At
12:30 p.m., our hotel manager Alexa, announced that a traditional Ecuadorian buffet
lunch was being served. The menu is
listed below:
Ceviche Mixto: seafood marinated in lemon and tomato
juice with onions, peppers, and herbs
Ensalada de Melloco: tiny potatoes and marinated onion sauce
Lechon Hornado: suckling pig, Sangolqui-style, roasted in
beer and mustard
Encocado de Pescado: steamed fish in coconut sauce
Arroz Amarillo: yellow rice with achiote.
Llapingachos: potato patties with cheese and peanut
sauce
Mote Pillo: corn cooked in mild and eggs
Pan de Yuca: cassava bread
Dulce de Tres Leches, Dulce de Babaco, and
Alfajores Helade de Paila:
desserts
It
was here that we met the Erwin., head maître d’. He was solicitous of guest preferences and
called many women, including me, “My
Queen,” but Jill and Lauren, were greeted as “My Princess.” The service was unbelievable. The wait staff memorized preferences and
catered to us in every way. The food was
not first rated but it was well presented and tasty nonetheless.
After
lunch, Lauren went to download her photos on the computer offered to guests for
this purpose. Charles went for a siesta
while I chatted with Bonnie and Dave until 2 p.m., before retiring to the cabin
to journal and go through pictures on the iPhone. While we rested, the boat motored over calm
waters on to Rabido. I just remember
enjoying the quiet, soft lapping of the waves and they soft, sunny day shared
with some scattered clouds. Perfect for
those who wanted to kayak, to snorkel, or take a short nature walk.
Given
my earlier intense chill, I regrettably opted out of the afternoon snorkel
session, choosing to kayak the island’s rocky coastline instead. There was no way to keep Jill and Lauren out
of the water! They were hooked! Charles planned on kayaking as well but, when
he tried to board one, it became apparent that he could not fit. He was told he was too tall for it. I felt bad for him as he waited in the panga while the rest of us spent about
an hour paddling off of Rabida Island (formerly known as Jervis).
This island is unusual in many respects, and is
the focus today of a campaign for the eradication of destructive, introduced
black rats. In 1975, the Galapagos
National Park Service successfully eradicated introduced goats from this
island, and eradicating the rats could restore the island to its original
balanced ecosystem.
Jill
and Lauren had a great time diving and even snapped an underwater pic of a
Pacific Green Sea Turtle. They also
captured video of their first underwater encounter with a two sea lions. They were thrilled and I was bummed to have
missed the chance. I will say that a
small sea lion swam a bit by my kayak but the encounter was brief. I did see a great blue heron and a small lava
heron, lava iguanas, blue-footed boobies.
Because
we wanted to do it all, we also opted to take a sunset walk on the red sand
beach of Rabida. It was to be the most
unusual beach we would visit. So, at 5
pm, we were back in the panga
motoring to this beautiful shore for a wet landing. As I was watching the dead wake from the outboard
motor, I was completely surprised to see a mobula ray, leap out of the
waters. I misidentified it as a manta
ray but I knew I was wrong, as it wasn’t large enough to be one. It was quick that I was the only one who saw
it.
The
seas were slightly choppy from a warm breeze with partly cloudy skies overhead.
While it is random which guide we get, we once again had Juan Carlos. He called attention to the how the setting
sun made the red sands glow. He said
that we were lucky; it is only in this
special light, that the sand appears so.
After
trying to get the sand out of our sodden footwear, we followed Juan to a saline
pond where we saw, quite luckily, a solitary flamingo feeding on brine shrimp
in the shallow waters. We also saw a
male and female pintail duck pair. A
highlight was the mockingbirds. The
first bird we encountered just hopped through the crowd, seemingly unmindful of
us. Soon the wind picked up a bit and I
laughed as two mockingbirds, seemingly drunkenly, tried to navigate their way,
carried as much by the wind as their own locomotion, appearing as fluff balls
from the ruffling of the wind.
We
returned to stroll along the wide beach.
Soon we were looking at a cuddling pair of sea lions. One sea lion wanted to be really close, even
throwing his/her flipper over the other.
The sun was setting more and the light was perfect for snapping photos
of them. Again, we looked like paparazzi
around Kim Kardashian but much more respectful of the subjects.
As
we walked, Juan explained the geologic formations towering above us. Rabida is essentially a cluster of steep-sided,
coalescing domes, flows, and pyroclastic cones. The oldest rocks on Rabida are
about 1 million years old.
Lauren
was aching to bring home a souvenir. She
knew it was not allowed. Lynn had made
a point of telling us we could not take ANYTHING off the islands, not even sand
for a sand collection. Lauren
responsibly decided against it. The
temptation WAS great to take home a piece of this magical place for a tangible
remembrance.
The
sight of a large sea lion exiting the ocean to lie on the beach delighted
us. Lauren, who I believe wanted to
become part of a sea lion colony, laid a short distance from him to see if he
would approach her. Not a chance. She did find another sea lion sleeping
soundly by a boulder and lay on the sand nearby for a photo with it. It is required that we remain several feet
from the wildlife although it is permissible for the wildlife to touch you.
The
sunset was gorgeous but night fell fast so we had to return to the panga.
There were so many on board that it took three people to push us off
into open waters. It was a brief but
glorious ride back to The Islander. We had 45 minutes to shower and dress before
meeting in the lounge at 7 p.m. It was
now routine to meet in the lounge for a
recap of the day and a briefing of the next day’s activities.
During
this meeting, Antonio gave a hilarious PowerPoint presentation on the
difference between seals and sea lions.
It irks him to no end to hear tourists refer to sea lions as seals. I will readily admit that I am quite guilty
of that. He wanted us to understand that
there are NO seals in the Galapagos.
Even the fur seal is a sea lion, misnamed in the past by trappers. Robyn and I STILL kept calling them seals,
with Jill quickly correcting us. I did
better but I don’t think I was ever fully “cured” of this habit.
A
guide (can’t remember whom) gave a talk on El Nino, the currents, and its
effect on the islands.
Dinner
was served at 7:30 p.m. and we headed to our reserved table. Lauren was handed a cocktail that is the
signature cocktail of Brazil. It is
green through and through. I know there
is lime juice in it and I believe crème de menthe. Not sure.
Lauren tried other island-style cocktails as well, a couple of which she
photographed held up against the setting sun as seen from the Sky Deck.
While
I won’t go over the dinner menus for each day, I am including one to give the
reader an idea of the offerings. At
breakfast or lunch, guests needed to sign up for one of three entrees. You can do ½ and ½ as well. For instance, I chose half tilapia and half
pasta puttanesca.
Caprese Salad with basil and balsamic
vinegar
Garlic-roasted Chicken with natural juices
Tilapia with dill beaure blanc
Pasta Puttanesca without anchovies
Steamed Broccoli and Roasted Potato with
garlic
Chocolate Truffle Mousse Cake
We enjoyed getting to know one another better and learned
that Robyn had the interesting job of being a taxi cab driver in Park City,
Utah. I was fascinated to learn about
her experiences in this role.
Sitting at the table next to us was Amy Shroff and her
husband Howard Greenblatt of Wayland, Massachusetts. Howard does business in software but it was
Amy’s occupation that drew Lauren to join them post dinner. Amy is an emergency room vet and has traveled
to Africa and Thailand to volunteer her services in those countries. Amy was struck by Lauren’s maturity and gave her advice on how to build
a resume for her vet school application.
I had been looking forward to seeing the stars of the
Southern Hemisphere. The waxing gibbous
moon, as I mentioned, made it hard to see.
The scattered clouds made it even more difficult. I could make out two stars of the Southern
Cross but I was having difficulty orienting myself. The Star Walk app on my mini-iPad was not
giving a true reading as the GPS thought I was still in North Carolina. Jill helped me get the GPS working but, for
some reason, it still was not reflecting what was overhead. I was frustrated as I wanted to learn and this
was to be my teaching device.
I did see the Big Dipper clearly and knew that, if we were
in the Northern Hemisphere, it would point the way to Polaris. The handle, if one arcs off the end of the
handle will find the red giant star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes. From Arcturus, one can “speed to Spica,” in
the constellation Virgo.
A guy by the name of Bob Jensen from Riverside, Connecticut,
was on a nearby lounge chair. I had
misidentified Rigel and Betelguese (reversing them!) and he, in an arrogant
fashion, corrected me. I was
embarrassed, of course, but then it was readily apparent that this guy was a
“know it all.“ I no longer wanted to be
there.
As I left, I ran into Captain Patricio. He showed me the books on stars in the
library and we poured over the star maps together. He knew the names of all the stars in the Big
Dipper and, I am sure others, but he was not familiar with cosmology. He had two watches, from 8 am until noon,
and 8 pm until midnight. I told him I hoped to come on the bridge one night to
learn more about the stars.
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