"You can never cross the ocean
until you have
the courage to lose sight
of the shore”
- Christopher Columbus
Nov. 2
We leave for Ecuador tomorrow, a trip we have eagerly anticipated for nearly a year. I have packed and re-packed. Sun
hat, sun screen, binoculars, motion sickness medication, wind breaker, fleece . . .
I go over the list in my head. My
husband says I should write it down, but of course I never do. We are about to embark on a much anticipated
“expedition” to the north central Galapagos Islands. My husband is eager to
practice his Spanish. I am eager to see
the wildlife. It is a birdwatchers
paradise they say, home of the Red-footed Booby, Darwin finches, Galapagos Mockingbirds
to name a few.
At Reagan National we meet up with two more couples who are traveling in
our group, my cousin and his wife and another couple we meet for the first time
who are from Maryland. We will fly to
Atlanta, change planes, and meet up with another couple, Ed and Diana from
California who we met on a previous trip. We then fly on to Quito,
Ecuador where we stay two nights before embarking on our final
destination, the Galapagos Islands.
 |
| City of Quito |
Nov. 3
Our first night in Quito, I wake at 4 am with a horrendous headache and nausea. Ugh! altitude sickness. Quito sits on the equator and spreads out over the slopes of an active
volcano in the Andes mountains, an altitude of around 9,000 feet. I have been at higher elevations in Colorado
and yet never experienced anything like this.
Tylenol doesn’t touch the pain.
Luckily we are traveling with a neurosurgeon who happens to have Decadron, a drug used to treat cerebral edema, the cause of altitude sickness. I tell
you, it works miracles. In less than two
hours I am able to lift my head off the pillow and eat a little breakfast. You never know when a neurosurgeon will come
in handy.
After breakfast we tour “old town” in the city of Quito, an area of town built
over Incan ruins. The indigenous Incans make up about 25% of Quito's population,
many of whom live in the mountains and come into town to sell hand woven
scarves, fresh produce and craft items.
They are a beautiful people who strive to maintain as much of their
culture as possible which has eroded over many years.
Our tour guide is a
young man who grew up in Quito and spent most of his life here. He takes us to some of the oldest churches in
the city.
One of the most beautiful and
well -known is the “Church of the Society of Jesus” (a Jesuit Church) which houses
the tomb of hermit nun and patron saint, Mariana de Jesus, who was canonized in
1950 by the Roman Catholic Church. Her's is a sad and unusual story. In
1645 she died at the age of 27 from wounds caused by self-flagellation, a
religious ritual of beating oneself with a whip in order to purge sin from ones nature and to imitate the passion of Christ. It is
said she “sacrificed herself for the salvation of Quito”. Flagellation or “mortification of the flesh”
was a religious practice in early Christianity, especially in monasteries. The practice was denounced by the Catholic
Church in the 14th century.
However, it still exists in certain parts of the world such as Peru, the
Philippines and Mexico. Locals believe the spirit of this revered
saint, Mariana De Jesus, protects the people of Quito. Since her death, according to our tour guide, Quito has not experienced a devastating earthquake even though the
areas surrounding Quito continue to be at the mercy of mother nature. Luck or Divine Providence? The locals believe that it is Divine Providence.
At the end of the tour, our guide takes us to a local outdoor café
where we treat ourselves to empanadas and potato avocado soup (a local
favorite) made with 5 varieties of indigenous potatoes. Quite warm and delicious on a cool day.
 |
| Local Cafe |
Nov. 5
We leave early this morning for the island of Baltra where we
board a 100 passenger ship that will carry us on our journey around the
Galapagos Islands. Back at sea level
again, we acclimate to life on board ship.
We are welcomed by a cheery staff and crew and given a glass of
champagne to celebrate our safe arrival.
The sea is a deep, clear turquoise and fairly calm, although the waters
are cool for snorkeling (around 72 degrees).
Not to worry, there are plenty of wet suites on board. However, our first task is to fit ourselves
with life jackets. Not as easy as you might
think after a glass of champagne : )
Nov. 6
The Galapagos are an archipelago or cluster of islands on
either side of the equator in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of South
America. The group of 18 plus islands is
protected by the Ecuadorian Government and the National Park of the Galapagos whose
purpose is the preservation of the unique environments found there. The islands were made famous by Charles
Darwin who visited them in 1835 where he studied many of the unique varieties
of wildlife (some species found nowhere else in the world) that contributed to
his theory of evolution by natural selection.
We rise early ready to explore our first island, Genovesa (called “bird island”) where we climb the “Prince Phillip Steps” with
our expedition team of sixteen “explorers” / tourists. The steps are a steep rocky path named after
the Duke of Edinburgh who visited the island in 1965. We step from our zodiac
onto the rocky steps that lead us to the top of a cliff where we proceed along
a trail we are instructed not to stray from.
The island is teeming with cawing, screeching bird life. It is truly a bird paradise where birds
glide on powerful air currents, dive beak first into the sea to capture a
meal, and industriously build nests for their young, completely fearless of their
human intruders. What a thrill to behold!
As soon as we set out on our hike, we sight a Red-Footed Booby
in some brush, one of the most
plentiful of the boobies in the Galapagos.
They have bright red feet and blue beaks. They eat flying fish and
squid and build their nests in trees and bushes. Surprisingly, they remain unflinching as we stand only a few feet from them snapping our cameras.
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| Galapagos Santa Cruz Crab |
Later in the morning we
head for the sandy beaches of Darwin Bay to see the sea lions and get in some snorkeling.
 |
| A mother sea lion nursing her young |
After lunch each day the ship offers a lecture or documentary
on some aspect of the islands. Today,
the BBC Part 1 documentary, “Galapagos: Born of Fire”, narrated by Tilda Swinton’s
lovely voice is shown. Beautiful
photography. (I believe it’s available on Netflix) .
Evening for dinner, we enjoy grilled sea food out on the deck of the ship under the twinkling stars and share stories from our day.
We are getting to know our crew and guests on the ship who represent a
variety of countries and cultures from around the world, although many of the guests are
from the United States.
 |
| Naturalist, Juan Carlos |
The “Naturalists” who escort us through the protected areas of
the park are licensed Galapagos National Park guides. They are very knowledgeable about the history, geography, and wildlife and have utmost respect and love for the islands. I admit, there is something very special about these isolated volcanic land masses,
many of them dry and barren, where life continues to evolve in spite of the harsh
conditions. This is of course what makes
them so fascinating and unique to study and explore.
Adios por ahora!!
Adios por ahora!!
(To be continued)
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