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Darwin or Lose By Geoff Edwards
Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos archipelago, made up of nineteen islands plus forty islets, in 1835. With what he learned from this untouched area, he formulated his theory of evolution. Since then, man has put his messy hand to the area, bringing rats, goats, pigs, and commerce to the islands, and nature’s living laboratory lost its sterility. It was this evolutionary erosion that, in 1959, prompted the Ecuadorian government to make all of the Galapagos Islands waters, and 97% of the landmass, a national park. Areas that were untouched, remain so; tainted areas are being restored. In January 2001, a new and unexpected menace came steaming through the night. Jessica, a small boat transporting diesel and fuel oil, ran aground, her slick cargo oozing into the open sea. Fortunately, little damage to the environment was done, and the unprepared Ecuadorians now have contingency plans should there be a next time. But Jessica caught our attention, and, notwithstanding Ecuadorian contingency plans, we wanted to visit the Galapagos Islands without being told, "You should have seen it before." The Galapagos Explorer II, the former Renaissance III, was our base. Canodros (www.canodros.com), operators of Explorer II, offers three opportunities to visit the Galapagos Islands. "A", Wednesday through Saturday; "B", Saturday through Wednesday; or "C", a seven day combination of the two. We chose "C" and visited the islands of San Cristobal (the capitol), Espanola, Genovesa, Bartholomew, James, Isabela, Fernandina, and Santa Cruz. For the "A" part of our trip there were only 38 of us; "B" ballooned to 84 passengers, including a bunch of children ranging from about ten to the late teens. (Children under seven are not allowed.) Although there were a few diehard naturalists in the group, most of us were basic tourists, interested, but not obsessed with birds, beasts, and boobies. For the kids, the highlight was snorkeling with the playful sea lions. It was obvious that this was no longer the Renaissance III. The Explorer II had lovely cabins, spacious and well appointed, and food on the better side of OK, with a good buffet breakfast and really good lunch buffet. The casual, "no jacket required", two choice plus vegetarian dinner came in third in the food chain. There was no room service. The shower water was warm, but seldom hot, and sometimes a rusty brown. The ship asked that you put nothing in the toilet that does not belong. Contrary,to my upbringing, that included toilet paper. A container was provided. The new name "Explorer" was not an idle appellation. This ship was now about exploring, not cruising. Its main job to get you from place to place. We were awakened each morning at 6:00 or 6:30. No one seemed able to tell us why we were up so early, the animals were there all the time. Regardless, every morning the ethereal sounds from the CD, Galapagos Islands Soul and Sounds by Pablo Narvaez (www.paqblonarvaez.com) were piped into the cabin, and Cruise Director Maria’s soothing voice nagged us awake. The loudspeaker in the room was not controllable, and no amount of pillows over the head could shut it out. Even if you wanted to skip the early breakfast, the constant announcements and determined drone of the new age music made sure that sleep was not an alternative. Maria was indomitable. Because we went ashore in groups no larger than 16, as ruled by the park, the passengers were divided into sections named after Galapagos wildlife; the Dolphins, the Penguins, etc. I was assigned to the Boobies. Our Booby bunch included a German couple from Australia, an English couple, a Texas woman and her son, a young single woman, my wife and me. We were transported to shore in inflatable Zodiacs or wooden pangas, with each group lead by a park employed naturalist that would stay with that group for the duration of the trip. the guides were Ecuadorian, spoke perfect English, and were extremely well versed in both the wildlife, and the history of the area. Although they had made these hikes many times, they were enthusiastic, and took an honest delight in our discoveries. Our trail, clearly marked by wooden stakes, was generally about 4 feet wide. There is no straying from this path. There is no touching of anything, live or inanimate, no picking up, no souvenirs, and no using of the camera flash. They are very strict about these rules. At night we gathered in the ship’s salon for a lecture and slide presentation of where we would go, and what we would see, the next day. Our first experience was breathtaking, the Zodiac landing at a beach littered with sea lions and marine iguanas. As we picked our way along the narrow and very rocky path, it became a chore not to step on marine iguanas measuring two feet and more. They simply would not move out of the way. I truly believe that they would squish sooner than scamper. Later, our trail bisected a colony of sea lions. We were actually surrounded by one hundred of the mammals, barking, suckling their young, and lounging on the sunny sand. Blue-footed boobies, albatross, and mocking birds were everywhere. The mocking birds scampering along at our feet, the boobies sometimes asleep in our very path, the albatross doing their strange mating dance just yards away. None of the wildlife gave us as much as a glance. This is as close as you will ever come to being invisible. It wasn’t until late in the hike that I lost that invisibility. I was the last of our group to pass two boobies that were standing quietly, blocking the middle of the trail. "This is supposed to be our trail." I thought, as I squeezed to one side of the path. One of the boobies apparently disagreed about who owned the trail, and lashed out at my leg. I learned that, although a booby’s beak looks very sharp, it is actually very, very sharp. (Think Edward Scissorhands in a nasty mood.) Blood was drawn, and I became the first booby bit Booby in our guides memory. Because of the clash of opposing currents, the sea in the Galapagos can be rough. ( A good reason to be on a larger ship like the Galapagos II.) The day we visited Genovesa, the only of the northern islands open to visitors, the water was bumpy and I decided to forgo the morning hike, and read in the sun. The afternoon hike was scheduled to cover much the same "birding" territory as the morning trek. I stood on deck and watched my fellow Boobies get in line to go cautiously down the steps to the embarkation platform. The swells were large and the first Booby missed his step and crash landed, taking Dries, our guide, with him to the bottom of the rising and falling panga. The next Booby made a hesitant attempt to board, but pulled back as the panga lifted and banged against the platform. Another Booby tried, again the waves won. The line of waiting Boobies dissipated. I had company reading in the sun. An adventurer who did make the trip said he saw great frigates mating. I looked forward to the afternoon when I was sure we would see great frigates smoking a cigarette. That afternoon, waves having subsided, our Zodiac docked at the base of an 80 foot lava bluff. We then worked our way up steps crudely carved into the face of the cliff. A third of the way up, our path was blocked by a large Galapagos gull that had claimed ownership of one whole level. Thirteen people in our group, plus sixteen in another group, clambered over the gull. It never moved. Invisibility had returned. Red-footed boobies were nesting less than a foot
off our trail. It astounded me that I could be that close to a
bird sitting
on its
eggs, and the bird would not show the least agitation. We did
see the Great Frigate males, their brilliant red pouch so puffed
up,
that, from the front, only the head of the bird was visible.
Try as they might to attract the females flying about, no connections
were made, although one of our group, the one wearing a red windbreaker,
got more attention from the circling females than the rest of
us. On the "A" trip you will be given your choice of seeing giant tortoises in the wild, or going to the Charles Darwin Research Center, including a chance to shop in town. The problem with the "tortoises in the wild" trek is, they feel vibrations in the ground as you approach, and with a hiss of escaping air, retreat into their shells. Although our group may have been "invisible", we had the wrong vibes. So, for us, it was a two hour hike through a muddy rainforest, where we saw at least seven Giant Tortoise shells. At the Center, you will see less shy Giant Tortoises, and have an opportunity for some amazing photos. It is there that the giant Tortoise is being saved from extinction. Years ago, settlers introduced goats and pigs to some of the islands. Rats came with the sailing ships. The Giant tortoise lays eggs, the rats eat the eggs. The hatched survivors are eaten by pigs. The Charles Darwin naturalists take the eggs from the nests on each endangered island, in exactly the configuration in which they were deposited, and hatch them in incubators. Each island’s young are isolated, then returned to their native island at the age of about five years, when they are no longer vulnerable. Lonesome George is an exception, one of the 11 remaining races of the Galapagos Giant Tortoise comes from Pinta, and George is the last of that race. He was discovered on the island in 1971 by hunters looking for goats to eradicate. The goats, introduced by fishermen as an alternative food source, multiplied rapidly and ate all the foliage years ago, leaving little for the Tortoises. George is now kept at the research center with two females. There is hope that they will breed, and some of George’s genes will be passed on, but the females don’t seem to be George’s cup of soup. Meanwhile, the hunt still continues for a Pinta female, but with the goats gone, the foliage is now so dense that it is hard to traverse the island, and nary a hiss has been heard. Although the "B" part of the trip covered a couple of different islands, the rest of the exploration was mostly a repeat of the sights of the first three days; marine iguanas, sea lions, boobies. We did add to our list a couple of Galapagos penguins, and a colony of flightless cormorants. The penguins were brought by the Humboldt Current which brings cold waters and nutrients north from Antarctica. To stay cool in this equatorial area, they hold their wings out at 45-degree angles to increase their body surface and release heat as air passes over them, shade their feet with their bodies as the breeze helps cool them down, or best of all, go for a nice, cool dip! They are the smallest of the of the world's eighteen penguin species, and since they are no longer in Antarctica, perhaps the smartest. Because there are so many fish, and so little competition, the flightless cormorants have lost the ability to fly. I can’t imagine giving up the fun of soaring and swooping just because dinner is easy to catch, but then I am not a cormorant, I am a Booby. Only four of the Galapagos Islands are populated. The majority of the over 15,000 people live in either Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal, or Puerto Ayora Town on Santa Cruz Island. All the locals we came across were friendly and if needed, helpful. Puerto Ayora has the best shopping, souvenirs, T-shirts, etc., some nice restaurants, and several Internet Cafes. Some adventurers return to the Galapagos more than one time, others label this a "once in a lifetime" experience. For me, my next visit will be with my future grandchildren knowing that, whenever I come again, nothing will have changed. Except for one small thing. While on the ship, I was stung by an agitated Galapagos wasp. I killed it. One of us is going to have to adapt. American Airlines and Continental fly to Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador. To make connections to the Galapagos, plan for an overnight stay in Guayaguil. An excellent hotel in Guayaquil is the Hotel Oro Verde. Your flight to the Galapagos leaves the next morning. The
flight from Guayaquil to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno Airport on San
Cristobal Island is 90 minutes by jet.  |
"I have been covering the Galapagos Islands for twenty years",
said Miriam Diaz of the travel company Canodros, "and you are
the first person I have ever heard of that was bitten by a blue-footed
booby." I beamed. My name would join Darwin’s in Galapagos
history. 