Dena La Explora: First Week in the Galapagos

I am now safe in San Cristobal, so I can blog about my amazing week:
Unfortunately, the internet is way too slow for photos, so I will have to wait a bit to put up my amazing photos!!!

March 27, 2011:

The first day of cruise, we were introduced to our captain and crew. We got on board the yacht and went to the cozy little meeting area in the middle of the yacht where we had cocktails with the crew. Our guide was named Victor, the barman was Pablo, the speed boat operators were this big teddy bear like man named Henry, and a little guy that looked like he was 13 named Ilio. The Captain was Capitan Klever, and there were a few more as well, but I didn’t talk to them as much. I introduced myself as “Dinamita”, and the whole crew laughed. When Cath asked if they knew our names, they all only remembered “Dinamita”. They continued to call it for the rest of the trip all of the time.
I got my own room on the left, front side of the yacht, and it was the first place that had accommodations similar to the US that I have stayed in since I arrived in this country. The food was wonderful, and our activities as well. There were a few other people on our yacht since the yachts were split in two. There was an older man and woman from Wisconsin, as well as their son and his wife from California. They were really cool people to be on our boat.
The first night was rough. I have never had motion sickness in my life, but I was not a fan of the constant rocking. I needed to go straight to bed, but I couldn’t. I ended up watching the movie “Taken” in Spanish with Victor and Henry. (Not a good movie to watch in a foreign country)

March 28, Day 1:

Beach of Baltra

Marine Iguana

Our first day, we woke up at 6 so watch the sunrise on an island called Baltra where we first saw pelicans and boobies. As we walked around, we found a lagoon with about 5 Flamingos, and some chicks of other birds. They were amazing to watch. I tried to take good photos, but my camera died. I love the way they move around and hunt for food with just their head. The land Iguanas were amazing, and we witnessed a few females wrestling each other for territory. There were large colonies, as well as many lava lizards.

Flamingos

Later, we went to Bachas beach where we snorkeled for the first time. It was a little scary at first, but I think it was because my equipment was leaking. I ended up borrowing the boat’s, and wore a lifejacket for the first couple of days just to get comfortable with being in the water. Everyday was easier.

March 29, Day 2:

Blue Footed Booby

Booby Diving in the Water

The next day, we went to North Seymour Island. There were many Blue-Footed Booby nests, Iguanas, and sea lions! They were not too afraid of people getting close to them. I got many amazing photos. There were so many Blue Footed Boobies, and we observed a mating ritual.
I observed many patterns in fish species and behavior in the water, and I was the first person to spot a Barnacle Blenny which was a contest that Cath (one of my professors) had, so I won.

Making noises

Santa Fe Island was another absolutely beautiful island. It had clear water, and so many sea lions. My group would try and pose with them, but they would get up and scare humans away. There is nothing funnier than a sea lion coming at you and screeching. It waddles awkwardly and makes the weirdest noises, almost like something choking.

Cutest Sea Lion EVER

Sitting with the sea lions

After visiting this area, we went snorkeling for a bit on the beach. There was a part where there was nothing but blue in front of you. I heard people yell shark, and people swam away. I got really excited and swam towards it. As we learned in class, it is more likely to be killed by a vending machine than attacked by a shark. I decided to find it, and after I was about to give up, I saw the silhouette in the distance. I followed it until all I saw was blue and the silhouette. It was the biggest adrenaline rush ever. I took a ton of photos, and just as I turned back to the beach to go, another shark was a foot away from me on my left. I screamed through my snorkel, and it just swam right by me! I decided I LOVE seeing sharks.

Shark in distance

Shark next to me

March 30:

Day 3, we went to Isla Espanol, my favorite island out of all of them. The sand was so white and the water so clear, it looked like paradise; however, it did not feel like paradise because it was SCORCHING hot!

Sea Lion nursing, you can see the milk on its face

It posed for me!

Later, we went to Punta Suarez and did an assignment where we observed sea lion behavior on the beach and learned that sea lions have 1 male (the beach master) to a group of females called his Harem. He is super aggressive as he travels with them, and fights off any male that tries to get one of his females. He also tries to control them but they are wild and like to tease divers and sharks.

March 31, Day 4:
The next day, we visited Floreana and Punta Cormorant where we saw more Mangroves. There were supposed to be Flamingos there, but they were nowhere to be found. The beach was again absolutely beautiful. We also visited an underground natural lava tunnel where there was nothing but old lava formations. No organisms have made their way down there in all the time it has been around. This makes it incredibly interesting and different from just a few feet above where organisms thrive. It felt like another planet. Later, we would ride by a huge island of lava rock that was absolutely barren of anything, and that must be what another planet looks like. (Also, there was a giant crater with hundreds of flamingos, and even Victor was shocked to see them. He has never seen so many in all of his years working as a guide!)

Lava Tunnel

Group in Lava Tunnel

On that same Island, there was an area in which old ships would stop off and put mail in to be delivered all over the world. The way it works is that any visitor can put in or take out mail, but they must deliver anything they take out once you get back to your country. The idea is to take something from your country to send within the country, and you pay their postage. We sifted through tons of letters from the US, Denmark, and even one in all Hebrew. They said people find letters addressed to their town all the time, and sure enough, there were two addressed to Champaign, IL. I have them and am ready to send once I return home in May. I also sent my family a letter and myself one. It may take a week, or maybe a year to get home. Who knows?
We snorkeled earlier that morning in an old crater known as “Devil’s Crown”. It was the best spot to snorkel because there were so many organisms living on the bottom and different types of fish. Before we got into the water, we were in the boat, and we saw a big school of Golden Cowrays. It was the first time Victor had seen so many near there. At this point, I practiced diving deeper with my snorkel because we are all required to for our final. We took data in transects on the diversity of Echinoderms.

Snorkeling in a school of fish

It is beautiful underwater!

My Favorite Photo- Golden Cowrays

Later that night, we arrived in Santa Cruz and were allowed to go out on the town. I forced Rosaria and Tenzin to get out of their beds and come out with me. We met the other boat of our students there and went to a bar/discoteca called “El Pongo”. When I told them I worked in a bar, they let me back and showed me their signature drink , a Caprhina (Aguardiente, Limes, Sugar, and ice). Rosaria and I went up to the bar on top where the professors and older people were. I did not hesitate to talk to the waiters. One of them was from Venezuela and reminded me of my friend Bernardo from Venezuela. They had the same accent, and looked similar. There was a girl who looked like she should be on America’s next top model who is a designer from the Galapagos. After talking to our new friends for a while, they made us these delicious tropical smoothies. We found out that Ron, the Venezuelan used to work at Banos with Geotours, and knew all of our friends from there. It was crazy! The security guard was really nice and told me that he is a professional kayaker, and showed me his kayaks behind the bar. We talked for a while, and I didn’t realize until later that it was all in Spanish, and I was pretty good at understanding and speaking!

April 1, 2011:
Day 5, we went back to Santa Cruz and visited the Charles Darwin center. There, we saw many tortoises. (Tortoises live on land, and turtles live in the water). They were being breed to conserve the tortoise populations of the Islands. There is one famous tortoise names George who happens to be the last of his species. There is a $10,000 reward for anyone who can find a “pinta” tortoise anywhere in the world. So far, there has been no luck. Lonesome George awaits a mate in the Charles Darwin research center.

A Giant Tortoise we ran into!

Later, we took a hike to the highlands and went through another long lava tunnel. It was really amazing, and when we got to the top, we saw the most amazing sunrise. We visited the giant craters on Santa Cruz, and the Scelezia forest that surrounds the area after learning about this crazy plant. On our trail, we happened to see 3 giant tortoises. They move so slow, you can walk up behind them and they let out a breath and retreat into their shell. Victor told us that the one we saw is probably around 200 years old. To be standing in front of a creature that may have been studied by Darwin himself was so amazing!
That night, we were allowed to go out on the town again, but everyone was exhausted, so I went to the other boat, but they were too tired too. I ended up going to town with Henry, the Dinghy driver. We wandered around and talked for a while, then bought ingredients and brought them back to the boat to make Caprihnas (sp?). I had fresh limes our guide had helped us pick that morning from the hike. Limes are an invasive species, so we had to take the fruit to the boat so it would not get spread anymore on the Islands. Henry and I sat up on top of the boat. Rigel, the woman from Berkely, California joined me and reminded me of my family from California. She is an artist, and was AMAZING at drawing. The three of us sat and talked for a few hours and then I went to bed.
The stars from the top of the boat at night from the middle of the ocean is the most amazing sky sight I have ever seen. I believe it is due to the absence of light pollution in the middle of the Pacific. I am so glad that people are not allowed to come here and colonize the islands. These islands are so special!

April 2:
Day 6, we went to Isla Rabida where the sand is red. It was an amazing place to snorkel! The rocks against the side had the coolest Echinoderms and Anemones! I took so many underwater photos. There were also amazing fish around as well. It was one of my favorite snorkeling spots.

Spotted Eagle Ray

You can see the red sand

More beauty

So red

Purple Sea Anemones

Sea stars all over!

Beautiful Island!

Blue Chinned Parotfish, my favorite!

Later, we snorkeled at Bartolome, famous for the view from the top of the mountain. There, we saw Penguins for the first time. They were in the water with us, and so were sea lions and turtles. It was a wonderful place to snorkel.

Galapagos Penguin

Penguins

Famous Bartolemu Rock

Amazing Views

It swam right next to me!

Schooling!

Later, we hiked up the 365 step trail they recently built on the island to decrease footprints and human disturbance to the plants. It was really amazing to see land without footprints, so natural and beautiful. When we got to the top, we saw what Victor meant by the best view in the Galapagos. You could see so far into the distance, and we were there at sunset!

Crater at the Bottom

Lava Cactus

365 steps to the top- walkway keeps island fresh and natural- no footprints!

Tiqilia everywhere

The last full day, we visited Genovesa where we saw Red-Footed Boobies for the first time. They are my favorite type of booby. They have beautiful blue beaks and red feet, and would just be sitting in the trees. We went to a cliff area and climbed up to find thousands of birds just sitting there. Some Frigate Birds with their pouches inflated, some Red-Footed and Nazca boobies, and when we walked a bit further, thousands of petrals flying everywhere. We spotted 3 short eared owls as well. They feed on the petrals. The frigate birds were flying around and stealing food straight out of the Boobies’ mouths (Kleptoparasitism is one way Frigate birds get their food). It was truly a bird party. I have never seen so many in my life! On the ground, the Nazca boobies marked their nests with white poop rays coming from the center of their nests, so you could see where their territory was. Also, we witnessed so many Frigate bird males with inflated sacks spread their wings and make the strange siren call to the females. It was amazing to see so many doing it at once, and a female choosing one to mate with.
Genovesa was truly an amazing place to observe these birds, as well as find coral washed up on land on the beach as parts of the sand. You can also find the tubes from the pencil urchins all over the sand as well.

Red Footed Booby

Frigate with Pouch Inflated

Hanging out with the Frigates

My Ship

Swallow-Tailed Gulls

Nazca Boobies- in the background: 1000s of Storm Petrels

Nazca Boobies

That night was the last night, and we had our friends over from the other boat to see our boat. We also watched the movie Victor made about the Galapagos which was AMAZING! It was all his footage he has captured over the years, and a Canadian women narrating in English. It reminded me of Planet Earth, but with the exact things we had seen. The only thing that we didn’t see from his movie was a Whale Shark, and now I want to see one SO BADLY!- But it is probably not possible unless I were to go Scuba Diving.

April 3rd:
Our last day, we woke up again before sunrise to boat through turtle bay where we saw some turtles. After the boat ride, we packed up and headed to the Airport where we took a bus to a boat, the boat to another bus, and the bus 2 hours to another boat. We waited there in Santa Cruz, and then took a 2.5 hour speed boat that felt like a roller coaster up and down to San Cristobal. It was really intense, and we all laid on the floor to sleep to pass the time, but everything was falling everywhere!
When we finally for to San Cristobal, we went to the University, and got a tour of the town. It is small, and everyone knows each other. It is very safe, and really cute. Everyone got their host families, and they are all so nice. My family is a women who is a teacher, and her husband works on the mainland as a Captian. She has three daughters named Solange, Stephanie, and Andrea. Sol is 24, Stephanie is 22, and Andrea is 10. I have been hanging out with Andrea, and just like my 8 year old nephew in Quito, she LOVE my ipod. The first night, she danced and sang me the entire Shakira Waka Waka dance. Stephanie is a tour guide, and Sol used to own a boutique, but now is working for another guide company. Their house is very beautiful , and the area around it is amazing. It is a 20 minute walk to the University building, and there are other students that are staying the semester from the US here as well. I really like the culture of this area, its wonderful. The only thing is that their neighbor has a rooster that wakes me up at 5 am, and keep thinking it is my alarm, but it’s a natural alarm.
Well, I need to wake up early tomorrow, I will write more tomorrow. Not sure if I can upload any photos yet, but I’ll try some when I can find internet that works on this island!

MORE PHOTOS:

Pelican

Lava Lizard

Finch

I tried to be a turtle, didn't work

Sun rays from underwater

Sunset

One day, I felt something weird in my ear. I thought it was water, but it was really strange. I put drops in, and this crawled out! I had a crab in my ear!