We did manage to get everyone up and into the lobby by 5:00 AM where the hotel had some coffee, croissants, pineapple and dragon fruit slices available for a quick breakfast. Anna Maria took us to the airport and guided us to the check in for Galapagos group tours. She also showed us where we would be checking in for our Avianca Galapagos flights. We bade her good bye, and went through the check in process.
Quito Airport
Quito Airport
Quito Airport
There was a little confusion during the check in process because some of our party were issued two boarding passes, while others received just one. We were booked on a flight to Baltra Island in the Galapagos with an intermediate stop in Guayaquil, where some of our group would have to change seats, thus they had a boarding pass for the Quito to Guayaquil flight, and a second one for the Guayaquil to Baltra Island flight.
Our bags were subjected to X-ray and inspection. The Jelly Belly jelly beans we had packed had triggered a search of one of our checked bags. I guess on X-ray, they might have looked like boxes of seeds, which are prohibited items in the Galapagos. Fortunately, nothing was confiscated.
When boarding for our flight began shortly after 7:45 AM, some of our party had trouble with the boarding passes scanning properly at the gate. Most were simply waived through, but as the plane filled up, we noticed that Tom did not board the plane. We then flagged down a flight attendant and told him we were missing one of our party. He got on the radio, but it looked like the last passengers had boarded the plane. After a pregnant pause, when we were deciding if we needed to escalate our response to Tom’s MIA status, his head popped up at the entrance. He then got seated and we were all greatly relieved. Later in the flight, we learned that the gate agents said Tom’s flight was booked “Standby Only”, so he was denied boarding until all other passengers had boarded to see if there were any extra seats. Thank goodness they were able to get him on board.
City of Seymour on Baltra Island
Other than that bit of drama, the flight to Baltra Island went smoothly. One odd thing was about a half hour before landing, the flight crew came through the cabin with a sprayer to fumigate the plane, with us inside. They opened all the luggage compartment doors and sprayed inside them as well. The spray had a faint citrus smell, and was not the least offensive. We later learned that this was to protect the Galapagos from any potential hitch-hiking insects, especially mosquitos, which could bring devastating diseases to the Galapagos Islands, not only to humans, but also to the birds and other animals.
As the plane touched down and rolled down the runway, we could see a few rust orange colored land iguanas darting off the shoulders of the runway. We later learned that Galapagos National Park personnel routinely sweep the runway and taxi-way before each jet is scheduled to land or take off, to remove the iguanas from the pavement. They had been rendered extinct during WWII when Baltra Island was a US Air Force Base tasked with protecting Panama operations. The iguanas were reintroduced from a nearby island in the 1990’s and seem to be taking hold.
We deplaned from both front and rear doors onto the tarmac, and walked into the terminal. There was a stretch of walkway with disinfectant soaked carpeting that we all had to walk through, and wheel our carry on luggage through. We then entered the terminal, which was very modern and comfortable, and cued up to go through a Galapagos National Park immigrations and customs procedures where they checked not only our passports, but also our National Park permit that was issued by the Galaxy II tour operator to us via Anna Maria on our full day tour with her. There was also a $20 transit control card that had been purchased in advance of our departing for the trip via Max at Ideal South America. Then you had to hand over a crisp new $100 bill before you could enter the baggage claim area.
Wifi with no internet- Start of our week of the Grid.
Our baggage was screened again by X-ray and two sniffer dogs, before we could proceed to the reception hall, where we met Nadine Graziani, our assigned Galapagos naturalist guide for the next 8 days and 7 nights. Nadine is of French origin, but has lived in the Galapagos for 35 years. She married, had children, and grandchildren in the Galapagos. She made it a point to tell us she was not a professional biologist or scientist, but she was a Galapagos Specialist. Her English skills are quite good, although her accent takes some getting used to with it’s mixed French and Ecuadorian Spanish overtones.
Nadine- our Galapagos Guide
Seymour Galapagos Airport
Seymour Galapagos Airport wind turbines
Baltra Island landscape- barren Incense Trees
Janet commented that the day was turning out to be like the old Steve Martin and John Candy movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” because of how many steps it was taking to get us from our Quito hotel to our Galapagos cruise boat. We were taken by bus from Baltra Island airport to a small dock on the south side of the island, where we transferred onto a small passenger ferry.
There were a bunch of colorful crabs on a boat launch next to the ferry dock, and small oysters growing on the bulkhead that the ferry tied up to. On the bus ride from the airport, we got a glimpse of the landscape of Baltra Island, which is largely volcanic and barren aside from spooky looking white barked Galapagos Incense trees and Galapagos Opuntia cacti. The incense trees are related to frankincense and myrrh of biblical renown. We are seeing them in a dormant state, waiting for the wet season to awaken them. The Opuntia are a prickly pear cactus, of which there are six species distributed amongst the Galapagos islands.
There were a bunch of colorful crabs on a boat launch next to the ferry dock, and small oysters growing on the bulkhead that the ferry tied up to. On the bus ride from the airport, we got a glimpse of the landscape of Baltra Island, which is largely volcanic and barren aside from spooky looking white barked Galapagos Incense trees and Galapagos Opuntia cacti. The incense trees are related to frankincense and myrrh of biblical renown. We are seeing them in a dormant state, waiting for the wet season to awaken them. The Opuntia are a prickly pear cactus, of which there are six species distributed amongst the Galapagos islands.
Naked incense tree overlooking the Itabaca Channel
Isla Baltra Opuntia prickly pear cactus.
The ferry itself was propelled by a 100HP Yamaha outboard motor with a tiller steering bar. Pretty low tech, but effective.
A bus awaited us on the Santa Cruz Island side which then drove us up an over the low mountain ridge that separates the north from the south half of the island.
Galapagos Sea Lions at the ferry terminal
At sea level, on the North side of the island, it was very dry and warm, with a temperature in the 80’s. There were a few land iguanas hanging around under cacti scattered amongst the scrub brush. As we gained altitude at the middle of the island, we became surrounded by a dense green forest and fields. There are large cattle and agricultural operations on the south slope.
You don't want to hit these tortoises in the road.
There were Tortoise Crossing signs along the road, and sure enough, we saw many large tortoises in some of the pastures and fields along the road. You really don't want to hit one of these because they can weigh 500 pounds. And it is illegal. Nadine told us of a time when a large tortoise was blocking the road. Four people tried to lift it or encourage it to move along, but they couldn't budge it. Then a bus with big muscular Russians came along, and attempted to do the same, but also met with failure. In the end, it was the tortoise who decided when it would yield the roadway.
As we continued towards the south coast of Santa Cruz Island, we passed through a couple small villages. We eventually ended up at the marina at Puerto Ayora, where our boat, the EcoGalaxy Catamaran Galaxy II was anchored.
Puerto Ayora Marina
Puerto Ayora Marina Galapagos Sea Lions pretending to be homeless
There were several sea lions lounging on and around benches on the passenger dock in the marina. Nadine explained that we were required to maintain a 2m separation from wildlife, including sea lions on the docks.
We were issued life jackets, which were donned. She then taught us the all important Galapagos Handshake, used during all transfers to and from the dinghies.
We then loaded onto two approximately 16’ Zodiacs, which ferried us through the marina to the Galaxy II. One of our neighbors was a Celebrity X small cruise boat. There were several other ships about the same size as our Galaxy II anchored around us.
Swim platform stow aboard sea lion.
EcoGalaxy Catamaran Galaxy II
We were greeted on board not only by crew members, but also effigies of Squidward from Sponge Bob, and a smaller female side kick.
We were allowed to get settled a bit into our staterooms, which were surprisingly large and comfortable with lots of storage space. We ended up leaving a lot of the drawers and shelves empty because we simply didn’t pack that much stuff. The shower in the bathroom is easily 2-1/2 times the space of the showers we encountered on the Viking Star.
We had lunch in the dining room, consisting of a well prepared fresh salad, followed by spaghetti and broccoli, and then a very light and airy passion fruit meringue dessert.
We had our first official briefing by Nadine to explain Galapagos National Park rules and our plans for the afternoon.
Nadine lays down the law.
Nadine made it crystal clear that NO FISHING was allowed by passengers on tourist cruise ships. The penalty was 5 years in a dank Ecuadorian prison cell. The disappointment on Mark B's face was easily readable from across the dining room. Even Jack seemed heartbroken.
A little break between meetings.
Then we had a mandatory muster drill- a bit simpler when you only have 16 passengers to assemble than on a 3000 passenger cruise ship.
We then had some more time to finish unpacking before assembling on the transom to reboard the Zodiacs to return us to the Puerto Ayora marina dock. From there, we boarded a bus, which drove us around the one way streets of Puerto Ayora to the Charles Darwin Scientific Research and Giant Tortoise breeding center.
The weather was overcast with some threatening looking clouds, but it never did end up raining on us. As we walked down the entrance roadway, we passed several marine iguanas that were sunning themselves on the driveway. They didn’t seem the least bit bothered by our presence.
Our first Galapagos marine iguana!
Our first Galapagos Lava Lizard
We walked through the breeding center seeing both adult and juvenile giant tortoises in various enclosures, not unlike what they have in the San Diego Zoo.
We learned the story of Lonely George, who was the very last of his species to go extinct from one of the northern Galapagos Islands (Pinta Island). It turned out he had a genetic defect that rendered him infertile, but that didn’t stop scientists from trying to get him to breed for many years.
Taxidermy Lonely George
After Lonely George died, a San Diego Zoo tortoise named Diego, proved to be a prodigious breeder after he was flown to the Galapagos from San Diego. He has produced over 2000 descendants. His remarkable performance apparently also inspired some of the local male tortoises to take more of an interest in furthering their gene pool.
They did have many different species from most of the islands that were being bred to repopulate the islands. We also learned that they were able to recreate some of the genetically pure species by locating and breeding hybrids together.
They had a land iguana, who seemed pretty uninspired by all the attention.
Oh boy, tourists!
Only a Mother could love this face.
We learned about some interesting plants like the Opuntia prickly pear cacti, which on Santa Cruz can grow to tree size. Santa Cruz tortoises have evolved highly arched front carapaces that allow them to stretch their necks up high enough to dine on these not so low hanging fruit and pads.
Opuntia Prickly Pear Cacti
The Spanish call the fruit of Opuntia "Tuna"
We also learned about the Manzanillo tree, or Poison Apple, which is endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It is highly toxic to mammals. The fruit can kill, while the latex is so toxic that if you stand under one when it rains, the dripping rain off the leaves can cause you to break out in a rash. Interestingly enough, the tortoises and iguanas can eat all they like without apparent ill effects. Protected by evolution, I guess.
Beware the Poison Apple. Not Adam & Eve's kind of apple.
Highly toxic to mammals, but delicious to tortoises and iguanas.
Little progress from when we last saw this fellow.
All tuckered out from exertion.
We walked the approximately one mile back to the passenger dock in the harbor past many tourist shops selling jewelry, T-Shirts, tours and restaurants. Most of the T-shirt shops carried a variation of “I Love the Boobies” with an illustration of two blue footed booby birds. There was another common design with a cartoon penguin, booby, sea lion and giant tortoise striding across a sidewalk in a nod to the Beatle’s “Abbey Road” album cover.
Puerto Ayora
Organic architecture in Puerto Ayora
A little Gaudi inspired archway in Puerto Ayora.
Selfie with good 'ole Darwin
Puerto Ayora
Ben spotted a nice pendant of a giant tortoise with a large pearl forming its back that he wanted to get for Janet, but she insisted he couldn’t get it unless he could get the management to agree on a 20% discount. So that stayed in the shop window.
The sea lions do make a smelly mess of the dock with urine and feces stinking up the dock. Mark C and his wife Jan were sitting on the dock. We teased them that this ought to make them feel right at home because the marina on Whidbey Island where they keep their boat has a big problem with dog owners not cleaning up after their pets, so there is dog poop all over the parking lot and even on the docks.
Our first port of call will be a dry landing at Las Tintoreras, named for the white tipped sharks that frequent the area during parts of the year. We’ll have to get up at 5:30 AM and go ashore at 6:00 AM to tour the site. Then we’ll be back aboard the ship by 8:00 AM for breakfast, and the ship will then motor it’s way to Puerto Moreno, which will take about 6 hours. During that cruising time, we’ll get a safety briefing on snorkeling and can be fitted with optional wet suits. Lunch will be at noon. Then we will do some deep water snorkeling at 2:00PM. We’ll then do a dry landing at Punta Moreno at 3:45 PM to tour that site. We’ll be back on the ship at 6:00PM with the next day’s briefing followed by dinner.
Nadine said if we booked this trip thinking we’d be able to sit back and relax, we booked the wrong trip, because she intends to keep us busy every day.
Dinner was albacore steaks with garlic wine sauce, green beans and potatoes with a banana flan for dessert.
The food was well prepared, flavorful and served at a perfect temperature. The albacore steak was perfectly grilled for flavor and texture, and Marcelo had seconds for those that wanted them. We should sleep like babes tonight.
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