Last entry on the Galapagos
Oct. 3rd, 2007 12:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pecuniumSo, lest you think I am all politics and outrage, I realise I’ve not finished the trip reports from Galapagos.
The rest of the trip was, pretty much more of the same. We sailed, we ate, we walked, we swam. On Española we made a wet landing. So we landed the panga on the shore, and waded out of the surf. I know understand why people complain about Calif./sand beaches. Powdered coral is much different. Me, I think they are, all in all, about the same.
After the walk; and the usual animal life (some endemic birds, the minor variations of lava lizards, and larger iguanas; the pervasive odor of sea lion shit. On the other hand, we had a lot more liberty of place. From the surf line to some distance up the beach we could walk.
I sat, at the far end of the walkable area and took pictures.
Then I hiked my way back (chatting with an instructor from Cal Poly Pomona) donned my wet suit, mask and fins, and walked, backwards, into the surf. I was less gainly than the sea lions.
The water was semi-murky. The sea bed was white. There weren’t as many fish as in the first two snorkels, but they were closer. About 200 meters out was a large rock. We were allowed/encouraged, to swim around it. As I headed out, and the water got deeper, more fish appeared.
When I got to the rock, there was a big bull sea lion. He was playful, but I felt a trifle crowded. We swam swum, he blew bubbles in my face and went his merry way. I heard an odd sound. It was the motor of one of the other boats panga. I raised my head and he looked at me. I cast my eyes around, spotted Ricardo in our panga and pointed. He headed away.
Since the panga don’t have shielded props I wasn’t happy about it.
Working around the rocks was interesting. I wasn’t happy with the jagged edges; when I pondered the surf. On the other hand, it; once again, had more sense of space and scope. There were more fish. I worked my way around. On the seaward side the waves were more vigorous. I chose not to work my way between some of them, lest the surge; one way or the other, should grind me against them.
On the far side, there were a couple of huge stingrays. They were some 30 feet down, and between 2 ½ and 4 ft across. First one, and then the other came into sight, as I resolved them from the sandy bottom.
Then I struck off for the shore, hoping I could catch one of the sea-turtles we’d seen bob-bob-bobbin along while we were on the shore.
I managed to. He wasn’t in so much of a mood to hang out as the one the previous swim, but for a few seconds we were close enough to let me look at him in his element.
Back to the boat, and another long haul, this time with a smoother sea, but crossing, so the bed was tilting left to right, not fore and aft. It bothered Maia more than the rougher seas. We got to Pta Ayora and offloaded our gear. Took a bus to the Highlands, and got drizzled on in the semi-jungle, and walked among the wild tortises.
Then back to the hotel, and a cab to the lava tubes. They were long. The first was about a klick and a half. It was, needless to say, dark. We had headlamps, and the bedding planes of the lava flow were interesting to look at, because they were an illusion. Where the face of the rock had broken, it was a foamy mess behind.
Then we walked the seven miles back to town.
We had dinner at a tourista place. Nice food, but this is where we were told of the “picante” sauce, which wasn’t.
The next day we went to Darwin Station, we got to see the baby tortises, and walk among the captives in the breeding program. We also saw Lonesome George, finches, mockingbirds, yellow warblers, and all the rest. On the way in we saw the fish market in Pta. Ayora. I got a couple of decent photos, which weren’t what I wanted. The day before I’d, apparently, gotten some moisture in the lens. So I had a circular soft-focus filter. Pfui.
Dinner in a small place, where we just asked for what they had, which was fish and beans and juice. We had hot chocolate for afters. Which was funny; because they didn’t have any milk. We managed to, accidentally, cause them to send someone for something they didn’t have, three times.
And dinner was all of 14 dollars, for the four of us.
Up in the morning, a cab to the ferry. As we crossed the peak of the island, it went from green, to brown. The windward side was as another world from the leeward.
A passport stamp (not official) and my flight to Quito. Good byes to Maia in Guayaquil and that was, pretty much, that. I had dinner in the hostel (having not had time to make the Gardens again) and flew home in the morning.
The rest of the trip was, pretty much more of the same. We sailed, we ate, we walked, we swam. On Española we made a wet landing. So we landed the panga on the shore, and waded out of the surf. I know understand why people complain about Calif./sand beaches. Powdered coral is much different. Me, I think they are, all in all, about the same.
After the walk; and the usual animal life (some endemic birds, the minor variations of lava lizards, and larger iguanas; the pervasive odor of sea lion shit. On the other hand, we had a lot more liberty of place. From the surf line to some distance up the beach we could walk.
I sat, at the far end of the walkable area and took pictures.
Then I hiked my way back (chatting with an instructor from Cal Poly Pomona) donned my wet suit, mask and fins, and walked, backwards, into the surf. I was less gainly than the sea lions.
The water was semi-murky. The sea bed was white. There weren’t as many fish as in the first two snorkels, but they were closer. About 200 meters out was a large rock. We were allowed/encouraged, to swim around it. As I headed out, and the water got deeper, more fish appeared.
When I got to the rock, there was a big bull sea lion. He was playful, but I felt a trifle crowded. We swam swum, he blew bubbles in my face and went his merry way. I heard an odd sound. It was the motor of one of the other boats panga. I raised my head and he looked at me. I cast my eyes around, spotted Ricardo in our panga and pointed. He headed away.
Since the panga don’t have shielded props I wasn’t happy about it.
Working around the rocks was interesting. I wasn’t happy with the jagged edges; when I pondered the surf. On the other hand, it; once again, had more sense of space and scope. There were more fish. I worked my way around. On the seaward side the waves were more vigorous. I chose not to work my way between some of them, lest the surge; one way or the other, should grind me against them.
On the far side, there were a couple of huge stingrays. They were some 30 feet down, and between 2 ½ and 4 ft across. First one, and then the other came into sight, as I resolved them from the sandy bottom.
Then I struck off for the shore, hoping I could catch one of the sea-turtles we’d seen bob-bob-bobbin along while we were on the shore.
I managed to. He wasn’t in so much of a mood to hang out as the one the previous swim, but for a few seconds we were close enough to let me look at him in his element.
Back to the boat, and another long haul, this time with a smoother sea, but crossing, so the bed was tilting left to right, not fore and aft. It bothered Maia more than the rougher seas. We got to Pta Ayora and offloaded our gear. Took a bus to the Highlands, and got drizzled on in the semi-jungle, and walked among the wild tortises.
Then back to the hotel, and a cab to the lava tubes. They were long. The first was about a klick and a half. It was, needless to say, dark. We had headlamps, and the bedding planes of the lava flow were interesting to look at, because they were an illusion. Where the face of the rock had broken, it was a foamy mess behind.
Then we walked the seven miles back to town.
We had dinner at a tourista place. Nice food, but this is where we were told of the “picante” sauce, which wasn’t.
The next day we went to Darwin Station, we got to see the baby tortises, and walk among the captives in the breeding program. We also saw Lonesome George, finches, mockingbirds, yellow warblers, and all the rest. On the way in we saw the fish market in Pta. Ayora. I got a couple of decent photos, which weren’t what I wanted. The day before I’d, apparently, gotten some moisture in the lens. So I had a circular soft-focus filter. Pfui.
Dinner in a small place, where we just asked for what they had, which was fish and beans and juice. We had hot chocolate for afters. Which was funny; because they didn’t have any milk. We managed to, accidentally, cause them to send someone for something they didn’t have, three times.
And dinner was all of 14 dollars, for the four of us.
Up in the morning, a cab to the ferry. As we crossed the peak of the island, it went from green, to brown. The windward side was as another world from the leeward.
A passport stamp (not official) and my flight to Quito. Good byes to Maia in Guayaquil and that was, pretty much, that. I had dinner in the hostel (having not had time to make the Gardens again) and flew home in the morning.
