Introduction

Herein lies the story of our magical trip to the Galapagos Islands, located on the equator about 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. The islands belong to Ecuador, and most of the land and surrounding water are part of the Galapagos National Park. The Park Service tightly controls access to the islands: for example, group sizes are limited, number of people on an island at any one time is limited, island visits must occur between sunrise and sunset, and all visitors must be accompanied by a Park Service Guide.

.We made our travel arrangements with Natural Habitat Adventures in Boulder, Colorado; they, in turn, sub-contracted with Quasar Nautica in Quito. We made the choice based on travel reviews, size of ship, length of trip, and time of year available. We were pleased with the arrangements, and the folks from Quasar Nautica were especially good – we were well cared-for throughout the trip.

This log is chronological, describing what we did each day, with pictures throughout. To save space, the photographs are intentionally small – to see any picture in full size, just double-click on the photo. Enjoy …..

Day 1 - Friday, March 10

West Columbia, SC to Quito, Ecuador

Departed home at 6:00 a.m. and arrived in Quito at 8:45 p.m. by way of Charlotte and Miami. Quito is the capital of Ecuador and is located in a high Andean valley, flanked all around by mountains. The city is located almost directly on the Equator, but its high elevation (9,300 feet) gives it a spring-like climate year-round. The population of Quito is just under 2 million people.

After going through customs, we were met at the airport by our Quito guide, Fernando, and driver, Fausto, and transferred to the Hilton Colon, located in Quito’s central district.

The hotel itself was pretty ordinary, but it was located across from a park which was the site of the colorful weekend market. From our window, we could see the park and mountains in the distance.

Inside the hotel, every flat surface was adorned with a huge container of fresh roses – one of the biggest export industries in Ecuador.

Day 2 - Saturday, March 11

Otavalo Market

We met our guide and driver at 8:30 am for a day of exploring the Otavalo Market. We drove through the city of Quito to make our way to the Pan-American Highway.

Outside Quito, the Highway runs between the East and West Ranges of the Andes Mountains – one side was desert-like, with century plants growing everywhere. The other side was lush and green, with small cornfields growing around houses and on hillsides.

This was a tourist stop to mark the line of the equator and to give us a chance to stand with one foot in each hemisphere. We took pictures of the monument, our guide took pictures of us, and we wondered if water really ran in opposite directions on either side of the line.

As we headed north, we saw Volcan Cayambe, a snow-capped 19,000-foot volcano – at its peak is a glacier that lies on the equator. We had a nice view of the Cayambe Valley, a relatively wealthy area with many farms.

We then went to the town of Cayambe, home of famous biscuits known as ‘bizcocchos.’ Our guide treated us to a local delicacy – so much for cautious food safety! The bizcocchos were delicious and we lived to talk about it.

By late morning, we arrived in Otavalo, considered one of the best Indian markets in all of Latin America. The market dates to pre-Inca times, when jungle products were brought from the eastern lowlands and traded for highland goods. The market has two different functions: the local market for buying and bartering animals, foods and other essentials and the craft market for visitors. We were too late in the day for buying animals, but there were plenty of other reasons to stop and stare.

We saw piles and piles of beautiful scarves and cloth made from alpaca yarn ...

... as well as as colorful beads worn by the native women.

We saw fascinating things to eat –

unidentifiable fruits and vegetables,

wonderful spices,

all sorts of grains,

and some interesting eating establishments.

Still, the best part of the market was the people-watching, especially the local folks in native dress.

Later, we stopped for lunch at Puerto Lago, on the shores of Laguna de San Pablo at the foot of Volcan Cayambe. The grounds were lush and beautifully landscaped – quite a contrast to most of the areas we visited. We had our first taste of Ecuadorian shrimp cerviche and followed that with a typical Otavalenos meal, including roast pork, plantain, hominy, mashed potato patties and salad.

We were back in Quito in time to visit the Indian market near our hotel. Here were many of the same things we saw in Otavalo, but in a much more subdued environment – more like a U.S. flea market, complete with t-shirts. We strolled through the market, the park and some local shops before a dinner of traditional Ecuadorian soup of corn and meat.

Day 3 - Sunday, March 12

Arrival, Kicker Rock and Isla Lobos


We were met by our guide and driver for the early morning transfer to the Quito Airport for the 3-hour flight to the Galapagos Islands. Today’s flight originated in the domestic terminal of the airport – quite a difference from the quiet and calm of two nights earlier. This side of the airport was noisy, crowded, chaotic, and a bit short of signs in English. We were grateful to have our guide pointing us in the right direction or we’d probably still be standing in the wrong line.

We landed at Puerto Bacquerizo Moreno on the island of San Cristobal. Everything went smoothly until we learned that the tour company had not pre-paid the $100 per-person national park fee. Fortunately, we had enough cash to pay the park fee (and settled up with the tour company later). We found our luggage and were met by our two guides, Whitman and Andres, who rounded up the 28 passengers for the good ship Evolution.

Our traveling companions were a diverse group; there were 6 from England, 6 from Italy, 2 from Canada, 2 from Scotland, and 10 from the United States – Arizona (5), NY (2), Idaho (1), Texas (3), and SC (2). Everybody was hot and tired, but ready to get our adventure underway.

After a quick boat ride from shore to ship, we were finally on board our home for the next eight days. We were assigned our rooms, snorkeling gear, and wet suits. Our room was on the upper deck, just behind the bridge. After we settled in our cabins, we had lunch al fresco.

The ship headed north around Kicker Rock (known as “Leon Dormido”). Some say it is shaped like a sleeping lion; others say it is shaped like a shoe. It is a vertical cone formation that rises abruptly almost 500 feet out of the ocean. The rock is split in two with towering vertical walls on either side, forming a narrow channel through which small vessels can navigate.

In late afternoon, we spotted some pilot whales and eventually anchored near Isla Lobos, or “Sea Lion Island,” rough, rocky terrain that is home to lots of sea lions.

We piled into rubber dingies, knowns locally as pangas, for the short ride ashore.

We were met by a curious female sea lion in the water and by a young pup resting on the boat landing.

The Galapagos sea lion is a subspecies of the California sea lion and is found on most of these islands. The bulls are quite territorial and a bit aggressive; the females and pups are very playful and approachable, even in the water.

While on Isla Lobos, we also saw a lava lizard, a couple of marine iguanas, and a few birds – just enough to whet our appetites for the days ahead.

Before dinner each evening, we were briefed about the next day's activities they gave us an idea about what we would see, what we needed to bring with us, and whether the landing would be wet or dry. The type of landing determined the type of shoes to wear – wet landings called for sandals or flip flops; dry landings called for tennis shoes or hiking boots. After the briefing, we had dinner in the dining room or on the back deck.

Day 4 - Monday, March 13

Espanola Island: Punta Suarez and Bahia Gardner

Today (and every day), we were up about 6:00 a.m., had breakfast at 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. and were ready to go ashore by 7:30 or 8:00 a.m.

This morning we visited Espanola (Hood Island), the southernmost island in the archipelago and one of the oldest of the islands. It is small and flat with no visible volcanic crater or vent. Espanola is the gateway into and out of the Galapagos for many of the sea birds that migrate here for the breeding season only. The remote location relative to the other islands has resulted in a high degree species differentiation, such as brightly colored marine iguanas and several other species that are endemic to Espanola.

Our first stop was Punta Suarez, located on the western tip of the island, one of the world’s densest and most diversified concentrations of wildlife. The area is famous for its marine iguanas with unique copper-red patches, as swell as huge numbers of birds. We were warned that it would be hot and dry, with very little shade.

The shoreline at Punta Suarez is very rocky, and we landed at a crude dock recently built by the National Park Service. Once ashore, it was hard to listen to the guide’s commentary because of all the natural distractions – instant wildlife show, just steps from the panga.

There were sea lions everywhere, a Hood Mockingbird greeted us, and red-billed tropicbirds were high in the sky. The marine iguanas were huge and brightly colored; on other islands, these would be called ‘seasonal breeding colors,’ but on Espanola, they are colorful throughout the year.

The marine iguana is the only sea-going lizard in the world and is found on the rocky shores of most of the islands. It has a black- colored skin, though the males can change to blues and reds during the mating season – as noted above, the Espanola males are colorful year-round.

Marine iguanas are colonial, often seen piling on top of each other. They feed mainly on intertidal seaweed, but they also swim offshore, dive to great depths and can remain submerged for as much an hour. To excrete excess salt, they have a habit of snorting little clouds of salt spray into the air; with a crown of crystallized salt and a length of up to 3 feet, they look like little dragons.

Once we got on the trail, we crossed the island to a series of tall rock formations and cliffs on which a colony of masked boobies live and breed.

We walked among the birds, getting great views of pairs of courting birds, some with young chicks and even one bird sitting on an egg in a very rocky nest. Masked boobies, also known as Nazca boobies, are the largest of the Galapagos boobies, with a length of 3 feet and a 5-6 foot wingspan; they are found on most of the islands. Males and females look alike, but their calls differ – the smaller males whistle, while the large females make a trumpeting quack. These large birds nest near cliff tops, giving themselves an advantage when taking off on a flight.

We continued our walk toward the center of the island and were surrounded by nesting blue-footed boobies, on and off the trail. Their delightful dancing was exactly the type of scene we envisioned on a trip to the Galapagos.

The blue-footed booby is whitish-brown in color, about 2.5 feet long with a wingspan of about 5 feet. It really does have bright blue feet, which it picks up in a slow, most dignified fashion when performing a courtship display. Bowing, wing-spreading, and sky pointing (with neck, head and bill stretched straight upward) are also part of the courtship routine. The males and females are distinguished by size and sound; the females are larger, have a slightly bigger pupil and they honk (the males whistle).

We just missed seeing the waved albatrosses that breed here starting in late March; Espanola is home to the entire world population of this spectacular bird. Maybe next time.

We continued walking along the high cliffs of the island’s southern shore to have a look at the blowhole, roaring and spouting through a crack in the rocks, with spray almost 75 feet in the air.

We sat on the rocks and enjoyed the ocean breeze - it was plenty hot that day.

This break-time picture is a shot of our guide, Whitman, and shows a couple of typical trail-markers: black and white posts. Certainly not our idea of a 'real' trail! Here "hiking" often meant scrambing and tip-toeing through boulder fields.

From the blowhole, we headed back to the boat landing, and got another good look at the sea lions and marine iguanas, as well as some Sally Lightfoot crabs.

Sally Lightfoot crabs are found on almost every rocky beach; they are bright red-orange on top and blue underneath. Young crabs are black and blend in with the background; the adults are far from camouflaged and must be alert to escape predators.

Back at the ship, we had the first of the delicious snacks prepared by the crew for intrepid explorers. Today we enjoyed our first taste of tamarind juice. Goodies were waiting for us each time we returned to the ship – morning & afternoon.

No danger of getting hungry here.

In the afternoon, we made our first wet landing - at Gardner Bay, on the northeastern shore of Espanola. This is a site for swimming and snorkeling, a magnificent beach inhabited by a large colony of sea lions and a major nesting site for marine turtles.

We landed right on the sandy beach, surrounded by sea lions who seemed to take turns surfing or sleeping.

We tried our first snorkeling here, but Margaret gave up after being knocked down by a wave and twisting her ankle. Fran swam further from shore and saw lots of fish and a couple of reef sharks.

We got lots of good looks at the sea lions, including one young fellow who took up residence amid our towels and bags on the beach. We also saw a large bull and several nursing females.

We walked down the mile-long beach and got a nice look at a large marine iguana and a pelican along the shoreline.

We headed back to the ship as the sun was about to set –
a long, but exhilarating day.