November 27-30, 2022
Our first glimpse of the archipelago from the air was of a smaller of the 110 islands making up the Galapagos. Out of the 17 large islands, only four are inhabited: Isabella, Floreana, Santa Cruz and San Cristobal. Volcanic and uninhabited, surrounded by blue and turquoise waters, the view was still a thrill as we headed for landing on Baltra Island.
Our first introduction to wildlife was being greeted by an iguana at the airport, just outside the walkway, totally uninterested in us humans! We met our guide, Fredrico, and boarded a bus to the ferry landing. It appeared the only life on this island were cacti, popping up through the volcanic soil. Although there were leafless, dead-looking trees, they were merely dormant, waiting for the rains.
We gathered at the ferry landing, spotting a baby sea lion sleeping near the ramp, waiting for mom. Mary Margaret caught a glimpse of a “Darwin’s Finch” perched at the top of the ramp, her first view of the famous, tiny birds.The ferry ride across the Canal de Itabaca was a short, 3-minute ride to Santa Cruz Island where we met our driver and loaded ourselves into a small, 8 person van to begin our amazing adventure.
Fredrico shared information about the area and the stark differences in the islands. The Galapagos were formed by volcanic activity and sit on the “Galápagos Fracture Zone” where 2 tectonic plates meet: the Nazca and the Cocos. Isabella Island is the largest in the group and has 6 active shield volcanoes. Santa Cruz has a larger population than Isabella (20,000 as compared to 150) and is very lush with plant life. The van drove us on a 2-lane road with little traffic as we headed to our first destination: El Chato Ranch located in the Highlands.
This is more of a Giant Tortoise reserve than a ranch except for the fact we did see cows behind barbed wire fencing. Our first glimpse of these massive creatures was spotting one in a pasture. It appeared to be a moving boulder. The closer we drove to the parking area, the more tortoises we saw. Overwhelming! They are just “there”, eating grass, trundling along, most avoiding each other but it is approaching mating season so that very well may change!
The El Chato Ranch had an open air restaurant where we ate lunch before walking along a trail through the reserve. We watched “Darwin’s Finches” flitting between tables and hopping on the floors. So much easier than searching for food in their normal habitat!
After our very late lunch, we hiked around the reserve, gawking at these huge creatures. Fredrico also gave us information on the plants, noting the “sunflower tree” towering over us was of the same family as the sunflower plant in our gardens. There is just something about the Galapagos that makes living things exaggerate themselves! We descended into a lava tunnel and out into more “tortoise land”.
A few of these giant Testudinidae were enjoying a mud bath and were soon joined by another. They may stay in this pond for 5-6 hours but not necessarily enjoying each others’ company. Seeing so many of these incredible creatures, we asked about the number of tortoises on the ranch. “It could be 50 one day and 150 the next. They are constantly moving although the females will travel the greatest distance to lay eggs. She has to travel 10 miles to the shore to lay her eggs. The trip could take several weeks.”
Back to the van and finally heading to our hotel, located in the small city of Puerto Ayora. As we drove down Charles Darwin Ave, Fredrico pointed out favorable restaurants and souvenir shops. We stopped at a water taxi station and saw a sea lion taking a nap on one of the benches. Will this ever stop being amazing?! Onto the water taxi and over to the other side of the marina where we found our hotel. Luxury!
The Angermeyer Waterfront Inn consists of several 2 and 3 story buildings, plus a boat serving as a “room”, and a gourmet restaurant. The rooms had their own names. We were guided to the “Boobie”, a sizable single room with a king size bed, a large bathroom and lovely balcony. Having consumed a very late lunch, we informed the proprietor that we would not be having any dinner, deciding to call it an early night, falling asleep before our heads hit the pillow. It was a very long but exceptionally wonderful day!
Monday, November 28, 2022:
We regained consciousness and prepared ourselves for our first full day in the Galápagos. We took a water taxi from the Angermeyer Waterfront Inn to the main square in Puerto Ayora. There we met our new guide, Zambo, who explained he has a very long name (Juan Carlos Zamborino) and prefers the nickname his friends gave him in school. He is also a “native”, born on San Cristobal Island and moved to Santa Cruz Island as a child. Zambo led us to the bus where we joined another small group on today’s adventure.
Heading back to the ferry landing across from Baltra Island, we took a panga (skiff) to the “Windrose”, a beautiful yacht that was to be our lodging and transportation for the day. Once introductions and a safety review were completed, the captain took the Windrose out through the narrow Canal de Itabaca heading to our first destination: Bartolomé Island. Zambo encouraged us to move about the yacht and head to the open bow or up to top deck under sun protection in order for a better view of see sea lions, turtles, manta rays and possibly a humped back whale although unlikely as most have migrated.
We went straight to the bow in order to catch a view of Daphne Island. Mary Margaret had read Jonathan Weiner’s, “The Beak of the Finch”, documenting Peter and Rosemary Grant’s 20-year study of Darwin’s Finches on Daphne Major. She has been fairly obsessed with the book and the desire to see the places and finches described. Daphne Major and Minor are clearly seen from the airport, however it was much more impressive to see Daphne Major up close. Cruising along, we were treated to views of sea turtles, the tipped wings of manta rays, a few sea lions and dozens of birds.
Passing close to Daphne, it was impossible to imagine being able to set foot on the island with its shear, rocky cliffs. Trails created by the scientists were still visible as white lines on the island.
Leaving Daphne behind for the moment, we cruised to Bartolomé Island where the captain set the anchor in Sullivan Bay. We took a short panga ride to the landing area on the rocky shore and began our “geology adventure”. Bartolomé Island is actually an extinct volcano, uninhabited and protected. As soon as we began our hike on the boardwalk, we stopped a few feet from the landing to look at schools of fish, mantas, sea lions playing on the shore, blue-footed boobies diving for there breakfast and small brightly colored crabs climbing on the rocks. Such an unbelievable amount of activity!
The boardwalk is the only area we were allowed to walk on and it led up up 350 steps to the very top of the island for fantastic views on this very clear day. Unfortunately, one of our team found she couldn’t complete the walk after the first stopping point, however Zambo took the opportunity to unfold a map and give us a mini-lecture on the formation of the Galápagos Islands over 3.5 million years ago due to tectonic plate movement causing volcanic activity. As an example, the Nazca Plate continues to move at a rate of 1-3cm per year. The smaller islands are older and located in the eastern area of the archipelago. The larger islands, like Bartolomé , are younger and in the western area.
Upwards we trudged, pausing to catch our breath and learn more about the barren-looking island around us. The Malt Plant, locally known as the Tequilia plant, was everywhere. It is a small, white bush-like plant that survives due to being able to live on inorganic soil, require little moisture and reflect the sunlight with its white color.
There was an occasional cactus and iguana but overall, it was a barren island. The color palette of the island is rusty red, ochre and black due to the minerals from the past volcanic activity. There are hills of boulders and loose rock, appearing as if they were randomly dumped in that very location.
The popularity of this island is the distinctive Pinnacle Rock, thrusting upwards like a gigantic fountain suddenly turned to stone. It is massive and can be seen for miles. We eventually reached the top of the island, walking through loose, black volcanic soil, to the orangey-white marker serving as a beacon of sorts. This gave us a panoramic view of the islands surrounding us, high above the Pinnacle Rock. Zambo was thrilled to see Marchena Island due to the clear conditions. Santa Cruz, Santiago and Isabella Islands were clearly seen, bobbing around in the bright blue water.
We walked down to the landing and boarded the panga. Due to the dinghy size, half of our group went back to the Windrose while the other half took a ride around the island. We were in the second group and caught our first view of a Galápagos penguin. His name is “Whiskey” so he was Whiskey on the rocks! Zambo says that almost all the penguins are known and named. Blue-footed boobies were seen at a distance, schools of fish swimming under us and around the corner more penguins!
Back to the ship to unwind while the crew prepared lunch for us, waiting for the first group to tour Pinnacle Rock in the panga.
After lunch our captain took us to our next adventure: snorkeling near Sombrero Chino, also known as the Chinese Hat. The island is uninhabited by humans and offered a protected anchorage for the Windrose while we snorkeled. The real adventure is underneath the water. The crew provided short wetsuits, fins and masks so we were ready to be entertained. It was a gorgeous day with loads of sun and pristine water. There were so many fish! Different colors, sizes and shapes, swimming alone or in schools. We were entertained by the Galápagos Penguins, diving into the water near us and swimming circles around our group!
There is no coral in this volcanic archipelago, at least none that we had heard about, however the volcanic reef held enough hiding places and food that it didn’t matter at all. The Humboldt Current provides abundant nutrients for the Galápagos sea life. We encountered a pair of sleeping sharks but did not stay in the area to see if they would wake up!
The starfish were too numerous to count. Fortunately, Zambo had an underwater camera that took both still photos and videos. He was able to share these with our group once we were back in Santa Cruz.
We swam back to the panga then boarded the Windrose after about 45 minutes of snorkeling as the current had changed and was getting much stronger. Once on board, the captain hosed us all down, washing off the salt water and making us feel clean. We left this beautiful island area and headed an hour and a half back to Santa Cruz, relaxing on the bow.
Suddenly, a Red-footed Boobie flew directly over the deck and landed on the bow railing! The captain was stunned as this species of Boobie is typically found in the northern islands and not here in the center. The Boobie preened his feathers and gave us the stink eye but didn’t leave until we were nearly in the marina. It was amazing!
Our van was waiting for us at the dock and off we went, taking the 45-minute drive to Puerto Ayora, grabbing a water taxi and heading to the hotel, not quite as exhausted as the first night. Dinner was at 7:30 then off to bed, planning on another early start and adventure!
Tuesday, November 29, 2022:
Rinse and repeat!
Breakfast, water taxi, van, panga and back on the Windrose yacht for another great day. This day did not require as much travel time as yesterday. It involves a hike and an afternoon snorkel with the same crew and our same guide, Zambo, with fewer guests joining us. Our first stop is Plazas Island, on the north side of Santa Cruz and a 45 minute cruise away.
Plazas Island is known for it’s sea lion rookery, bird life and land iguanas. The island is located just off Santa Cruz so our travel time was just over an hour.
This was a more strenuous hike than yesterday in respect to the type of ground we walked over. Yesterday was a board walk and steep; today is uneven ground, boulders with a gradual climb. South Plazas is less than 1 square mile but has 3 microclimates. A sea lion was briefly blocking our path from the panga, as it sprawled in the morning sun. It quickly left, realizing we meant business!
We all gathered at an area with towering cactus plants and discussed the physical demands of the hike. It would be over an hour and a giant loop, taking us to the top of cliffs then back down to the sea lion rookery. Two members of our HAL group of 5 elected to get back on the panga and take a cruise around the island and over to North Plazas before returning to the Windrose. Prior to their departure, Zambo spent time talking about the iguana as there were so many there in front of us! A few were tussling over a palm leaf, one was eating a cactus bud that had fallen off, another huge iguana decided to join in and tried to take over the feast. It was fascinating watching all this activity!
We started a slow climb up a well-marked trail with cactus and Sesuvium on either side. Sesuvium or Galápagos Carpet, is a beautiful red plant that will change green during the wet season. It is a type of succulent and also a food source. It is approaching mating season so the iguanas are shedding their skin in order to look more attractive (getting a new suit!). There were plenty of variations in the iguanas in terms of size, maturity and color.
Reaching the top of the island, the path leveled off but the unevenness did not. We watched swallow tail gulls, frigate birds, and shearwaters flying very close to us as we approached the edge of the cliff.
Walking along to the eastern tip, we passed Project Green Galapagos where the Park Service is attempting to restore plants that were destroyed by goats that had been brought into the Galápagos Islands years ago. The goats have been contained on farms and the feral goats have been eliminated. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this project.
Zambo pointed out a couple of sea iguanas that had climbed the steep, rocky cliffs to sun themselves on top. There was a sea lion resting in the same area as well, most likely hiking up to the sunny spot from a more gradual rise from the water. The crabs are everywhere, clinging in the most precarious fashion to the sides of the cliffs!
Zambo picked up a carapace previously shed by a juvenile crab. The crabs are able to obtain the calcium needed to create a new shell by eating the remains of the sea lions’ digestion. On that note we were told to look at the smooth white rocks at our feet. This is the result centuries of sea lions defecating, urinating and rolling around in the area, covering the volcanic rocks with this material and packing it down. Certainly a different way to look at our walking path!
Our small group headed down towards the sea lion heard, their grunting, growling calls heard as soon as we approached the island by sea. We witnessed two large females fighting and small, weeks old sea lions pups hiding behind their mothers. Just off the path were a couple of sea lions, resting, one of which was a pregnant female, perhaps days away from giving birth.
Sea lion pups were gathered together, playing and rolling around. Zambo told us the mother typically leaves her pup to search for food, sometimes taking a day or two to return. The pups can loose lots of weight but regain it once mom is back and can nurse.
We made our way back to the landing, passing by a lone egg under a cactus, abandoned by a swallow tail gull. Both parents are involved in caring for the egg, each taking turns while the other searches for food. If one doesn’t return in a certain amount of time, the other will take off. There is just so much to learn about each species on this tiny island!
A bull sea lion sat just off the path to the landing steps, and rose as we passed, seeming to let us know just who is boss on this island! We left South Plazas Island by panga, joined our group on the Windrose and had a delicious lunch before heading to the snorkeling site.
The skies did not clear as they had yesterday and the air temp was cooler as well. We discussed the possibility of remaining on the yacht instead of going in the water. Our experience yesterday was so spectacular, Mary Margaret didn’t want to have a subpar experience. The area in Canal de Itabaca, between Baltra Island and Santa Cruz, is known to have larger fish (sharks), manta rays and sea lions. The family group that joined our excursion decided to go in but we remained on board and watched a documentary on the Whale Shark. A research study is being conducted on the Whale Shark off Darwin Island and was absolutely fascinating! Soon our snorkeling guests were back aboard the yacht. They were disappointed in the lack of fish although the son had caught a glimpse of a sea lion.
The crew provided our celebratory beverage as a final send off, giving us a chance to thank them for their wonderful care and great attitudes. Back we cruised to the marina, a short 10 minutes away.
We returned to Puerto Ayora and did some retail therapy as it was our last opportunity before leaving this beautiful place tomorrow. It has gone by so quickly and was just so outstanding!
November 30, 2022, Wednesday: Charles Darwin Research Institute
We are packed and ready to leave the Angermeyer Waterfront Inn and explore our last Galápagos Island locale: The Charles Darwin Research Station. Fredrico met us at the Angermeyer Waterfront Inn, guiding us, along with our luggage, into the water taxi and over to the town landing. The pier was bustling with trucks and people, well into their workday. We jumped into a van, now packed with our luggage, and rode 10 minutes to the research center.
The Charles Darwin Research Institute (CDRI) is dedicated to research and conservation of the unique species of the Galápagos Islands. Today Fredrico is taking us around the tortoise breeding center and nursery to observe the work being done to increase the population in the islands where they remain endangered. The islands of Santiago, Espanola, Floreana and the northern part of Santa Cruz are involved in this program and are beneficiaries of increasing numbers of these giant creatures.
We learned that during the age of piracy and whaling, sailors would take the tortoises from the islands and keep them on board for a ready source of food. Tortoises do not require daily feeding and can exist without food or water for days, weeks and, rarely, months at a time, making them a perfect food source. Unfortunately, this activity, plus the invasion of rats, dogs and goats, severely impacted the tortoise population, causing extinction of some species on different islands.
Fredrico led us through pathways leading to the giant tortoise area. We passed the shark research center and the museum before reaching the quarantine area and the “nursery”, all out in the open in a semi-controlled environment.
When large male tortoises have been injured, they are brought to the CDRI for recovery but need to be kept in quarantine for several weeks. The young hatchlings are raised in segregated enclosures as each island has a separate species of tortoises despite being in the same family.
We watched the little hatchlings creeping around, active as they’re aware that today is feeding day; the feeding routine occurs 3x/week. Each of their enclosures are labeled with the name of the island and the date the youngsters were placed there. As an example, the Floreana hatchlings will not develop their “saddleback” until after the age of 7 months, therefore must be kept separate from the other unique tortoises. The tortoises are kept in the Institute until they are 5 years old. This is when there carapace is tough enough to protect them from becoming someone’s lunch!
There was an informative exhibit in an open air pavilion describing the stages of the tortoise growth and development. Protecting all stages of development is an all encompassing task but rewarding when the hatchlings are old enough to be released on their specific island.
We ventured on to the breeding area for the Floreana Saddleback Tortoises. The males and females in the enclosure were over 100 years old yet able to reproduce. While there, Fredrico identified an area where the most famous inhabitant spent his remaining years: Lonesome George.
One of the highlights of our visit to the Institute was the building housing the taxidermy remains of “Lonesome George”. This famous 125+ year old tortoise was the last of his kind, discovered in the 1970’s on Pinta Island by researchers studying plants. Despite all efforts to help him reproduce, it was all to no avail. He died at the CDRI on 6/24/2012. His DNA has been preserved for a possible future reincarnation of sorts. He was massive!
We strolled through the Charles Darwin Foundation building, admiring the massive whale skeleton and reading more about the research conducted in the Galápagos Islands.
Fredrico led us back to the van and onward to the airport on Baltra Island. We waited in the VIP lounge for our flight, shooing the Darwin Finches away before boarding our flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where we would wait to board another flight to Lima, Peru, where the Oosterdam was located, snug in the Port of Callao.
Our flight to Lima (Premium Class once again) was uneventful, however arriving at the Port of Callao with our guide was problematic. Apparently none of the 5 names of our tour group had been entered on the ship’s list given to the Port Callao Authority. Exhausted, we waited an hour for clearance, finally arriving at the gangway at 12:40am on December 1! The shore excursion head greeted us and was profusely apologetic. We were not going allow this snafu to be the defining event of what we experienced as one of our most fantastic adventures. It did help that we had a bottle of wine gifted to us the next day to “soothe” our injured egos!
Kudos to Holland America’s Exploration Team. Their coordination of our time away from the Oosterdam was phenomenal. We were never left alone wondering where to catch a flight or land transportation. All our meals and layover locations were included so our only expenses were guide tips and souvenirs. The association with Akorn Destination Management was truly a great partnership. Akorn’s Ecuador office did an outstanding job!
On to our next port: General San Maritín, Peru to explore the Ica Valley.