Day of the Iguana

We flew into San Cristobal, the most convenient airport in the Galapagos Islands, early in the morning. Sea lions greeted us at the dock where we waited to meet our guides. The first day adventure started immediately.  We rode the pangas, those small rubber boats that shuttle passengers to and from the cruise ship, into Wreck Bay for snorkeling on Playa Ochoa. The visibility was good and we saw sea lions and beautiful tropical fish.  But, even with wet suits, the water was extremely cold, and no one snorkeled for very long.  As the sun set on our first day in the Galapagos, Captain Pablo sailed us around Kicker Rock for our first dinner.

The birders on our cruise were delighted with all the new species we saw. Even if you're not a serious bird watcher, the birds of the Galapagos get your attention.  The second day of the cruise, we made a wet landing (wading in from a drop off in shallow water) on Genovesa Island and immediately saw swallow-tailed and lava gulls.  As we walked in from the beach, we saw nazca boobies nesting on the ground while the red footed boobies and great frigate birds were nesting in the mangroves and cactus. None of the animals on this island eats cactus so the cactus grows big and instead of thorns, it has soft, hair like prickles on the pads.

 

Each day we had a scheduled morning and afternoon hike as well as an opportunity to snorkel or sometimes kayak.  We visited 9 islands; Genovesa, Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, Chinese Hat, San Cristobal, Bartolome, North Seymour and Espanola.

 

We saw mammals; sea lions, fur seals and whales spouting.

We saw reptiles; marine iguana, land iguana, sea turtles and giant tortoises.

And we saw birds; pelicans, hawks, whale spouts, owls, gulls, petrels, penguins, heron, finches, mockingbirds, albatross, flightless cormorant and of course, the boobies. The creatures on the Galapagos Islands are so unconcerned about predators that we were able to walk right up to them for photos. In fact, every one of us came very close to tripping over sea lions and iguanas snoozing in the path.

 

On every island, Ivan and Karina explained what makes each island unique and in turn makes the wildlife and vegetation unique.  We learned the northern islands and the southern islands are separated by only 50 miles of ocean, but the wind and current keep cross contamination at a minimum. The most devastating thing to ever hit the islands has been man.  Introduced plants and animals, such as feral goats, cats, and cattle, brought accidentally or willingly to the islands by humans, kill and take over the habitats of the native species. The native animals, lacking natural predators on the islands, are defenseless to introduced predators.

The Galapagos Islands first appeared on maps around 1570 as "Insulae de los Galopegos" (Islands of the Tortoises) in reference to the giant tortoises found there. In 1570 there were an estimated 250,000 tortoises in the islands.  By the 1970's there were around 3,000. The decline was caused by hunting for tortoise meat and oil, habitat clearance for agriculture, and introduction of non-native animals.  Due to conservations efforts, the number of tortoises is back up to 20,000, but they continue to be listed as endangered.

 

On the day we hiked Fernandina Island, we were told it was one of the youngest islands in the Galapagos and has an active volcano.  In 2009, Ivan was guiding a tour when the lava started flowing.  Luckily they watched from the ship as it was night and no one was on the island. The islands are located on the Nazca Plate (a tectonic plate), which is moving east/southeast, diving under the South American Plate at a rate of about 2.5 inches per year. They are also atop the Galapagos hotspot, a place where the Earth's crust is being melted from below, creating volcanoes.

 

My favorite day was on Santa Cruz Island when we went up into the highlands to see giant tortoises in the wild. We rode a bus to a private farm that is in the path of the tortoise's migration from the highlands to the lowlands to breed. Ivan and Karina were just as excited as the rest of us because we saw so many, probably 20, at one time.

Ecoventura is committed to conservation and preservation of the Galapagos Island.  In 2012, due to changes in the National Park rules, Ecoventura will no longer offer both the southern and northern islands in a 7-night cruise. For more information about ecoventura or to book a cruise, go to http://www.ecoventura.com/home.aspx