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Hiking the Galapagos Trip!

By : Mary Fran Archer
Trip Begins August 8, 2012
Trip Ends August 19, 2012

In summary: best 6 days of my entire life was in the Galapagos.
See my photos : Hiking the Galapagos Trip!

Want to go? Hiking Galapagos

I went to: Ecuador, Quito, Hostal de la Rabida, Otavalo, Hacienda Pinsaqui, Galapagos, San Cristobal, San Cristobal Interpretation Center, Isla Lobos, Santa Cruz Island, Charles Darwin Center, Puerto Ayora, Isabela, Humedales and Wall of Tears, Sierra Negra Volcano, Leon Dormido
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August 12, 2012
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all animals all the time

San Cristobal Interpretation Center, San Cristobal

A biology professor of mine once said that being a naturalist was nothing like what we expected. We were used to National Geographic and the like showing us closeups of many animals and there was no ''down time'' where nothing happened. In real life you could be in the field a week and never see an animal.

In the Galapagos, I was also in National Geographic. I was tripping over animals everywhere we went. Especially the marine iguanas were plentiful, everywhere and you really could mistakenly step on them because they blend into the black volcanic rock.

Today's photos include:

Blue footed booby nesting on cliff face, taken from cabin cruiser on the way to snorkel. They are numerous, but it is hard to see their feet because they sit on them. They are genuinely blue.

I also saw frigates, noddies, penguins and too many finches to remark on. They all knew Darwin personally I hear.

That is me in huge rubber boots standing next to a land tortoise (all turtles and tortoises are called tortuga in the Galapagos whether they live on land or sea. These huge guys eat all the time and slowly lumber around in the forested areas. They sigh with a large sound reminiscent of Darth Vadar. The places that were most populated with them were wet and lush, hence the rubber boots.

The last photo is of 2 marine iguanas on the sand at the beach called Tortuga Bay. They are about 3 to 4 feet long! There were piles of these guys everywhere on sand, on rocks, in the mangroves, etc. I had to constantly watch my feet to avoid stepping on them. They were also common on docks, beach fronts, volcanic rock near beaches and in mangroves. Nothing endangered about these guys!

More photos tomorrow. This was the most wonderful, magical adventure of my life.

August 13, 2012
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snorkeling, sharks and really big rocks

Isla Lobos, San Cristobal

Today's adventure began on San Cristobal island in the Galapagos. We were fitted for wet suits and taken by cabin cruiser to the rock you see in the distance in photo 2. From the harbor it looks like one big rock, but close up it is two rocks with a channel between. It is the volcanic rock called tuff (ash which has hardened).

Before the rock, we snorkled in a spot that was calm and full of wild life. I don't wear fins (I get horrible cramps that make me unable to have fun), so I was sometimes behind the crew. I missed the marine iguana swimming, my one sadness in this trip! This was the first time I went off the side of a boat to snorkel. I felt like a member of the Costeau family.

When we reached the rock, only Roger and I wanted to jump overboard. The channel between the two is somewhat rough (I took in a fair amount of sea water), but the prize is the very deep canyon, at the bottom of which are sharks. Big ones. Because I wasn't wearing fins, Oswaldo held my hand to assist me against the current in getting through. We snorkeled to the other side of the channel and were met by the boat. In my six days on the islands, all full of magic, this was my favorite moment. The rocks, the channel, the sharks, the turquoise water, the sandy bottom, going off the side of the boat, climbing up the ladder. It makes me smile even now to remember it.

There were many birds on the rocks, nesting and circling. I took pictures but they are not my best. Better to buy the postcard as Alvis would say.

Nate, there were places to surf, and to rent boards (on all the islands, I think). Definitely there were local surfers. I can't speak to how good it was. The beaches are the most beautiful I have ever seen. But that's a story for another day.

August 14, 2012
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all the time seafood

Charles Darwin Center, Santa Cruz Island

Today's entry is all about food. Even our small army of 6 (5 travelers and our guide) travels on its stomach. Sadly the key picture for this entry is fuzzy -- but I include it because it has the main message. All the Time Seafood. And that's not just at Betsy's Aloha Restaurant! There wasn't a day when I didn't have fish or shrimp or lobster or sometimes all of them. The food in Ecuador is always fresh and beautifully prepared. Simple was always best: grilled lobster, grilled fish. On Santa Cruz island, fishermen were cutting and preparing seafood for sale on the dock -- attended by sea lions and pelicans waiting for handouts. Lobster season had just opened, and I actually ate one of the lobsters shown in the picture that evening at the Garrapatta restaurant.

Accompaniments to the seafood always included plantains, sometimes fried yucca, salads and soft delicious rolls and bread.

Did I mention the juices? Everywhere we went, the first thing we were offered was a glass of press squeezed juice -- mango, papaya, pineapple, orange, naranjilla (like a citrus?), and my favorite raspberry. Raspberry canes and guava plants are invasive and crowding out the native miconia plants so Oswaldo, our guide, said we were doing a service by drinking as much raspberry juice as possible!

We were taken to farms for lunch on Santa Cruz island and Isabela, shown in the pictures. Tropical breeze, soft humid air, restaurants open to the air. These places call to mind the scenes in Apocalypse Now where the French family is hosting dinner in their villa in the middle of nowhere in Vietnam. Same soft focus, otherwordly experience. On Isabela we were covered in mud from climbing Sierra Negra and I worried they wouldn't let us in! Happily the other diners had had the same experience and we were all outside. That's a story for tomorrow.

August 15, 2012
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In High Places

Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island

High altitude? No problem. I've been to Park City, Utah, I've climbed a mountain in New Zealand. So I was totally unprepared for altitude sickness.

Quito is nearly 9,000 feet up and for the first day or so I felt fine. I was walking a lot and enjoying the sites of old town. On the 3rd day, I met up with our guide Jonathan and a fellow tourist, Marina, and we drove to Otavalo.

On the way we stopped at small towns to see marzipan decorations being made, special biscuits, the center of the earth at the equator line, and then to this beautiful large lake, Laguna de San Pablo.

We settled for the night at Hacienda Pinsaqui, constructed in 1790. An other-worldly place, old, beautiful, full of antiques, gardens for strolling, even horses for riding. We were served tea with cinnamon and something decidedly more potent mixed in. We were treated to live Andean music and I bought the CD.

In the morning I was feeling pretty rocky, but totally game to go on. We went to the Otavalo Market where I hoped to score hand woven fabrics. Sadly, the market seems to be overrun with many commercially made goods and not of the highest quality materials. I did buy some belts from the lovely ladies shown seated here.

On our way back to Quito, we had to stop the car a number of times...let's just leave it at that! I felt much better the next morning after a long night's sleep and some altitude medication.

My next high place was the only fresh water lake on San Cristobal, and a nesting site for frigates. We hiked through some mud to reach the lake in the highlands and saw frigates flying over, coming in and out of the mist. The island highlands are misty, drizzly, green and beautiful.

We flew to Santa Cruz island on the teeny tiny plane shown here. People have asked me if I was scared. I was not. It was exhilarating and I think I grinned the whole time. I wasn't even worried when the pilot crossed himself when he started up. Not a problem to have a faithful man flying your plane!

The last high place was on Isabela. We were headed up to see the caldera, on Sierra Negra. We knew it would be muddy. Oh, but not this muddy! On the way up, we all tried to stay on the drier parts and I was using walking sticks kindly loaned to me by fellow travelers. I fell 5 times total. Well, not fell so much as just slipped out and down into the mud. Everyone fell at least once except for Oswaldo, our guide, who seemed to just skip along. The photo shows Oswaldo pointing out where the caldera is and we can sort of see as the mist cleared for about 20 seconds. We tried another location around the rim but never really got a clear view.

On the way down, I gave up trying for the drier parts and just slogged through it, up to my shins at times. Somehow, this whole experience was tremendously satisfying and even fun. Maybe it's just that I am proud of making it. Or the lure of foreign spots, or the mystery of obscured locations.

Covered in mud, we returned to the hotel and marched into the ocean in our clothes to get the worst of the mud off. I stripped off everything and took it to the lovely laundress around the corner, handing her this pile of muddy stuff and I just said ''Sierra Negra''. She said, ''Ah, si!'' When I returned for the shoes and clothes they were totally brand new again. And the counter in the laundry was covered with many pairs of others' drying shoes, all of which had been in the Sierra Negra.

August 16, 2012
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By Yourself?

Humedales and Wall of Tears, Isabela

People asked me lots of questions about my proposed trip to the Galapagos? Why there? What tour company? When? But by far, the most common and often first question was: Are you going by yourself??

As a sixty something woman, I guess folks were worried about my....not sure...safety, fun, stress? I would answer that question by saying, ''Well, yes, by myself, but not really alone because I'll be with others on a tour.''

Yes, I went by myself but traveling with Adventure Life does not mean you are alone in an exotic place. One of the most important parts of my trip was the sharing of it with the people on the trip. This includes the guides from Adventure Life, the contacts by email and phone with the staff stateside, and my fellow travelers in the Galapagos.

We were a small group of 5 and were compatible and happy to be together. Roger and Peggy are from NYC, Nancy is from Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Marina is from Montreal. I am from Santa Cruz, California. We would not have met without this fabulous adventure. So, not only was I not by myself, I was with lovely companions who shared my excitement at seeing marine iguanas and blue footed boobies.

Our guides were wonderful people -- knowledgeable, caring and actually passionate about the place. Jonathan picked up Marina and I in Quito and took us to Otavalo. He planned numerous stops on the way and introduced us to places and experiences we couldn't have known about. Oswaldo met us in the islands and happily trudged through mud, held my hand in the channel at Kika Rock, and thrilled us with his dedication to and knowledge of everything Galapagos. In addition I met so many warm and friendly people in hotels, restaurants, even laundromats. I may have been ''by myself'' but I was never lonely or lost.

I re-entered the US in Texas and was served by an older, somewhat weary Texan who drawled,''Where have you been?'' I told him about Quito and the Galapagos as he stamped my passport and then he said, ''By yourself?'' You already know what I told him!

1-5 of 32 imagesMy Travel Photo Album


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