Galapagos Through the Eyes of an Artist

Hello! My name is Staci, and I am an artist and photographer. 

My favorite subject to work with is wildlife, so the Galapagos Islands were an obvious dream destination for me!   I created a journal out of a watercolor book, which I will be sharing with you in my blog posts.  Some things I painted and drew before my trip to the islands, in anticipation of what I would see there.

Some were created after the trip, using my photographs and experiences as inspiration for the images.  I work in acrylics, gold leaf, colored pencil, collage, mosaic...whatever medium is the most useful for getting my vision across.

This is a map I made of the islands, which I filled in as I travelled around Galapagos!

I also enjoy sharing interesting facts about the animals and landscapes, as well as travel tips to ease your own journeys.

The company I booked my cruise to the islands with, Adventure Life, is having a contest through this blog. The winner receives a trip to the Galapagos--if you enjoy these posts, please consider voting to send me to the islands I did not get to experience on this trip!  I would love to visit them and have them inspire more art.  A new blog will be created documenting that trip and the pieces I create from it.

My hope is that you will be inspired, get great advice and enjoy my journey through this blog!  Happy Travels!

Staci

The Galapagos Islands are amazing.  Basically, everything you have ever heard of, that is cool and awesome...is absolutely true. You might be eye to eye with a Blue Footed Booby.  You might get splashed in the face by a sea lion.  You might find yourself having a conversation with a salt-spitting, crusty old marine iguana.  And it is marvelous!  How did it all come together?   I did some research before I went, and found one of the reasons Galapagos is special is because of all the different currents that converge on the archipelago (fancy word for a group of islands).   As I read, I pictured the currents as various colors, swirling and mixing as they clashed into each other.  The result became a painting in acrylics and gold leaf. 

As I flew into Baltra airport, I imagined what it was like to be an animal, riding in on a bit of driftwood all those years ago. 
 

 
The islands are really only the top of undersea volcanos.

What would it have been like to arrive as they were formed?

What an experience that must have been!

 

When you are planning a trip this big, it is good to have information. The islands have a lot to offer, and choices are always tough.

My trip was the end of May, 2015.  We were in a "mild El Nino event", so the weather isn't typical for every year.  We had rain most days.  When it was rainy or overcast, it was quite nice. 

The sun on the equator is brutal.  Picture...wrapping a wet, warm towel around your neck and standing under a heat lamp.  All while the temperature gauge says 82 degrees.  So consider this while you are packing.  I am not going to give you a standard packing list, they are everywhere on the internet.  I will just tell you what I observed from my own trip.
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHILE PACKING
We were on an 8 day cruise on the Guantanamera.  We had wet and dry landings and snorkeling everyday.  With that in mind, our favorite item we brought?  AN UMBRELLA.  Yes, many of our fellow travelers had plastic ponchos, which we used sometimes.  But the umbrella was genuis in the hot blazing sun, as well as the rain.  It was more comfortable than a hat, which after awhile, felt like it was holding the heat in and baking your brain.  (I now understand why all the shops on the islands closed for siesta in the afternoon.  They needed to!)
Another wonderful item?  Powdered Gatorade, and Tang.  We added it to our water bottles to rehydrate and flavor our water.
Duct tape.  I repaired my shoes with it, and another traveler brushed up against a cactus.  The best way to remove small spines is to press duct tape against the skin and then pull it off.
Obviously, sunscreen and dramamine.
I took too many clothes.  Even though I pared way down to stay within the 44 pound weight limit for the flights to the island.  We ended up wet a lot anyway, so the entire group on the boat would hang our t-shirts on the upper deck and re-wear them the next day or the day after.  I brought two pairs of pants, and I only needed one for the plane rides.
I was happy having an extra pair of flip flops.  The crew on the boat have you dump your shoes in crates as you enter.  The floors are constantly wet and it was nice to have dry feet.  (I brought a total of three pairs of shoes--flip flops, tennis shoes and water shoes with velcro straps.  The water shoes saw the most use off-ship.)
We brought bug spray, but really wished we had a topical cream to treat the bug bites when they itched.
My brother showed me this little trick to help protect my camera from the rain.  I took a gallon ziplock bag, and modified it.  (Depending on your model you might have to do it differently, but this is the basic idea.)  

With the sensor on the back of my camera, I had to cut a square around it because it would sense the plastic and turn off.  I reinforced it with packing tape. 

Then, when the weather turned, I just removed the eye thingie and lined up the holes.  I reset the eyepiece and it held the plastic in place. 

The ziplock strip actually worked to protect the back of my camera pretty well because it curled out.  And my hands were able to move around freely underneath to change settings.

It won't work in a sideways downpour, but for the frequent light showers we got, it let me continue shooting photos of sea lions without worrying that little droplets were invading my camera body.  Also on the subject of cameras, the temperature/humidity change caused my lens to fog up.  I was glad to have a good cloth in my bag.  Even then, once or twice I had to pause and remove my polarizing filter and allow it to dry, as condensation was building up between the glass plates. 

I purchased suitcase sized Ziplock travel bags to compress my clothes. 

But they were also the perfect size for the daily excursions.  I slipped them inside my backpack and filled them with my camera, a small towel, anything I needed for the day and sealed it up.  Then I could set it on the floor of the dingy and it didn't matter if the floor was wet, the waves splashed over, or any water-related invasion...I knew my stuff was safe.
You will be very sad if you don't have some sort of underwater camera, even if it is just one of those disposables.  Well, maybe several disposables.

PREPPING

Do yourself a favor, and prep your body.  While each excursion was labeled as "easy", and they were, one at a time...the accumulation of the excursions can wear you out.  Up at 6:30, breakfast at 7, shore excursion with a hike, snorkeling, lunch, another hike, maybe another snorkeling session...get up and do it again the next day.  You get the idea.  While you are excited to go, it can wear you out.  Also, this whole 'wet' and 'dry' landing thing.  This is what that can mean:  A wet landing means driving the dingy as far up to the beach as you can (often in a healthy amount of surf) while everybody bails off or jumps back on.  A dry landing may mean revving the motor of the dingy so it presses nose-end to a slippery rock or concrete steps, while your guide grabs you by the arm and you launch in and out of the boat.  All while carrying cameras, maybe some snorkel gear, your backpack...  Again, not so difficult it can't be done, but easier if you have stronger legs.  Work out a little. 
Practice snorkeling a little, as well.  You don't want to be eye to eye with a sea lion, with water in your tube,  and unable to clear it out easily.

  

Not many locals speak English.  I grabbed a small travel sized Latin America Spanish book, and it was helpful on multiple occasions.  Learn  your numbers, so that when you ask how much something is, you will understand the answer.  The rest can be done by gestures.
Most places only take cash, and there have been counterfeit bills of $100's into the country, so they won't take them.  That means carrying a lot of small bills around.  We found a few places that took credit cards, but don't count on it.  We always felt pretty safe, but kept a close eye on our stuff and our pockets, especially on the crowded busses!

None of these things are deal breakers.  Go.  It will be fabulous.


 

Galapagos began to show off immediately.  As we were coming in for a landing, we spotted two yellow-orange land iguanas off the runway. 

Darwin finches and lava lizards dodged in and out between groups of travelers. 

We could smell the warm, moist air of the ocean.  We were greeted by our guide, waited for our group then transferred to a bus, then to the boat.

*Travel tip!  We got up at our Quito hotel at 3:30 am for a 4 am pickup.  (Which was 1:30 am, our time.)  In Baltra, we were told we had to wait in the harbor for people coming in on the later flight before we could begin our journey.  I would have REALLY LIKED to have gotten more sleep.  ASK if there is a later flight. (Update on this: Adventure Life assured me this was not normal.  They schedule everyone all at once so this doesn't occur.  Apparently, on my boat someone had made their own travel arrangements, and it didn't line up to ours.)

*Travel tip!  Flights into Galapagos have more restrictive rules--your luggage must weigh less than 44 pounds.  Also know that they spray into the luggage compartment over your heads before flight to kill non-native bugs.  No biggie, just nice to know.

From the boat, more Galapagos showing off:  Frigate birds looming overhead, and boobies diving into the bay. 

I love the streamlined shape they take when they dive.
After everyone was FINALLY on board, we set off for Bachas beach.  It's lovely.  A great first taste of what the islands offer..

Sea turtle tracks!  She came in and laid her eggs!

We did a bit of snorkeling here.  Our guide, Johan, told us this wasn't a great spot for that but we needed to check our snorkel equipment out in prep for the next day.  We did see a few fish, but the visibility was poor.

My art motivation today was the Sally Lightfoot crab.  They really are that bright, and that beautiful.  It was fun to watch them scurry about, and anchor themselves to the rocks as the waves rolled over.  Their species name is Grapsus grapsus which makes me laugh.  They feed on algae, plants and dead animal matter...but they are also cannibals.  (We, unfortunately, witnessed this event.)  They have also been known to pick ticks off the marine iguanas.  They are amazingly quick.  A common and delightful sight all over the archipalego.

We went to sleep (sort of, I'll talk about that later) with great anticipation of what the next day would bring!
 

There are many things to consider about HOW you travel in the Galapagos.  It seems like each island has its own unique flavor, with specializations that aren't available anywhere else.  For example, albatross only nest on one island.  Some of the best diving are by the islands wayyyy on the outskirts of the archipelago.  So experiences vary.  We chose a cruise, and then followed it with four days on Santa Cruz, one of the inhabited islands.  So we have a little insight into both. 
Galapagos cruises are expensive.  However, I think it is the best way to see a variety of islands.  Many are just too far out to comfortably do on a day cruise.  It was nice to have everything arranged. 

(Unless you don't like the itinerary.  The parks service has kind of set it up where you can't see "everything" in an 8 day cruise.  And a dive boat can't touch land, so there is no way to dive and do shore excursions in the same trip. Always sacrifices there.) 

There was a consistency, for example, having the same guide all 8 days from airport pickup to airport dropoff.  (This can also be a disadvantage, if you don't click with your guide.  We were lucky...ours was informative and seemed to love his job.)  We chose the Guantanamera, and were happy with our choice.

What we enjoyed about staying on the island and doing our own thing was just that--the ability to do our own thing.  It was nice to not have a set schedule.  I heard from fellow travelers that they were able to grab last minute deals from the local guide agencies.  You can design your own trip.  (I suggest maybe finding some overnights, or two or three day mini-cruises to some of the further islands.)  You can choose your own food.  You can go at your own pace.
Do your homework, however.  We booked a scuba day with Academy Bay and had a good experience.  Our dive guide had us review skills, even.  They seemed very concerned about our safety as well as our enjoyment.  We were turned away from a few shops because they were going to Gordon Rocks, notorious for difficult currents and conditions--many require either Advanced Diver cards or a minimum of 100 dives.  A friend we met from the ship was allowed to do his "Introductory dive" there by another dive shop, (meaning he was not certified and had no experience) which was completely dangerous and unethical in my opinion.  He spent 25 minutes in the water, and actually experienced what it was like to run out of air in the tank.  He used the guides' secondary respirator, but what an uncomfortable position to be in!  Know who you are placing your trust in!
CONDITIONS ON THE BOAT
Negatives, or mixed bag:
Advantage of a live-aboard:  traveling to your next destination at night.  A two hour, one way boat ride sucks up a lot of your day, especially when the rule is: Off the islands by 6 pm.  Disadvantage of a live-aboard: traveling to your next destination at night.  That means, right after dinner, the engines fire up and the boat tears across often very rough seas...which means trying to sleep in a narrow top bunk with the sensation of being in a washing machine.  One of our nights was an 8 hours trek at 7 knots, another 13 hours, and it gets tiring to be thrown around that long.  Sustained sleep was always a luxury.  Once we arrived, even at two am, the anchor would drop. So it was hard to stay asleep once you got there.  Other conditions onboard: Everything is damp.  Always damp.  Bed, clothes, toilet paper, you will not feel dry the whole time.  The floors are always wet.  I managed to slip on the ladder and got a spectacular bruise.  The swamp cooler tray hung over my bunk, and I would often come back from dinner to a puddle on my bed. And the thing turned on and off at random.  Odors.  Musty, or oily, or just swampy.  Small spaces.  My husband and I learned that one person had to get ready for bed while the other just waited outside, enjoying the view or just hang out on their bed.  If we both tried to move around in there, it was frustrating. 

The bed was...firm.  Obnoxiously firm.  I consider these problems as UNIVERSAL to small boat travel. I would not hold them against the Guantanamera.  Except maybe the swamp cooler.  And the mattress.  None of these things were deal breakers.  Just the price of admission.  And good to know in advance, if possible.  I ran on sheer adrenaline half the time, from all the cool stuff I was seeing!!!

As in most of Ecuador, toilet paper goes in the trash, not the toilet. 

Positives:  Our group of 16 became fast friends.  They were all enthusiastic, sarcastic and had wonderful travel stories to share.  Once the guide offered an extra snorkel time at 6 am, and we all jumped at the chance!  They followed the guide's directions, which made his job easier, and he reflected that back by trusting us to do a little more.  They were on time, not making the group wait for any individual.  (Hopefully, that is the norm, but I doubt it, making this a possible negative to a live-aboard.)  The crew knew little English but were friendly, engaging and helpful.  They work very hard...make sure you budget for their tips.  Many nights I found half of them playing cards with crew members, multiple languages echoing with the laughter.  Plenty of basic, decent food.
 

(Also a possible negative, if you are picky or have very specific food needs.)  No light pollution.  The stars were breathtaking.  Swallow tailed gulls, the only nocturnal feeding gulls, glowing green in the boat lights, clicking and swooping down for fish.  Waking in the morning, throwing the curtain open, anticipating a new view. 

Stepping out and looking overboard, to discover penguins feeding all around the boat.  Whale sightings.  A blue footed booby that hitched a ride. Dolphins.  Frigate birds riding our breezes for hours at a time, like kites attached to the roof with invisible strings. 
Magical.

 

Genovesa island made me feel like I was inserted in a National Geographic special.  First of all, we anchored inside the caldera, as Genovesa is the top of a volcano.  It really gave you a strong impression of the origins of these islands.  This is a giant cove. 

 In Darwin Bay, I was greeted on the beach by the strange, hollow-tube sounding whistle of the Nazca booby. 

Frigates swooped and cackled. 

A sea lion lounged in the shallows, rolling and wriggling like a giant puppy, to scratch her back. 

We made our way down a path that was lined with preening frigates, their chest pouches inflated to attract the females.  If a female flew over, they would stretch out their wings and quiver, making an unearthly "lololololol" sound.  Our group likened it to the stereotypical scene when a female human walks by a construction site. 

Red billed tropic birds darted by, nervous. 

Frigate birds don't create enough oils to actually dive for fish.  If their wings get saturated, they will drown.  They can skim fish off the surface, or...they can pirate.  They dive bomb and harass birds returning from the sea, trying to force them to regurgitate their food.  Our guide said he has seen them pull the tropic bird's beautiful tail plumage out in a raid.  Their acrobatics were intense and fierce.

Boobys put on their mating courtship dances, and mated in front of us.

The Short-eared Lava owl made an appearance off in the distance. They are the only owl to hunt the way they do--the volcano's bubbling lava left holes in the rock that the petrels use to nest.  The owls learned to watch them enter the holes, sneak up and wait.  They catch them when they come out.

Our group coined the term, "He got natured!"  Which just meant, nature got him.  There were many strange and unique ways to be caught and eaten in the Galapagos!
The marine iguanas eyeballed us.

In the afternoon, we took a dingy over to Prince Phillip's steps.  On the way, we encountered a few Galapagos fur sea lions sunning themselves and staring at us dispassionately.

It was an advantage to be on a small ship.  There were 16 of us, plus our guide.  We would all take turns taking photos, shifting around each other.  There was plenty of spacing between the different tour groups so we never felt crowded.  Most times they were not even within our visual plane, so we felt like we were alone on the islands.

Snorkeling also revealed new treasures. 

The most playful sea lion on the trip! 
There are many more photos in the album, if you are interested.  Hop over there and watch the slideshow!
My artistic inspiration today: The frigate.  The throat pouch, the iridescent colors, the stark beauty...

What an amazing place!

 

Up early for more adventures!

Bartolome island is an interesting place.  The rocks are fantastic--there are amazing lava formations everywhere. And, on the way in....we saw a Galapagos penguin!!!  That was an artist's inspiration, for sure!

 

Long ago, a group of penguins followed the cold Humboldt current up from Antarctica and settled here.  They are the most northerly penguin in the world, and the only species to live in the tropics.

We also encountered Blue footed Boobies on the cliffs.

I won a beer because I knew that Booby means "bobo", which is Spanish for clown, stupid, or fool.  (Because of their silly dance and how they wouldn't run away from the pirates.) 
Another reason to paint!

The blue color comes from the fresh fish they eat--so color indicates health.  Females can tell if their suitors are good hunters for their young.  It changes quickly--even 48 hours of a restricted diet and the color fades.  Scientists studied couples and dulled their feet with makeup...and the females produced smaller eggs with less yolk.  They concluded the females didn't want to invest in a male that wouldn't provide. 

Other cool Blue Footed Booby facts:  Their skulls have 'air bags', to protect their brain when they dive into the water at 60 mph.  They can dive into water as shallow as 2 feet!  They have this really cool mating dance...apparently the higher they lift their feet, the more attractive they are.  After the dance, he offers her a pebble by putting it on her foot.  If she doesn't like it, she kicks it off and he offers her another one.  Their nostrils are permanently closed, and they eat most of their fish underwater.  The males have larger tails and are smaller, so they can hunt shallow or deep.  They feed the young early on.  The female is larger and can carry more food, so she hunts for the chicks when they are bigger. Average life span is 17 years.

We leapt off the dingy and navigated past a sleeping sea lion, and the group behind us encountered him awake.

The barren landscape has its own unique beauty.

You can see a caldera just under the surface.

We walk up a wooden staircase and take in the sights.

Our group, hard at work.

We saw a Galapagos hawk here!

Santiago Island, Sullivan Bay was a strange landscape as well.

It felt very un-earthly.

The rust color you see is actually the 'print' left by a tree as the lava enveloped it.

Today's snorkeling highlights: 
I saw a penguin underwater but it zipped by so fast I couldn't get a photo!

For more highlights of today, see the album!
Today I started a list of fish we are seeing, using a species book on the boat.  I kept adding to it until the trip was over. 

 

Today was the first of two days visiting sites on Isabela Island.  We landed at the harbor for Puerto Villamil, the town on Isabela, and with all the rain, our bus was late.  So we explored the area, walking the trails and the beach. 

A sea lion slept next to the trail.  I could hear her inhale and exhale.  It's so cute the way they tuck their flippers in when they rest.  They hunt at night, so they aren't actually lazy...this is just bedtime for them!

This walk is when I determined that I am, in fact, a Disney princess. *giggle* I always had a feeling I was, but the animals didn't seem to want to cooperate.  Here, the birds oftentimes come over to check you out.  Yet, I never witnessed anyone feeding them. 

On the beach, some locals were painting their boats, and sea lions lounged under the umbrellas and on the benches.  Pelicans dove into the deep.  Penguins floated, looking kind of like ducks, as a snorkeler snapped their picture.

We made friends with a few locals.

Marine Iguana Facts:  They are the only seafaring lizard in the  world.  Darwin called them 'imps of darkness'.  (He actually proved to himself they could swim by grabbing one and tossing it into the ocean.  Hmmm...) They can dive up to 45 minutes, 50 feet deep or more.  They eat 5 species of algae and seaweed.  Size varies by island and conditions--on Isabela, up to 26 pounds and on Genovesa, maybe 2 or 3 pounds...it depends on algae and sea temperature.  Adult males weigh 70% more than females and usually are the ones to dive off-shore.  Smaller males and females feed at low tide.  Eggs incubate for three months, buried in sand or volcanic ash.  Babies are on their own!  Iguanas have two eyes, two nostrils, and...two penises.  Yes, you read correctly.  Apparently, mating isn't consentual, and having two doubles the male's chances of success. 
They expell salt through their nostrils.  During famines, marine iguanas shrink...not just thinner but shorter.  They literally digest parts of their bones to survive!  They can switch from growth to shrinkage repeatedly throughout their lifetime.   They live around 40 years.  Watching these creatures immerge from the ocean and sun themselves on the rocks was a dream come true for me.

Our bus finally arrived, and we were off!  We headed up into the highlands, passing lush, green jungle-looking landscapes.  By the time we reached the trailhead, it was obvious we were going to be working against the weather. 

Our group decided to go anyway, and we hiked up the hill!  Mint grows among the plants, and sometimes I could catch a whiff of it as someone crushed it under their shoe. 

We were rewarded with an amazing view of the volcano!

A pretty messy walk.

We had to hike down very carefully to keep from slipping and sliding down the mountain!
We visited a lagoon known for flamingos, and weren't disappointed.

We then went and visited the Tortoise Breeding Center, and it was aptly named!

This group of tortoises were rescued from a volcanic eruption by helicopter!  You could see the damage to their shells.
We walked back to town down an interesting trail.

We shopped in the town for a bit.  Sand streets, funky little bars and FREE WIFI!  (Wifi anywhere in Galapagos is SLOW and FRUSTRATING. FYI.)

Murals EVERYWHERE! As an artist, I can appreciate it!

A really awesome church in town!

A tiring but fun day!  More photos of this experience in the album...


 

Tagus Bay on Isabela Island...known for its graffiti?  Apparently early boats, like 1830's, carved their names then others followed suit. I didn't see the old stuff...just white paint on dark rocks.   I have to say, having been surrounded by such scenes of nature and beauty and wildlife, with so little human interaction beyond my own boat...it was very jarring and disturbing to me.  I do not understand the delusional self-important need some individuals have to mar such a place with the declaration "I was here!"   My camera was fogging horribly anyway, so I took very few pictures of the docking area.  We climbed up a stairway and back into natural beauty.  *Phew*

My camera dried out and we hiked up past Darwin Lake.  It's a saltwater lake with twice the salinity of the ocean.  It's actually a 'tuff cone', meaning it was a chimney from off the main volcano.  (Our group figured out the pattern.  If you aren't sure of the name of something, try "Darwin", "Galapagos" or "Lava".  It got to the point with us that we would see something, like a rock, and it became the "Endemic Darwin Galapagos Lava rock".  We think we are very clever.)

The mockingbirds came over to see what we were up to.
We stopped on one of the lower slopes of Volcan Darwin, where we had some peeks between the rain of other volcanic rises.  On a clear day, I guess the volcano is pretty spectacular.  Ya get what ya get!

Then we made our way back and headed to Espinosa Point on the close by Fernadina Island. In the dingy, we got more amazing wildlife sightings.  Flightless cormorants sunning themselves.

The female will lay an egg with a male and nurture the chick part way to maturity.  She then leaves the male to finish rearing it.  She then mates with a second male and parents another chick.  This doubles her reproductive rate.

Penguins and these endemic cormorants are the only flightless sea birds in the world.  Their wings are a third the size they need to be in order to fly.  Their plumage isn't waterproof, so that is why you often see them drying out in this iconic pose.  My artistic inspiration for today!

 Fernandina Island is the youngest of the main islands, and unlike other parts of the Galapagos, no introduced species have made their homes here.  Our first view is black lava flows, that upon closer inspection, is actually piles of marine iguanas on black lava flows.

More were coming in from feeding at sea.

Their skin blanches white when they get cold.  This guy needs to warm up!
They 'sneeze' salt from their nostrils, and climb over each other like they don't exist.  Lava lizards scurry among them, grabbing flies and posing like they belong.

More photos in the album!

We hike past a tree containing a few molting Sally Lightfoot crabs.  They are vulnerable until their shells harden up.

We rounded a turn and came onto a scene that really was a 'This Is Galapagos' moment.  The first thing we see is a medium size tide pool with a heron fishing along the edge.  Then, on further observation, we notice a sea lion hunting from below.  Pelicans land on the surface to take advantage of the sea lion pushing the fish upwards.  The frigates see the commotion and start swooping down from above.  The heron snaps at the pelicans.  The pelicans lunge at the frigates.  The sea lion ignores all of them and just keeps fishing.  I loaded a lot of these photos onto the album...I literally cannot pick favorites.  I will insert a few here as examples.  It went on for many minutes, I assume until the food supply was gone, then the crowd dispersed.  I could almost hear Sir David Attenborough narrating what we were seeing!

We walked on to another little cove, where a male sea lion hollered at the females lounging around.  By then it was raining pretty good, so my camera was put away and I just took it all in.  
Snorkeling highlights:  sea turtles, swimming iguanas, stingrays, garden eels, starfish, white tipped reef shark, and a little fish that tagged along at the small of T's back.  I tried to show him, but as he spun around the fish would hide!

We re-boarded the boat, had dinner and crossed the equator.  (The captain was nice enough to turn around and cross it again, as my flash unfortunately washed out the screen for others.  Sorry...)

The engines roared to life, and it got really rough.  I was sitting in a white plastic chair, and was suddenly bucked right out of it!  We watched the sea buffet the shoreline and knew we were in for a rocky night.  This was our longest voyage, over 14 hours.

There hasn't been a volcanic eruption here in 33 years, and it occurred two and a half days after we went by.
Bummer.
Overall, an amazing, spectacular day!  Check out the album for more!

 

Rabida is dominated by the color red.  Red beach, red paths, red rocks everywhere.

We hiked up above the beach and had a nice view back down.

Along the way, we got to see the Galapagos dove.  It's a pretty bird, with iridescent purple along the side of its neck.

More Darwin finch sightings, and it is today's artist inspiration.

I found the Darwin Finch fascinating.  Basically you could look at a finch and tell what kind of food it eats by its shape.  A parrot beak?  It's a fruit eater.  A grasping beak?  Insects.  A probing beak could mean either insects or cactus eater.  A crushing beak identifies a seed eater.  There is also a vampire finch!  They think it used to eat the ticks off the animals, then transitioned to just picking open the skin and sipping! 

We saw some other small creatures, like the hermit crab.

And a snake eating a lava lizard...

We drove by Daphne Island, where we could see boobies nesting in the fading light.  It had some interesting lava formations as well.

We saw dolphins from the boat, but I wasn't fast enough with the camera...More photos in the album!
 

On our final day of the cruise, we were up early for a visit to Mosquera Island.  It is small, with a beautiful beach.  The largest group of sea lions we encountered on the trip lazed on the sand or in the vegetation.  The lighting was gorgeous--the benefit of the early embarkment.  Sometimes photography was more difficult in the harsh, mid-day sun, particularly evaluating a shot in my LCD screen.

Some sea lions were still heading in after a night of hunting.

These are endemic Galapagos sea lions.  Males can weigh up to 800 pounds, females up to about 110.  They don't have a typical breeding season.  Males protect a 'harem'.  Females are free to choose a new harem, it is more about prime beach location.  The males don't hold the harems for long--they feed very little guarding them, so they weaken and a challenger will take it over.  Females give birth once a year, and rear pups for 1-3 years.  They will often be suckling 2 pups of different ages.  We witnessed this--a loudly complaining larger pup being shooed away as momma nursed the smaller one.  (Nursing is a noisy, slurpy affair!) 

Females can delay implantation if conditions aren't right.  Orphans often survive by sneaking milk from other sleeping mothers.  Older cubs are often together in 'nurseries', watched by one female while the others fish. 

 Sea lions can dive 650 feet and stay submerged 20 minutes or more.  They usually don't venture more than 10 miles from shore. 
My artist's inspiration.

A further stroll up the beach treated us with several sea lions bodysurfing.

Other interesting bits on Mosquera:

Then it was back on the Guantanamera to finish packing up, and disembark. Goodbyes.  I won't go into that--I had grown fond of everyone! 

Logistically, our only option was to ride back to the Baltra airport with the group.  From there my husband and I and two others from the boat, who were staying on the islands longer, traveled together to Puerto Ayora.  This is one of the times you will thank yourself for having less luggage.  Transfer off the boat.  Take a bus to the airport.  Take a bus to the ferry. Take the ferry.  Take a cab or ride the bus.  Each time you are transferring your luggage.  We caught a cab and were off!   (You can take the bus.  It's cheaper.  But it also waits around until it fills up. And there are stops to endure, and we were hot and tired and splitting the cab four ways was $5 each.  Not bad.)  All the cabs on the island are pickup trucks or vans.  We had a truck, and fortunately they had a cover to put over our luggage because, of course, it rained on our way over.  The drive through the highlands is beautiful and green.  The roads are being worked on, so some areas were smooth and others had potholes!
Next post: Puerto Ayora!
More photos of today on the album! 

 

The next few days we spent in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz. It is a pretty quiet little town, with plenty of shops, restaurants, tour centers and dive places.  There are hostels, bed and breakfasts, and resort type hotels.  There are plenty of opportunities to arrange tours to other islands from here.  Our 'home base' was La Peregrina Bed and Breakfast.  It was a great place!  Good location, right on the main street and across from Pelican Bay.  It is tucked back into a corner, so the footprint is larger than it seems from the road, with the benefit of not hearing street traffic.  Grassy areas, little pathways.  Large, clean rooms, friendly staff, outdoor area with hammocks.  Bad wifi (as is the problem in all of Galapagos), a few issues with water pressure.  The breakfast, not so good, but I would stay here again. The finches liked it.

 (For photos of this facility, check the album.)  It was just next to the fish market, where we spent some time just observing the animals begging for scraps from the sellers.

All up and down Charles Darwin Avenue are little shops where you can buy all the souvenirs you desire and more.  I had planned to purchase mine at the Darwin Research station, since I had read the proceeds would go to the tortoises, but my information was out of date.  Apparently, there were complaints that wasn't fair trade policy to the other shop owners and the shop was closed.  This leads up to a travel tip:  Buy a current travel guide.  I found a Lonely Planet book from 2009 at the library, and decided it was fine.  The prices were outdated, as I had figured, but it did the job with everything until here.  We decided to visit Las Grietas the night before going home, and the guide book said it was open til 7 pm.  We waited out the heat of the day, and headed down to the water taxis at 5, thinking our timing was perfect.  There we were told it now closes at 5 pm.  We had no opportunity to return.  Don't be disappointed!
Another travel tip:  Just up from our hotel was a dessert shop, selling $5, tiny little slices of chocolate cake, which we passed on.  On the west end of Charles Darwin street is a grocery store, and the top floor is a cafeteria, with a giant piece of chocolate cake (DELICIOUS) for $3.  Sometimes the price difference is just the location.  If you want cheaper food, leave Charles Darwin Ave., and head inland 3 streets to Charles Binford Ave.  Every evening they pull tables out into the streets and put on quite a spread.  We ate lunch there as well.  Our friends ate at the fish market several times, with good reports.  It goes from boat to plate right in front of your eyes.

We also discovered, in a little mom and pop store, these yummy empanadas.

One of our days we headed over to the Charles Darwin Research Station.  On the way we discovered this little gem.

Go inside and check out all the amazing mosaics! 
Charles Darwin Research station was under construction, so many of the indoor displays were not open to us.  But, as always, the tortoises gave us an exuberant welcome!

Okay, it was hot.  Don't do anything in the middle of the day.  Just don't. :)
We did get our best view of land iguanas here.  Their colors are spectacular.

My artist's inspiration for today!

Another day we made our way over to Tortuga Bay.  It's a bit of a walk, but well worth it. 

There is a paved trail to follow, and we were accompanied often by lava lizards, finches and mockingbirds.

We found...half? of a Galapagos centipede...apparently one of the largest species in the world.  (I did not know this before I came.)  Something had taken off the front part of this one, shortly before we came around the corner, because it was still moving.  They eat rats.  And lizards. And birds.  Gahhhhh!

This beach is gorgeous.  The current here is too strong for swimming, but if you continue down the beach you will find a lagoon that is calmer.  The beach was littered with ghost crabs and jellyfish washed up on the sand.

Over in the lagoon, we saw mangroves, a pelican, iguanas, finches and groups of fish.  I had originally planned on snorkeling here, but the Ecuadorian sun was getting to us and we still had the walk back.

There are other highlights on Santa Cruz island.  We just felt like we covered much of that type of stuff (volcanic craters, etc.) on the cruise and we wanted this portion to be more laid back.  The heat was a factor as well.  I had planned some possible hikes, kayaking and maybe even renting a bike but there really was no way.
Next post, scuba diving!  As always, check out the album for more photos of today!

 

We met a veterinarian studying in Galapagos--her current job is catching Short Earred Owls and collecting DNA samples to see if they vary from island to island.  She was planning on diving with Academy Bay Scuba in two days, and offered us her spot so that my husband and I could go instead.  So nice of her!  We had to dive then, because our trip was coming to a close and you can't dive and fly in the same 24 hours.  And we got in with a recommendation that this is a quality shop.   It is!  They were professional and informative.  The gear seemed well maintained.  They fitted us the night before, so that we could leave early the next day with no hitches. 
We had about a 45 minute, rough, fast ride to our site off of Pinzon Island.  Travel tip:  Dramamine only works if you take it early.  If you start to feel sick, it is pretty much too late.  A girl on our boat was throwing up 20 minutes out of the harbor.  Our guide reviewed with this group, as there were two new divers,  and the rest of us hadn't dove in awhile.  He gave us clear expectations of what he wanted.  We went into the water, and he had us demonstrate that we could clear the water out of our masks, and we could locate our regulators if the mouthpiece got away from us.  Two sea lions frolicked in the distance.  And then we were off! 

This moment is my artist's inspiration for today.  I was so mesmerized by the way the turtles just appeared and disappeared into the blue.

It is hard to describe, and hard to paint.  I am not sure I captured it.  I may try again on canvas, where I have a little more control over the paint.  Watercolor paper tends to do its own thing.

This was a two dive, two tank trip--one by Pinzon Island and the other at a place called Guy Fawkes Sur.  Not the best visibility, a little bit of current, but not bad.  Water temperature was wonderful...we weren't sure why they fitted us with full wetsuits.  Very comfortable.  At one point, we were surrounded by 7 or 8 sea turtles.  We searched and searched for sea horses but were unsuccessful.  But the rest of it was marvelous!
Some of these photos were taken by the guide, some are from my GoPro.
More pictures in the album...

We had one full day in Quito, Ecuador.  We stayed at La Rabida Hostel, which doesn't mean the same thing as what you picture when you think 'hostel'!  We had our own room and a private bathroom.  La Rabida doesn't have a great street presence, but nothing really does down the side streets of Quito.  Lovely inside.  Many of the rooms surround a small central courtyard, complete with a very sweet little brown bunny.  The waiting room has a beautiful fireplace.  The staff was helpful, one even to the point of walking out to the cab with us to confirm the price before we drove off.  They gave us suggestions on how to spend our day, too!

In the morning, we went to Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) complex.  It marks the spot where an 18th century French expedition tested Newton's theory that the Earth bulged in the middle, which it does.  Their measurements led to the metric system.  (It is slightly off the equator line by GPS standards, but the actual site is sacred and close by.)  Close enough for tourist photos, right? 

Fun fact: You weigh less at the equator.  It's because of the greater centrifugal force.  Don't get too excited, it's only about 0.3%.  There is a 90 ft. building topped with a large metal globe.  There are shops everywhere and other little museums.  It's kind of touristy, but a cool place to stop in.  I found out there they would have stamped our passports, but we were always told to keep them in the safe at the hotel, so we didn't have them with us. 

We had taken a taxi over, but decided to be adventurous and take the bus back.  It was fun!  Do not hesitate at the door!  They only stop very briefly, and they pack the people in.  Everyone we asked for directions were extremely helpful.  (No English, but we pointed and they pointed and we got back okay!)  We rested for a bit then headed to Old Town and did the Lonely Planet's walking tour. 
Amazing churches and buildings, including a monastery that was founded in 1534.  One of my favorites was the Church of La Compania de Jesus. 

There was no sign saying we couldn't, so I snapped a few photos without a flash. Swiftly, I was told to put it away. 

One of the interesting things to me as an artist was the fake spiral staircase someone painted, in order to match the real one on the opposite side.

We continued along the map route, and saw a lot of pretty architecture and sculpture.

The rain drains are turtles, lizards, armadillos and other strange creatures!

Quito is covered in murals and graffiti. 

At the end of our walking tour, we realized we weren't very far from our hotel, so we just hoofed it the rest of the way back.
There are a lot more photos on the album, I hope you check it out!
My art inspiration today was the Vermilion Tanager I saw, and the murals in Quito.  There was a lot of fun, funky art and I wanted to put that into today's piece.

I will be doing more artwork in the coming months, so I invite you to come back and see what I have been up to.  I hope you liked this blog, and it enables you to have a more successful journey of your own.

Happy Travels!
Staci



 

I am over-the-moon ecstatic to announce that I won the Adventure Life blog contest!  I can't believe it!  Because of you, voting....I get to go tour the Eastern Islands!  My brain is already buzzing with images to paint...
I wanted to catch you up on the art that I did during the Semi-Final month of the contest. (I wasn't allowed to add anything during that phase.  Votes were being gathered!)

Red billed tropicbird, colored pencil on grey paper

Red footed booby, colored pencil

Pelican, colored pencil

Storm petrels, colored pencil

Flamingo, acrylics

Again, thank you, if you voted.  I am so grateful and honored to have this opportunity.  I literally haven't gotten a good night's sleep since I found out.  I am amazed.

Seriously. Thank you.

Update: I have returned from the trip I won, and the blog for that trip is up and live!  For 8 more artworks (and more to come) go to Galapagos Through the Eyes of an Artist 2!
 

I wanted to share with you what the outside of the journal ended up like!

If you would like to see the process of creating this journal, or any other art, mosaics and photographs I post, check out my blog, Collidescopes.