Photos - Kicker Rock

On our second day at sea, we had the option of going for a very early morning excursion to Kicker Rock. This is formation composed of volcanic ash that solidified. The zodiaks left at 7 am. Considering how little sleep we had had for the two prior nights, this was a little risky for us, but it was worth getting up early for.

Here, we have just left the ship, and you can see Dwight on the left and most of Simon on the right (I wish I blocked the shot better):



And here is our destination:



We got right up close to the rock, in order to observe the formation:









(The guy in the hat at the far end of the boat was Harvey, who later gave a lecture on Judy Garland, and another on American composers from his new book. The woman with the yellow collar was from Antwerp. The man with the skyblue vest was the driver).

The naturalist asked us if we would like to go through the crevasse in the photo above, but instead we went through this one:



The zodaics in the distance should give you a sense of the its size.



Flying over us above the rock were scores of frigate birds:



When we saw this, though, the naturalist got very excited:



Since it's hard to make out, I've enlarged one portion of the above photograph:



The small dot between the two frigate birds was a peregrin falcon, a bird rarely seen in the Galapagos, but which had flown here and was fighting with the frigates for food.

This should give you a good idea of how close we got to the birds and animals. We got right up next to this pelican. In the second shot, he has just dived into the water and has a fish in this mouth. I've not enlarged either shot or modified them in any way:





This should give you an idea of just how many frigate birds were flying over head:



This final shot, on our way back to the boat, should explain why it's called Kicker Rock:

Photos - Floreana Island

This is the day we saw the flamingoes, sea turtles, and penguins.

Here's a good example of the volcanic sea scapes we saw:



When we landed on Floreana, we came to this brackish lagoon, a five-minute walk from the beach, where we could see flamingoes:



Here are the flamingoes at the far side of the lagoon:



We later saw some much closer up in the same lagoon. We were told to walk slowly and quietly towards them so as not to spook them:








We saw several species of birds, including yellow warblers and Darwin finches:





From there we headed to a beach where the sea turtles lay their eggs. The exhausted turtles were making their way back to the sea (even though a few got turned around in the surf):





Not all the turtles were laying eggs; these two were mating:



We also saw fantastic lava formations on the coast, as well as Sally Lightfood crabs:





In the afternoon, we visited another part of the island. Here we took a zodiac through a mangrove lagoon. Here's a shot of the lagoon with a zodiac in it (you can see our ship in the distance):



Here's how close we could get to the animals:



And here are the first Galapags penguins we saw:



The bird on the top is a blue-footed boobie; the two penguins are further down:



And here some photos of our intrepid travelers, taken from the Baroness Lookout:

Photos - North Seymour Island

Here are a few shots from our arrival on the ship to our first excursion to North Seymour Island.

This is Jiovanna, one of the naturalists on the ship, and our guide for our first Zodaic ride to the ship:



Here are Dwight and Simon, a great couple from Maryland, with whom we often ate and traveled:



Our stateroom:



Another view (with dad):



A dry landing on North Seymour with another zodiac in the background (but not our cruise ship behind them):



These are great frigate birds in flight. To me, they always slightly resembled pterodactyls:



A pair of swallow-tailed gulls:



A sea lion pup (they smell bad, by the way):



This was our first look at a land iguana:





This is a pair of male great frigate birds watching over a chick. The male on the left has puffed out his chest in a courtship display for a nearby female:



We came across a whole bunch of great frigate birds nesting in trees:



Here's a famous blue-footed boobie:




And here are some shots of a male blue-footed boobie doing his courtship display:





And here is a male blue-footed boobie protecting his egg:

Photos - Española Island

I've downloaded all the photos from the trip and now I'm going through them and editing them. Here are a sample from the afternoon we spend on Española Island.

Here are two close ups of marine iguanas (they call it the "Christmas Iguana" because of its coloration:





Here's a lava lizard:



A sleeping sea lion pup:



A yellow-crested night heron:



An american oystercatcher:



My father and I by some marine iguanas:



A male nazca boobie and chick (the chick is only a few day's old and is still naked):



Here's a nazca boobie with an older chick, who already is covered in down:



I convinced our naturalist to take a group photo of us (we were one of six or so groups touring the island from the boat):

Safe in Miami

Well, dad decided to join me for dinner, though I think he regretted it afterwards. We ate in the hotel cafe. He got the potato soup (which he said was cold) and the pizza margarita (also cold). I had the caeser salad and the club sandwich. It's pretty hard to screw up a club sandwich).

Afterwards, we went back upstairs to pack. No English-language news (only repeats of CNN's Haiti telethon), so we turned in early. Another fitful night's sleep for me, waking every two to three hours. When I woke at 5:40, I decided to get up and get ready before our wake-up call at 6 am. By 6:15 we were back at the cafe for breakfast, and by 7:00 we were loaded onto our bus (there were about 12 of us from the celebrity cruise flying out on AA this morning).

When we got to Quito we could see a very large group of Quebecois college students waiting to check in ahead of us. Luckily, dad and I skipped past them to Business Class check in. We zipped through the exit tax and customs, and found ourselves in a virtually empty waiting area at the gate. It was an hour before anyone else in our group arrived. Turned out that we were very lucky to bypass the student group, who delayed everyone.

Just before we boarded, a young mother with a screaming toddler arrived. The kid was in full-throated meltdown. Dad was convinced he would scream himself quiet, but he got a second, third, and fourth wind. He obviously wasn't affected by the altitude. We just hoped he wasn't flying business.

No problems with the flight, other than we didn't get the international 757, with the cool in-seat entertainment system. We just landed in Miami, zipped through customs, and are now waiting in the Admiral's Club before we board our flight back to LA.

Seeing the Ecuadorian Countryside

Last night I slept rather fitfully, waking up every two hours trying to catch my breath. No headache today, but still a little light headed (that and the fact the room still feels as if it's slightly swaying).

Dad and I had our usual breakfast of fresh fruit, cereal, and rolls. He had his usual raspberry herbal tea, while I got the mate de coca, since it's supposed to help with the altitude.

We met Nancy and Ed at 8 am, along with our driver Fernando. There wasn't enough room for all of us in the back seat and front seat, so I took the fold down seat in the trunk; I could almost fit my legs.

We headed north, and the scenery changed dramatically, from rolling green hills to brown, dry gorges, and then back to green, farmed volcanic slopes. After about an hour we reached our first stop: the true Equator line (the equatorial monument we had seen a week ago based on the French geographers' calculations were off by about 80 meters. After a short spiel, we chose not to buy any of the various offerings and headed back on the road.

I was a little worried that this cheesy stop might augur our future, but it was the exception. We headed through towns whose population looked overwhelmingly indigenous. There were women with brightly colored clothing and fedora hats carrying bundles by the roads, cows grazing along the highway, etc. Our next stop was the town of Cayambe, where we pulled up in front of a cafe. It turned out to be a very traditional bakery. We came in and there was the wood-fired oven being heated up for another round of rolls and cookies. The dough was rising in the large, two meter long bread trough, and some young men were cutting up the dough into rolls and cookies. I bought a bag of sweets for a dollar and asked if I could take pictures.

From there we continued to a high point overlooking Lago San Pablo. Across from us were the slopes of the Imbaburra volcano. I heard Hebrew and found a retired couple from Israel (originally from the Negev, but now from Tel-Aviv). Dad chatted with them for a bit, while I talked to the Slovakian students on another tour. In the distance we could make out our next destination: Otavalo.

Otavalo has the largest indigenous market in Ecuador. On Saturday, the market takes over the whole town, but on week days it is confined to a single square. Interestingly, the items for sale varied from one area of the market to another. I discovered that dad is not a fun person to shop with. He doesn't want to buy anything, he doesn't know what to buy anyone else, and he's rather fearful of buying something the recipient won't want. He rejected every suggestion we made. I finally gave up and bought myself some loose cotton housepants with matching shirt, both embroidered with colored stripes.

After an hour and a half, we got back in the car and headed up to Cuicoche Lake. I had read about this in Frommer's and wanted to see it. We climbed up the sides of a volcano, whose cone had collapsed to form this crater lake. Inside were two lava-formed islands, now covered in green foliage. On a clear day, the lake is turquoise, but on a mostly cloudy day it was navy blue. We could see white egrets flying over the lake, and colorful flowers, such as orchids surrounding it.

From there we headed to another mostly indigenous town: Cotacachi. This town specialized in leather goods and I thought dad could buy a replacement for his card wallet which is falling apart. We went through several stores and found one pretty close to what dad wanted. It was only $4. On the way back, I took some photos of the Imbaburra volcano that looms over the town, and a piece of graffiti that I thought would please dad (it read "The church is the temple of oppression and opulence." I chose not to photograph the two soldiers dressed in a bizarre pink-themed camouflage.

Our last stop was lunch at the Hacienda Cusin in the town of San Pablo (where we he first viewed the lake). We drove down roughly paved roads, and passed adobe walls. The Hacienda is from the 18th century and has recently been restored. Inside the walls were beautiful flowering trees. Our lunch was excellent. We all had the minestrone soup, but I added some of the house hot sauce. For the main course, I had the dorado muniere, while dad had the asparagus torte. We shared tastes. Finally, at a quarter to three, we got back on the road for Quito. As we climbed the rough, rocky roads back to the Pan American highway, all I could wonder was how it must have been two hundred years ago, before rubber tires and shock absorbers.

After some creative and exciting driving along the cliffs and gorges of Ecuador we reached Quito a little after 4 pm. Dad went upstairs to take a nap, and I'm toying with taking a swim in the pool. Dad is so full from lunch, he may skip dinner again. We've already confirmed our transportation to the airport at 7 am tomorrow (we're sharing a transfer with Ed and Nancy), so next stop: Miami.

Back to Quito

Ok, so the last entry was really just a place holder. Here's what really happened.

After I finished typing yesterday's long entry, I walked back through town, and noticed some commotion by the fish market. One man was skinning and gutting fish, while pelicans hopped hopefully about and two sea lions rested, one on the fisherman's leg, while the other put his head on top of one of the uncleaned fish as if to say, "this one is mine." The commotion appears to have been when the heron, which I didn't see, drove away the pelicans. Back in town I found a pharmacy where I could buy some lip balm that wasn't strawberry flavored.

After lunch, while dad was napping, I competed in the ship's trivia contest. The two british women decided to form their own team. They had said to me that they would be terrible players, so I said (jokingly) that in that case, I didn't want them on my team. Later, I said come back, but they said, "you didn't want us, so we'll play by ourselves." Two more people joined mey team, and Harvey, who gave the lecture on Judy Garland, joined the Brit team. Then two of the boisterous Canadian party came in at the last minute and each formed their own team.

There were 24 questions. They were all multiple choice and varied in their difficulty. E.g., "Which of the following islands did Darwin not visit?" "What does the Greek root of the word 'plankton' mean. My team had been joined by Gayle (whose husband was Greek), so we all turned to him for the answer, but he guessed wrong, as was his guess about converting nautical miles into kilometers.

After that we each graded the other team's scorecard. My team came in first with 14 right, followed by the Brits with 10, and the Canadians at 9 right each. We won a bottle of wine and celebrity cruise t-shirt (Gayle took the wine, and I took the t-shirt).

Our last excursion was to the highlands. We took a bus up through town and the hillsides were quite green and lush. Unlike many of the other islands, which were still bare and brown, the windward side of Santa Cruz got a lot of rain. It was also very humid. After we had climbed about half an hour, we pulled on to a dirt road to a private ranch. After some organic coffee and lemon grass tea (the coffee drinkers were ecstatic), we walked down to see the wild giant tortoises. These are not raised on the farm, but rather migrate across it.

We found one wading in a pool and the others munching on grass nearby. I got behind one (it hissed angrily at several people) and had dad take a picture. I had one taken of me at the Charles Darwin Center yesterday morning, but that time I had to keep yelling, "dad, take my picture. Dad!"

We had to walk carefully to avoid giant tortoise poop. There were about a dozen of them (tortoises) scattered about the hillside. Just after we left too, they started fighting. I didn't see it, but they were going head to head and hissing.

Under the cloudy and very humid sky, we walked uphill to see the lava tunnels. After carefully climbing down the trail, we entered a very wide lava tunnel. Keeping an eye out for barn owls (there were none), we walked to a point where the roof had broken, leaving a tropical sky light.

After that we walked back to the road, caught the bus, and headed back to town and the ship. We had one last dinner on board. This was a BBQ on deck. Dwight and Simon were kind enough to let us join there very nice table on Deck 5, above the smoke of the grills. Sandy and Gene were also at the table (she's the former treasurer for LA County, he's the former purchaser. It was his 85th birthday and they had a cake brought out. Gayle and Angelos were also there one other couple whose names I can't remember. We had a delightful meal. The grilled lobster was particularly good (dad had a very big piece).

Before the meal, they screened a dvd composed from the photos taken by the naturalists during the week, set to music. When we got back to our staterooms, we found a complimentary one for us.

We packed before bed and set out the suitcases in the hall. We slept until 7:05 am, when I woke up and then we went down for lunch. Afterwards, we sat in the lounge where dad announced that he was prepared to stay another week. What about your laundry?, I asked. "For another week, I'd be willing to do the laundry," he said.

At 9:15, we were called to the boats and we donned our lifejackets for the last time. From there it was to the Baltra airport where we had a long, hot wait. I used the opportunity to buy some presents for my niece and nephews, though dad said repeatedly that I should wait until Quito. Finally we got on the plane.

The less said about the food on the plane the better. Hopefully the stains in my memory will be as easy to remove as the inedible gravy on my clean celebrity t-shirt.

Eventually we made it to Quito where there was a very noisy and excited welcome. Just outside the doors of the airport there was a huge mob of mostly young men dressed mostly in yellow jerseys, waving yellow and black flags (though one had a Che flag), and chanting in unison. Turns out the soccer team from Guayaquil was coming to Quito for the season to practice and the local fans turned out the greet them.

In no time at all we reached the hotel and after 15 minutes, it was time for our shopping tour. I asked Dwight and Simon if we could join them since they had done very well for themselves shopping in Puerto Ayora, and it's always more fun to shop with people who like to shop. At the first market, I picked up a present for a colleague and then a present for myself. The latter was the famous Ecuadorian "Panana" hat. As one of the Brits said, it made me look like I should be smoking a Cuban cigar.

From there were went to the artisanal gallery, where we could buy high quality work by indigenous peoples. I bought four sofa pillows, two with black trim and two with white for my black leather sofa. Each pillow is hand made and decorated with geometric shapes, by the Shipibo-Conibo women of the Ucayali river. Only $60 for four, so I thought that was a good deal.

When we got back I decided to take a very quick shower and shave for dinner, but dad decided to skip dinner and nap. The high altitude is definitely affecting us, though I'm doing better this time than last week.

We had a large table at dinner with Dwight and Simon, Mark and Paul, the professors John and Jerusha, one other couple whose name I could never remember. I had the steak, which was excellent, as was the chocolate cake dessert. I had a glass and a half of wine, which may not have been the best idea, but at least I should sleep well tonight.

Tomorrow, were joining a couple (Ed and Nancy) who had the name of a local driver, and we're heading out at 8 am to head north towards Otavalo and some of the volcanic sights. Now, it's off to bed.

More Tortoises

I just have a few mintues left, so I´ll just write that we had a very nice time this afternoon heading up to the highlands to see some giant tortoises. On the way back to the boat before lunch, I saw some excitement by the fish market as some sea lions had claimed the fish by putting their heads on it.

Big farewell dinner tonight. We leave for Baltra at 9:15 am.

Giant Tortoises - at last!

Yesterday afternoon, I took an excursion to Cerro Dragon on Santa Cruz island. Dad stayed on board, which was a good idea, it turned out. I went with Dwight and Simon, and I suggested we wait for the next zodiak, as there was one woman I didn´t want to be with on a tour. She and her husband are perfectly pleasant to eat with, but I find her very annoying on the tours. She asks lots of extraneous questions, which delays the tour while the guide struggles to figure what she´s trying to find out. She and her husband and a guide got into a protracted debate once over the difference between the terms "endemic" and "native."

The skies had cleared from the morning and it was quite sunny as we had our dry landing on the volcanic beach. It was a spectacular setting: a cove formed by lava deposits, black and craggy, sheltering a blue bay and shell covered beach. Green, salt water friendly plants were just above the beach. A short walk later we reached a lagoon with more flamingoes and some white pintail ducks, and some stilt wading birds (whose formal name slips my mind).

From there the trail turned very rocky, very dry, and very hot. We walked through a forest of dry white palo santos trees, still dormant as the rainy season has just begun. Eventually, we reached a dusty, flat trail where we could see the trails of land iguanas, and eventually found a large (4 foot) yellow and red one, right next to the trail. From there we climbed up Cerro Dragon, a low hill in the shape of a sleeping land iguana. We could see the blue bay, the ship, and the highlands where we would go on Saturday (today).

On the way back, we passed two land iguanas, a male and female, where the male was slowly circling the female and getting ready to mate. On the way back to the beach, I helped an elderly woman having a lot of trouble navigating the rocks. I had returned our snorkling equipment, which was a good thing because we heard the water wasn´t very good back at the cove. It was hot, though, I dipped my feet in the water to cool off. Then it was back to the boat.

Dad was napping when I got back so I went up on deck and had piña coladas (see, they have tildes on Ecuadoran computers) with Dwight and Simon. Lunch had been a mexican buffet (really good, I particularly liked the chimichangas and went back for thirds), but dinner was surf and turf. I had the cold asparagus soup (very good). They did the march of the baked alaskas, but they only had candles on top, rather than flaming. I had the tiramisu.

We were up at 6:45 am this morning, so we turned in early. A good night´s sleep, but heavy rolling after 6 am. I felt like I was in the Poseiden Adventure. Today we went to Puerto Ayora in the morning to see the Charles Darwin Research Center. We saw the baby tortoises they shelter in the early stages of life, before they release them back into the wild. They´re trying to restore the population. We did see the famous "lonesome george" and several other large adults. In one corral we got up right next to them. I yelled to dad to take a photo of me with one of them and he eventually did.

Afterwards, he decided not to walk back to the dock but take the bus. I walked and found an internet cafe for one thirtieth the price of the ship (hence my long, detailed account). After some shopping, we head back for lunch on the ship, and then we come back on land for a bus drive to the highlands to see the giant tortoises in the wild. It´s very humid this morning, and has been drizzling, so we´ve been told to expect rain in the highlands this afternoon. I´ll wear my windbreaker and since dad has decided not to bring his camera, I´ll take the plastic bag.

"versace" Shrimp

This may be my last post until Quito.

Dad thinks this is the most luxurious cruise he´s every been on. They give us moist towels on our return, followed by cocktails and snacks after every excursion.

Yesterday afternoon we had an opportunity to whale watch, but saw nonething for quite a while. After everyone else had given up, I went back up to the prow after lunch to look. I saw something in the distance. Some other guests with binoculars (I can´t use them), debated whether what we were seeing was a whale or a porpoise. A naturalist told us we had seen a humpbacked whale.

At 2pm they had a culinary demonstration. As they were setting up, I asked the busboy what they were going to do. Shrimp "versace," he said, meaning shrimp ceviche. I said they must be fashionable shrimp.

Dad came out and watched, and we all enjoyed it. They also showed how to make a red-footed booby cocktail. I tried one later and it was very good.

Around 3 we reached Fernandina Island, the most recent of all the islands. It was windy and overcast, so dad stayed on board. We had a dry landing on a pier in a mangrove swamp, but then had to walk through 2 meters of water. There was a sleeping sea lion on the pier to greet us, followed by many dark marine iguanas on the trail. Much of the island is still black, volcanic lava deposits. We could see the peak of the volcano, mostly wreathed in white clouds. Many marine iguana colonies along the beach, along with some sea lions, and one swimming penguin! There was also a "beach master" male sea lion defending his territory against tourists who got to close (he barked at one man).

We then saw some flightless cormorants, who lost the ability to fly after adapting to swim for food. We also saw other sea birds (such as whimbrels, and ruddy turnstones), and the wind started to pick up.

We had an easy time getting on the zodiac, but the ride back was far from dry. I got soaked from a wave and it started to drizzle heavily. Back on board, I briefed dad on the adventure and then we joined Simon and Dwight, Mark and Paul, and Gayle and Angelos (her greek-born husband) for drinks on the upper deck.

At dinner we sat with a couple we´ve talked with several times. They are from Atlanta, but I can never remember their names. I tried looking them up this afternoon and at lunch today I called her Dianne, but she said it was Jackie. In any case, they told me I should get in touch with them next time I was in Atlanta. Dad and I enjoyed our grilled lobster, but Jackie was very unhappy with the quality of her grilled beef. All beef, by the way, is local to the Galapagos (by law).

After dinner was the talent show. The staff put on a nice concert, but I left before the guests started.

I got up at 6:45 am for the morning excursion. Dad wouldn´t sign up for anything last night, but I did talk him into the short walk today. I went on the long one.

We landed on a volcanic beach on Santiago island, and walked past the ruins of various structures built for the salt mine. Then we reached the volcanic coast, where lava tunnels had formed coves where the fur sea lions like to rest. We saw several, along with a yellow crested night heron, and lots of marine iguanas. Then we walked back along the tide pools, where we could see the layers of ash-stone had eroded in fantastic shapes. We also saw a galapagos hawk.

Back at the beach, I saw dad´s zodiak arrive, but he decided to stay on return to the boat, while I went snorkling. Simon needed a snorkle buddy (as did I), so we swam out along the rocky shore. It was the best snorkling of the trip. Many schools of colorful tropical fish, including parrot fish and angelfish. We also saw a puffer fish, and were buzzed by three sea lions. I also saw a sting ray resting on the ocean floor.

We headed back on board for a mexican buffet lunch, this time sitting with Crystal and Hylon, a couple from Idaho, whose grandson worked in the peace corps in Khazakstan.

Dad´s napping now, and they´re setting up for the passenger who lectured on Judy Garland earlier in the week, for another talk, this time on American composers (he´s working on a book).

This afternoon we´ll be in Santa Cruz island, and tomorrow, we´re going to see the giant tortoises at the Charles Darwin Center, followed by a drive up to the highlands to see them in the wild. We´ve been warned about rain, so I´ll take my windbreaker. Speaking of which, I nearly lost my cap this morning in the zodiak, but Paul caught it.

More Penguins

We heard yesterday afternoon that this sort of weather, heavy rolling seas from the north, is very unusual, and hasn´t been like this in five years.

Our landing on Bartolome Island was supposed to be dry, but with seas high, it was mostly wet. We basically had to jump out of the boat and move as quickly away from the pier as we could to avoid getting soaked. Bartolome is a very young volcanic island. You could see the solidified streams of lava, and lava bombs with their crinkly, colored folds, lying on top of pumice and basalt. It was a hot, sunny afternoon, and I was a little concerned about my father. He hasn´t been sleeping all that well because of some congestion, which wakes him up to cough. He can´t take benadryl or pseudofed, but he´s going to take a claritin tonight. Anyway, he took his time up the mountain, but he made it all the way to the top. Great views of volcanic splatter cones and a thin mangrove swamp. They filmed the movie "Master and Commander" here.

Back at the bottom we reboarded the boat, but this time the guide was soaked. The wave was so large he disappeared in the white sea foam and we feared he might have been washed away. Everyone get on board dry. Then we toured the coast where we saw three families of penguins (including one with a young penguin). The guide and one of the passengers named the families (e.g., the Dominguez family, the Gonzales family, etc).

The big excitement last night was crossing the Equator. The ship´s crew put on a very mild and cleaned up version of the Shellbacking ceremony (google it to find out what the navy does). King Neptune showed up with a trident and toy otter. His henchmen were dressed as pirates. First they took away an officer to kill her (she snuck back in 2 minutes later). Then, after "terrorizing" the passengers, they grabbed one to be Neptune´s queen. When asked her name, she said "Barbara," apparently a different member of her group (they are a group of some 12 people who eat and drink together). Then they decided they needed more victims so they grabbed six more people, including my father. They all had to kneel before Queen "Barbara" and then perform tasks. Dad was ordered to walk like a penguin. Then they had to kiss "Peppino" -- they toy otter on Neptune´s staff. Then they returned to their chairs and we all received certificates noting that we crossed the Equator.

We slept much better last night. No heavy rolling like the night before. This morning we went to Isabela Island. We hoped to see land tortoises, but they´re still up in the highlands. The area we walked through was uplifted 55 years ago through volcanic action. We landed on a black volcanic beach. Dad didn´t want to get shoes wet, so he took his shoes and socks off and then put them on afterwards, but very slowly and we had to catch up with our group. We saw the nesting sites of land iguanas and several of the 4 foot yellow ones. Afterwards, we returned to the beach where I went snorkling.

At first, the sea was very murky, but as I got further out it cleared up (also when the sun came out, we could see more). I saw more king angelfish and some more blue and yellow fish. There was a school of silvery Jacks {?}, but not too many fish. Then I saw a large ray on the ocean bottom. On the way back in, a green sea turtle swam right by me.

Lunch was a buffet on the back deck. Dad particularly likes the cheeses. Tonight we´re all getting the grilled lobster appetizer.

Penguins! (and a rough night)

Internet service is becoming very spotty, so be patient.

Yesterday afternoon we went to Floreana. We took a Zodiak ride to see the sharks in the lagoon. We didn´t see sharks, but we did see penguins! (two of them). There are only 10 to 12 on the whole island. We saw more sea turtles (mating), two eagle rays, and a mangrove lagoon. The walk to the look out was fine with nice views.

Back on board, I chatted with one passenger who retired as a professor from ASU (Bill Davy or Davie), where he worked in international relations and studies. He told me how the Israeli embassy worked with him to restore study abroad trips to Israel.

We had nice conversations at dinner with two other couples, but the food wasn´t so good. We were the last table served and our salmon was a little over cooked. We kept calling over waiters to find out where our meal was.

After dinner, the naturalists put on a show, so dad and I watched. After that, he went to bed, while I went on the top deck to see the stars. It started off clear and Orion was directly overhead, with the Plieades to the north. Nice views of the Milky Way (the Southern Cross isn´t visible until February, and the North Star won´t be visible until July). By the time the naturalist came up to tell us about the stars, it started to cloud over.

They turned on the lights of hte ship and we that attracted sea life. First the penguins arrived, then the sealions, and then we saw two Galapagos Sharks (they don´t eat people).

There are very large swells from the north now, and we had a very rough night (or at least I did). The swells rocked the boat severly from side to side. I had dreams about large waves threatening the ship was woken repeatedly.

This morning we took the Zodiak to Santa Cruz island, where we saw more mating sea turtles in route. The problems came when we tried to land. The swells made the beach very difficult to navigate. They came in fast and I quickly jumped out and made it to shore. Dad has a blister so he came off barefoot then dried his feet and put on shoes and socks. One Zodaik couldn´t make it in and returned to the ship.

We walked along the beach and saw more sea turtle nests, more marine iguanas, and some lava gulls who were courting. We saw the rusted remains of US wwII barges and one flamingo. The sea was too rough to snorkle so we got back on the zodiak (a production in itself - we all got pretty wet).

We had a good lunch and nice conversation with a couple who had been to Israel and the husband really liked the airforce museum. After lunch dad went to sleep and I saw the internet was back in service so quickly typed out this post.

We´re on our way to Bartolome Island where there are lots of penguins. No word yet on whether the sea will be calm enough for snorkling.

Iguanas, Flamingos and Turtles

Yesterday afternoon we went to España Island. My father didn´t want to do the long walk so we took the Zodiak for a ride along the coast. I sat way in the back so he wouldn´t need to be next to the diesel exhaust, so I couldn´t hear what the guide was saying. We saw swimming marine iguanas from a distance and some turtles, but far away. I was rather disappointed.

On shore, though, we got upclose and personal with the pink and green marine iguanas called "Christmas Iguanas." There was a pretty American Oystercatcher bird on the beach, and I had a photo taken of me with the iguanas (but they are hard to see).

This island had a lot of nesting Nazca Boobies. We saw one mother boobie fly in (you can tell because they honk) and take over the job of caring for a new-born chick from the father (you can tell because they whistle). The chick was only a few days old and had no feathers or down, but was naked. A little further up the path we saw a chick that was a few weeks older, so was now covered in white down.

At the end of the short trail we came to a beach where bachelor sea lions live. From a distance we could see the people on the longer hike where they were looking at the blow hole. They also saw an albatross, I was told later. On the way back, we saw some of the famous Galapagos finches that Darwin used as the basis of his theory of evolution, and I was buzzed by a Galapagos mockingbird, that flew within a foot of my face.

Dinner was very nice and we had a long conversation at dinner with two couples about the problems of health care. I had the schnitzel (ok, chicken milanese). Tonight will be salmon.

This morning we went to Floreana Island. This was our first wet landing, so we swung our feet over the side of the Zodiak and then walked through three inches of water to the beach. From there we walked 5 minutes to a brackish lagoon where we saw dozens of flamingoes. Along the way, we could hear and see yellow warblers and finches. Far more impressive was when we reached the sea turtle nesting sites.

This is where the female sea turtles come in and lay their eggs (100 to a clutch) in the sand dunes above the high tide line. In the morning, they return to the sea. As we came to the beach, we could see the female turtles slowly making their way to the water. It takes a lot of energy for them to come into land and then lay their eggs, so they're real tired and move slowly. We saw some resting, some in the water, and even two sea turtles mating in the surf.

From there we walked back to our landing site. Those doing the advanced snorkle left and the rest of stayed for the beginning snorkling. My father put everything on, but his snorkle filled with water whenever he put his head down. I tried to get him to practice, but he didn´t want to. Instead, he swam for a bit. I found a woman to be my snorkling buddy and we floated along the rocks, seeing green sea urchins, pencil urchins (their spines looked more like cigarettes to me), various fish, and a sea lion who buzzed me twice.

After about an hour we were ready to go back. A little more difficult getting back in the boat, particularly as I was the one carrying the bag with all the wet suits, fins, and snorkles. Back on board we showered and had a nice italian buffet on deck. My father particularly liked the grilled peppers and the cannaloni.

We have another hour and a half before the next lecture (so dad is napping)then we go to see the "baroness lookout" (where I´m sure we´ll hear the whole sordid story). Another wet landing but no snorkling. Tomorrow we might be able to see penguins.

Starting Off With a Kick

We had a good night´s sleep, I only woke up once. As usual, I woke before the alarm, showering and shaving before the 6:30 wake up call. I had time for the continental breakfast buffet (croissants, tea, muffins) and then at 7 am, my father and I got on the zodiak for an early morning tour of Kicker Island.

This is a set of three monoliths rising out of the ocean. We got up close and saw the crabs and waves along the base. The guide asked if we wanted to go through the narrow channel between two of the monoliths, and all but two raised their hands for yes, but he was just joking. The naturalist got real excited, though, when we saw a peregrin falcon fighting some of the Great Frigatebirds in the sky. Apparently falcons are rarely spotted in the Galapagos. It was easy to spot the falcon as it was far smaller than the Frigatebirds, which look like smaller versions of pterodactyls (or the winged serpents that the Nazgul ride in the film version of Lord of the Rings).

We also saw blue-footed boobies, a pelican that dove right next to the boat, caught a fish and then came up and ate it. It was a terrific ride and well worth getting up early in the morning to do. After about an hour we headed back to the boat.

After a late breakfast we took the zodiak into the port at San Cristobal island. It was drizzling a little so we wore windbreakers. The Interpretive Center was painless, but ok. Back in town I looked at possible t-shirt purchases for my niece and nephews, and bought a cap for myself so I don´t have to wear this dorky ski cap.

I chatted with a couple from Baltimore (Simon and Dwight), who told me about a computer program that allows to one to make a coffee table book of your trip and then have it printed on nice paper and with a good binding. I may try it for this trip.

I convinced my father to try snorkling, so we picked up a full set of equipment. He didn´t want the fins, but I told him he could always decided not to use them later. We´ll only do beach snorkling for him.

He´s napping (third time) right now, and then we´re doing the short hike this afternoon on Esmerelda Island. He´s a bit concerned about all the boulders on the long trail (same boulders on the short trail, but it´s shorter). he´s taking his anti-sea sick medication, so he´s doing fine as long he´s not next to the diesel motor on the zodiak.

Seeing the Boobies

We got up just before 5 am to leave our luggage for the porters to take the boat. After a breakfast of fresh fruit we flew to Guayaquil. I was very happy to be at sea level again.

The last two days I felt tired, weak headed, and was running to the bathroom every 15 minutes from drinking so many liquids to combat the altitude sickness. I think I had a glimpse of old age.

We saw many spectacular volcanic peaks on the flight to Guayaquil. As we came into the Galapagos, they opened all the overhead compartments and fumigated them (my father and I covered our mouths).

After checking into the stateroom, we took a Zodiak boat to shore and did the long walk on N. Seymour Island. Very rocky, but we were amazed to see all the animals so close up (I suppose everyone says that). There were sea lion pups at the landing dock (they smell), swallow-tail gulls, iguanas, marine lizards, great frigates, magnificent frigates, and blue-footed boobies. We saw the frigages and the boobies engaged in their mating dances, sea lion pups nursing and boobies trading off the job of sitting on eggs. After 2 hours it was back to the ship for dinner and dessert.

I am going to bed early, since we are signed up for the 7am boat trip.

A Cold Day at the Equator

We woke up far too early this morning (after only 4.5 hours of sleep). I'm definitely feeling the altitude (my father, on the other hand is fine). I've had a slight headache all day, and took an Advil.

We walked around the old town this morning. The day was grey and overcast; sometimes the sun peeped through, and sometimes it lightly drizzled.

We enjoyed the Old Town and my father only made a few antireligious mutterings in the church. We drove north from Quito, passed the Equator monument, up to a large volcanic crater. The restaurant ("El Crator") is on the edge of the crater. It's an active volcano, but it hasn't erupted in many, many years. People live inside it and farm. Lunch was good and we had nice chats with others on the tour.

After lunch we went to the monument and had our photos taken with one of us in the Northern Hemisphere and one in the Southern. Really too long a stop.

We got back to the hotel at 4pm and we took naps. I slept longer (1.5 hours).

Now it's time to repack and get ready for bed. We have to be up by 5 am to make our flight to Guayacil and from there to the Galapagos. We should be there at noon tomorrow.

Altitude

After a three-hour flight delay, we arrived in Quito at 2 am. Finally in bed by 3 am, but then up at 7:30. Nice breakfast and we're off to see the sights today. Overcast, but I'm hoping the weather will improve.

Definitely feeling the altitude (it's just under 10,000 feet here). Woke up this morning with a slight headache.

Admiral's Club - Miami

Well, half way to Quito. A comfortable flight, particularly in first. No special seats, other than large ones, and certainly no special video equipment like I've seen on other flights (from back in coach).

We've got an hour before our next flight, so I'm off to have a complimentary beer.

My father assures me that there will be someone to meet us at the Quito airport.