Galapagos

Dear family and friends,

"Prickly pear cactus!  Prickly pear cactus!  My Gahd, I can't believe how much he talked about prickly pear cactus!  We've got millions of prickly pear cactus in Texas," Cecelia started in a whisper but ended with a near squeal to emphasize her dismay that Ruly, our naturalist tour leader, would spend so much time discussing something which is so uninterestingly common in her home state of Texas. 

Cecelia is from Port Aransas on the Gulf Coast, and was apparently unaware that our tour to the Galapagos Islands was intended for more than just folks from her home state.  Or alternately, she may not know that prickly pear cactus does not grow in Canada, England, Norway, and northern United States from whence the other nine of us on the tour come, or that this is a unique species of prickly pear cactus.  In her mid fifties with sun-bleached hair, brightly painted toe nails, and the grooming of someone desperate to look younger - but being resolutely betrayed by the sagging flab bubbling over her belt line - I am not quite sure why Cecelia decided to come to the Galapagos Islands.  With the urbanity of one who has seldom traveled outside Texas, I am quite certain that she has no knowledge that the Galapagos is the crucible of the Theory of Evolution, or as commonly known, Survival of the Fittest Through Natural Selection, as proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859.  Darwin spent less than one month in the islands in 1835, but his extraordinary ability for observation permitted him to identify many different endemic species - that is, they only occur here in the Galapagos - including 14 different species of finches, now known as Darwin finches.  It was his keen observations of how specialized the finches had become in adapting to their particular environment that propelled him to his conclusions of the evolution of species.

The Galapagos Islands, a group of some twenty islands and forty islets, lies 1,000 km off the coast of Ecuador with the equator running directly through it.  The Galapagos were my next stop after flying out of Santiago.  Then an enjoyable flight took me from Quito, the capital of Ecuador, to the airport located on Baltra Island from where I was whisked off to board the vessel Cruz del Sur for a five day/four night tour of the highlights of several islands. 

The islands were created by more than 2,000 lava eruptions at a triple subjunction point of three tectonic plates, the South American, Nazca, and Cocos plates known as the Galapagos Hot Spot.  Generally, the islands are barren and they are quite flat having been formed by lava eruptions of the Hawaiian bubbly stew pot type rather than the explosive type which result in soaring conical mountains like Mount Baker or Mount St. Helens.  The highest point in the islands is about 5,000 feet.  Some of the islands still have active volcanoes.  Variability in climate, altitude, and soil texture have contributed to the creation of unique and distinct vegetation and animal life.  The oldest island is only some 3 million years old (as contrasted with the rest of the world which is 1,000 times older).  Many scientists were troubled by the relative youth of these islands, not believing the evolutionary changes Darwin identified could happen within such a short period.  The recent discovery of many other islands, some up to nine million years old that have now slipped beneath the ocean as the Nazca plate moves under the South American plate has satisfied those doubters.

The Cruz del Sur, one of some 70 odd small cruise ships working in the Galapagos, was set up to accommodate 16 people, but we were only nine so it was great.  Counting Ruly, our naturalist guide, there was a crew of nine to look after us.  Our typical day would see us up before 5:30 and into the small launches called 'pangas' for a nature walk on one the islands to view the wildlife.  After our walk and breakfast we would put in to some cove or beach for snorkeling or scuba diving.  In the late afternoon, we would repeat this procedure in a new spot.

It is, of course, to see the animals that the many thousands of tourists come here.  There is not, in fact, great bio-diversity in the Galapagos; for example there are only three land mammals (other than domestic animals introduced by settlers), one species of rat and two species of bats, and only 58 species of resident birds.  There are a few land reptiles including two species of iguanas and the giant Galapagos tortoises, which can weigh up to 600 pounds, that gave the islands their name as their carapaces look similar to the English riding saddle called a 'galapago' in Spanish.  Many of these species are restricted to only one of the small islands.  The ocean is home to thousands of endemic Galapagos sea lions, massive turtles, whales, dolphins, hammerhead sharks, rays as well as marine iguanas (which actually live on land but feed in the ocean) and thousands of tropical fishes.  It is the great proportion of the flora and fauna endemic to the islands that is the attraction of these islands. 

The thing that is so odd, as to be almost weird, is how tame the animals are.  There are various reasons given for why this might be true, but the one that seems to make the most sense to me is that the animals never had to fight for territory.  Touching the animals is not allowed but it would be entirely possible to pet a sea lion pup, pick up an iguana, or take the eggs out from under a nesting blue footed boobie. 

As I said, there are not a great number of species, but there are several that are simply remarkable.  Without question, the mating ritual of the blue footed boobie is one of the most interesting demonstrations I have ever watched.  The male stands in place, his neck craning skyward, his wings extended, and then, he slowly lifts one foot after the other in a very dignified rocking which produces a slow side to side waddle.  And his feet are so blue they look almost like Rubber Maid plastic.  If he attracts a female, she joins him, unfolding her wings and stretching her beak up as well.  The male whistles and the female clucks, all very sweet.  Boobies are exceptional divers, plunging straight in to the water for food with such force they will penetrate more than ten feet. 

The mating technique of the magnificent frigatebird is also dramatic.  These are very large birds with wing spans almost 7 feet across, and although classed as a sea bird they never enter the water as their preening gland does not produce enough oil.  The male has a gular sac under its neck that it can inflate with air much like some toads or frogs.  It takes about twenty minutes to fill the sack and when full it is a large balloon the size of a volleyball, brilliant crimson red.  The male sits in small shrubs, this huge red bubble on his neck forcing his head straight skyward, hoping to attract a mate.  They are so amazingly obvious it is no wonder his technique works.  The frigatebirds have the largest wingspan-to-weight ratio of any bird and are dazzling fliers, skimming across the water to pluck food out in full flight.  They also harass other birds, sometimes grabbing them by the tail to force the other bird into dropping their food which the frigatebird then swoops to catch as it falls. 

Other interesting birds to be seen include the Galapagos penguin, a tiny species only about one foot high.  One colony of these birds resides on the northern tip of Isla Isabella making them the only penguins to live in the Northern Hemisphere.  The total world's population of waved albatross (some 12,000 pair) nest and breed on Isla de la Plata.  This magnificently graceful bird can spend years at sea without touching land.  There are several notable gulls including the endemic swallow-tailed gull which is a nocturnal feeder, the only gull to have developed night vision, and the lava gull, the rarest in the world with less than 400 pairs remaining.

Snorkeling also produced some remarkable experiences.  It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a spot to snorkel without sea lions flashing by within inches of your face like a silver grey torpedo.  The territorial bulls can reach 250kg and can be quite aggressive in protecting their turf and their harem.  But females, and particularly pups, are extremely playful.  Several of our group found themselves right in the middle of groups of these little guys spurting and darting around them.  I must say, for me, it took some real effort of will to not panic when one of the larger females would shoot right up to me and only spin off at the last moment.  Also to encounter a yard long marine iguana, black as coal, swimming inches in front of your mask is a unique and unforgettable experience.

One morning as we were about to embark for one of our walks ashore, Cecelia said, "These aren't real pangas".

'What do you mean?" I asked, with more than a little reluctance.

"Oh, I've seen lots of real pangas.  In Mexico.  They're like a dugout canoe", she said, her head cocked the slightest bit up to the right to emphasize the certainty of her knowledge.

"Well," I offered, "maybe in Spanish 'panga' just means small boat."

"No, the real pangas are in Mexico, these aren't pangas."  Case closed.

The Galapagos were uninhabited when originally discovered by the Spanish in 1535, who initially thought the islands were enchanted as they often disappeared into the mists within moments of having been first seen.  For the next several hundreds of years sailboats used the islands as a spot to re-provision.  It was common practice to capture tortoises by the hundreds, putting the live animals in the hold where they would be kept for up to one year, without food and water, and used as a source of fresh meat.  Tens of thousands are known to have been taken. 

Now one of Ecuador's 21 provinces, the Galapagos is home to about 20,000 people, almost all of whom are involved in the booming tourist trade.  UNESCO declared Galapagos a World Natural Heritage Site in 1978 and subsequently a World Biosphere Reserve in 1985.  It will surely be one of the most memorable parts of my South American junket.  So, that is all for now.  I do hope you are all well.

Merv.