![\"\"](\"http:\/\/izaakrubin.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/IMG_0178.jpg\" "\\"Quito,")
<\/a>Quito, from the top of the Teleferico<\/p><\/div>\n
I got to Quito around 10:30 Friday night, and stood around for about 20 minutes before my ride showed up.\u00a0 Apparently the flight was a bit earlier than expected, so I got to be that awkward tourist hanging around the airport, looking for the person with their name on a sign.\u00a0 In the van on the way to the hotel I met Tim and Viki Anderson, a couple from Victoria, British Columbia, who were on the same Galapagos tour.\u00a0 We agreed to meet up the next morning for breakfast, since we had a free day to spend in Quito before flying out to the islands.<\/p>\n
Tim and Viki, as it turns out, are pretty energetic travelers.\u00a0 Though I\u2019d guess they\u2019re in their 60s or 70s, they were the ones setting the aggressive pace, not me.\u00a0 After an early breakfast, we took a taxi out to the Teleferico, a gondola that takes you up the mountains on the west side of Quito.\u00a0 The city sits in a long, narrow valley in the Andes, and is itself pretty high up in the Andes \u2013 at roughly 9,000 ft.\u00a0 The Teleferico takes you up to 13,000 ft, which was a noticeable difference.\u00a0 Walking around up there was stunning, with stark Andes landscapes and views of Quito, and a definite thinness in the air.\u00a0 Good altitude practice for next week on the Inca Trail \u2013 I know now that I can handle the altitude, but hiking that high up certainly takes more effort.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Our boat, the G4<\/p><\/div>\n
Once back in Quito, we took the cab out to some lookout Tim had heard of \u2013 the cab driver didn\u2019t know it very well.\u00a0 He spent about 20 minutes driving around a poor community on the mountain side, searching for this lookout and asking locals for directions, only to finally get us there and have it be a total let-down \u2013 not nearly as good a view as Tim had expected.\u00a0 The drive was definitely worth it, though; I doubt I\u2019d have gotten to see that side of Quito any other way.\u00a0 Definitely poorer and dirtier than the other parts we saw, but not as bad as some places I\u2019ve seen \u2013 not even on the same scale as India.<\/p>\n
After the lookout, we had the cab drop us at the Basilica and then walked around from there.\u00a0 We made it to the heart of the old city, which has the president\u2019s mansion and a number of plazas; not the most exciting, though there was a giant health fair going on that was full of people and loud music.\u00a0 After lunch, we spent an hour walking around the town and then back to the hotel; I rested for the rest of the afternoon.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Lazy sea dogs, a.k.a. sea lions<\/p><\/div>\n
Sunday started early, and by noon we were all out on San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos.\u00a0 \u201cWe,\u201d at this point, had expanded to a set of 15 passengers: myself; Tim and Viki; Ian and Jillian from Canberra, Australia; Andrew and Sarah from Auckland, New Zealand; John and Kim from London; Bret and Karen from Alberta; Stephan from Dusseldorf; Karauna from London; Jeanie from Dublin; and Cynthia from LA.\u00a0 A remarkably good, energetic, positive group \u2013 with few exceptions, everyone got along well.\u00a0 Stephan was my roommate on board the Xavier III \u2013 a.k.a. the G4 \u2013 our 16-passenger boat.\u00a0 Along with our guide, Wilo, and 8 other crew members, we set out from San Cristobal around 1pm.<\/p>\n
The boat, and everything about this tour, was pretty lux.\u00a0 There are nine passenger rooms, each of which can hold two people \u2013 although they never fill the boat with more than 16.\u00a0 The lower deck, which sits partially below the water level, has five of those rooms, along with the crew room, motor, and generator.\u00a0 Up on the main deck is the kitchen, dining area, and lounge\/bar; toward the back is an open staging area where we had out wetsuits, snorkeling equipment, life jackets, shoes, etc.\u00a0 The upper deck has a nice big seating area at the back, with six lounger chairs; up front are the remaining four passenger rooms \u2013 one of them mine \u2013 the captain\u2019s room, our guide\u2019s (Wilo\u2019s) room, and the bridge.\u00a0 Last but not least, on the roof of the upper deck are a couple big padded areas to lie out, and some clothes lines.<\/p>\n
Our schedule each day varied slightly, but generally followed the same pattern: breakfast at 7am, featuring tons of fruit, various breakfast-y items I usually couldn\u2019t eat, and a special bowl of puffed quinoa cereal for me (I\u2019d warned them of my dietary restrictions when I booked).\u00a0 Around 8am we\u2019d disembark for the morning activity, which was either a walk on an island, a snorkel off the beach or off one of the zodiacs (our little transport boats), or both.\u00a0 By 10:30 or 11 we\u2019d be back onboard, have a little snack (usually juice), and then have lunch at noon.\u00a0 Around 2 or 2:30 we\u2019d have our afternoon activity, same format as in the morning; we\u2019d get back anywhere between 4:30 and 6, and have a snack.\u00a0 Dinner at 7pm.\u00a0 We\u2019d all linger around dinner until 8 or 8:30, but at that point people would be so tired \u2013 myself included \u2013 that we\u2019d go to bed.\u00a0 The latest I ever stayed up was 10pm; I\u2019d usually be in bed by 9.\u00a0 At some point in the evening, after we\u2019d tucked in, the motor would start up, the anchors would clankle their way up, and we\u2019d set off overnight for the next destination.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Boobies!<\/p><\/div>\n
Sunday, once we got settled after lunch, was no exception to this routine.\u00a0 In the afternoon we took a walk around Isla Lobos, an island off the coast of San Cristobal, and got our first good look at sea lions, marine iguanas, and the famous blue-footed boobies.\u00a0 As my Facebook photos will demonstrate, I didn\u2019t know how to stop taking pictures of the animals\u2026 I apologize in advance.\u00a0 In general, it was just incredible to be in these animals\u2019 space, from the smells to the sounds, to the way they (usually) completely ignore us humans around them, to the way the camouflage perfectly with their surroundings. \u00a0I just loved it.<\/p>\n
One quick aside about boobies, my favorite bird of the Galapagos: aside from their wonderful name, I like these birds for several other reasons.\u00a0 First, they\u2019re cute.\u00a0 They have a kind of dumb look on their faces, and will stare blankly at your hand if you wave it in front of them (hence the name, which comes from the Spanish word \u201cbobo,\u201d meaning clown or fool).\u00a0 Secondly, they\u2019re talented: they fly over the ocean, looking for fish, and then dive bomb down into the water to eat their prey.\u00a0 Apparently they have a 30% success rate, which seems pretty good, considering.\u00a0 Lastly, you\u2019re naturally inclined to feel a bit bad for them, since the frigate birds \u2013 the pirates of the Galapagos \u2013 get a good portion of their food by stealing the boobies\u2019 catch.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get to frigate birds later.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Horny male frigates<\/p><\/div>\n
Later that afternoon, after our walk, we had a snorkel off the coast of Isla Lobos.\u00a0 Every single snorkel (there were nine total over the course of the week) had some special aspect to it.\u00a0 In addition to an absurd number of tropical fish, this first snorkel featured the brief appearance of a sea turtle; there would be plenty more to come, but for a first go, it was pretty exciting.<\/p>\n
Monday morning\u2019s activity was a walk around the island of North Seymour \u2013 we got to see a lot of male frigate birds vying for the attention of females.\u00a0 To do so, these large, black birds inflate a big red pouch that runs from their necks to their bellies, and squawk for attention.\u00a0 Most memorable was a group of four males, pouches inflated and hollering together, that successfully attracted a female.\u00a0 No, I didn\u2019t get to see bird sex.\u00a0 But it was pretty cool to see the attraction mechanism work!\u00a0 Once the female showed up, there was just a lot of confused-seeming fluttering and squawking.\u00a0 North Seymour also featured land iguanas, which are yellow, scaly, and quite a bit bigger than their black, slimy marine counterparts.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Whale carcass<\/p><\/div>\n
That afternoon we had a snorkel off the zodiacs: after getting dropped in rather deep, choppy waters, we saw a white-tip shark, another sea turtle, and of course, plenty of fish.\u00a0 Some people also saw a hammerhead shark, but I missed it.\u00a0 Later, we took a walk on Mosquera, a small, mostly sand island, where we saw a fully decomposed whale carcass \u2013 someone apparently dragged the whale onshore after it died, and it has since decomposed so completely that it looks like a museum exhibit.\u00a0 We also saw some fur seals from the zodiacs on the way there \u2013 a special sub-species endemic to the Galapagos that has shorter fur.<\/p>\n
Tuesday morning we arrived near the islands of Santiago and Bartolome.\u00a0 We visited Santiago in the morning; the island, or at least the part we saw, is entirely semi-recent (i.e. within 150 years) lava fields, black and endless, dotted by now-dormant volcanoes.\u00a0 Not many animals out there, save for a few lizards.\u00a0 Afterward we had a snorkel off the beach, with the major highlight being a penguin: I floated for about five minutes watching a Galapagos penguin \u2013 the third-smallest penguin variety, with shorter fur \u2013 go at it with a giant school of what looked like sardines.\u00a0 It swam around snapping at them, but didn\u2019t seem too successful; the fish were quick, and the whole mass of them deformed perfectly around the penguin\u2019s path.\u00a0 I was impressed \u2013 I\u2019d be surprised if the penguin got more than a few nibbles.\u00a0 Times like these I wish I had an underwater camera!<\/p>\n
<\/a>The beach at Bartolome, with pinnacle rock<\/p><\/div>\n
After lunch we visited Bartolome, which may well be my favorite island out of the whole trip.\u00a0 Bartolome is famous for being one of the most picturesque islands, and it lives up to expectations.\u00a0 The focal point is pinnacle rock, a giant rock formation jutting out of the water.\u00a0 Next to it is an absolutely perfect beach, clear turquoise waters and perfect scenery, not to mention great snorkeling.\u00a0 We saw sea stars, a sea lion, another white-tip shark, a stingray camouflaged in the sand, a penguin perched on a nearby rock, and \u2013 of course \u2013 hundreds and hundreds of fish.\u00a0 I wish I knew more about the fish\u2026 there were a few varieties we saw most often, one with a yellow tail and a purple body, and another chunkier-looking fish with big front teeth, brightly colored with oranges, yellows, greens, and blues.\u00a0 While killing time after snorkeling, we walked across the island to another beach, where we saw sea turtles floating nearby.<\/p>\n
Later, just before sunset, we took a hike up to a lighthouse perched on top of a hill on Bartolome.\u00a0 Amazing views \u2013 from that height and location, we could see about a dozen different islands.\u00a0 Stunning.<\/p>\n
Wednesday was a bit of a transitionary day.\u00a0 The tour company operates the boat on a 2-week cycle, and every Sunday and Wednesday, some passengers get off and some get on.\u00a0 Some of us, myself included, were on for a full week \u2013 Sunday to Sunday \u2013 but about half the passengers left on Wednesday.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the replacement bunch we got later that day was decidedly less cool, though with a few exceptions.\u00a0 My favorite new additions were Helen and James from Sydney, Mike from the UK, who now lives in SF, and Ross from Glasgow; Mike and Ross were traveling solo, and roomed together as Stephan and I had done.\u00a0 Stephan, unfortunately, was one of the folks who left on Wednesday, and my replacement roommate was\u2026 not my favorite.\u00a0 I\u2019ll spare details on him and my other lesser-favorites, but it suffices to say, there were way too many compulsive talkers.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Old man turtle<\/p><\/div>\n
Aside from the newbies, Wednesday was dominated by land turtles.\u00a0 In the morning we visited the Darwin center, a breeding center for turtles, and in the afternoon we drove inland on Santa Cruz Island to visit a private turtle preserve.\u00a0 I\u2019ll admit, I didn\u2019t totally understand the purpose, since the entire island is basically a turtle preserve.\u00a0 But it did provide a nice concentration of turtles, which was good for pictures.<\/p>\n
Thursday morning we visited Rabida, which featured a red sand beach.\u00a0 The snorkel that morning wasn\u2019t as interesting by comparison to some of those on previous days, but there were a good concentration of sea lions just offshore, and we got to swim very close (i.e. within a meter) of them, which was pretty awesome.\u00a0 That afternoon we visited Bachas Beach, back on Santa Cruz, where the highlight was a lone flamingo hanging out in a lagoon\u2026 forget Lonesome George, the famous turtle, we found the lonesome pink flamingo.\u00a0 The snorkeling off Bachas Beach was, unfortunately, the worst out of the entire week \u2013 the sand was so incredibly fine and flour-like (also beautiful), that the water was murky\/soupy with sand \u2013 almost impossible to see anything.\u00a0 I did see one stingray, but otherwise almost nothing.<\/p>\n
Thursday afternoon also featured a strange little twist of fate.\u00a0 Tim and Viki hadn\u2019t been holding up so well onboard the boat: Tim didn\u2019t sleep at all on Sunday night, when we first got on, and the sea sickness and exhaustion was too much \u2013 he and Viki left the boat Monday afternoon, to spend a couple days in one of the major cities (Puerto Ayora) and recuperate.\u00a0 They then returned Wednesday, but poor Tim suffered the same sleeplessness that night and on Thursday, the two of them left for the last time.\u00a0 Once my new (disliked) roommate heard about this, however, he asked if he could switch into their now-vacant room.\u00a0 I\u2019m guessing he didn\u2019t like me that much, either.\u00a0 So although it was sad to lose Tim and Viki yet again, the silver lining was two fewer nights rooming with this guy.\u00a0 By Friday morning he was out of the room, and I had the space to myself for the rest of the week.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The “Post Office”<\/p><\/div>\n
Friday was our day on Floreana, one of the two southernmost islands of the Galapagos.\u00a0 In the morning we walked around the island to a beach littered with sea turtles and stingrays, followed by a snorkel around an offshore rock.\u00a0 I briefly saw a sea turtle, and got to play with sea lions again \u2013 very fun.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure how to describe it exactly, but I feel like sea lions are the dogs of the sea: playful when they\u2019re engaging you and others, but also very content to lie around in the sun and sleep.\u00a0 I know that sounds generic, but there really is some quality to them that reminds me of dogs.<\/p>\n
In the afternoon we had a walk around a different part of Floreana, visiting the \u201cPost Office\u201d and a lava tunnel.\u00a0 The Post Office is literally a wooden barrel with a little pitched roof, full of postcards without stamps.\u00a0 The idea is that if you want a postcard delivered, you put it in there, and then take out a different postcard addressed to a location near where you live \u2013 then you go and hand-deliver it yourself.\u00a0 Or, failing that, take a postcard addressed to somewhere in your home country, and then mail it when you get home.\u00a0 Another cute Post Office concept: leave a postcard for someone who you think should visit the Galapagos, and hope they later come and pick it out of the barrel.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have any postcards, but I did take one addressed to someone in Danville\u2026 it was the closest one I could find.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ll just mail it when I get home, not sure if I\u2019m motivated enough to hand-deliver a postcard to Danville :p.<\/p>\n
The lava tunnel was pretty neat, too \u2013 we climbed into a pretty big cave formed by an old lava stream \u2013 the exterior of the stream hardens faster than the interior, leaving a tunnel that descends into the ocean.\u00a0 We walked until we hit water, and then turned back.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Albatross<\/p><\/div>\n
Once back on the beach, we started one of our last snorkels \u2013 and despite some sandy murky waters, I found a sea turtle and spent a good ten minutes watching it in awe.\u00a0 In previous snorkels, the sea turtles would move away from us quickly \u2013 this guy didn\u2019t seem to care, however, and happily munched away at some algae on a rock, floated about, and ignored me altogether.\u00a0 It was a peak moment for me.<\/p>\n
Saturday, our last full day, revolved around the island of Espa\u00f1ola, the oldest and southeastern-most island of the Galapagos.\u00a0 In the morning we took a walk around the island, and saw two new birds: masked boobies, and albatross.\u00a0 The masked boobies are white, with a black coloring in the area around their eyes \u2013 hence the name.\u00a0 The albatross were hilarious: giant, goofy looking birds with funny longer hairs on their heads.\u00a0 The albatross apparently mate and give birth almost exclusively on Espa\u00f1ola, but then fly away for roughly six years before returning to mate again.\u00a0 We also got to see plenty of blue footed boobies, marine and land iguanas, frigates, and \u2013 at a distance \u2013 a Galapagos hawk.<\/p>\n
That afternoon we had one last snorkel, off the coast of Espa\u00f1ola, with the highlight being five different stingray sightings.\u00a0 The beach itself was also particularly nice, and we all just enjoyed walking around and taking in our last moments in the Galapagos.<\/p>\n