Galapagos: A Trip through the Ages
Susannah and I met when we were students at Yale 29
years ago and became the best of friends. We have remained so over the years.
But it still came as a complete bolt from the blue when she wrote to me asking
if I would consider going with her to a trip to the Galapagos. She reminded me of
a conversation we had at college, when she had asked me what my dream destination
was and I had said The Galapagos, without a second thought. Never did I believe that I would actually get
there. I did say yes, but with some anxiety about the distance and the cost.
Fortunately, I had a trip to the US coming up and if we planned well, I would
be at least half way there. Susannah promised to look out for a reasonable and
reliable tour company that would take us there. Several hundred emails back and
forth… and it seemed like it was really going to happen!
The Naturalist’s Mecca
The Galapagos is an archipelago of three main islands,
six smaller ones and several hundred rocky islets located about 1000 km west of
Ecuador on the South American coastline; the archipelago straddles the equator,
and lies at the confluence of four major ocean currents. The islands are a product of some of the most
active volcanic activity on the planet. Volcanic eruptions still continue; in
the last 200 years over 60 eruptions have been recorded from the islands, the
last one in 2005. The islands are in a state of constant flux, some continue to
move, and some sink, while others are in the process of being formed.
For a naturalist, the Galapagos Islands are the
ultimate ‘mecca’-- the revered land and its inhabitants that helped Charles
Darwin put forth the theory of evolution. For others, it is a mysterious location
with exotic wildlife.
It is ironic that the islands, which inspired Charles
Darwin to contemplate the theory of evolution, shaking the very foundation of
Christianity, were actually discovered by the Church. This was an accidental
occurrence when, in 1535, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain instructed
the Bishop of Panama to sail to Peru and settle some disputes there. Unfortunately
ocean currents led the ship to some islands that were not known before,
and the Bishop wrote an account of these islands with great wonder. It is not
clear if it was the Bishop who named these islands, but the name
Galapagos emerged somewhere in his writings. Galapagos in Spanish means ‘saddle’
and the name seems to refer to the shape of the shells of the giant tortoises that
inhabit these islands.
Nearly 250 years after their discovery, the islands
came back into focus when word spread about the abundance of whales in these
waters; the islands were then plundered by whalers. This was followed by
decades of attempts to colonize these islands, more plunder of wildlife, and
finally the Second World War. What prevented sustained human settlements on
these islands for several hundreds of years until after they were discovered
was the shortage of fresh water.
Young Charles Darwin got his first glimpse of the
islands on September 15 1835 when his ship HMS Beagle dropped anchor on what is
today called the island of San Cristobal. He spent five weeks on these islands;
and was fascinated by their geology and the life these harboured. What he saw there,
and collected, laid the foundation for his theory of evolution and the origin
of species.
Contrary to popular belief, the bird that
triggered his imagination about variation within a species was not the finch
but the non-descript mocking bird that, as he recounted
in his journal, came and sat on the rim of his
teacup and dipped its beak in. As he traveled through the islands he noticed
that this bird had beaks of different sizes and shapes on different islands. He
wondered if this was somehow related to evolution.
182 Years On (After Darwin): Going to Galapagos
There are two ways of visiting the Galapagos. One is
to take a cruise boat with stops at various islands. The high-end tourist cruises
include first class guides and interesting interactions throughout the cruise.
Susannah and I chose a relatively cheaper mode of ‘island hopping’ and
designed our own itinerary along with our travel company, Sharksky Tours.
The first ‘hop’ involved flying to Guayaquil on
mainland Ecuador, and then into Baltra (the island with the airport) in the
Galapagos. Nothing quite prepares as you leave the airport, What meets the eye is
very dry terrain with cliffs of black lava rock and bizarre looking cactus
trees.
We wonder where all the rich wildlife that we have read about is?
The
Galapagos has indeed a very odd assortment of wildlife, more so because over
hundreds of years, both the animals and plants found here have arrived from the
mainland through various means of dispersal. And only those that could adapt to
the harsh geographic conditions here survived.
Santa Cruz
A bus, ferry and Toyota truck taxi ride later, we are
on the island of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz
is the most central of the five inhabited islands, also with the largest
population. For the last 25 years the town of Puerto Ayara on this island has
become the main hub for tourists. The National Park headquarters as well as the
Charles Darwin Research Centre are both located here. We go straight to the hotel Posada Del Mar.
This charming hotel located in the heart of the town is owned and managed by
the very warm and efficient Cecilia. Her family also runs the café downstairs
that undoubtedly serves one of the best breakfasts in town. We spent the
afternoon and evening exploring the town.
Here was also our first encounter with what are now
called Darwin’s Finches. These birds are seen everywhere, and although
not particularly attractive, still gave us a thrill to see what may have been
responsible for defining and refining the theory of evolution once Darwin had
researched them on his return. These finches are still evolving and this makes
it very difficult to specifically identify them.
There are 13 species of Darwin’s Finches on these islands
Isabela
After an early
breakfast the next day we head to the island of Isabela. Boats are the only way
to commute between islands.
A two-hour boat ride later as we stepped onto Isabela
island, we perhaps experienced a fraction of what Charles Darwin may have
witnessed almost 200 years ago. The sight on the beach and walkway was unbelievable.
Hundreds of marine iguanas were sunbathing on the boardwalk. They simply would
not move.
The endemic marine iguana, is quintessential
Galapagos. These black iguanas feed exclusively
on marine algae and can be found in lying in hundreds on the equally black lava
rock, to absorb as much of the sun as they can.
The only marine lizard in the world
On the beach lay several sea lions, once again quite
undeterred by human beings. They seek body contact and hence the large groups
found on beaches. They can be quite endearing to watch, as they lie on the
beaches and swim in the water, barring the smell these large congregations
emanate!
Sea lions congregate in large numbers on almost every island
We had been booked at the Isabela Beach House, an
enchanting place on our very own private
beach, complete with a natural shallow sea pool to swim in. We settled in and
set out for the Tortoise Breeding Centre. Each island has one of these,
established by the Charles Darwin Research Centre and the national park
authorities to ensure the survival of these incredible creatures. The walk to
the Centre and back took us through mudflats with the most beautiful flamingos.
These Greater flamingos may have come from the Caribbean over a period of time.
There are less than 500 flamingos left on the archipelago today
The Galapagos have as much to offer under the ocean,
as on the ground; for the water loving tourists, this is indeed a paradise for
snorkeling, scuba diving, and kayaking There is an entire world in the depths
of the ocean, and only those brave enough to venture underwater are fortunate
to see this. However, for the not so brave as me, just standing at the pier gave
me a ‘preview’ of the underwater show with white tipped sharks, green turtles
and manta rays passing by and tempting me to brave the waters.
Green Turtle
I did venture to go kayaking.; the primary
motivation being to see the Galapagos penguins up close. Despite misgivings, I
must confess that I found the experience of kayaking in the open ocean truly
exhilarating. The idea of penguins at the equator sounds absurd, but
they do exist. The Galapagos penguin is the third
smallest penguin in the world and stands at about 30cm tall. Penguins usually
make burrows in soft peat, but in the absence of this, on these islands they
have taken to living in caves and crevices in the coastal lava. These ‘pocket’ penguins are intriguing and
kayaking gave us a close view of these birds.
This endemic penguin is the only one to nest in the tropics and is
found primarily on Isabela island.
The rocks in the
open sea are also home to the flamboyantly red, yellow and purple Sally light-foot
crabs. They get their name from their ability to jump across pools of water.
The next day, we headed to the Volcan Sierra Negra (1490m),
an active volcano that last erupted in 2005. We reach the base after a bone-rattling
ride in an open truck (chiva) despite advice against it in the Lonely Planet
Guide! We hiked to the rim of the six-mile wide crater and then walked across a
landscape of lava fields and fumaroles. This
5-6 hour walk is quite beautiful with changing scenarios. There are also some
spectacular views from the sub crater, Volcan Chico.
Another half- day boat trip
takes us to Los Tuneles, also known as Cabo Rosa. Geographically fascinating,
it is formed by sections of lava platforms collapsing into the sea creating a
series of lava arches and tunnels. The tunnels are home to a range of species
such as sea horses, white tip sharks, sea turtles, giant mantas, eagle, sting
and golden rays. Los Tunelas is protected from the sea and remains calm. The
lava rocks provide the ideal habitat for the famous mascot of the islands, the blue-footed
booby. This bird that decorates pretty much every souvenir on the islands, is
famous not so much because it is rare but because it is entertaining. Its
courtship where the male of the bird performs a dance is indeed worth a watch.
It is also very dangerously tame.
A Celebrity Date
We head back to Santa Cruz for our date with one of
the celebrity creatures of these islands, the Giant Tortoises. To see the tortoises in the highlands, we were
accompanied by our extremely knowledgeable guide Jimmy. As we climbed, Jimmy pointed
out the Scalecia forests, unique to the islands.
Scalecias belong to the daisy family, and have adapted to
different vegetation zones across different islands.
As their name suggests, these giant reptiles weigh up to
270 kg, with the carapace length of 1.22m. Once there were estimated to be over
200,000 tortoises, with probably 14 sub species, distributed on the islands.
Today less than 17,000 survive. Between the late 1500s and 1800s, as many as
100,000 were collected as food.
The tortoises are found on what used be farming land,
and are now protected by the owners who allow tourists to view them. Truly a
sight to behold, and almost unreal to observe these huge animals, peacefully
grazing on the one-time farmlands. There are signboards warning tourists
against going too close or disturbing the animals, but other than that one is
free to follow these tranquil creatures around and take photographs. The
tortoises are protected and the erstwhile farmers earn revenue from the
tourists. It is a ‘win win’ situation for both.
These charismatic
creatures, after whom the islands themselves have been named, are indeed the
iconic species found on the islands. The only other place on earth where giant tortoises
are found is the island of Aldabra in the Indian Ocean.
Some of the farms serve special organic coffee while
others offer lunch that can be enjoyed while viewing these prehistoric animals.
After a sumptuous lunch at the farm, we leave these majestic and yet peaceful
creatures rather reluctantly.
Seymour
There are many uninhabited islands in the Galapagos. Tourists
are taken on day trips to some of the select ones on a rotational basis. This
ensures minimal disturbance to the resident wildlife. A 45-minute boat ride
from Santa Cruz takes us to one such island-Seymour Island. As we climbed
up the cliff from where the boat dropped us, we saw our first swallow-tailed
gull on the ground.
The
world’s only nocturnal oceanic gull
Reaching the top and continuing to hike across this
island we were greeted by the sight of the stunning prehistoric reptile, the
land iguana. There are two endemic species of this iguana on the islands. This
yellow orange iguana can reach up to 13 kg and more than
1m in length. It is indeed a sight to behold as the iguana actually holds on to
the cactus and chomps on it.
These ferocious
looking reptiles are vegetarian and feed primarily on the Opuntia cactus.
We are fortunate to be on Seymour during the mating
and nesting season of yet another star, the frigate bird. Of the five species
of frigate birds in the world, two are found on here. Frigates have the largest
wingspan-to-body ratio of any bird making it extremely agile and acrobatic in
flight. But what makes this bird truly magnificent is the male display during
its breeding season. Once the male has found a suitable nesting site, over a period of 20
minutes he
pumps air into his bright red throat pouch until it is the size of a large
inflated balloon. As a female bird approaches, the male breaks into a shrill
cry, along with some vigorous headshaking and vibrating. If the female is
suitably impressed she will alight onto the nesting sight and be bonded with
the male.
Breeding display of the Frigate bird
San Cristobal
This was the end of our planned itinerary with the
Sharksky Tours. Susannah and I had however decided to explore one more island
on our own before heading back. We chose San Cristobal or Chatham Island. With
the opening of the airstrip on San Cristobal, this island has now become
another entry point by air to the archipelago. The town of Puerto Baquerizo
Moreno is fast becoming a popular tourist destination. We checked into our
quaint hotel, Casa de Nelly run by a local couple and set out to visit the El
Junco Lagoon. A short taxi ride brought us to the
base, after which we climbed for about 15 minutes or so to
reach the rim of this rain-filled crater. The lake itself was
shrouded in mist and clouds.
Punta Pitt
On our last day on San Cristobal, we took the trip to Punta
Pitt an island that offers the sighting of all the three species of booby. Any tour taken on the
islands cannot be done unaccompanied and one has to be part of a group to go
anywhere. Tour agencies ensure that individuals, who are not part of a group,
are attached to a particular group going on a particular day and time. En route to Punta Pitt, we passed the
celebrated tall rocks of Leon Dormido.
Leon Dormido: Named for the rock formation that resembles a sleeping lion
We had a wet landing on Punta Pitt and were greeted by
the usual groups of slumbering sea lions. To see the red-footed boobies, we
embarked on a steep climb on a narrow path among the cliffs. During the hike we
saw several pairs of blue-footed boobies nesting on the ground and finally, the
red-footed booby perched on a tree.
The Red-footed
Booby
View from the
top Spectacular view from the top, made more so by the reddish
carpet of sea purslane, a common perennial found across sea coasts
Sailing past the imposing structure of Leon Dormidos
against the setting sun we bid farewell to the islands
themselves as we would head back to Santa Cruz the next day and fly back to
mainland Ecuador from there.
The Galapagos are special and
are capable of filling visitors with the same kind of awe that perhaps Charles
Darwin and many before and after him felt when they visited.
The nature
lover and wildlife enthusiast will not be disappointed as each day brings new
and special surprises. Blue seas and spectacular lava formations add to the
beauty of the place. For me, nearly 200 hundred years after Darwin
it was indeed a trip through the ages. This was indeed a ‘Once in a lifetime’
trip, and all I can say is, “Thank you Susannah, for making it happen’.
