Time to wrap it up -- Friday, 4/27/18

Once again, our journey began at the airport on Baltra Island (and it will end there in a few hours). On our Galapagos tour, we visited Santa Cruz, Genovese (far northeast), tiny Plaza Sur, Santa Fe, San Cristobal, Floreana, and Española Islands -- all considered Eastern Islands. We covered a lot of ground (and sea!) in just a week.

Our yacht, the TipTop III, was fairly comfortable for the week.  One of our favorite things in our cabin was the big window ... we liked being able to see out.  We were on the other side from this photo (starboard side), upper deck in Stateroom 10.  Built in 2001 and remodeled in 2008, she's due to be refurbished in the fall to bring her up to state-of-the-art.  But what makes a good trip are a great crew and great fellow passengers.  We had both.  Oh, and good food; fortunately, we had that, too!

The hotel manager loved to keep us entertained by his creations!

Steve and Debbie, Mary Ellen, Kari, Pauline, Sharon and Randy, Linda, Wendell and Ellen, Caroline, Mary D, and our naturalist guide, Lulu.  Yoko and Don didn't join us on this hike.  Me and Jimmy makes 16, plus Lulu.  You see us above, doing what we loved -- exploring the Galapagos.  You guys were awesome fellow travelers.  We had a lot of fun -- especially carrying filled coffee cups from the dining room up the steps to the outdoor lounge ... without spilling, remember?  

Arturo, in the dining room, server -- top notch fellow!

Friday morning's coffee off Baltra Island.

From the yacht to the panga to waiting buses to the airport, a reverse of last week.  Road Scholar provided vouchers for us to get lunch at the airport, at a semi-fast-food place called Bartolome's.  I think it took all 16 of us to get the orders straight due to the language barrier!  The chicken sandwich I ordered came with lettuce and tomato, which I forgot to remove, and I paid a price for that omission later. As usual, the hungry finches were not shy!  BTW, this is called Seymour Airport, and the airfield was used by the US Army Airforce during WW II from 1942 to 1945.  Now there's a sparkling new terminal, made from recycled steel tubes taken from oil drilling operations in the Amazon!

Time to go.  What a grand trip -- thanks Road Scholar
The Best of the Galápagos and Peru: From Enchanted Islands to Machu Picchu.

* * * * *

After dinner one evening, Lulu's presentation dealt with the islands' weather/makeup.  I took pictures (below) from the slides projected onto a screen.  I'm including these so you can plan your own trip to the islands!

We felt like our timing was perfect.  The islands were still green from the rains and the ocean was temperate enough to swim in without a wet suit.  We didn't get rained on, a plus.  Sure, the temperatures were hot some days, depending on where we were.  But it is, after all, right on the Equator, and it's hot throughout the year.  If you pick a time "on the cusp," like we did in April, I think you get the best of both seasons.  Go, you'll love it.  

Notice the labels on the blog's left-hand column?  If you want to look at a particular site, say Machu Picchu, you'll find that label there, or Peru, or Galapagos.  I've labeled this entire trip under Road Scholar 2018 and South America 2018.  Feel free to peruse to your heart's content.  Leave me a comment while you're at it.  Enjoy!

Now I'm going to take a short break from blogging.
Whew!

Puerto Ayora, Part 2, Thurs 4/26/18

Did I mention in my previous post that it was hot on Santa Cruz Island this morning?  Yes, well, it was.  Today, after returning to town from the highlands, a visit to the famous Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora was offered.  The catch?  We'd have to walk a mile-and-a-half from the bus stop to the Station and then a mile-and-a-half return to the bus stop.  While everyone in the group wished to visit the CDRS, it was simply too hot to walk.  Yes, you heard me.  Our guide, Lulu, made it clear SHE didn't think much of the idea!  Our group had the added benefit of visiting La Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado Tortoise Reserve on Monday, witnessing their ongoing efforts at tortoise conservation.  But, sadly, we missed seeing this important facility today.

I can tell you a bit about it -- inaugurated in 1964, CDRS began to reverse some of the damage that had been done in previous years from introduced pests and plants (feral goats, cats, etc).  In 1965, the research station began a program of collecting tortoise eggs and bringing them to the research station where they'd be hatched and raised to an age where they had a reasonable chance to survive.  Then they'd be returned to their native islands.  This occurred just in time to save the Española species of tortoise from extinction (only 11 females and two males remained of the Española race). Don't you love reading about that save?  It was a beginning, and they've worked hard since then on conservation, restoration and sustainable development projects, ensuring that the archipelago is well-managed. 

Problems remain in the Galapagos, though.  Only four islands are inhabited by humans:  Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Isabela, and Floreana, and the number of Ecuadorians living on these islands is increasing steadily, straining scarce resources.  Dogs, cats, and rats are still threatening native wild life.  Though their numbers have been reduced, thousands of goats remain on Santiago Island, and everybody knows a goat will eat anything ... and everything.

Even so, for me and for Jimmy, these islands will always be a double-thumbs-up, four-star, ten-out-of ten, trip-of-a-lifetime!  I wouldn't mind returning, possibly traveling to the other, newer islands -- Isabella, Fernandina, and so on.  Being here, experiencing the incredible wildlife, birding, endemic plants, all of it rolled into one, was everything I hoped it would be ... and more.

We didn't go to the Charles Darwin Research Station.  Instead we walked about the town.  BTW, Puerto Ayora, here on Santa Cruz Island, is the largest town in the archipelago with a total of 12,000 residents.  When the bus dropped us off, we walked (aiming for shade!) to the Santa Cruz Fish Pier, where fishermen unloaded their catches to sell, and Pelicans and Frigatebirds vied for scraps or a whole danged fish!  This was fun to watch.  These birds were relentless and clever.  They knew if they waited long enough ....  

Nice-looking fish displayed.

Off the pier was a short boardwalk that led out over the water.

Amid the Mangroves, it felt cooler.

If I hold still, they can't see me.

We walked right past this Lava Heron, and it didn't move.

It was a short boardwalk, so then we walked into the town, browsing through a couple of tourist shops.  I bought a T-shirt for Everly Rose, and Jimmy bought one for himself.  We tried to keep to the shady side of the streets, but if you weren't into shopping, there wasn't much to do.  We found the sign above quite amusing.  Is there a letter missing?

Across from the waterfront, we spied the lovely Santa Marianita Church.  The doors were open, so we went in.  The upper windows were open as well, and it looked as if they were left open ... after all, the breeze flowing through the church would cool parishioners and tourists alike.  I admired the Giant Tortoise painting on the left.  Inside, island-themed stained glass windows graced the lower windows, and they were beautiful.  My camera did them no justice.  We sat quietly for a few minutes, imbued as always by the beauty and serenity of our surroundings.

A simple church, but perhaps solace for some ....

Well, we strolled toward the boat dock, thinking we could find a bench in the shade and sit till the panga came to pick us up.  Not always easy to find a bench in the shade.  That critter above, which Jimmy is "offering to feed," looks like a Waved Albatross.

Me without my visor -- I'm blinded by the sun.

We watched this little guy begging for food, flapping his wings:

Mom!  I'm starving, feed me!

Hmmm, can't sit on this bench!

Plus, there's one underneath!

Ahh, the panga arrived and we can hop aboard, once we hop over this sea lion, who was not interested in moving.  Jimmy and I were ready to return to the ship.  The heat had "done us in."

Aboard the TipTop III, we saw this fantastic sailboat nearby, with two of the tallest masts we've ever seen.  It's a real beauty.  We wondered where she was from ...

... so I got a close up of the sailboat's flag:  Union Jack with a three-legged man hails from The Isle of Man.  Never saw this flag before.  Very cool.

This evening the crew had a farewell toast for the passengers.  Everyone from the Captain on down stood before us and toasted.  We've really enjoyed our week aboard the TipTop III, the outstanding crew, and our fellow congenial passengers, and most especially the Islas Encantadas!  Tomorrow, we fly to Quito on the mainland.

Puerto Ayora, Part 1, Thurs, 4/26/18

The TipTop III cruised all night to get us anchored off Puerto Ayora on southern Santa Cruz Island. This is our second time on Santa Cruz, tho it's our first in this city.  Tomorrow we fly to mainland Ecuador, and being at this anchorage sets us in good stead for the short sail to Baltra Island and the airport.

You know how Road Scholar is if you read this blog.  We weren't going to sit around all day ... no sir, this morning we'd travel via bus to the highlands to see Los Gemelos (twin craters), Cuevas de Lava (lava caves), and a visit to Rancho el Manzanillo ... including lunch.

A quiet morning dawns in the Galapagos ....

As we motored to the highlands, we came across this scene.  Cattle are a viable industry in Santa Cruz uplands.  Sorry about the photo quality, but I still have a fogging problem at the top left or top middle of the pics.  Don't know what to do about it, but I keep taking pictures.  Hope it clears up.

The group has arrived at Los Gemelos and into the mist-covered forests of the highlands.  (I hope no one makes fun of our attire -- we're here for comfort and all of us have limited suitcase room!)  Lulu is explaining how the craters were formed.  In effect, they are collapsed empty magma chambers ... or "sinkholes."  There's one on either side of the road, and believe me, they're quite a sight!  I couldn't find any info on how deep either one is, but they're big and they're deep. 

The vertical walls are covered in greenery.  We didn't climb down (there's nothing down there but more vegetation) and I doubt there's a path.  Lulu says there's no water at the bottom, either (porous rock).  Look closely on the left side for the figure in a red shirt to judge the scale of size.  We continued on the circular trail around the larger sinkhole.

Scalesia pedunculata, a member of the Daisy family, is a large slender tree, endemic to the Galapagos Islands.  This stand at Los Gemelos (above) is across the vast sinkhole from where the group was -- it's the best known and most visited.  These trees grow at an altitude of roughly 2000' (highlands).  They have some interesting nicknames -- one is the "broccoli tree" (bare stem/trunk, foliage at top).  Another is the Dandelion tree, or as Lulu called it, "Dental Lion" tree, because both Scalesia and Dandelion are in the Asteraceae family.  Seems like a stretch to me!  You never know what you're going to see or learn when you're on an excursion with Road Scholar!

Not sure, but could this possibly be Hibiscus diversifolius?

You see more of how vast the sinkhole is. 

Mimus p. parvulus (Santa Cruz Mockingbird, at a distance).

Back in the bus and on our way to the Rancho and the caves.  Eventually we turned on a dusty dirt road lined with banana trees and coffee bushes, as above.  Ecuador produces excellent coffee beans, which, of course, becomes coffee bursting with flavor.  At the Rancho, we'd be served coffee, and we can attest to it's excellence.  Jimmy and I can drink some coffee! 😉

You know, Jimmy and I have crawled into and through other lava caves or tunnels, but this one was so dark that you wouldn't have been able to move without some kind of external light.  Most of us used our phone flashlights, as seen below.  

No, this cave wasn't especially scary, but the cave "floor" was uneven with an occasional dip.  Without a light, it would've been easy to lose your footing.  Finally, below, there IS light at the end of the tunnel.

We returned to the bus for a short drive to Rancho el Manzanillo.  Abutting El Chato Tortoise Reserve, the area was literally crawling with Giant Tortoises.  I'm happy to say that these amazing wild giants are free to roam.  Our group went on a nature hike loop (yikes, it was hot!), where we saw lots o' tortoises and other critters, too.  I didn't count how many of the big guys we saw, which should tell you that there were too many to count.  A large pavilion onsite had a big glass jug that was filled with a cold ginger tea, at least I think that's what it was.  Help yourself ... so I made straight for it to cool off and it was soooo refreshing!

Right off, I spotted Galapagos flycatchers on the back of a chair.

Myiarchus magnirostris is endemic to the islands.

Giant carapace (shell).  I bet a person could fit inside this thing,

but I wouldn't want to carry it around on my back.

Here are scenes from our hike.

At the Poza de Galapagos (puddle), the group as a whole grimaced at the greenish water, but the humans were the only ones offended.  Ducks and tortoises didn't seem to mind it a bit.

White-cheeked Pintail ducklings.  Mom was nearby.

Fowler's Snouted Tree Frog, I believe -- an introduced species to the Galapagos, with Rancho el Manzanillo having more than its share.  It's tiny.

Whoa!  On the other hand, this Giant Tortoise is the opposite of tiny!  This guy or gal is yawning, though it looks fierce!  And in the photo below, it's stretching.  And perhaps smiling? 

I neglected to get a photo of my lunch, served in the open air pavilion, but it was delicious.  As soon as the meal was over and people moved away from the table, the finches moved in.  Jimmy and I sat at the end of the table to catch the fresh breeze, inches away from the birds, yet they showed no fear of us.  They were more interested in dessert crumbs!  A fork handle can come in mighty handy!  

Ohmygosh, Yoko crawled inside the carapace!  I couldn't believe she got in there and then I wondered how she'd get out!  Apparently it wasn't easy.  I missed her exit while I was chasing around after birds.

Small ground finch ... I think.

I walked around a bit before reboarding our small bus.  This looks like a Papaya tree, above, and I saw other edibles.  Nice to have a vegetable/fruit garden if you're in the restaurant business, and Rancho served our group a really fine lunch!

The morning outing was good, not stupendous, but enjoyable.  It was hot, though, and I've lost my visor cap somewhere (I thought I had two, but now find none.) -- I think I set it on a branch at Cormorant Point when I was putting my water shoes on before getting into the panga.  Oh good grief, some sea turtle or Blue-footed Booby or marine iguana is probably wearing my visor!