March of the Sea Lion!

Going...

Going...

Gone!

Catch Up

Haven't been blogging lately--way too busy with articles and the island itself. Isabela is my corner of paradise. I'm learning far more about the Galapagos environment, life and myself than I thought I would. This place refreshes you--a home away from home. I've never felt more cozy while traveling.In this small, approachable town, everyone knows one another. They ride bikes to get around, give friendly greetings, buy their bread from the same shop--the only one in town. They constantly interact throughout the day. The idea of carrying a cell phone in my pocket quickly became obsolete.

The daily activities stretch us individually and also help us bond as a whole. So far, we have hiked and snorkeled in Los Tintoreras, where we saw all the well known Galapagos animals in one brisk morning. Marine Iguanas lounged on the lava rocks, while lava lizards sun bathed on their heads. Sandy Lightfoot crabs scuttled across the rocks near the shore. Overhead,we saw blue-footed boobies perched on lava. In a semi-secluded bay, sea lions played as a white tipped shark slithered through a tiny channel between the lava formations. You might wonder how these animals coexist peacefully. The answer is that the Galapagos Islands' diverse and plentiful marine life, particularly fish, the larger mammals and other predators satisfy their diets on fish alone. These animals coexist so peacefully, since none of them are each others' prey. Having the chance to see such diverse fauna so close together simultaneously creates a paradisaical ambiance on the Islands.

The Wall of tears was a bit of a downer. We saw the four year work in progress that never met it's goal--a huge lava rock wall built to imprison the very people who were laboring away at it--the worst of Ecuador's criminals. It's not the most spectacular sight, especially after hearing the story. But there is a bit of a happy ending. After two unsuccessful escapes, after which the prisoners would violently pillage the island, the prison project finally got closed down, and the more reformed prisoners adapted to legitimate lifestyles on the island, starting from scratch. Supposedly one of them is still living on one of the islands.

On a free day I went scuba diving, and thoroughly enjoyed swimming in a vortex of ten-foot hammerhead sharks, sea lions, sea turtles and an array fish, courtesy of Maximo from Isabela Dive Center. Once again, it is the sole diving center on the island. This was my first dive that required a full wet suit, and I must admit I became so claustrophobic. I needed to wrap my feet in plastic bags just to squeeze them through the legs of the wetsuit! I almost just said "forget it." I'm glad I didn't though.

Then, there was the all day volcano hike on Sierra Negra, the world's largest active caldera, which is a sunken volcano. It felt so good to stretch my legs and my lungs, and I had a great conversation with our tour guide, Daniella, about whether or not people and their effect on the world should be considered just as natural as nature without our influence. She had a compelling point--that humans are organisms with evolutions in behaviors and lifestyles like anything else that was originally here on earth. This idea put me at ease for a few moments, because I could see myself as a living entity, a part of a whole, and that took some stress off my mind.

Do human's have a natural right to evolve and effect the planet, being at the top of the food chain? What responsibilities does that give us in our attitudes toward the environment?

Awareness is a great start. To be cognizant of our environment is to eventually understand it better than we have been. I paid more attention to taking a closer look at the animals and plants that I encountered throughout my days. It's been an amazing trip so far.

Quick stay in Guayaquil, Arrival in Santa Cruz

Just getting to Isabela Island, Galapagos, proved to be an adventure itself. After arriving in Guayaquil, Ecuador, we boarded at the Hotel Iguanazu, mainly to sleep, unfortunately. Upon awaking, we savored what few hours we had in the villa-styled hostile to enjoy breakfast and lounge in the hammocks.

From Guayaquil, we boarded yet another plane to Baltra, Santa Cruz, where we underwent a series of additional protocol in customs. The process involved rubbing our feet on a platform of astro-turf that was partially submerged in a cleaning solution as soon as we stepped off the plane. The reason was to kill any ants or other insects that might have hitched a ride with us. Then, boarder control nearly gave us the third-degree while customs sprayed our hands with more solutions (in light of the swine flu), checked our carry-ons, and asked us if we were bringing fruits, flowers, or foreign food that might decide to settle on the islands if they got the chance. All this was well worth it, though. With thousands of tourists entering the islands, these procedures protect the native flora and fauna from more invasive species. The Islands have their share already.

From there, we had a ten minute bus ride to a ferry, which took us to another bus that took us for an hour to the coast of Santa Cruz. After a delicious lunch of bean soup, rice and carne frita, a unique and colorful medley of beats, onions and a few other unknown veggies, we headed off for the Darwin Research Center.

Along the way, I stopped the group to take a look into a local cemetery. I have always found burial and memorial customs to be a pinnacle insight into a culture. The solemn, formal stretches of grass or stone mausoleums we see in the States might as well be a rest stop compared to the ornate, intimate decor that comprise many foreign cemeteries. The cemetery in Santa Cruz resembled those that I had driven past in Mexico or the Caribbean. The mausoleums and gravestones are whiter than any of the houses or store buildings. Crosses tower over them while rings of flowers garnish their edges. An assemblage of other sentimentals, like dolls, miniature Virgin Marys, rosaries, and tiny bibles suggest these graves have not been without frequent vigilance from family.
In modern Western culture, attention to the dead may be regarded as inordinately morbid, but the cemeteries of Santa Cruz suggest that reverence for the dead can serve as a moment of rest throughout one's daily walk, or metaphorically throughout one's life.