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.
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