On The Islands

On The Islands
We took a van from our hotel in Quito to the airport, where we caught a plane to Quayaquil, on the west coast of Ecuador. Then, after another flight, we arrived in Baltra, one of the enchanted islands. I was so excited to arrive here, as I knew we were beginning the experience of a lifetime. My adrenaline was really pumping. We got off the plane, and a bus took us to a dock. From here, we had a short cruise by water taxi to the island of Santa Cruz. I love being on the water. Having lived by the sea my entire life, I've been a 'sailor' since childhood. I believe I would wither and die if I ever had to move away from the sea.

sun with
birds flying

animated boat

Once on Santa Cruz, we again boarded a bus, to travel to the opposite side of the island. Along the way, we saw extreme changes in the vegetation. It is so much different inland towards the center of the island, than near the shoreline.

animated bus

When we arrived on the other side, we visited the Charles Darwin Research Center. This is were we met Lonesome George. He's quite an interesting character. He is a giant land tortoise, and very old. These giant creatures live to be about 150 years old, and weigh in at approximately 600 pounds. They are becoming extinct. The Darwin Research Center is working very hard to prevent this. They are, in fact, breeding these creatures at their center, to try to repopulate the islands.

It is very interesting to see the "tortoise farms", and the varying sizes of the animals being raised here. They are watched closely, to determine when they are ready for release into the wild. They are not released until they are three to five years old, depending upon their own individual maturity. There are many species of these animals being bred. There is even one tortoise that 'belonged' to a school, but was being shot at by an unknown predator. The Darwin Research Center captured this animal, and brought it to their facility to live out it's life. There are, sadly, large bullet holes in it's shell, as can be seen in the photo below. tortoise
photo

After our visit to the research center, we again boarded the bus, and traveled to the town of Puerto Ayora. It is a beautiful, lazy, little town, right on the coast of Santa Cruz Island. There is a human population on Santa Cruz, and Puerto Ayora is a popular town for vacationers. We were only here long enough to catch our next form of transportation. It is here that we boarded a panga, otherwise known as a Zodiac, that would take us to the ship that we would live on during our visit in this archipelago.

yacht

Up until shortly before we boarded the panga, the weather had been beautiful. There was bright sun, and clear skies, but as we reached the dock, the skies became cloudy and threatening. When I saw the transportation we would be taking here, I said a quick prayer that the rain would hold out at least until we were safely undercover, since there would be no cover for us until we boarded the next ship. Luckily, the rain did hold out.

A panga is a small, rubber boat, powered by an outboard motor. There are no seats, and one must sit on it's inflated side walls. We donned our life jackets, and set off to our ship, which, ironically, is named the M/V Santa Cruz, just like the island. We traveled the Pacific in this craft, and in about 15 minutes we arrived at what was to be our home for the next 8 days.

anchor crab

In order to board, we had to stand in the panga, and climb out onto a stairway that leads down from the ship, to the water. The stairway is rather long, and is on the outside of the ship. One slip, and we would have found ourselves swimming in this vast ocean. We boarded safely, and became quite proficient at doing so, before our journey to the islands came to an end. We entered and exited the Santa Cruz twice a day, every day, by means of this stairway.

It is of utmost importance to be extremely cautious when planning a visit to these islands. There are numerous ships that will take you on tours, but many are not safe. There is no regulation of ships that carry passengers in Ecuador, and many deaths occur each year. We arranged our plans through a very reputable company, so we felt confident that our ship would be safe, and of good quality. When we first saw our vessel, we were very pleasantly surprised. It was a beautiful ocean liner that was completely restored quite recently. Now don't misunderstand. This ship is not what one envisions when picturing a cruise ship, but it was equally as comfortable as any cruise ship I've ever been on. The Santa Cruz would be dwarfed by even the smallest cruise ship.

Once on board, we were shown to our cabins. We had a very nice, comfortable, outside cabin with plenty of storage space. We took a quick look around, and found the ship has a very attractive dining room, lounge, small library, sundeck with a hot tub and bar, and a hospital on board. There was also a small gift shop

three sea gulls

Shortly after boarding, it was time for us to go to the lounge for a briefing. At the briefing, we were given the name of the group we would be known as during our tour. There were the Boobies, the Dolphins, the Cormorants, and we were in the group called the Frigates. We were told what the next day's itinerary would be.

After being divided into our groups, we were introduced to the naturalist that would accompany us each time we left the ship. No one is ever allowed onto any of the islands unless accompanied by a naturalist. Then it was off to the dining room for dinner. The dress code on the Santa Cruz is always casual.

We were treated like royalty, with appetizers, salad, choice of soup, and choice of 3 different entrees, topped off by dessert and that superb Ecuadorian coffee. Alcoholic beverages were an option. We stuffed ourselves on this delicious food, then went up to the sundeck where we saw the most beautiful stars. It is so dark on the waters, and there is no light pollution to ruin your view. We saw constellations that are not visible to us on our continent.

It was now well after midnight, and wake up call would be at 6am. We planned to get up at 5 to watch the sun rise. It was time for us to get some sleep.