Come Walk a Mile in My Shoes...

Sunday, 09 October 2005

Location: Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

The following update will be unlike any other that I will write, I'm sure, during my trip. Not just because it is about a very unique spot- The Galápagos Islands... (in fact there will be at least one more entry on them coming soon). This entry will be unique because it covers the "Gala" portion of my two-part Galápagos series- Living in the lap of luxury- not something I've been accustomed to during my travels other than for this one week. I will do my best to separate the unbelievable nature of the archipelago itself from the awe with which I experienced being pampered and treated like a king on The Celebrity Xpedition. The Galápagos Islands are one of the most unique environments/ecosystems on Earth. It is difficult to attempt to "summarize" them, but I'll do my best, as I know many of you are depending on me...

The experience of being 600 KM west of mainland Ecuador on these enchanted islands is truly an experience that can not be forgotten. Not to mention a photographer, birdwatcher, scientist, or animal lover’s DREAM. From the first moment that our flight landed on San Cristobal Island and we went to the dock to be shuttled to our ship (more on that in a moment) The Galápagos already starts going out of its way to let you know that it’s "The Galápagos". As we boarded our Zodiac (inflatable motor boat they use to bring you to and from landings and the ship- incidentally used by the Navy Seals) we were greeted by a number of Sea Lions (not to be confused with Seals- Navy or otherwise) that had decided that the cosiest place to sun themselves if the beaches were full (which they were- of more sea lions!) was atop, inside, or off the back of the other boats docked in the harbor. Apparently if too many of them decide that one boat is a particularly nice place to catch rays they can, and have actually sunk boats! (imagine having to get a special Sea Lion Sinkage Rider for your boaters insurance?!)

When we arrived at our ship, the Xpedition, the pampering really began... As I believe I mentioned previously, I ended up cruising the Galápagos in first class luxury (rather than my usual "steerage style" as my parents joined me for this voyage, and to quote my mom, "I don't do cold showers on decks". The Xpedition was a long stretch from that. The first indication of how they would be waiting on us hand and foot for 8 days came the moment we set foot on board. And I'm not referring to the champagne that was immediately served either... Turned out we really hit the jackpot with our timing for the cruise- the very next week the ship was full to capacity, but our week they only had 66 passengers out of their 100 person capacity (its an Ecuadorian law actually that no boat carry more than 100 passengers- the Xpedition could hold more than that- it is one of, if not the largest ship in Galápagos waters). When we had booked the trip we signed up for a triple room because the surcharge for my having separate quarters (I had even suggested staying in crew quarters, etc., just to have my own space) was somewhere in the neighborhood of an extra 3 or 4 grand (!). Since they were underbooked for the week, though, the cruise director approached us (before I even had a chance to ask) and offered me my own stateroom. And as nice as the rooms were (as I'd appreciate even more after returning to "the real world") they were a lot nicer for 2, or ONE person, than they would have been for 3 (the rooms were all identical, I just would have been on a bed that pulled down from the ceiling R.V. style...)
That move alone sold me on the Celebrity group.

Spent a few moments settling in to my palace at sea and actually UNPACKING all of the contents in my backpack for the first time in 10 months! There was a brief orientation meeting as well as the mandatory "fire drill". During the drill we all went up to the top deck with our stylish life preservers on and my parents and I ended up talking with a group of other passengers that I was SURE I hadn't seen in the Quito part of the trip- they were under 60! We had fun chatting with them and then bonded in the best way possible- exchanging cameras to take pictures of each other’s groups. I started to think that maybe there'd be some cool people on board within a generation or so of myself after all. Turned out to be a pretty interesting bunch... More on them later.

The Galápagos Islands are world famous primarily because they were the inspiration for Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. It was Darwin's visit on "The Beagle" back in 1835 that led to his formulation of evolution theory- cementing his position as one of the founding fathers of modern science, and also his position on G.W. Bush’s all-time hated list along with Osama, Sadam, Civil Liberties, etc...
Visiting the Galápagos can only be effectively done in the cruise format in order to get a feel for the different aspects, species, and adaptations on the different islands (and also because the Ecuadorian government has very strict regulations on where, how, how many, when, and under what level of supervision visitors can explore the islands). Tours generally start on the "inhabited" islands of San Cristobal or Santa Cruz where the 2 airports and main docks are located. Only 3% of the total landmass of the Galápagos is slated for human habitation, and even those areas are shared with the animal life as well (i.e. the ubiquitous Sea Lion). Other species that are basically unavoidable as you travel to the other islands include Sally Lightfoot Crabs (like your common beach sand crab- on acid), the famed Galápagos Tortoises, numerous lizards (including the small but endearing Lava Lizard, as well as 2 different types of Iguana- huge Land Iguanas as well as Marine Iguanas- the only iguanas on Earth that have adapted to feed and spend large quantities of time underwater!), and birds. Birds, birds, and more birds... The poster child of the Galápagos is the "Blue Footed Booby" which actually does have, and uses for courtship, bright blue feet. Other boobies include the Red Footed Booby and the Masked (or Nazca) Booby. There are also numerous Pelicans, Flamingos, Frigate Birds, Galàpagos Penguins (the only specie of penguin anywhere NEAR the Equator), Waved Albatross, Galápagos Hawks, and the aesthetically unimpressive but scientifically relevant dozen or so niche-adapted species of Darwin’s Finches. There are numerous others as well. Also there is the Flightless Cormorant- the only Cormorant in the world that has adapted itself so well to hunting underwater that it has actually lost the ability to fly!

Perhaps the biggest factor that makes the Galápagos such an incredible place to visit and observe wildlife is that the entire archipelago was completely devoid of any large land mammals or predators for its entire (relatively young) existence of several million years (until the relatively recent arrival of humans, which of course always screws everything up...). Because of this, all of the species (many of which are endemic solely to the Galàpagos) never evolved to have an instinctive fear of predation or of other animals- even large, noisy, obnoxious animals like cruise ship tourists! Because of this anomaly of evolution, it is possible to get incredibly close to and observe, or photograph (but without flash!- park rules...) all of the animals and birds without bothering them in the slightest. In fact, at many times it is actually difficult to AVOID the wildlife. Again, strict park rules dictate that people are only allowed to visit the islands from certain points, and along specific, narrow, well marked trails (as well as giving the animals a mandated buffer zone and of course not attempting to touch them, feed them, etc.). This was particularly difficult with those adorably cuddly looking sea lions. And if they weren't puppy dog-like enough as it was, we also lucked out on our timing by being there during "prime sea lion pupping season" so the islands were covered in even MORE adorable and cuddly looking little baby sea lions... Too cute for words. Oftentimes, you'd be walking along a path or beach and you’d come to a point where a "local inhabitant" had decided to set up shop and they would not be at all interested in getting out of your way. They would basically look at you as if to say, "Screw you, this is MY island". Meanwhile, as cuddly or cute as they looked, the sea lions- particularly mommy lions with pups nearby, or for that matter, the resident "bull male"- would let you know if you got a little too close for comfort by letting out a "growl" which actually was quite a bit more like what you'd expect to hear out of a drunkard who'd just pounded 6 beers. It was actually pretty funny to hear them belching at the tourists, and each other, more or less constantly.

More problematic as you tried to avoid the wildlife were the Marine Iguanas. They drape themselves all over the islands, and each other, in order to store up or regain warmth from the sun after foraging in the cold ocean waters for food. And when they are hanging out, they just can't be bothered by anything- including a stampede of humans. Meanwhile, they are PERFECTLY camouflaged into the black volcanic rock that makes up most of the island chain, so if your attention were focused elsewhere (as it often was with so much to see) you would find yourself stumbling and tripping over yourself as you tried at the last moment to avoid stepping on what peripherally looked like another rock but in fact was a 4 foot long lizard! And I can't remember EVER seeing them look the slightest bit nervous or perturbed by a sneaker bearing 200 plus pounds missing them by a matter of inches. They would only give out an indignant "snort" (buggers flying and all) as if to say, "why don't you try paying attention to where you're going?!" Actually, they do this snorting/sneezing thing constantly and it is pretty entertaining- as the only marine based iguanas, they have adapted special organs in their noses to help them remove the high levels of salt from their system that they ingest while swimming and feeding. They do this by sneezing and spraying it out- all over the place- including onto your sneaker or leg, or if you had JUST the right angle and were really lucky... your camera lens. Yuck.

The structure of the cruise was such that we would make two "landings" per day, in addition to possibly another Zodiac ride to a point of interest, etc. The landings would be either of the "dry" or "wet" varieties. A dry landing would be where there was some sort of mini-dock, staircase or something to disembark out of the Zodiac onto. These were pretty makeshift at best; often just slippery rock slopes, and invariably covered with Marine Iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs, etc. Being half the age (or less) of the average passenger I took on the role of helping whichever guide was leading our group with the "Galápagos Grip" as they called it- a.k.a. the helping people get from A to B without falling and breaking a bone or two. Perhaps it even helped, as one of the members of a group I wasn't in managed to fall and break his arm...
The wet landings were when the Zodiac would pull up as far as it could onto a beach and you'd just jump off the side into the water and walk ashore from there. Also every day for both the morning and afternoon excursions we would always be given different options (during the previous night’s briefings) that were generally termed "high", "medium", or "low" intensity. I'm proud to say that on every excursion that we did together over the 8 day cruise (which was all but one) my parents and I chose the "high intensity". We Bakers are a pretty badass bunch.

All of the excursions were amazing and filled with beautiful scenery, entertaining and interesting wildlife, and countless photo ops. It’s very difficult to whittle any of it down and to pick and chose favorites, but I'll try to give a couple brief examples of things that stick out in my mind as particularly incredible (for the rest, you're going to have to take the trip yourself! Or wait till I release the painfully narrowed down "favorite" photos of the 4 gigabytes that I shot over the week long cruise). One animal that particularly stole my heart was the Waved Albatross. Again, we were very lucky with our timing to catch the Albatross in action. The story of this great bird (it happens to be quite large, and also rather laughably clumsy on takeoffs and landings) is that it spends 10 months out of the year soaring around the world alone and doing its own thing (perhaps I felt a connection, having been 10 months into my own travels at that point!) before returning to Española Island (and in smaller numbers to one other island- but nowhere else in the world) to search for and reacquaint itself with its life-long mate (and then to get it on, of course). Since we were there during Albatross mating season we were treated to a front row display of the absolutely AMAZING and HILLARIOUS intricate courtship display that they tirelessly go through. The two birds stand face to face and apparently battle with each other’s beaks in what I can only describe as a sword fight-like manner (which is as loud as it is animated). They stop every moment or so and one or both of them will lean back and open its beak as wide as possible for a brief second or two pause, before re-engaging in the cacophony of beak bashing. Occasionally the pauses would include lifting a leg, or stretching both wings out to the sides (impressive at probably 2 meters across) and would also make additional noises, etc. I could have continued watched it, laughing out loud, for as many hours as they could have kept it up for except that we eventually had to go back to the ship…

Another highlight, numerous times, were those adorable sea lions- especially the rambunctious pups. Again we found ourselves standing and watching mesmerized- laughing hysterically- while one sea lion toddler was nipping at, jumping on, slapping with its flippers, and even pushing and holding its mother's head underwater in a tide pool while she just lay there tolerating it, if not ignoring it completely for a good half an hour or more. The mother would only look up occasionally to make sure we kept our distance and of course to give her baby the occasional "sea lion kiss". Sea lions are big into kissing. Every so often they'll just lean up to each other and apparently plant a big kiss. One of the guides explained this as how they recognize each other through scent but I swear it looks like they're kissing.
Another hilarious sea lion pup experience was when 3 pups were running around playing with each other. They're just like puppies! They'd jump on each other and bite each other and then run away from each other and run back and continue; all under the semi-watchful eye of one of the adults nearby (she looked a bit like a disinterested babysitter though). It was particularly cute as they'd play hide, seek and chase over rocks and through tide pools and would be "running" on their flippers and then would slide through pools to attack each other, etc.
Yet another memorable encounter with a sea lion pup (like I said, its difficult to narrow these down!) was when I was lying on the sand to get a good angle for a photo a little baby left his mom's protection and hobbled right over to me- right up to and onto my ankle! I was freaking out a bit- what with the strict "don't touch the animals" rule, not to mention a protective and potentially very dangerous mother nearby (the sea lion's in this case, not my own...) Luckily our guide was right there and told me to just not move and to let the sea lion pup do whatever it wanted- apparently its not against the rules for THEM to touch YOU. Meanwhile, I was so startled and frozen that I didn't even think to take the picture of the little fuzzball on top of my leg until after he was hobbling back to his mommy... Damn.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the highlight, or highlights, from the cruise that came during the snorkel activities. All of the stuff happening on land in the Galápagos really is just the tip of the iceberg, but I’m saving the bulk of the underwater description for the second half of the Galápagos update. Nevertheless, the several snorkelling excursions that we did were all pretty amazing. I will point out here, as I did in the Quito update, that you would ASSUME that being on the Equator would mean tropical and deliciously warm water, etc. WRONG. The Galápagos, and to a large extent the wildlife that it supports, is governed more by ocean currents than anything else. Therefore for half the year when the Humboldt current is coming up from Peru (and further south) it brings with it COLD (but incredibly nutrient rich) water and cold air as well. (it’s no coincidence that these islands are the only place within the tropics that you'll find penguins!). Even with the shorty wetsuits that they provided it was still a bit of a challenge to psych yourself up to go in for a snorkel. Of course, the rewards were well worth the pain... On one particular snorkel stop to swim over and visit the penguins (amazing), my parents had opted out because of the coldness of the water. I went out nevertheless with a few people and it was totally incredible. Simply seeing the myriad of huge and differently colored starfish covering the rocks and reef is impressive, but then I saw a smallish (4 - 5 foot) White Tipped Reef Shark gracefully swimming along beside me as well. Also on almost every snorkel outing you would see at least one, if not several, Green Sea Turtles. In addition its almost uncommon NOT to see sea lions as well (since they are everywhere) and again, they are show stealers... On this particular snorkel stop I am referring to I had seen all of these things and was finally returning back to the beach as I was getting FRIGID cold. When I was half way back though, I literally swam into my parents, who had been convinced to brave the cold and go in for the swim. So I turned around and took them all the way back to where the penguins were, encountering more turtles, and even I believe the very same reef shark, again... When the sea lions re-appeared though it was with even greater animation and fervor. While on land they are a bit awkward and sometimes standoffish, when you join them in their element they are exactly as you would expect their personalities to be. SUPER curious, playful, and kind of show-offish... They swim right up to you, look you in the eyes, sometimes blow bubbles in your face, then turn on a dime and do loopedy loops through the water and around you with incredible speed and agility. We played with them for a while, diving down and trying to catch them up-close for a photo (difficult to do since they are so fast!), all laughing- and occasionally screaming on close passes- through our snorkels, having an absolutely amazing time. The type of time you just don't want to end. Except that by the time the 3 of us were returning to the beach (a bit of a swim away, including another encounter with a Green Sea Turtle) I was more or less shivering uncontrollably. I kept thinking back to my Divemaster course about how dangerous it is to be exposed to cold water for so long without adequate exposure protection, etc. Luckily no problems- just took a while to warm up afterwards!

Of course, tempering this raw adventuralism that we were getting in our daily "high intensity" outings were the ways in which the crew kept managing to soften you up when back onboard the mothership. First of all, after returning from every outing they would be waiting at the rear of the ship to take your life preserver (required while on the Zodiacs) and to hand you a cold towel and a fresh squeezed juice of the day. Possibly the biggest treat was coming back from those chilly snorkelling activities though... We'd return more or less frozen to the bone, and then head straight up to the upper deck, still in our wetsuits (champagne in hand though of course) and jump directly into the hot tub. AMAZING. Similarly delightful would be the direct transition from cold and wet to the DRY heat of the sauna in the weight room... Words can't describe how nice it was to warm up like that after being out in the water.

Also upon return from any excursion you couldn't make it from the rear dock of the ship to the rooms without passing the main bar- with mini sandwiches or cookies available (as if they weren't feeding us enough at mealtimes!) and more importantly- the cocktails. Our bartenders were pretty impressive. There was a long list of specialty drinks, of which my mom (and I in support of her) felt the need to sample each and every one of the (many) various fruit combinations of Daiquiris and Coladas (inclusive alcohol- another benefit of the high life style that BELIEVE ME made other backpacking friends jealous...). The service was such that not only did every crewmember on board somehow manage to remember everyone's name (almost immediately- which I found pretty impressive- I think they might have been studying the copies of our passports that we turned in!), but they would even go the extra mile beyond that to remember your preferences, etc. After I had only ordered it once somehow all of the bartenders knew the recipe of my signature drink (one of 3 signatures anyways) - the "World Traveller" (or "Viajero del Mundo" en Español) that I invented on the night that I toasted with my friend Christie in Boston and officially committed myself to taking this extended trip (on September 10th, 2001- long story there...). I put this in as a side note so that anyone who wants to join me in "spirit" (get it?) can get in on the fun (maybe mix yourself a World Traveller when you read Galápagos part 2- you’ll probably need it if its as long as this one!):
2 parts Canadian Whisky, one part Cointreau, fill with Coke, and if you're stylin' it like I was on the Xpedition- garnished with an orange wedge. Spread the word- tell all your friends…

The food on the Xpedition was pretty fab as well. There was usually an option between the "fine dining" Darwin Restaurant downstairs or a more casual grill outside on one of the decks. Either way you couldn't lose. Except lose track, that is, of which of the 7 forks you were supposed to be using for which course! Yes, it was a luxury cruise... Then of course there were the 4 chocolates on your pillow that they would leave every day after every various minute alteration they would come in and make to your bed (fully made, turned down, top sheet removed, etc.). Delicious, delicious chocolates. Mmmmmm. It was hard not to get spoiled. The service was almost in the "too good" category... Like every time you'd go to your room it had been cleaned and re-organized, occasionally making it hard to find things that you wanted! Also, I've never been a huge fan of "overservice" in general- perhaps that's just not the type of stroking my ego needs- so when you couldn't walk down the hallway to your room with a drink without someone racing over to carry the drink for you I was kind of like "OK, enough already!”

One final thing that made the trip even more fun than it otherwise would have been was that group of "younger, funner and better looking" people we had met during the fire drill on day one. A couple of days later the picture came into focus, so to speak, during lunch when my parents and I were watching them being photographed while receiving their food, etc. It seemed like a bit more of an operation (i.e. hassle) than the ship would have put paying customers through, and at one point I went over and said something like, "Wow, you guys look WAY too excited to be getting that pizza served- I mean, it wasn't THAT good..." It was then confirmed that the fun bunch was actually a group of 4 models (one real couple, one staged), a photographer and his assistant, and a Celebrity Cruise line representative organizing the whole shoot. Their group and our group took to each other (probably because we were the 2 coolest groups on board!) and we ended up hanging out with them quite a bit, dining together, drinking, joking around, etc. They invited me to go out with them during their excursions (they always went out separately from the other passengers) to be involved in the whole photo shoot process. I took them up on the offer one afternoon for an activity when my parents wanted to do something different, and it was a total blast, mostly because the group was just so funny. One of the ongoing jokes included the sounding of the "innuendo alarm" whenever something was said that could have been construed in a sexual context... Not exactly a tall order when the most common animals seen were called "boobies"! (or when everyone involved had a pretty dirty mind...). Another funny running joke was that somehow one of them had found a small white tank top and no one knew who it belonged to- so the shirt kept making the rounds and being snuck into people's staterooms, left on doorknobs, etc. I thought I won when I ditched the thing in Trish's purse right before leaving the ship on the last day- but then we ran into them and hung out at the airport and when I unpacked the next time I discovered that she and Vicky had snuck the thing back into my backpack! Damn, the last laugh was theirs... It was also just funny in general to be surrounded by constant "model speak". One example of which would occur after dinner during the tasting of all the deserts... "N.W.T.C.", the 4 letter say-it-all for those indulgences that just didn't quite make the grade- "Not Worth The Calories". Actually, if there was one complaint that was aired from the whole 8 days at sea it was that the deserts were often better looking in appearance than they were in substance. Luckily the model group had both, an icing on the cake of this otherwise amazing trip, environmental experience, and family bonding adventure. As an additional souvenir the group coordinator, Suzanne hooked me up with one of the Celebrity Xpedition hats that their group all had (and that my mom had tried to purchase, but they weren't available for sale) to remember my experience with them. You'll be seeing a lot of this hat in the photos that follow...

Speaking of which, as a reward for those of you who diligently read (or skimmed) through this entire update- a special treat- I have released a few more countries worth of photos on my other website- www.jdbakerphotography.com. Check out the latest- Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador! Also don't miss the TWO Galápagos photo pages here (a VERY difficult selection process to pick just a few photos, believe me!) listed as the “Galápagos Xpedition (page 1 and 2)”.

And like I said before, the islands of the Galápagos really are just the tip of the iceberg... Soon to follow, the Galápagos experience, UNDERWATER...