[Quito pix]

5-22-06 

Once upon a time, far, far away...in a land of islands, a magical place, we saw pelicans, sea turtles, marine iguanas, albatross, sea lions, blue footed boobies, red footed boobies, sally light foot crabs, fur seals, and swam with penguins...yes, the Galapagos Islands are a wonderful experience where nature is at your finger tips.  The animals and birds are free to wander-the tourists must stay on the tracks to observe and leave no evidence of their passing behind…no smoking, no trash, no litter…only sights and sounds…the seals barking, the birds clacking, their beaks or calling to their mates.  At night the stars are something to behold: the southern cross, big dipper, and milky way and later a buttery full moon rises over the volcanoes…quiet sounds only of the crashing waves and the cries of the gulls and barks of the sea lions…the squeals of the sand under foot.

             The terrain of each island is different, some barren with only lava flow and little or no vegetation, the others with grass, brushes and thorn trees, some steep, some flat, colors of red, brown, black, dominate the landscape…the beaches range from white to black with and occasional red one thrown in for good measure!

              Under the sea, turtles, penguins, sea lions and rays are our snorkeling companions…along with multi colored angel fish, sea bass, puffers, eels, star fish, hog fish, with many other reef fish and corals of all colors. 

 
             We are on a small cruise ship with a crew of 7, 1 guide and 16 passengers: 5 Swiss, 1 Swedish, 2 Aussies, 2 Brits, and 6 Americans…all our ship mates are well traveled…stories of travels in Egypt, Africa, India, Nepal, Malaysia, New Zealand wet our appetites and give us ideas of where to explore as we move on in our adventure.

            Rough seas and long crossings from island to island have added a little bit of misery to our daily life aboard ship.  Judee was laid up today with sun poisoning of her lips…very pouty countenance as it were…she stayed aboard ship today nursing her wounds and sleeping.  I on the other hand tromped over lava rocks gazing at Albatross sitting on their eggs, blue footed boobies doing their courting dance, spying on piles of Christmas Iguanas, so nicknamed because of the red and green colors on their backs and legs.  The sound of thunderous waves pounding on the beaches….the swish and swoosh of the blow hole with its huge spray 15 to 20 feet into the air including a rainbow effect at each blow of mist.  The black and white (white due to the bird guano) cliffs adorned with monstrous spikes of rock backed by the turquoise blue water set many to digitize the coastline.

              We shared all of this with numerous other boat loads of people, some small, some with approximately 100 passengers.  Tourist visits per year are now capped at 120,000 persons!  This traffic and the few areas we are allowed to visit sometimes makes for traffic jams and considerable waits along the trails before you can move on. There are many issues facing the Galapagos Islands in the next few years: over use; the introduction of new plants/animals/insects; the invasion of non endemic species of the former: goats, rats, mice, ants, birds, cattle, horses and plants is very costly; the fishing industry is hurting due to over fishing; under employment of the locals due to main landers taking jobs and large tour operators edging out their local partners all add pressure to these delicate eco systems.  We are told the Ecuadorians as a whole don’t know or understand or seem not to value the Galapagos Islands, only 10% of the visitors are Ecuadorians.  (Could be the price??)  -Art

            Today we awake once again in Quito.  The bike shifter that fell apart has been replaced.  We are cleaning up and re-packing.  I am testing my sore knee for bike riding.  (The arthiscopic operation March 2005 seems to have made things worse and the knee is in constant pain.  Bone on bone, perhaps?  All the walking and tromping on the Galapagos, plus a missed step into the dingy on the last day has me gimping around, again.)  Art may be looking for a new stoker, if I can’t get my act together.  Tomorrow – we head south out of Quito.  Ecuador is an amazing country and we are both looking forward to the Andes!

Quito to Cunca (Ecuador)