Galapagos part 1 of 2

We flew to the islands and boarded Silverseas Galapgos on her maiden (post refurbishment) voyage to the islands. We travelled the Eastern (older) islands of Santa Cruz, Seymor Norte, Genevosa, St Cristobel and Espanola. On each island we had guides that kept us to paths and as a result none of the animals are afraid of humans (indeed many have few predators). This lack of fear enabled many close up pictures (I took over 1000 in a week). This blog is centred on animals and the next on bird life. Our voyage covered most of the islands to the East of the “Sea Horse”.

The coastline of the islands was spectacular with many being volcanoes  (the older ones are those that have drifted to the East). (This is not a volcano but a quite spectacular blow hole.)

The cliffs included calderas which assist many of the larger birds to take off.

There are limited species most of whom have been forced to adapt to their unique surroundings. Flowers are either white or yellow with no scent. This is because the few pollinators that are on the islands are not attracted to scent or other colours so there is no purpose in plants being any different.

 

Plants and animals are generally imaginatively called the Galapagos, Darwin or Lava something. This is the Galapagos cotton plant.

Much of the inland scenery is unusual and not seen anywhere else. This is Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz.

One very successful plant is the prickly pear cactus, many of which are some 200 years old. This one has suffered at the hands (well hoofs) of introduced donkeys scratching for moisture.

A common theme on all the islands is sea lions. The females and young have a strong bond for a year or so (until the next pup arrives).

This is a very new pup with the after  birth still attached much to the delight of a mocking bird.

Each harem is protected by an Alpha male who in some cases is quite aggressive. This one took to chasing a few of us up the beach. However, all this testosterone is difficult to maintain and most Alphas lose their position to another male within 4 weeks. Keeps the Gene pool strong albeit it results in many bachelor beaches where males spend a few months recovering their energy and healing their wounds.

Many species have a symbiotic relationship with one another. Here a beautiful yellow warbler (male as it has a red head) is looking for small irritating insects.

This species however, is not allowed within 2 metres of an animal so that their natural habits remain untainted.

The islands are host to many iguanas and uniquely there is a marine variety on many of the islands. These feed on algae in the sea and although they are air-breathing can stay under water for some 45 minutes. When on land they have to excrete the salt that has made its way into their system and do this by sneezing. When they are ashore lying in the sun and warming  up it is about their only activity.

The size varies tremendously between islands as each species has adapted to its particular environment. Hence marine iguanas on Genevosa were much smaller than elsewhere as there is not so much food available. By comparison this male land iguana on Seymor Norte does not appear to be too deprived.

And these on Santa Cruz (South Plaza) clearly had no shortage of energy as they continued to mate and run across the island.

They (and the seals) do seem to have an uncanny knack of moulding to the rocks and look quite comfortable.

There were also a variety of lava lizards all of which have evolved into a variety of sub-species which are different on each island. This one belongs to Saint Cristobel.

One of the favourites is the Giant tortoise which also has a sub-species on each island. This is the dome shaped variety on Santa Cruz. Elsewhere a saddleback has evolved which occurred as food was off the ground and required the tortoise to reach up. The front of the shell over the years has developed a saddle appearance to enable the neck to stretch up.

So as to put the size into perspective we used the tortoises blind spot and crept up behind while our guide took this shot.

There are also sea turtles, with this one becoming quite curious as we took a zodiac across the harbour (Wreck Bay) at Saint Cristobel.

One of Helen’s favourites was the very colourful Sally Lightfoot crab.

However, my favourite is this lucky shot of a seal playing..

 

Quito

Our first trip to South America started in Quito the capital of Ecuador. At 9350 feet above sea level it is the second highest capital of the world and sits below the 15,696 ft Pichincha volcano. (The highest capital  is Lapas in Bolivia). At 2 million people (of the 9M total in the country) it seems small but is spread over any land that could be vaguely described as a slope (as opposed to a cliff). Ecuador is Spanish for equator and Quito is “centre of the world”. After a day of rest we decided on a day trip to the old town and the equator. There is much history here as the city dates back to 1534. La Basilica del Voto Nacional had a service underway and a large contingent of police outside. Even without the police the building was imposing....

A stand out of the architecture was the gargoyles which were animal from Galapagos. The tower was decked with Condors (which are virtually extinct in Ecuador with numbers in single figures).

The main square was bound by the Palacio Municipal, Palacio Presidencial, La Compania and Inglesia La Merced. In the centre of the square is a statue celebrating independence in 1809. The Spanish lion at the bottom has been injured and is skulking off, the Condor part way up has broken its shackles with broken links in its beak and the top is adorned by Madonna of the Apocalypse.  

We arrived at the Presidential palace just in time to see the gates opened to a large contingent of local government representatives who were meeting the President.  The guard are in the same colours as the Sucre army that won the civil war between Liberals and Conservatives. 

The palace has quite a bit of history including a plaque commemorating the death of an earlier president who was hacked to death by machete at the hand of his lover’s husband!

The old city is overlooked by Virgen del Panecillo. It is a huge statue made up of many small parts which were shipped from (and were a gift of) Spain.

We gained entry to two churches the first was run by Jesuits and there was a $3 entry charge. I found out (after taking the following photo) that photography was not allowed. It is covered in gold leaf and with both natural and local uplights had a justifiable feel of richness. All those in the church appeared to be tourists.

Meanwhile further up the road was a similarly decorated church run by Franciscans. It was really run down – maybe due to the fact there was no entry charge. Despite there being many praying, we were allowed to stroll around unhindered as well as take pictures. Outside the monks were providing soup and clothes for those in need. A remarkable contrast between Jesuits and Franciscans. Interesting the new Pope although a Jesuit goes by the name of Francis and he clearly does not fit the mould.

A stop by the Virgen del Panecillo was mandatory so as to gain a great view of the city. Buildings just cling onto the sides of the mountains. I hope they do not get an earthquake.

We then travelled to the equator (well very close to it). Here there is a road with statues of some French scientists who calculated where the equator was.

and we succumbed to the main point of the visit a picture of one foot in each of the hemispheres.

The only problem is the Frenchies got it wrong (and despite a single indigenous representative telling them so)!

The real equator is 240 metres North and can be visited at an indigenous museum. So here is the second attempt at a foot in each hemisphere. In front of Helen is a small spike that on the 21 March and 23 September has the sun directly over it at midday.

It is also easy to tell the time with a vertical sun dial (although the sun needs to be shining). It was just after 3 during our visit. 

There were a range of experiments. You could balance an egg on a nail head (although not many of us could do this but you did get a Diploma certificate  if you could).

But the best from my perspective was demonstrating centrifugal force with a small mobile sink. When over the equator the water went straight down the plug hole, by moving 3 metres to the South it went down clockwise and 3 metres to the North it went down anti-clockwise. (OK so this really needs a movie.)

A great day out and Quito was certainly worth the visit. The last shot should however go to the beautiful mountains.