Crossing the big pond! - Transatlantic Cruise on the Crown Princess

Stats:

Destination: Ponta Delgado in the Azores (Portugal)

Where we stayed: 2 nights in Fort Lauderdale at the Marriott Residence Inn in Plantation ($42/night on priceline); Crown Princess - 21 days (actually 2 cruises back to back, the first a 9 day transatlantic and the second a 12 day Mediterranean) - $1049 per person plus tips $11.50 per day

Best restaurant: How about a favorite meal? My (Tracy) favorite cruise dinner is a goat cheese souffle, a bowl of crab legs and rack of lamb! For Jason, it's crab, crab and more crab!

Best of: We had perfect seas and weather for the first three days of the cruise...I spent a lot of time out by the pool relaxing and it was wonderful!

Worst of: My cold came back with a vengeance at the end of the first cruise. It probably had something to do with sleeping (or not sleeping) at the Lima airport....This time it was accompanied by a brutal cough which is finally starting to get better weeks later.

Our flight from Lima back to the US went smoothly although the night in the Lima airport was long and boring. Of course we couldn't check our luggage in for our international flight until 3:00 am so we carted it around with us while we killed time reading, snacking and writing to update this blog! Finally after 19 hours in transit from Cusco we landed in the good old USA! After picking up our rental car (priceline - $50 for 2 days) we headed to the mall to make a dent in our long list. After 4 months in South America we were both in need of a few items and we took advantage of being able to stock up! Our little shopping expedition continued in earnest the following day as we counted down the hours to our relaxing transatlantic cruise! The following morning we made a few last minute stops at Whole Foods for wine & Barnes & Noble for guidebooks and we boarded the Crown Princess, our home for 3 short weeks!

I would like to say we stayed busy being productive for most of the cruise but to be honest we spent the first three days lounging in the sun, sleeping late and just relaxing. When the weather turned we used the time to catch up on photos, write entries for the blog, read and watch movies. It wasn't very exciting but it sure was relaxing! Our one bit of excitement came when we were attending a hypnotist's show one night. Both of us had talked about going up on stage and Jason decided to go ahead and give it a try. After seeing Jason scoot across the floor to put out an itch we will never think of "A Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash in the same way again!

The transatlantic cruise had just one port, Ponta Delgado in the Azores. We wanted to see the lakes and ended up sharing a taxi with another couple (35 Euros for 3 hours - $45 per couple). If you are there and want an excellent English speaking driver contact Jose Raposo at joseraposotaxista@hotmail.com. The lakes were certainly beautiful but the weather was very overcast so we were disappointed that we were not able to see the blue and green colors that the lakes are famour for. We also stopped at one small village located on the shore of the lake and several other beautiful spots on the island.

After the Azores we had one last day at sea. It was unfortunately quite rough and we spent most of our last day sleeping in the cabin and preparing for our port intensive Mediterranean cruise!

To see more photos of the Azores click here!

A final stop in South America - Machu Picchu, Peru

Stats:

Destination: Macchu Picchu

Where we stayed: We stayed in Ollyantantambo in the Sacred Valley (see Sacred Valley entry)

Best restaurant: The oreo cookies in our backpack were pretty good! Since we were only in Machu Picchu for 8 hours we spent the entire time at the park and didn't eat at any of the local restaurants.

Best of: The clouds lifted 15 minutes before we had to leave so we raced to the Guardhouse to take a few final shots of the whole complex

Worst of: Wildly unfair tourist prices - for example, locals pay 10 soles for the train to Machu Picchu and tourists pay 93 soles or $31 for the exact same train from Ollyantantambo. The entrance fee is 120 soles/$40 for tourists and about half that for Peruvian nationals.

Our trip to South America wouldn't be complete without a visit to Machu Picchu. We planned our visit there to coincide with our last day on the continent. Machu Picchu is considered the most spectacular archaeological site on the continent. Its stunning location and mysterious past makes this a place of great intrigue. The actual function of Machu Picchu is not known but it is speculated that it was of great ceremonial importance to the Incas.

In order to maximize our time there we booked the earliest possible train....we were at the station 5:00 am. Machu Picchu here we come! We arrived in Aguas Calientes at 7:00 am and immediately took the bus up to Machu Picchu.

When we arrived at the gates of Machu Pichu we raced across the site, snapping a few photos in the process, until we arrived at the entrance to the Wayna Picchu trail. Wayna Picchu means young mountain and they allow 400 people to climb to the top of each morning. We were in luck, we were numbers 97 and 98 so we set off up the mountain with the hopes of getting a few fantastic photos of Machu Picchu! Sadly, it was not meant to be. Although we made it to the top, Machu Picchu was covered with clouds. We gave up after sitting at the top for 45 minutes and seeing only clouds.

Back down at the gate, we found a tour guide (60 soles/$30) for a two hour tour of the highlights. Our tour visited the Temple of the Sun, the house of the High Priest (including the "toilet" of his holiness), the Temple of Three Windows, the Agricultural Terraces & the Temple of the Condor.

When we finished our tour, with only fifteen minutes to go before catching our bus down the mountain, the clouds finally lifted and we ran to the top of the Guardhouse to take a few photos of the entire Machu Picchu complex before catching our train and saying goodbye to South America!

The train ride back down to Cusco included an English tea time and an alpaca fashion show! While out host and hostess strutted their stuff down the makeshift runway we cheered and clapped. Unfortunately though, no purchases were made by us!

After returning from Machu Picchu we spent our final night in Cusco before starting our homeward journey...it took us about 24 hours including a very long overnight layover in the Lima airport. Our reward was 1.5 days of shopping fun in the great USA before heading across the Atlantic on the Crown Princess!

To see more photos from Machu Picchu please click here!

The Sacred Valley of the Incas - Pisac, Moray, Maras, Chincero, Urumbamba & Ollyantantambo

Stats:

Destination: Sacred Valley of the Incas

Where we stayed: We stayed one night in Urumbamba at Hostal Los Geranios for $25/night and two nights in Ollyantantambo at Hostal Las Orquídeas for $35/night with breakfasts. I would definitely recommend both establishments!

Best restaurant: The chocolate cake at the Pisac market ($.50/slice) was phenomenal, it was even better than the chocolate cake at Nona's in Denver ($5/slice); Pizza Zuni had excellent pizza in Urumbamba

Best of: Entertaining bus rides and the well preserved ruins of Ollyantantambo

Worst of: Broken down buses, having aguardiente dumped on us

After spending the week relaxing and getting acclimatized to the higher altitude in Cusco, it was time for a little adventure. We backed a couple of day bags for a 4 day journey through the Sacred Valley/Machu Picchu.

The Sacred Valley lies down the hill from Cusco in a fertile valley that not only provides stunning backdrops but most of the corn and other crops of the region as well. The valley is dotted with several ancient Inca ruins serving as a good buildup to Machu Picchu. We started with Pisac for the first day; moved on to Moray, Maras and Chinchero the next; followed by Ollantaytambo on the third day.

We woke up bright and early and caught the local bus up to Pisac for the Sunday market. Hoping for something similar to Sapa in Vietnam, we were expecting hillside village people bringing all sorts of goods to market, enjoying all sorts of local foods and loads of character. While the market was nice, Sapa it was not. Lots more of the same stuff you find in the markets in Cusco, but with a few vegetables on the side. It did come to life after the tourists left as the locals celebrated their day of sales with loads of local foods a la chocolate cake, popcorn & donuts along with a bit of aguardiente!

After having our fill of souvenir stands we poked our head into one of the stands serving up Cuy, or the infamous Guinea Pig. Having already decided that a trip to Peru would not be complete without trying this local delicacy, we ordered our lunch compete with potatoes and...yep...corn. I can't say I would order it again, but it wasn't as bad as you might think. If you have had dove or a small gamey tasting bird, then that get's you in the ballpark. If that is also not on your taste radar, think dark meat turkey with a smokier flavor.

After our "filling" lunch, we hopped in a cab and went to the top of the hill for the Incan Citadel high above the village. The height provided some nice views of the valley and the well preserved ruins at the top were pretty nice also. We ended up taking the 2-3 hour walk down from the top which was a pleasant experience in itself passing by nice terraced farms and a waterfall.

After our walk down, we hopped on the local bus to Urubamba for the night. On our way we encountered an interesting character sitting across from us. Shortly after sitting down, he took a swig from what was left of a nearly finished bottle. After yelling at the driver for 10-15 minutes to get moving, he turned his attention to us and began to talk to us as if we could understand a word. Knowing a fair amount of Spanish at this point in our trip, we were surprised at how little we could understand...until we realized he was talking to us in Quechua, the local language. Jason was brave (or dumb, take your pick) enough to try his elixir, while Tracy ended up wearing a little of it when he decided to turn it upside down. After yelling several times what must have been curse words, the conductor had to come back to tell him to chill out. About halfway there, the bus broke down and we were refunded half the fare (1 soles; 25 cents). We all got out, some started to walk to the next town, while a few of us sat on the side of the road waiting for a ride. The drunk man refused to get off the defunct bus, kicking at anyone who tried to pry him out of the door. Eventually, a van came by and picked up the handful of us left on the side of the road (another 2 soles)...minus the drunk man who was still laying siege to the stranded bus. Once we got to the small town, we picked up the rest of the bus passengers. What was a standing room only bus, became a packed van. Normally, the van holds about 12 and our best count (we could not see everybody) was around 24 people, a sack of corn flour and one big bug buzzing around a small dim light.

After peeling off the van walls and checking into our hotel for the night, we headed into the town of Urubamba for a bite to eat. The local pizza joint, which looks as if it's seen a fair share of tourists, was surprisingly good.

The next morning we were met at the hotel by our taxi driver for the day. We had decided that it was too many logistical challenges to get around Moray, Maras, and Chinchero on our own and it worked out fairly well. We began the day in Chinchero, the "birthplace of the rainbow". With cobblestone streets and a beautiful church at the top of a pedestrian only hill, the small town had tons of charm. The views from the Inca ruins were breathtaking and the frescos painted on the walls of the church were impressive, nearly equaling those painted around the same time of the Renaissance happening across the pond.

We moved on to the crop circles of Moray next. No, aliens did not make these crop circles. The Incas were believed to have used these as some sort of experimental agricultural lab. They fed the circles water by a series of aqueducts which have since been closed off.

After climbing out of the circles of Moray, we headed over to Maras Salineras. Maras, also known as the salt mines, has been working since Inca times. Spread out over the side of the hill, thousands of these "pans" collect the salt that flows from a stream. The workers divert the salty stream, fill the pans and wait for the sun to evaporate the water. The whole process takes a long time and the results are about a ton of salt per month. We had the taxi drop us off at the top and then we walked down past the salt pans all the way to the river, a 1-2 hour walk.

The taxi driver picked us up at the bottom as promised and we were on our way to Ollyantantambo. On our way there, he took us by his home town to try some Chicha. Ok, so it was a little bit of a tourist trap, but it was fun anyways and we got a little education on how to make corn "beer". It cost us a whopping 10 soles (about $3.30...but a full glass of chicha is normally .70 centavos or $.20). We also had a chance to try Fruitilla Chicha, fermented corn drink with strawberries mixed in giving the mead like drink a sweet flavor. It was excellent!

After paying for our drink pitstop, we arrived in Ollyantambo the jumping off point for Machu Picchu. We had a late, late lunch at the Heart's Cafe with a couple of Germans who helped us get in touch with our artistic side by helping us color our own postcards!

The next day we spent touring the ruins above the town. These ruins were a military outpost and were the site of a rare loss during the Spanish conquest of the Incas. This was the sight of the last major battles between the Incas and the invading Spanish forces. After their eventual defeat here, the remaining Incas retreated into the jungles, but did so in a way that by passed Machu Picchu thus preserving it for the tourists to come 500 years later. I was amazed to learn that the Spanish had defeated the Incas with only 100 soldiers prior to being turned back here...momentarily at least. Their real strength lied in the ability to convert the local population to Christianity. The battles were mainly between converted "Peruvians" and the Incas.

After our morning on the ruins it was time for some lunch. The food at the local joint was so bad we ended up feeding this kid most of it, which he apparently liked. The real joy came in the free show that was going on in the square. I will let the picture do the talking, but, yes that is a monkey on dog on dog moment. Can't say you see that everyday!

With an early morning train ride, we decided to call it an early night in anticipation of the next day in Machu Picchu!

To see more photos click here!

Up in the Andes - Cusco, Peru

Stats:

Destination: Cusco, Peru

Days Stayed: 7

Where we stayed: Monte Hereb Hospedaje - $33/night - $4 extra for the non-efficient heater

Best restaurant: Jack's Cafe has good international food (except for the hamburger - I thought it was a veggie burger but they assured me it was beef); Best Veggie Menu of the Day at El Cuentro for between $1-2 dollars you get a soup, salad bar, main dish and tea; For a nice dinner, we ate at Incanto and the steak with gnocchi is excellent as is the Alpaca steak.

Best of: Local market by San Pedro Church, impressive colonial churches (ask for the free audio guides - very informative but they like to hide them), Tons of shopping opportunities - Tracy was in her element

Worst of: Hassle alley, we quickly tired of walking through the perimeter of the Plaza Armas as we were constantly asked to come into restaurants and if we wanted massages.

After flying back from the Galapagos to Quito, we were reunited with our missing clothes...minus one sock, but otherwise in good condition. After a long wait in Quito, an overnight in Lima we hopped on the first flight to Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire.

Lima may be the official capital of Peru, but there is no doubt that Cusco is the heart and center of the tourism trade. Cusco serves as the jumping off point for Macchu Pichu and its million visitors per year so to say it's touristy is a bit of an understatement. Despite its popularity, it still has a charm to it. Not only was it the capital of the once mighty Inca Empire that covered most of the Andes, it also served as one of the earliest Spanish colonies in the Americas.

One other note of distinction on Cusco, it's high in the mountains. At over 12,000 feet altitude sickness can be a problem. With all the traveling, lack of sleep and altitude I (Tracy) wasn't feeling so well for the first couple of days. We decided to not push it by trying to squeeze in Lake Titicaca (sorry Jason, I know how much you wanted to go). This allowed for lots of time for resting and for enjoying coca tea, the local remedy for all of life's ailments. We both felt it helped with the altitude and for me, a dose of cipro chased away my illness after a couple of days (though it returned even worse on our Transatlantic cruise). Just don't chew the coca leaves (another recommendation for altitude sickness), it's just like chewing...well...a leaf! Not pleasant at all.

Cusco has lots of churches, ruins and museums to take in. The Religious Circuit ticket (60 soles pp or about $20US) gets you into the three principal churches and one of the art museums. All of the churches in the circuit date back to when the Spanish first showed up here and conquered the Incas in the late 16th century. A blend of Spanish, Moorish, and local Cuscuean design has its own unique flare. Intricate baroque carved red woods with gold plating are the standard by which most of the pulpits, choirs and altars were created. The main attraction of the ticket is the Cathedral, which actually is a complex of three churches under one roof. We ended up "touring" the cathedral three times. The first time we were on our own and wandered through reading what we could of the Spanish captions with broken English in parts. The next time it was part of a city tour we took to see the ruins just outside of Cusco. The last time, which in our opinion is the best way to see the complex, is by following the audio tour. Since there are tour guides available inside the churches who speak a little English and work on a tip basis, they like to hide the audio tours so you have to ask for them. The audio guides are in perfect English, very detailed and have side stories that even the guides don't tell you. One down side of the churches is that they don't allow photography of any kind, flash or no flash, and it is strictly enforced. Tracy did manage to get a shot or two secretly before they came rushing over to remind her of this but they didn't turn out well.

Nearly as stunning, and right next door, is the Compania de Jesus. Ask for the audio tour here as well, it's really well done and totally free. The audio tour even leads you through a secret doorway in the wall and up the stairs to the second level of the church with excellent views of the cathedral and the Plaza Armas.

The Iglesia De San Blas is an adobe church set on a hill. The exterior of the church is rather unspectacular but the wood carving on the pulpit is spectacularly done (unfortunately they allow no pictures). It took over 20 years to complete and is very intricately carved. The neighborhood of San Blas is also a joy to wander around with alleyways running this way and that with the odd alpaca to bump into!

To top off our Cusco religious ticket we stopped at the Religious Art Museum which is housed in the palace of the Inca Roca. The museum has a nice display of religious art and again has those handy (and free) audio guides! No one was on guard here so we got a few pictures!

Our favorite market in Cusco(by far) was the central market by San Pedro. We stopped by here several times always stopping by to say hi to our favorite fruit lady (fruit salads 2.5 soles - less than a buck & her fresh squeezed juices come with free refills)! She was conveniently located right next to the chicha lady who was kind enough to give us a free sample of her brew (think thick fermented corn with sugar)! While shopping in the market you can even get a pair of pants hemmed on the spot or buy hand knitted footwear! They also have roving carts with little snacks, chicharonnes (pork skins) or fried quail eggs anyone? We also enjoyed shopping and taking daring walks down the long meat aisle (once complete with a pig head wrapped in a blanket on the floor). Our recommendation is to do this with your mouth closed and try to hold your breath!

We enjoyed the courtyard in La Merced as well as the crypt area with original paintings but we were disappointed that many of the rooms were closed (probably our fault, we came 45 minutes before closing). We did get lucky and were serenaded by the local elementary school band practicing top hits like "Superman" and "Spiderman, Spiderman".

The Qorikancha. or Temple of the Sun, forms the base of the Iglesia de Santo Domingo (entrance fee 20 soles). It means golden courtyard in Quechua because in Incan times it was quite literally covered in gold. It was used during religious rituals as well as an observatory for celestial events. Today all that exists is the exquisite stonework, the Spaniards stole the gold during the conquest. It also contains the Inca's smallest mistake which was expertly patched (see photo).

Set high on a hill just above Cusco lies Saqsaywaman (entrance for all of the Sacred Valley ruins are covered by the Boleto Turistico pass - 120 soles/$40). With its wonderful views, Saqsaywaman is the largest of the four clustered near Cusco. It is famous for the largest Incan stone (see photo below). Don't miss a climb up the hill for stunning views of Cusco below.

Qenco is a small ruin located quite close to Sawsaywaman. In Incan it means zigzag. It's a limestone rock full of niches, steps and symbolic carvings. It also contains a stone sacrificial altar! The altar was once used for human sacrifices and the stone is extremely smooth from all the scrubbing!

We stopped quickly outside of Pukapukara, not going in but just snapping a photo from the outside. Pukapukara means red fort but it supposedly was used as a hunting lodge or a stopping point for travelers.

Tambomachay is the region's ceremonial bath which still channels fresh spring water. Built during Inca times, they still do not know where the spring actually begins. The belief is that if you drink the water you will experience eternal youth. Naturally we filled up a full bottle :-)

The most famous stone in Cusco is this 12 sided stone which is part of the original Incan wall. I'm not sure why it's so famous, the Incas used stones that contained 36-48 sides and they can be found in many of the temples (Qorikancha, Saqsaywaman & Machu Picchu) but beside this stone there are a number of little fly by night shops and a man that dresses in traditional Incan garb posing for pictures...perhaps this has helped improve its popularity.

The Museo Inka contained a nice collection of Incan ruins including lots of gold work, pottery and textiles. Sadly, like everything else in Peru photography was off limits but they did have this nifty little sign to let you know. Instead of listening, I whipped out my camera to capture it. All I could think was, why are they naked?

We also took in a folk show the Cusco Cultural Center...normally I like this sort of thing but I wasn't impressed...I'm glad it was free (included in the Boleto Turistico - 125 soles - $40).

That concludes our visit to Cusco! From here we headed into the Sacred Valley of the Incas!

To see more photos from Cusco please click here!

Sharks and Rays...our last days: Diving the Galapagos

Stats:

Destination: Santa Cruz - Black Turtle Cove and Puerto Ayora.

Where we stayed: La Peregrina B&B(peregrinagalapagos@yahoo.com) $40US per night including breakfast. Quiet place right on the main street. They have simple rooms with friendly owners and are very clean.

Best restaurant: While the Galapagos are more expensive for just about everything, there is a street with local stalls about three blocks behind the main street that served up reasonably priced meals for anything from soup and a simple meal for $4 to $12 for the lobster tail (we recommend the sopa y pescada a la plancha (soup & grilled fish - $4).

Best of: The massive school of Galapagos and Reef sharks that we stumbled upon diving

Worst of: Sub-Aqua had to be about the worst dive company we have ever dove with...if they are the best in the Galapagos, I can't imagine what the worst is like!

*With the islands being so diverse, we decided to post each one separately. The Galapagos Islands will be an 8 part series. Here is Part 8.

All good things must come to an end and our time on the Beluga was almost over. Our last tour was through Black Turtle Cove bright and early at 6am. The cove was named after what was once thought to be black turtles, but has since been proven to be a darker shelled variety of green sea turtle (most common). It was a boat ride through more mangroves where the highlight was a school of eagle rays feeding on top of the water. These graceful creatures stay in schools and feed near the top in layers 3-4 deep. Above the surface, you see the edge of their fins poking out of the water as they swim by.

After our early morning boat ride, it was time to depart the Beluga, say goodbye to some new friends, and get ready for some diving!

When you start taking the PADI (Diving certification) courses, they love to show you videos. One of these videos featured the Aggressor Live Aboard ships in the Galapagos and it was enough to make us both get excited about diving here! The video had shots of schools of hammerheads which made us realize that a trip to the Galapagos would not be complete without taking a look under the water a little deeper.

The dive company picked us up from the boat and we dove twice at North Seymour island for the first day followed by Gordon Rocks and back at North Seymour for the fourth dive the second day. Highlights included seeing a massive school of Galapagos and white-tipped reef sharks, seeing the hammerheads swim by (a little too far away for a great picture) and the manta rays (both in a school as well as one big one swimming alone). What you see is well worth the expense, but we would suggest going with someone else. We made the decision based on convenience (they were willing to pick us up from the boat so we could dive two days instead on one) and reputation (Sub-aqua was supposed to be one of the best here).

If you don't dive, you could skip this paragraph, but we feel like venting for a moment on how horrible Sub-aqua was. First off, they promised a dive master for every 4 divers/max 6. What we got the first day was 12 people diving with two dive masters at the same place and time so it was in reality a group of 12. Second day, we got one dive master for 8 people with an "assistant dive master" (It was the DM's girlfriend and I don't remember "assistant DM" being a certification level.) Secondly, they do everything for you, which is somewhat of a false blanket. On three different occasions, someone had to have their air turned on after the boat crew had given the ok, Tracy's depth gauge didn't work so she had no idea where to stop at for the safety stop not to mention her regulator was not working the best either. Third, they do this ridiculous weight check where you jump in a non dive location with the weight belt and wet suit on, but not the BCD, basically making you think what is the point. Then, once you get out of the water from the weight check, you finish suiting up and sit on the side of the boat, with air tanks hanging off the side getting hit with waves, while it flies to the actual dive site. Once there, there is this rush to get in the water, no mention of buddy checks (apparently the crew has taken care of that for you right!?!) and in the water, they tell you to dive, with or without your buddy present...you can just meet up at the bottom. Instead of ascending as a group, you go up paired with the next closest person on air, not necessarily your buddy which really makes no sense. Once on the surface the boat swings around to pick you up...but before you can get on, they fire up the engines and are off to pick up the others (because their air consumption allowed them a whole two minutes longer of bottom time!), you meanwhile hanging on to a rope on the side of the boat like Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea getting drug all over the place. We don't want to discourage diving in the Galapagos as it was a wonderful place to see, just Sub-aqua was the worst we have ever dove with, even beating out the cocaine peddlers in Amed!

Any ways, enough bad stuff, enjoy the great views through our pictures!

Couple of cool pics of the White-tips

Here are the hammerheads. I saw one on the third dive swim within two meters (6 feet) just as we were descending...bummer I didn't have the camera for that moment.

We are fairly confident these are smaller Mantas, because of the mandibles but cannot confirm. If anyone knows for sure, let us know!

One last sea lion made an appearance!

Lazy sharks and a turtle!

The heart of a sea star, they were plentiful in most sites. Coral in the Galapagos are few and far between due to the effects of a particularly strong El' Nino in the 80's. These schools of fish are everywhere in the Galapagos.

Part of the massive school we saw on the last (and best) dive.

Yep, they got pretty close!

One last shark photo, and a spotted Eagle Ray (second largest ray behind the mantas).

This concludes our 8 part series on the Galapagos. While expensive, we thought it was definitely worth it. We saw things we have never seen before, got closer than we ever thought possible to the wildlife and retraced the steps of Darwin. Where else on the globe can you say you swam with the penguins, beat a bunch of dolphins in a race, watched boobies dance (outside of Vegas :-)) and witnessed a family of sea lions frolicking in the ocean?

To see more diving photos please click here!

Love is in the air...you can feel it everywhere! Santiago and Bartolome, Galapagos

Stats:

Destination: Santiago (James) Island and Bartolome Island, Galapagos

Best of: More penguin loving...in more ways than one!

Worst of: Camera started to fog up just as we got to the penguin lovin'

*With the islands being so diverse, we decided to post each one separately. The Galapagos Islands will be an 8 part series. Here is Part 7.

Day 07: Santiago (James) Island: Puerto Egas & Bartolome Island

We started the day on Santiago (James) Island at Puerto Egas. On top of the hill overlooking the bay is the remains of what once was a house and salt producing factory. The company was short lived as the owners declared bankruptcy, abandoned the island in the middle of the night, leaving behind all the workers...unpaid! The workers were rescued after a couple of weeks from Santa Cruz, but they took everything they could carry from the house as a form of payment.

Further along the path, up off the shore is where Darwin studied his now famous finches. There are thirteen varieties of finches, all endemic to the islands. To the naked eye, the finches are virtually the same, no differences can really be noticed. Darwin started to study their behavior and noticed that each one had a different length of beak. One finch in particular feeds on a nut that is too hard to crack. The finch has adapted it's beak to be able to pry open the shell and is the only animal that feeds on the nut. This adaptation ensures that the finch will not have to fight with other animals over a common food source.

Returning back to the coastline, we came across the Fur Seal grottos. Unlike the sea lions who enjoy sunning themselves, the fur seals prefer the shade and lay in the the crevices and under overhangs. The fur seal is much smaller than the sea lion and there are not as many either. The fur seal, much like the tortoises, were prized by humans. Nearly hunted to extinction, they are now protected and making a comeback. This little guy, however, was the only one we managed to see.

We think this guy is a Galapagos Night Heron. It may look like he only has one leg, but he is in fact just standing on one leg. They sleep standing on only one of their legs.

Hard to tell in the picture, but similar to the Blowhole on Espanola, there is Darwin's toilet. as the tides go in and out, the water go gushing up and back down a hole in the ground giving it the appearance of a toilet.

Back on the beach, we donned our snorkeling gear and jumped in the water. The only thing from this snorkel to report was we were so afraid of this bull seal, that we turned around and cut our snorkel trip short. They can be very territorial and since he was a much better swimmer than we are, we decided to let him have this part of the water.

After lunch, we moved the boat over to the island of Bartolome and jumped in the water for more snorkeling fun! With its Pinnacle Rock, Bartolome is one of the most visited islands in the Galapagos, and one of the most scenic. Our snorkeling took us around the edge of the island and in between the pinnacle and the main island. The highlight of this snorkel trip came at the end when we came across more penguins on the rocks. The Penguins here decided to put on a show...mating style! Sadly, the housing started to fog up about the time we got here, but Tracy managed to get a few shots through the fog. It was still entertaining in that uninhibited animalistic kind of way.

Bartolome is one of the most visited as well as most photographed of all the islands and for good reason. It's not very big, but it packs a lot of geological features into a small footprint. The trail leads to the top of the hill for a great over view of the surrounding ocean and smaller islands. The island receives so little rain, that footprints in the volcanic soil will remain years after they were left. Due to all the tourists, they have since installed a walkway over most of the path to prevent erosion. Like most of the islands, Bartolome is a volcanic island. Aside from the lunar type landscape of red, dry soil, the island also boasts fine examples of spatter cones. When a volcanic eruption is occurring, the lava finds weak spots in the side of the main cone and the pressure becomes so great that it eventually forces it's way out the top and causes a secondary eruption.

Once at the top, we were treated with grand views!

Back on board, we had our last night on the Beluga and got ready to disembark the next morning.

To see more pictures of Santiago Island, click here.

To see more pictures of Bartolome Island, click here.

The iguanas are coming, the iguanas are coming! - Isabela and Fernandina Islands

Stats:

Destination: Isabela Island, Galapagos; Fernandina Island, Galapagos

Best of: Salt spitting Iguanas by the hundreds, Dive Bombing Boobies, more Dolphin fun...oh...and a beautiful sunset (or moon rise) to boot! Fernandina was Tracy's favorite island.

Worst of: Due to too many tourists bothering the marine iguanas in the water, you are no longer allowed to snorkel with them

*With the islands being so diverse, we decided to post each one separately. The Galapagos Islands will be an 8 part series. Here is Part 6.

Day 06: Isabela: Urbina Bay / Fernandina: Punta Espinoza

Our last stop on Isabela, the largest island in the Galapagos, was at Urbina Bay. Geologically speaking, Urbina is one of the newest areas of the Galapagos and was caused by an uprising in the 1950's. Uprisings occur much like an earthquake in reverse, instead of splitting the land, the land is forced together and pushed up out of the ocean. This one forced the land to rise about 5 meters (15 feet). The result of the uprising created a new beach, caused the island to grow in size, and caused the death of many corals and other marine plants, including the mighty mangroves. You can see what once was a vast forest of mangroves, now just black decayed and rotting trees. The new beach is an important turtle nesting sight, being one of the few beaches on this side of the Isabela so you have to watch your step.

Prior to the national park being established in 1958, human activity went on largely unchecked. Once it was determined that many of the human introduced animals (dogs, cats, rats, goats, cows, pigs, etc.) were devastating the natural habitats of the endemic and native species, a program was put in place to begin eradicating the introduced species. On Isabela, they have now eradicated all of the goats. What program you might ask would accomplish such a task? Poison? Nope, that would endanger the other species. Some sort of capture and release? Not right either, apparently the goats breed too quickly. With the use of helicopters and men with guns over 2-3 years, they flew over the island shooting goats as they saw them. Sounds like a scene out of Apocalypse Now rather than National Geographic but that's exactly what happened. Now that all the goats are gone, the vegetation is coming back and the native and endemic species have sufficient food sources to return to pre-human numbers on the island.

One such species is the Land Iguana, endemic to the islands. We showed you a picture of them on North Seymour where there are only a handful due to lack of food, but here food is not a problem and there is a large colony of them living here. Measuring from 1-6 feet in length (tail included) they are only slightly skittish, mainly from the goat eradication program. If all you heard was gun fire everyday for three years, you might be a little on the shy side as well! On a lighter note, the Iguanas are very intriguing to watch. Highly territorial, they do "push-ups" to let other Iguanas know this is my turf pal. We don't have a video, but think of really fast head bobs and you get the picture. They have no natural way of cooling themselves off so they dig holes in the ground to stay cool and stay in the shade.

We tried snorkeling off the beach here, but it was just too cloudy and the waves were pretty strong in this area so we threw off the gear and enjoyed the sun and sand for a moment or two.

After lunch, it was time to explore the youngest, geologically speaking, island of Fernandina. Only the point of Espinoza is available for exploration, but it provides more than enough wildlife viewing. Once again, we encountered a familiar face in the marine iguana, only this time they numbered in the hundreds. A popular breeding ground is found here and they don't stray far from home. The endemic marine iguana feeds on the algae and seaweed of the ocean during low tide, and spend the rest of the time sunning themselves on the rocks. As with the land iguanas, the marine iguanas also have no natural way of cooling themselves so they face the sun when they are cold, and turn around when they are warm. As you look at the sea (no pun intended) of iguanas they are 90% facing the same way, sometimes one on top of another. The white crust you see on their heads in not part of their coloring, it's from the salt spray...that they create. As they are digesting the seaweed and algae from feeding time, they have to have a way of excreting the saltwater. As you watch them seemingly doing nothing, one snorts and a spray of saltwater goes flying out its nostrils and the wind blows it around and back into their faces.

Fernandina is not only home to a marine iguana colony, but also plays home to more...you guessed it...boobies! One would think that we would get tired of them, but they never cease to amaze us with something new each time. Off the shores of Fernandina lives schools of fish, perfect feeding grounds for all the birds. Like a squadron of fighter jets, the leader of the pack is on the look out for prey. When a school is within sight, he signals to the rest of the group and they descend upon the unsuspecting victims. The rest take his lead and dive into the water one right after the other.

Just in the foreground of the squadron of boobies, there is the nests of flightless cormorants. The flightless Cormorants, as the name suggests, can't fly and are the only species of cormorants that cannot making them endemic to the Galapagos. Instead of flying, they have larger than normal webbed feet and are much stronger swimmers than their brothers that still fly. This allows them to dive much deeper in the water in search of food. They only use their small wings for support when jumping from rock to rock. Unlike other birds that use twigs and dried leaves to build proper nests, the cormorant build their nests out of wet seaweed. The female stay home to tend what little nest there is while the male goes out to collect supplies. When he returns, he shows his loved one what he brought home for her and the baby. There is a moment of either disgust and rejection or a welcoming thank you for such a nice pile of weeds. There is one major problem however with building your house out of wet seaweed rather than dry timber...IT's WET! As the seaweed begins to decay, it attracts lots bacteria and bugs, certainly doesn't scream home sweet home! As a result of this choice in building materials, the cormorants are prone to infections and have a low survival rate. The white in the pictures below is not sea foam, it's the rocks that have turned white from all the bird poo. Yet another amenity one looks for in a house...at least it's oceanfront!

A short walk from the cormorants and boobies, we came across a couple of young male sea lions that were playing/fighting, while a mother was caring for her pup. And in the background of the sea lions, a "young" sea turtle had lost its way and managed to come up on the wrong beach. The only time sea turtles are usually seen on land is when they are ready to lay eggs, which is at least 25 years old (when they reach sexual maturity) and always on the same beach in which they were born. This one had either got caught in the waves and washed up on shore by accident, or was dazed and confused about where it was. Either way, what a sight! Have we mentioned that the Galapagos is one of those magical places where things just happen?!? The turtle, by the way, got turned around and back out to sea safely.

During the season (June - October) the western islands and specifically, the channel between Fernandina and Isabela, is home to several types of whales. The only whale you have a real chance of seeing year round is the Killer Whale, or Orca, which feeds on sea lions. This time of year however, the water is too warm (sure could have fooled us!) for whales and so they go to deeper and much colder water to feed. Below are some bones left behind by a whale that washed up on shore and died.

As we sailed away from the island, once again we encountered a group of dolphins...this time the common dolphin and the spinner common dolphin. They, just as the bottlenose dolphin, are very acrobatic jumping in the air and, in the case of the spinner, doing a couple of 360's before splashing back down.

Just as the sun was about to set, we joined the captain in the wheelhouse for the moment we crossed over the Equator and were at 0.0.0.0 longitude. We took a picture of the gauge, but it came out a little fuzzy so just trust us that it read that at one time. It was also rather fitting that the full moon was rising right along side the lunar type landscape (with water) that is the northern volcanic cones of Isabela.

We continued to sail throughout the night to our next set of islands, and last full day on board the Beluga, Santiago and Bartolome Islands!

To see more photos of Fernandina please click here!

Oh you did not just squirt that black poo at me! Swimming with Penguins on Isabela Island

Stats:

Destination: Isabela Island, Galapagos

Best of: Swimming with the penguins! Where else in the world can you do that!?!

Worst of: The water was freezing cold, about 15 Celsius (about 58 Farenheit!)

*With the islands being so diverse, we decided to post each one separately. The Galapagos Islands will be an 8 part series. Here is Part 5.

Day 05: Isabela: Punta Moreno / Elizabeth Bay

We began our trip to the western most islands of Isabela and Fernandina with an almost lunar type landing on Punta Moreno. These two islands are the youngest and also the most active in terms of volcanic activity. Punta Moreno is a hike across one of the numerous lava flows. Even in this seemingly barren wasteland, life finds a way to exist. Cactus and short shrub grass grip to an inch of dirt they can find and hold on for life. The lava tubes on this island serve as underground channels where ocean water is fed into inland lagoons supporting pintail ducks, small fish and the visiting flamingo (none here on this day however).

There are also different forms of Lava depending on the speed and existing land conditions. Below we are walking over AA Lava, huge chunks.

And here we are walking over Rope lava or Pouipoui (Hawaiian word).

Our highlight of the day came when we jumped in the water. We were warned that the water would be colder on this side due to the deep ocean trenches that lie just off the western coasts, but man that water was cold! Good thing there was plenty to see! After a dozen turtles or so, we couldn't keep up. There was one right after another, some in groups and some just minding their own business resting on the bottom. Again, like most of the animals in the Galapagos, they didn't seem to mind our presence. They just slowly paddled around gracefully gliding through the water.

As if the turtles were not enough, we rounded the corner and into a flock of penguins just floating along on the water! Instead of diving and running, they would do short dives, check us out, and reappear just a short distance away. Occasionally, they would turn, dispense a black liquid, and jet off so I guess you could say we scared the you know what out of them! We were having so much fun interacting with them that the freezing cold water didn't seem to bother us.

*Here is a video of the penguin antics while in the water!

That afternoon, we had a boat safari in Elizabeth Bay. On the way into the bay you pass some rocks in the water that are home to a variety of wildlife. Among the usual suspects of blue-footed boobies, sea lions and pelicans (they never stop being entertaining!) we were also introduced to the flightless cormorant (more on them in the next posting) and another flock of penguins came by to check us out.

Once past the rocks, you arrive into a mangrove lined bay. The mangrove trees survive in salt water by having a special way of excreting the salt through the leaves of the tree. Turtles, rays, sharks, and herons all call this place home due to the smaller fish that breed and thrive under the "protection" of the mangroves are an excellent source of food. Since beaches are rare on this side of the island, the sea lions actually climb into the mangroves and rest on the branches earning them the nickname "tree" lions.

Back on board the Beluga, we enjoyed the sunset (above) and moved the ship up the shore a little more for one more stop on Isabela the next morning.

To see more photos of Isabela please click here!