But first, an introduction:
In 1535, before he could even reach Peru to mediate a dispute among Spanish conquistadors fighting over stolen Inca gold, Bishop Tomas de Berlanga was carried away by strong currents to a cluster of uninhabited Pacific islands, a thousand kilometers off the coast of Ecuador. He reported seeing giant tortoises, iguanas, seals and tame birds. He named it “Galapagos”, a Castillian word for turtle. Later Dutch cartographer Abraham Ortelius put it on the map inadvertently giving British pirates an idea to make it the perfect base to hide and attack Spanish vessels for gold. Soon the obsession for gold faded in the late 1700s and a new industry arrived, whale oil. Whales and seals were hunted to keep city lights on and revive the industrial world while bringing down the local population to the brink of extinction. To make matters worse, the whalers needed to eat, so they ate giant tortoises.
Long before Darwin put it on the map, another English pirate and explorer William Dampier published a book about the wildlife and geology of the Galapagos. While Charles Darwin was studying theology at Cambridge, his interest in the natural world, inspired by Dampier, caught the attention of his professors who were connected to Captain Fitz Roy planning a second voyage on the HMS Beagle. Fitz-Roy wanted an intellectual companion to keep him company during the long days at sea. After considerable to-and fro, Darwin made the cut and a few months later, they set sail in December 1831 to map uncharted territory and record scientific observations. Intended to last for two years, the circumnavigating voyage stretched into five because the treacherous South American coastline was and still is an unforgiving place. It buzzed with complex channels, dangerous currents and Darwin’s on the ground research and specimen collection off the coasts of Tierra del Fuego that extended the journey. It was only at the tail end of their journey in September 1835, the Beagle dropped anchor in the Galapagos. It feels like months, but Darwin was there for five weeks yet his notes on how species varied laid the groundwork for his masterpiece ‘On the Origin of Species’.
Today, flocks of tourists with aspirations thankfully much safer than those of the pirates and whalers invade the islands many of which were named after the aforementioned. Since the Ecuadorians took over in 1832, they’ve scrapped the English names and replaced them with Spanish ones and miraculously, the local wildlife have survived extreme and deathly conditions by altering their behavior and shapes. The islands are are now crawling with iguanas, giant tortoises, sea lions, penguins and a flurry of birds that are now under the strict watchful eye of the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNDP). They aggressively restrict tourist itineraries and routes ensuring that modern travelers are always chaperoned by a certified guide to keep them from doing what they can to gain attention.
Day 1 – San Cristobal
From Quito, we landed on the easternmost island, San Cristobal and headed towards the highlands on a 45 minutes drive to hike up the highest point and look down at a collapsed crater from thousands of years ago. El Junco Lagoon, the only fresh water lake in the Galapagos was engulfed in mist moisturizing the greenery around. During the 1.3km roundtrip hike, we were continuously distracted by various Darwin finches including warbler finches and small tree finches. A striking yellow warbler fluttered in between branches and a hummingbird moth buzzed away. Not to be mistaken with European finches, these songbirds are unique to the Galapagos and have come from South America as tanagers. Some have thick/short beaks to crack seeds while others have long/slender beaks to forage for insects. As it happens, they are totally unrelated to the finches we encounter in Europe.
It was near this very spot in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno that Darwin made his first historic landing in 1835. Setting off from the same pier, we began our 12 day voyage eager to follow in his footsteps and observe these unique animals. At sun set, we sailed south toward Espanola Island, a widely popular day trip destination for land based tourists as we later discovered.
Day 2 – Espanola
The overcrowding was real. In the morning, we headed toward a shoreline of white sand that contrasted starkly with azure waters, backed by lush green foliage of a postcard-perfect beach holiday. This was Gardner Bay (Bahia Gardner) located on one of the oldest and flattest islands in the Galapagos.
Along the shore, Galapagos sea lion pups and their moms were scattered across the sand, occasionally pestered by curious Galapagos mockingbirds and enthusiastic tourists. Perched on a fallen tree trunk, a solitary Galapagos hawk surveyed the area with quiet authority. The crowd was a mix of varied interests: while some groups read books and tried to excite their bored teenagers, others lugged heavy camera equipment dropping to eye level to capture anything with a heartbeat – so long as it wasn’t human. Later, we snorkeled among the rocks and came face to face with playful sea lions. They were likely mothers foraging for food, as some of the pups back on shore were only a few weeks old and still crying out to be fed.
In the afternoon, we landed on the shores of the western tip of Espanola Island, Punta Suarez, despite massive swells and looming clouds that had the crew on edge. We cautiously stepped ashore just as another boat load of tourists was dropped off. They took the lead as we set off along a narrow, pebbly trail where lava lizards, Galapagos doves with blue rings around their eyes, scruffy mockingbirds and our first encounter of marine iguanas created a traffic jam. The trail opened up to massive boulders packed with life: chatty sea lions, Nazca boobies, blue-footed boobies, swallow-tailed gulls and waved albatrosses. Sun rays illuminated the vibrant colors of marine iguanas and Sally Lightfoot crabs as they were sprayed by pounding waves. It encapsulated the raw uniqueness of the Galapagos and proved why these islands are so special.
As we continued the hike, we scrambled up large slippery boulders to reach a flat plateau covered in saltbushes, a nesting ground for waved albatrosses, Nazca boobies and blue-footed boobies. The walking trail led us to El Soplador, the island’s famous blowhole that fires compressed seawater high into the air as boobies and frigatebirds circled overhead. On the walk back, the jagged coastline glittered under a golden sky, finches oscillated from one branch to another, we were used to them by now unless a flash of color caught our attention. We treaded carefully around territorial male sea lions patrolling their harems, fully aware that in this raw landscape, it was not about us.
CRAYSCAPE 