GALAPAGOS IV: Isabella Island

Words to come, but here are some photos of our time on Isabella while I have internet ;)

GALAPAGOS III: Social Welfare aspect of Galapagos

The Galapagos is an interesting archipelago of islands that has been fought over and conquered many times through and finally resting in the hands of Ecuador. The only true natives to the islands are the species of non human descent. Although, there are some families on the islands that have been calling the Galapagos home for generations and would definitely consider themselves natives of the land.

It was interesting to me right off the bat to be surrounded my such natural beauty as the Galapagos projects, a true first class National park, yet at the same time very clear that the living conditions for the people of the Galapagos are far from the first class standards of the National Park that encompasses 97% of the island land. I had a suspicion but didn't get a true sense of the social situation of the Galapagos until talking with Angel, our guide for the day, in Floreana.

Because of the circumstances that we met Angel, sneakily hiring him as our guide without really knowing or understanding that we were being sneaky, opened up an incredible conversation over a couple cold beverages while we waited for the boat we were sneaking around to leave the harbor.

Let me explain to you. Getting to the Galapagos is pretty difficult, it involves either a pretty pricey flight or in my case, a pretty involved and lengthy sail across an ocean. But that is just the beginning. In order to visit the islands of the Galapagos, which are mostly National Park land (97% remember) you have to have approval from the National Park (an entity controlled by the powers that be in Ecuador). This is a pretty involved process and the reason why the large majority of tourists, sans a sailboat that have flown in, visit the Galapagos on small cruise lines (like Lindblad National Geographic boats), all inclusive dive trips with accommodation aboard, or the pricer option of chartering private boats for the week to tour the islands, with a Naturalist and staff on board of course. The Galapagos is not teeming with hotels for the very reason that getting around the red tape of island hopping yourself is a bit too tricky for the average Joe Traveller, the very reason why most admirers of these islands hop aboard a red tape free small cruiser to tour them around. Pricer, but already Ecuadorian cleared and little more hassle free.

For those of us that travelled by wind, and a bit of diesel, to arrive to this magnificent archipelago have to deal with that red tape. In our situation, the World Arc dealt with most of it. Which was quite an ordeal and even just the month before our arrival we only had clearance to visit 3 of the islands (would have been such a shame to miss out on Floreana!) Even with the massive leg work that transpired before I was even certain I would be visiting the Galapagos, we still have to jump through quite a few hoops upon our arrival . . . on each island. Even though we had permission from the Ecuadorian government to visit the 4 habited islands; San Cristobal, Floreana (for one night), Isabella and Santa Cruz, there was still many restrictions on this visit. Before our arrival we had to submit a formal itinerary, where we would be and when. Then we had to follow that itinerary strictly. Upon arrival at the port of each island, we had to check in with the Harbor Master, who had to get approval again from the Ecuadorian government and a special fax saying that yes, SV Zoe and her 4 crew were allowed to visit this island for blank days. This confirmation of approval from the mainland could take quite a while though, and if you didn't follow your itinerary, well, good luck chappy! Once you have been approved, then confirmed that you have been approved, then signed papers and paid another fee on top of the National Park fee you already paid, your boat can officially anchor off that island for said amount of days and you can visit the island, but red tape again: only a VERY small part of the island and you must have a naturalist with you at all times. Ok, that is a slight exaggeration, but in order to do any real exploring of the small percentage of the islands you can explore to, yes, you have to have a Naturalist. REPEAT for each island you want to see in the Galapagos.

Don't get me wrong, I fully respect the red tape and bureaucracy of getting your feet onto the white sand and rocky beaches of the Galapagos. It is an endangered gem that is being protected. I appreciate beyond belief that people see the wonder and beauty of these islands and want to protect it for my children and, hopefully, grandchildren to be in amazement of as well. The problem is that there is equally as much red tape of the Galapagos for the people of the Galapagos. Now, I am well aware that there are two side to this argument: 1) The animals are the only natives to this land and therefore should be protected more than the people who have inhabited the land and 2) The Galapagos people have been living on this land for generations and deserve protection as well. Coming from the work that I did and having defended people living on the streets and fighting for the few rights they have for years, I tend to be a bit partial to the second argument. After our afternoon with Angel, I am more than a bit partial.

Here is the problem. Ecuador controls that special 97% land of these special islands. Meaning that for a local of the Galapagos, they can't touch or step foot on 97% of the land surrounding them, for the most part. There are a few ways around this. Each person entering the Galapagos has to buy a National Park entrance upon arrival, or if you are in your own boat upon being un-quarantined. This entrance fee is a small piece of shiny paper that costs $100 US Dollars. Fee goes towards the park. Fair. Unfair: the people of the Galapagos need to have proof of that shiny piece of paper as well if they want to enter the park (again, 97% of the land). This shiny piece of paper is also only good for one year.

Remember those Naturalist that I mentioned as well? In order to see any of the sights of the Galapagos from beaches to volcanoes to hikes that are not right in the port town, it is required to have a Naturalist with you. As it turns out, these Naturalist are hired by the Ecuadorian government and over 80% of them are not from the Galapagos. (We experienced this first hand in being in the islands for over 3 weeks and only one of our Naturalist guides the entire time was actually born and raised on the islands and was fairly defensive, proud, but defensive of that). Even though the poverty levels and unemployment rate on the islands is sky high. Meaning that a native, so to speak, of the Galapagos has to pay an annual fee of $100/year and hire a Naturalist that is not from their land in order to hike the spectacular volcano that is in their backyard. Even then, they probably don't have a car to drive to that volcano so they would need to hire a taxi, whose driver (obtaining a permit from the Ecuadorian government to drive a taxi on the islands is most likely from the mainland and might need directions from the local).

Locals are allowed to cultivate food on farms, or fincas, in the Galapagos but it is incredibly restrictive, meaning that most locals have to pay the high prices of food being imported in from the mainland. In addition, the allocations of funding for these port towns is so drastically punitive in comparision to the funding of the National Park it is sad and just plain embarrassing. Many of the schools were set up by locals generations ago and most have volunteer teachers. In order for these local kids to obtain a high school education, they need to get to the island of Santa Cruz. This is a very pricy endeavor for many families if they don't have family on the island. The only other choice, no further education. Because of these tensions and the small populations of the islands, alcoholism and abuse have been a serious problem for these communities and it was just recently that organizations cropped up on the island to do work not related to the animal species of the environment, but focusing on the endangered human population as well, but only after receiving much heat and words like “human rights violations” started cropping up.

There is a huge push-pull between the people of the Galapagos and the government of Ecuador (not to mention all the international entities looking after the National Park as well). Although it is pretty clear that there is more push from Ecuador than pull. The government is making it near impossible for Galapagos grandmothers to be able to see her grandchildren stay on the islands they call home. A law was passed in 1997 that if a Galapagos local moves away from the islands for more than 10 years, that local no longer has the little rights to the Galapagos land they know as home and is now considered a tourist to the islands. TEN YEARS! Completely outside the realm of enough time for that local boy/girl to attend university on the mainland, get a career going and earn enough money to be able to buy a small plot of land on their homeland island for the going rate of $80,000 USD (No loans included because property loans are controlled by the banks on the mainland and would never be approved to buy land in the Galapagos). If this isn't pushing the people off the island, I don't know what is. Although it is not as if the Ecuadorian government is trying to hide the fact that they are pushing the Galapagos people into the water, although not quite the terms they have used. It has been well discussed within the international world of westerners and “First World Citizens” wanting to preserve these beautiful natural habitats for generations to come. Although not as thoroughly discussed with the natives of these islands, but they don't need an indepth discussion, they understand it perfectly clear, they are living it. What these protectors of the land don't understand is that these islands are already a beautiful natural habitat for many generations that also need to be preserved.

GALAPAGOS II: Floreana

We stayed on San Cristobal for about a week and waited for our departure to align with Fritz' departure back to the states. Fritz hopped aboard the water taxi as the crew of ZOE waved good bye from the deck. Fritz had been wonderful in getting ZOE and our crew back on course, him leaving felt like someone taking away our security blanket but we were now ready and excited to set the sails ourselves :) We had a nice crew dinner that evening and waved goodbye to San Cristobal ourselves in the dark, surrounded by the sparkling bobbing mast lights as we headed out on an overnight sail to Floreana Island.

The Galapagos is an archipelago of islands, of which 97% of the land is National Park and only 4 islands are habited. For good reasons, Ecuador and the Galapagos make it extremely difficult to visit these islands, needing permission and clearance to set foot on each island. World Arc was able to get us clearance to visit the 4 habited islands; San Cristobal, Floreana, Isabella and Santa Cruz. Although most people in the fleet just anchored off of Floreana for the night without even going ashore, we arrived in the morning ready to explore! Floreana turned out to be one of the most interesting islands I have ever been to.

The island is populated with 157 habitants, ALL descending from 6 families. The island has some mysterious and a bit of scandalous history including a baronessa who at one point tried to claim the island as her own when she was asked to leave, only to return years later with her husband and 2 other mail suitors. The island welcomed this famed woman back and she created a life with these three men, soon to be 2 after her fist husband died and she married the second man in line. After a few years and for unknown reasons, that 2^nd lover set out to sea, never to return and she soon wed the 3^rd suitor she had brought along. Not long after her and the 3^rd man in line wed, they both disapeared, never returning again. It is fabled that they are still alive (into their hundreds now) frolicking the island's uninhabited terrain. Whether this baronessa and her third lover are still watching over her beloved island or not, there is definitely something that gives this island a mysterious vibe, in a great way.

When we made it ashore, after a slightly terrifying leap to land from our dingy (the dingy dock on Floreana is more of a cement wall that you tie up to and pray that you can leap up to the step, covered in sea crabs and algae. My ascend was less than graceful, ha). The issue in traveling the Galapagos is that you not only have to be approved to set foot on soil of each land (and even that approval is for a minimal part of each island) but you also need to be accompanied by a “Naturalist” to escort you around the island. Granted there is good reason for this, ie: Iguana nesting areas that you might accidently walk over if you don't have a naturalist with you, oops. But, there is an entire social inequality side to this as well, which I'll get to in a bit.

Needless to say, our ragtag crew of SV Zoe did not have a naturalist lined up to escort us. This is where a speaking z spanish comes in handy ;) I popped my head into a semi official looking building and asked in my sweetest voice possible to the nicest looking woman, if there was any way one of the locals could tour us around Floreana and take us to Post Office Bay. Then I smiled, wide mouthed and large and gave that kind of, I am sorry for breaking your rules but PLEEEAASE look. She kind of looked at me like she pitied me and told me to wait for 5 minutes, she was going to call her husband. In 5 minutes her husband appeared and asked to talk to me. We kind of went off to the side of the building and he asked me a bit quieter than I am used to what we are wanting to see on Floreana. I told him that we had really wanted to see Post Office Bay and asked if it was possible for him to take us. He himmed and hawed a bit, looking over his shoulder, and then agreed to but not til about 3pm. GREAT! Beach time before touring, this is perfect. We designated a spot to meet Angel, our soon to be guide, and we set off on our merry way to explore the island!

Since our responsible Capitan had steered Zoe through most of the night to our anchor in Floreana, he was utterly exhausted and decided to head back to the boat for a little siesta before our explorations commenced. As he made his way back to his rocking berth, George, Kelsey and I made our way through town. There are really only 2 dirt roads through the town of Floreana. Sprinkled with simple houses, lined with laundry drying, chickens meandering the small yards, and a few little heads popping out of windows to share a quick smile. Although the island's life is minimal, they are not unfamiliar with tourists. The many small cruise and dive boats that loop around the Galapagos often stop at Floreana for an afternoon, bringing more than 400 tourists a month on this little island and town of 157 people.

After exploring “town” as much as we could and grabbing a cold beverage with some locals, we made a run for the beach. There are two main beaches in Floreana that people can get to, one is a black sand beach just a 5 minute walk from town (where it turns out iguanas are nesting, oops). The other is a bit further of a walk but more of an oasis than a beach and definitely worth the pleasant hike to get there!

The 3 of us enjoyed the PB&Js we had packed for lunch on this little cove of white sand, turquoise waters and sea turtles popping up to say hello. After lunch we went exploring a bit more to find the actual isolated beach that peopled had reveled about, (I forget the name of it at the moment :-/ For so much of the Galapagos being protected and off limits, I can't believe this beach was not. It was literally more like a little island oasis. In Kelsey attempting to get onto this island oasis of a beach, she was threatened and bared teeth at by one of the largest sea lions (I'm pretty sure known to man) who turns out was protecting his heirum and tons of baby seals that were rolling around on the white sand behind him. I stood watch, almost peeing my bathing suit laughing and enjoyed the scene from afar, admiring that big ball of blubber with lots of water and bobbing sea turtles between us.

After enjoying the turquoise water, white sand and adventure scene of Kelsey getting back off the island again, we booked it back to town to meet Angel and Ed for our 3pm date.

When we got to town, a bit late, Ed looked a bit confused and told me he thinks that Angel cannot take us. I immediately went to speak with Angel and pulling me aside, gently explained the situation. He guided my gaze with his pointer finger out to a boat lurking in the bay, explaining that this was the Police of the National Park boat, monitoring which boats were heading off the coast, explaining that it is highly illegal for locals that are not naturalists to give tours of the island. Although I still didn't quite understand, Angel asked us to wait for another hour and hopefully the lookout boat will be gone by then. In the meantime, he invited us over to his little cafe for a couple beers. We obliged ;)

What we took in sitting at Angel's little cafe was much more than cerveza. Angel gave us an insight into the Galapagos from the locals perspective and I have to say it wasn't the most uplifting information. Angel's discussion with us 4 gringos that afternoon was whole hearted, open and frustrating. That conversation was so valuable and not to be muddled into the midst of another long blog post, so I will keep the suspense going until the next post where I can do our conversation justice.

After a couple hours sitting over beers and deep conversation with Angel, the patrol boat had finally left and we were free to explore the coast of Floreana to Post Office Bay. We all scampered down the dirt road to that fateful dingy dock and hopped aboard Angel's fishing boat to embark on the best tour we had in the entire Galapagos! Angel took us along the western side of Floreana, exploring each crack and crevice. This island is in his blood and he can navigate it better than any naturalist from the mainland could ever dream. He brings us into little lagoons where the few penguins on this side of Floreana call home. He knows exactly where to find the Blue Footed Boobies and takes us zig zagging through the water of Floreana heading to Post Office Bay in a smooth and precise ride, looking behind his shoulder every few minutes just in case that look out boat has somehow come back.

When we arrive to Post Office Bay, there is a larger cruise ship anchored off shore, so in order to not disturb their time there, and since Angel was legally not allowed to bring us there, we asked if we wanted to trek up to a look out point just a few lagoons up the coast while we wait for the boat to leave. We happily agree yes. Angel lets us disembark onto a white sand beach and points to the path, letting us know he will wait in the boat for us. For a second my thoughts drift into those of the cautious traveller, all of our bags in the boat and if he left us here we would be royally in trouble. But Angel's, sincere smile and soft eyes makes me feel silly for even thinking that for one second. We trek up the short path to a beautiful wooden platform perched at the top of this hill, overlooking all of Floreana. It is breathtaking. All of us get a little giddy with how stunning a view it is, and how incredibly illegal it is for us to be there. A few photos are snapped and we are scampering back down the hill to our get-a-way boat in route for Post Office Bay.

This little angel of a man is sitting in his boat patiently waiting with a smile, looking very pleased that we enjoyed his special spot so much. At this point, daylight is no longer on our side and we book it for Post Office Bay, still needing to run the entire coastline back to our boat and these local fishing boats don't have lights. Angel once again, let's us disembark onto another white sand beach, extending to point to a path just a few meters off the beach. Although you can tell he is getting worried about daylight, he tells us to take our time, write a postcard and enjoy. The 4 of us are practically leaping down the path (well, at least Kelsey and I) to see this Post Office Bay we had heard so much about.

Post Office Bay was a very long time ago by sailors and pirates (Mom, it's ok) who used to frequent the islands in route across the Pacific. This little bay turned into a full fledge mode of communication between these nautical navigators and is still full functioning today! There is a little tin bin of sorts with plastic bags full of postcards. How it works is that now-a-days more travelers, less pirates, will come (with a naturalist) to Post Office Bay. Take a few photos, riffle through the postcards. If there is a postcard addressed to a destination they are heading, they will take the postcard and deliver it upon arrival, no postage necessary! We all chicken scratched a postcard out and deposited them into the tin “post office box” magically wondering if they will ever arrive home. Angel swore that many times travelers will write postcards home and they will be received before they even get home themselves. I was a bit suspicious that this mode of communication was THAT efficient, but he seemed pretty sure about it. Low and behold, we found out just a few days later that Kelsey's parents had received her postcard in San Diego! Like magic, our words are carried over the sea by other travelers just as they were when the pirates used Post Office Bay as their only form of communication. As of today, my postcard still has not arrived to Nevada City, but it will be very entertaining when it does ;)

Having stepped foot in Post Office Bay and sent off our loving words to family we hopped back into Angel's boat and concluded our tour of Floreana, racing back to the dock with a beautiful view of the sunset. I remember turning to Ed and Kelsey, who were glowing with the orange sky behind them, saying “ I can't believe this is our life right now”.

We waved good-bye to Angel and his smile, hopped aboard Zoe, and hunkered in for a cozy meal and good nights rest since we were only permitted to anchor off of Floreana for one night and would be setting sail for Isabella island bright and early the next morning. Floreana was a short visit, but there were no shortcomings in our new understanding of the Galapagos and the difference in islands that forms this archipelago. 

GALAPAGOS I: Arriving and Isla San Cristobal

I still can't believe that we are in the Galapagos! I have dreamed about coming to these islands for so many years, although I actually had no idea what to expect. We spotted land ahoy of San Cristobal just after day break and followed the coastline to Puerto Moreno Baquerizo in the light of the early morning sunshine, it was just spectacular. I can't explain the feeling of having been on the boat for almost a week with no land in sight, and then to be following the drastic coastline of beautiful green land with dramatic rock formations, all while being welcomed by manta rays summersaulting into the air in front of the boat and sea turtles older than myself waving us in . . . it felt unreal.

Our first touch down onto land was San Cristobal island. It is the most eastern of the Galapagos Islands and holds the capital of the Galapagos Island. From the second our anchor was dropped and I jumped into the bright aqua water I was awe struck. The marine life there is just amazing! San Cristobal is known for many species, of which sea lions are one of the most predominant. It is truly incredible, every where you look there are sea lions! Sleeping on boats, covering the beaches, playing in the water, waddling around, sleeping on park benches, it is unbelievable!

We saw so much wildlife on San Cristobal from the sea lions, to marine iguanas, to Blue footed boobies perched on rocks and frigget birds dancing over head with their scissor legs. We snorkled Kicker Rock with sea turtles and white tip SHARKS! Swam with manta rays. Hiked with finches. The wildlife is more abundant than anywhere I have ever been, but the aspect that will truly fascinate you, is how you are interacting and observing these animals in their own natural habitats and completely unaffected by humans. They are so protected that they are not afraid of humans in the least, it is really beautiful! You will snorkel with baby sea lions playing with you and walk down the street with iguanas walking side by side with you, hardly noticing that you are there. It is the only place that I have ever felt humans and animals are co-habitating in a truly respectful and beautiful way.

We had a few really special adventures on San Cristobal which had me feeling like I was really traveling again, SUCH a great feeling! One of the highlights was a tour we did with some local taxi drivers around the island. We trekked the volcanoe with these guys in pouring rain, laughing so hard as we slipped all over the mud looking out to amazing vistas of the island. They then took us to a lunch spot that is only open on Sundays and in the home of a local family that has been cooking for the local families on Sundays for almost 30 years. There were 14 of us gringos all crowded around tables of locals with Dora cooking us up her traditional dishes and so proud that we were there. By the end of the meal, Dora was hugging us and asking us to come back and see the garden. At that point I really felt like I was connecting with these people of the beautiful islands and that travel bug zinged me like it has so many times ;)

One of my most beautiful days on San Cristobal was when I took a day for myself and trekked around the Darwin Interpretation Center. It is a beautiful center perched on top of one of the sea side hills overlooking town and the coastline. Donated by the Spanish government, it is has pathes lined by beautiful spanish tiles, complemented by the bright green jungle overlaying and clear turqouise waters of the bay, it is truly beautiful. The center is really well done, with a 2 main buildings filled with exibits and history of the Galapagos and Darwin. Although these achilpelago islands maybe small, they have some large history they are carrying, pretty fascinating! Some top facts about the Galapagos: the islands are 97% National Park land, one of the islands (Isabella) is home to the 2nd largest active volcano in the world, total population of all the islands is about 25,000 inhabitants. 

From the main buildings, there are paths that meander and criss cross up the hill and along coast, leading to different vistas and points of the National Park there. I took some time to snorkel in a small little reef inlet. With the turquoise water and sea lions swimming around, I could resist. The highest point of the Darwin Interpretation Center is frigget hill. I trekked up to this point, and you truly feel like you are on top of the world, with friggets scissoring their legs right above your head and finches singing to you. I was beyond grateful to be there.

We were also able to catch the Galapagos Independence celebration and Carnival on San Cristobal. Although it didn't quite compare to Nina's spectacle, it was quite the show! These islanders love their fireworks, and there doesn't seem to be much regulations on them. Ha. The main stage in town was filled with music performers until 6am, with everyone in town crowded around with beers and salsa dancing until early in the morning. They are also huge fans of this soap-in-a-can spray. I haven't seen anything like it, but was anilliated with it a few times throughout the night, we well as face paint smeared across my face by local kids. Their humor is light hearted and it was so refreshing to be surrounded by again. I think I may have to bring this soap-in-a-can back to the states . . . although I have a feeling that random strangers on the street in the US would not have the same appreciation as these easy going islanders.

All in all we spent about a week in San Cristobal making friends with the sea lions and feeling like it was home after those 6 days! It is just one of those towns. Our departure to Isla Floreans was coupled with Friz's departure back to the States. Fritz was such a wonderful help to get SV Zoe going again and from this point on, the adventure continues!  

Crossing the equator!

I have learned that it is incredibly important for sailors to sail across the equator and turn from scallywags to shellbacks in a magical ceremony for Neptune. In light of tradition, sailors are supposed to get down to their birthday suits and all jump into the water naked, swim under the keel and then climb the mast! Seeing as we are on a boat with Ed and George, we skipped the naked side of things but celebrated crossing the equator and Neptune with a magical ceremony.

Fritz was with our crew at the time and was already dawned a shellback from previously sailing across the equator so he gallantly stood in as Neptune for our ceremony. All of us prepared to cross the equator with gifts of sacrifice for the real Neptune that we would toss into the sea at the equator. For myself, I drew a pin-up drawing of a mermaid (hoping this would inspire Neptune to give us a few nice gusts of wind) and threw a heart shaped rock in that I had bought for my Momma (not sure she will have the chance, or desire, to sail across the equator so wanted to do something for her). There were also poems composed and recited for Neptune.

We did follow tradition in all jumping into the water and swimming under the boat, although I didn't quite make it under the keel. I still haven't become completely comfortable jumping into the wide open ocean, but with everyone in the water and at the equator it felt great! Once we were all back on the boat, we wrote our names, position at the equator, and a little note into a bottle and tossed it overboard. Will be interesting to see if that bottle turns up and how far we are from the equator at that point ;)

All in all, it actually was a pretty special ceremony being adorned as a scallywag and celebrating Neptune at the equator! I am really starting to like all these sailing traditions. In light of tradition I think this means I am supposed to pierce myself with a gold earring . . . I wonder if a nose ring could count ;)