ELEVEN DAYS IN SOUTH AMERICA: THE GALAPAGOS

The Galapagos Islands are 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. After landing, we gained yet another hour which we would lose upon returning to Fort Lauderdale.

As we left the airport on the humid cactus-covered island of Baltra, we boarded a crowded bus. Many were forced to stand. Wasps were flying around our heads. From there, we were crammed onto a ferry and taken to Isla Santa Cruz.

The Galapagos is truly an international spot.  We encountered people from all over the globe!

Taxis there are white pick-up trucks. After 10 minutes of stepping inside one, our driver ran out of gas!!! The truck sputtered to a stop.  Most of the road was dirt with jungle on each side.  The weather was hot and there was no A.C.! Our driver was unable to get reception on his cell phone. On pure fumes alone, he managed to get us up hills praying all the way and then coasting down. It was truly a miracle!!!

As we entered the town of Puerto Ayora we cheered for joy at the sight of a gas station!  Our hotel was only a few miles away.

Although the Galapagos is an expensive place, this hotel was the cheapest one of our trip, plus the price included breakfast. But here, we were charged for bottled water. However, there was a water-cooler at the end of our hall and we’d sneak over and fill our empty bottles. We saw other guests doing likewise.

Somehow, I ended up with a large double room. Rose had a small one next door. But the walls were paper thin! I chose the room closest to the bath.  Around 11:30 PM my neighbors started blasting loud rock music.  Exhausted and in pain, I sat up and started screaming at the top of my lungs! Rose thought someone was being murdered and called the front desk.  By this time, I had moved into my other bedroom.

Our views were crappy, overlooking air conditioning units. But we were so grateful for the low price; we just kept our drapes closed.

From our hotel roof, the ocean appeared close. However walking there on sore swollen feet & ankles, it felt miles away! To get there, we had to walk down a long dirt road under construction. I call it Dirt Street and I can still feel it in my nightmares!

I had purchased a pair of flip-flops for my banged-up swollen feet.  By now it had become too difficult fitting into my Hush Puppies.

At the pier we boarded a boat to Playa de los Alimanes.  We hiked numerous raw & wild nature trails. I groaned in pain every which way!  Once, I slipped on a steep lava rock and grabbed the closest thing to me, which turned out to be a cactus! We came upon a scenic spot called Las Grietas; inside a natural rock formation was a lake & stream with water so clear you could see the fish in detail.

In the afternoon, we visited the Charles Darwin Nature Preserve. Afterward we strolled along the beach.

Also we booked tours to different isles.  On the map, the Galapagos Islands look close together; however with some exceptions, most are hours apart by boat and each excursion lasted a full day.  One could be there an entire month and not see everything! Plus these excursions were expensive!  Rose managed to negotiate ours down by $10 each.

Our first excursion was to Daphne Major, Pinzon, & Bahia Borrero. I didn’t know it until after I paid, but this was a snorkeling trip! -- I’m a good swimmer because nature equipped me with floatation devices in the front & back, but it freaks me out to have my head under water!

After I put on the goggles & mouthpiece and jumped into the water, I couldn’t see and I couldn’t breathe, plus the Pacific is cold! And every time I put my face under, the mouthpiece kept coming out and I was swallowing water!  (I couldn’t believe people actually thought this was fun!) The guide told me, “Put your face under again and see all those fish!”

I screamed at him, “I’m from Florida, I’ve seen fish before! Take me back to the boat!” I sat shivering as the greasy SPF 50 sunscreen stung & burned my eyes. My nose ran like a faucet. I was given a cup of lukewarm tea.

Eventually, everyone returned to the boat exclaiming how awesome was the experience! – Well that was hardly the word I’d use!!!

Next, we went to Pinzon for more snorkeling. This time I stayed on the boat and took pictures. I saw seals swimming out to greet the snorkelers and try to play with them. But they had been instructed to ignore them. 

As we left, the guide threw out a line to catch fish. One small grouper was hooked and released.

After a cold lunch on the boat, we landed on Bahia Borrero. We stepped onto a pristine stretch of beach. We were told the sand was so fine because it was actually fish poop! I went for a swim in the cold water. I even put my head under a few times hoping to wash off that greasy stinging sunscreen. Rose said I was probably allergic or I wouldn’t be having that reaction.

Also I had painful sunburns on exposed places where I neglected to put sunscreen.  Remember, this was right on the equator in August!

After returning to Puerto Ayora, we paid the guide extra to stop at a lava cave. It started raining. I was in my tankini and a long sweater and was cold. I thought we were going to see fire shooting out of one end like something from of Dante’s Inferno. Instead, the cave was just a seemingly endless, wide dark tunnel formed by flowing lava.

Inside, it was pitch dark most of the way with dim lights mounted far & few between. We needed the light from Rose’s cell phone just to see where we were going.  Jagged, damp, slippery lava rocks of all sizes were everywhere with a narrow stream in the middle as water leaked down from above. This tunnel seemed to stretch on forever! My nose was streaming the entire way! Eventually, we came upon a high stack of sharp, slippery lava rocks and had to climb carefully to get out.

After we returned to the hotel, my swollen feet and ankles were caked with blood.

The following day, we had excursion to Isla Isabella starting at 8:00 AM. We boarded a ferry to our boat which was swaying in the choppy water and jumped on board! – The previous day, we had to jump on several rolling boats to reach ours and I was wincing in pain with each leap!

After everyone was seated, the boat shot off at what must have been 60 MPH (at least) over huge rolling swells!  This was a wild, bumpy, often heart-stopping ride!  It was fun for only the first 15 minutes, imagine over 2 hours of this! I was grateful for the motion sickness pills.

This excursion was more of a sightseeing tour, although we stopped for a half hour in a picturesque lagoon for snorkelers.  This time, 5 other people waited on the boat.

Isla Isabella was amazing! There are 5 active volcanoes on this island. Lichen covered the volcano shards that arose from the ground. We stopped at a pretty flamingo lagoon, a turtle breeding center, also Conchay Perla.

On these excursions, we saw lots of exotic wildlife such as Galapagos penguins, blue-footed Boobies, iguanas, seals, sea lions, & of course gigantic Galapagos tortoises.

By late afternoon on the Isabella tour, I was in tremendous pain. Plus all those 4:00 AM starts and lack of naps started to kick-in. I’d seen enough giant tortoises & iguanas, so I returned to the bus and slept.

After we returned to dock, I was reminded of the miserable, bumpy 2 hour plus ride back to Puerto Ayora so I went looking for a bathroom.  One was at the end of an elevated walkway.  A big sea lion was stretched out right in the middle! Well, he wasn’t going to detour me! I tried not to bother him. But I think the bottom of my long skirt may have brushed against him. He made it clear that he didn’t like my walking back & forth! I was fortunate he didn’t bite me in the ankle!

After we returned to the boat, Rose found a spot in a corner where I could take off my flip-flops and curl up. Despite the wild & bumpy ride, I fell fast asleep.  People were astounded. Even crew members came to stare at me in amazement, I am told. Because it was like sleeping on a roller coaster!!! As we approached Isla Santa Cruz, Rose shook me awake. Every eye on the boat was fixed on me. -- They probably thought I was dead!!! While I snoozed, several people had thrown up, I heard. Glad I missed it!

One of our favorite places to eat was a Peruvian restaurant on Ocean Street. One evening we were treated to a floor show. Couples in elaborate native costumes performed various dances for us. The last performers were 3 ladies balancing tall dolls on their heads.

Afterward, one of the dancers came to our table and placed her doll upon it. She extended her hand to me.  I pointed down at my feet and then to Rose, “Take her,” I said.  The dancer took one look at my hideous, bloody, swollen feet & ankles, and apologized.

Rose got up and shook her tushy to a Peruvian beat.  She made me proud!

Our final day in the Galapagos, we both felt like one giant bruise. We decided to take it easy and just explore the little shops around Puerto Ayora.

The following one, was another starting at 4:00 AM. Plus the day was stressful as well as long. We had to be crammed onto the ferry again, before boarding an over-crowded bus to the airport. Running late, we left Baltra and landed in Guayaquil 1 hour rather than the 2 hours required.

The airport was adorned with beautiful tropical waterfalls lining the baggage claim area. However, the rest of it was covered in tacky advertisements for all manner of products! The listed schedules had these rather than airline names. We had difficulty locating our gate.  At customs we were questioned repeatedly. Rose’s detergent pods created suspicion and a female agent felt between my breasts. We were happy to finally board our plane for home.

Rock’n Rose & I returned to Fort Lauderdale Aug 13 around 10:00 PM. The weather was just as rainy & hot as when we had left. We were too tired to make the 3 hour drive up to Vero Beach, so we stayed the night there.

This was a big relief!  I didn’t relish coming home to a dark house and hobbling outside with a flashlight to turn my water back on; although I did braver things during the hurricanes.

We returned home to Florida in time for peak hurricane season.  Despite the El Nino effect, this looks to be an active one!