November 18th 2014
I wake up early again, though I feel much better rested and as I slip out of the cabin around 6:30 I see we have already reached our destination of another mostly black and barren Island. It is undoubtedly the greatest contradiction of the Galapagos. the islands look more like lunar wastelands than fertile paradises (With a few minor exceptions) , but they are populated like jungles without any of the hiding spots, making almost every island an animal lovers dream. Of course in Bartolome this is a little less true as it is an island more renown for landscapes than for animals.
The bell rings for breakfast but I’m already in line, ready to feast on more delicious fresh food. By 7:45 we’ve all gathered our shoes and water and are busy climbing into the dingy’s for another dry landing, meaning we can wear real shoes. The landing is onto more ocean smoothed lava rocks dotted with crabs and sea lions as far as the eye can sea. As we climb up higher onto the island we see a beach to our right, a few Sea lions basking in the sun reflecting off the golden sand.
The further we head from the coast the less wildlife we see and the more igneous rock and remnants of eruptions can be found. Lava Bombs and volcanic ash abound as we walk on the wooden boardwalk up towards the peak of the island. Only a few cacti and minuscule pioneer plants peak out of the harsh black stone environment, even they grow more sparse as we climb. The only wildlife to be seen is a few brave finches, a galapagos Locust, and small but beautiful lava lizards. Johan informs us that you can tell which is male and female easily because the female has a red throat. And when it’s mating season her throat goes redder. (Is there a joke to be made there– I’m sorry)
Before we reach the the summit we stop at a scenic lookout over miniature black mountains to the deep blue sea. There we are invited by Johan to pick up a few of the rocks near the path, some of which are impossibly light, twice the size of my head and lighter even than that empty thing. Others though are about what you’d expect heavy and difficult to life. Johan goes onto explain that the lava bombs (the real name for hurled rocks from a volcano of a certain size) have their weight determined largely by the amount of basalt in them. Fascinating and all I want to do is pick up one of the huge and light rocks and take a video of it, but I resist the urge. I also think of the stone I often held in awe back home a fist sized piece of lava stolen from the islands by my rebel parents. I’m tempted to do the same but remember what places would be like if every single person who visited took something. The islands would be wrecked before too long. One person may not be able to make a truly vital difference in this world, but a whole bunch of one persons certainly can.
We reach the top of the boardwalk mildly winded and look out at a truly incredible view. Bartolome is a satellite island of the much bigger Santiago, and from the black stone mountains we see the sea all around us and the coastline of Santiago and various other satellite islands. You can almost see Isabella in the distance if you look hard enough.
The view from atop Bartolome is indeed spectacular and probably the most renowned viewpoint in the entire archipelago, but I’ll admit animals are why I came to galapagos and the island is beginning to be a little boring. That is until Christian, an absolute legend from Australia notices me taking a panorama and changes my life forever.
“You ever done those panorama’s with a bucnh of you in them?”
“I… Wait what.”
“You know like someones taking a Pano and you run around them and get in the photo a bunch of different times.”
“I… I never thought of that.. That sounds amazing. Let’s do it.”
And do it we did! This is a type of photo I will use for the rest of my life and is almost on par with my European statues photos. Here’s the panorama.
And if you don’t know what I mean by my statue photo’s here’s a few highlights. They’re just hard to accomplish without a travel partner whose willing to be embarrassed by you.
After some time alone at the top Christian and I hurry to rejoin the group as we return to our dinghy bound for the Guantanamera, but only for long enough to have a quick snack and grab our snorkelling gear, then it’s off in the dinghy’s again.
We ride along and pass by Pinnacle rock, a huge turret shooting up right on the coast of the island. It looks natural but John tells us it was formed by exploding bombs. The american military used the galapagos as a military base many years ago to defend the panama canal, because of course they did. Oh well, at least the islands are anything but ruined and this rock actually adds a dramatic flair to the landscape.
As we keep going we see our first galapagos penguins, tiny and adorable birds perched on the rocky coast line watching us with interest. We also catch a glimpse of another blue footed booby before it takes flight from the cliffs. The two crew members responsible for captaining the dinghy’s prove their worth for the first but not the last time getting us right in by the rocks calmly enough and keeping us there long enough to observe these beautiful birds up close. Of course we all snap a few photos too.
That brings me to a general point about travelling, a trap of sorts, and one I’m certainly guilty of falling into sometimes, especially as I have begin to take this blog more seriously. Photos are wonderful, they help recall a memory of a place, time and moment, but for them to be special and worth it you have to make the memory in your own mind, and exist where you, observing the vast and varied beauty of this world in your own mind before concerning yourself with capturing the perfect shot. Galapagos is full of so many incredible possible pictures though that it can be hard to remember.
We continue past pinnacle rock and finally come to a stop in the gentle lull of small waves. I waste no time falling into the water, go pro in hand as we stop motoring along near the coast of the island. The islands themselves are incredible, but it seems like each time I snorkel I rediscover how much I love this wondrous activity, even though so far sightings of anything more than lovely fish have been rare.
This is all about to change as for the first time visibility is good and the waters are teeming with life. It starts, like most good things in life, with starfish. Hundreds of them pepper the sandy bottom, some of them bigger than my head. Johan later tells us this spot is known as the underwater Milky was and I understand why, the starfish are everywhere, many different kinds, my favourite of course being the Chocolate chip starfish. I legitimately wanted to pick one up and eat it, but sadly Johan informs me there’s rules against that sort of thing, he also doesn’t believe it would taste good, which I doubt.
As we snorkel along through this underwater galaxy more and more fish start to appear, huge schools of them as well as individual bursts of colour. It seems the closer I get to the shore the more plentiful they are, darting in amongst the rocks and hiding in small alcoves, peering out at me curiously. Some find the go pro intensely fascinating and swim to it so long as I hold it still.
Then the call is given and we find two white tip sharks swimming in the shallows up the rocks. Sure I’d already seen one in Genovese, but that one was from a distance in murky waters. These ones regularly pass close enough to us that we could reach out and touch them if that weren’t both forbidden and idiotic. It’s pretty incredible at first watching these two creatures glide effortlessly through the ocean, but as more and more of us find them they seem to grow less at ease and take shelter in a little alcove. Most of us, myself included, definitely surround them a little too much, eagerly amazing by these creatures. Before long we realize this and one by one move along, but It’s something I promise to be careful of in the future, not to let my enthusiasm inconvenience or annoy the animals. At any rate here’s a video of the beautiful creatures.
(For those who don’t know I bought a go pro before heading to the galapagos so I have footage of most of this and a few photos. I’ll be posting some as I go but I’m working on editing together a compilation video which will be posted when it’s done, though that’s likely a few weeks away)
We continue past the sharks and I actually catch a glimpse of two more white tips on separate occasions, this time having learned my lesson I follow at a distance and let them lead their lives unaffected by us.
After about an hour we’re called back to the dingy’s and I reluctantly climb back in, handing my flippers and go pro up to the friendly crew member before climbing in. After another lunch and a quick rest we’re on our way in the Dinghy’s to Santiago island. The island and me will have a special relationship. Neither of us know it yet, but everything is about to change.
We land on a beach with our snorkel gear and backpacks. First step is to walk on some lava flows from about a hundred years ago, then we’ll be snorkelling of the beach. As usual we find some Sea lions lazing in the sun, some of us seem to have lost some of the initial excitement after having seen so many of them, but I’m a child at heart and so am still enthralled by these creatures, which resemble dogs more and more with each passing day.
Once we’ve dropped our stuff off far up on the beach we head out onto an endless field of black stone. Tiny little pioneer plants creep out of tiny crevices in the rock and beyond a single small lava cactus in the distance they are the only sign of life on these lava flows. Johan tells us the two different kinds of lava that we see here, AH-AH and PA Hoy Hoy (phonetic spelling). Pa Hoy Hoy is ropy and smoother, the Ah Ah is rough and jagged. Almost sharp. Certainly not good terrain for a fall. Hence the name, since it’s the sound people make if they walk on it in bare feet.
We reach a small whole in the lava flows and one by one climb in for a unique photo opportunity.
After my turn I feel a sudden urge to run, telling Christian, “Man this would be a perfect place to run.”
Christian laughs, “Yeah, until you fall.”
If only I’d have listened folks. If only I’d have listened. First comes this glorious photo, but don’t worry I’m headed for a fall.
A few instants later I take off running towards that solitary cactus, with dire results. Now in my defence, the running I actually executed quite well, and it was only once I’d reached the cactus and stopped running and paying attention all at once that disaster struck.
My foot catches on a small tower of AH-AH and my momentum takes me crashing to the ground directly beside the only cactus on the island. I catch myself and, miraculously my camera, hands and knees ravaged by the sharp Ah Ah lava I’ve landed on. I don’t say Ah-Ah…. I just fight the urge to scream out.
I hear a gasp from the group behind me and am later told that Johan initially thought I’d fallen on the cactus, inadvertently setting the evolution of the island back a thousand years. They were apparently unsure of whether he was more concerned about me or the island. I look down at the black rocks and grimace, droplets of red blood staining their midnight essence.
I climb to my feet as quickly as I can manage, in large amounts of pain and quite embarrassed and signal I’m okay, though people are a little disturbed by my suddenly crimson arms and hands. Blood trickles from dozens of open wounds on both legs and arms and Johan suggests I go back to the beach and wash them out and wait for the group there, we’ve seen almost all there is to see on the lava flows. I take a few photos of the blood just before I reach the beach.
As often works out, the fall turns serendipitous, as I return to the beach enjoying a rare moment of being alone despite the searing pain in my extremities. As I get to the beach I notice a female sea lion swimming in the shallows. As I walk in to the knee deep water to wash off my blood she comes to check me out, spinning and swimming in the water around me.
I can’t help it, enchanted by her playful nature I jump in the water and swim with her circling me for 5 minutes. For all their awkwardness on land they are graceful and smooth in the water.
After a while I decide I want to capture these moments and rush up to the beach to grab my snorkel and go pro. The sea lion is still waiting for me when I get back and we have great fun having a bubble blowing contest. She races at me and the camera with all her speed only swerving away at the last instant inviting me to chase after her. It was a truly incredible half hour alone with an incredibly playful sea lion. The only frustrating thing was some technical issues with the go pro.
Eventually the group returns and finds me frolicking with my new friend, some seeming a little jealous as they climb in to join em. That’s soon gone as the sea lion continues to play with us all for a good long while, eventually taking off for deeper waters leaving us all very happy. A few poorly filmed and unedited videos follow:
I’m still bleeding but refuse to miss a snorkel so we head out along the coastline of Santiago, finding countless wonders in the colourful underwater world. Again the waters are clear and beautiful and there is much to see. Sadly my go pro pole is struggling a little and I miss some key footage of a hug 4 foot long sea snake crawling into a whole in the coral. It terrified me endlessly more than the sharks, but I’ve had a snake thing for years. One of the reasons I’m scared to go searching for Anaconda’s in the Bolivian Amazon, but got to face those fears someday.
I continue out along the coast line once the snake has disappeared following countless tropical fish and seeing one more white tip shark for a brief minute. Then I come upon something incredible, unlike anything I have ever seen before. a large Marine Iguana feeding underwater. The prehistoric face seems out of place under water and I start to wonder If I’ve secretly been taken to an underwater Jurassic Park. Here’s an unedited video for your viewing pleasure:
I see a penguin swimming in the distance but we’re called back to the dingy and i reluctantly climb in last again. It’s only once Im in the boat that even 90 minutes after the wounds opened I’m still leaking at a fairly good rate. Blood thinners for the win!
We get back to the boat and Johan insists I de-infect all my still trickling wounds. He offers to take me to the bathroom and do it for me, but I’m a big boy now and do it myself. Apparently my assertion that salt water is good for wounds is a lie I’ve believed all my life. We have two doctors among the passengers and both of them plus Johan tell me I’m crazy.
We set sail shortly after a delicious dinner and I find myself with my e-reader and I-pod up on deck staring up at a wonderful sunset followed by a truly stunning clear night sky. Frigate birds seem to glide effortless along above us, chasing the boat. The crew warns us to watch out for special presents but no bad luck today.
I can’t force myself n to head back to my Cabin and end up passing out in the deck chair staring up at the stars, only returning to my cabin around 2 am, when I wake up frozen from the cold night air, being rocked back and forth by the medium swell of the pacific. It hurts to leave the stars behind but my tried mind doesn’t think to grab a blanket and return to the deck chairs, a problem I fix the next night.
