Galapagos: We swam with sharks, sea lions, penguins and iguanas

Imagine this: You get up after sun rise and found the boat off a green island
topped by volcanoes. Pelicans with their prehistoric looking wings dive into the
sea for that catches while frigatebirds patrol the skies for weaker birds. A
few white tipped sharks glided by, plainly uninterested in human presence.
Penguins stood watch on the dark rocks, together with the dinosaur-alike marine
iguanas who were so well camoflagued that they appeared no different from the
rocks. Sea lions splashed about in the shallow waters while occasionally diving
deeper to tease stingrays on the bottom sand. Nearby, Pacific green sea turtles
surface with their gigantic shells. Where can you be ? Only the Galapagos
Islands, 1000 km west of the Ecuadorian Mainland in the Pacific Ocean.

Formed as huge volcanoes rising from the deep oceans millions of years ago, the
isolated Galapagos have become the home of creatures who got there by accident.
Isolated from the rest of the world, they adapt to the individual islands and
evolve in ways that not only differentiate them from similar species elsewhere
but also from those on neighbouring islands in the Galapagos group. Here,
tortoises grew to gigantic proportions, penguins (the northernmost species and
only one on the Equator) became smaller, sea lions grew ears, sharks becoming
docile (nicknamed locally as "vegetarian sharks" because they don't attack
humans) and iguanas swim in the sea. The islands became famous after the 1835
visit by Charles Darwin, whose observations here contributed enormously to his
masterpiece on evolution theories, "The Origins of Species", which discarded
dodgy fairy tales on creation of the old religions.

Due to the isolation which kept out large scale human immigration as well as
efforts by the Ecuador Government to protect the islands and its wildlife, the
unusual eco system here remains largely intact , rather ending up in our
stomachs, as in many parts of the world. However, many species remain at
threat, in particular, the giant tortoises, which used to be captured in large
numbers by passing sailors as fresh meat, as they can survive for as long as a
year without food cramped together upside down in dark boxes. With limited
human interaction, the creatures of Galapagos have little of the instinctive
fear of humans animals elsewhere often have. Here, sea lions swim with the
visitor, sometimes giving one a gentle and powerful nudge. Huge seabirds fly
towards the traveller rather than away. Even the sharks are benign, as
mentioned earlier, although I do feel a slight shiver as these two meter long
creatures swam under and past me near those offshore rocks known as the Devil's
Crown off Floreana Island. One never know what would happens if a non-resident
shark which is not aware of local customs of hospitality swims past.

I spent 8 days on the boat "Amigo", with a group of international nomads from
Israel, Netherlands, USA, Germany and Norway. We spoke about our adventures in
places ranging from Algeria, Niger and Zanzibar. In this heaven of eco tourism,
I enjoyed being politically incorrect by telling about my gastronomical
adventures with Greenland seals
(http://weecheng.com/europe/greenice/greenland/hunt/hunt.htm), Amazon jungle
turtles (see my recent Iquitos travel report) and whales (see my May 2001 travel
report on Norway). The crew of Amigo simply refused to believed in my tall (so
they thought) tales and chose instead to call me "Fujimori" or "El Presidente",
for my scholarly looks and thin glasses (and perhaps potential corruptability)
resemble the former ethnic Japanese president of Peru. Salsa rhythms greeted us
on the boat whenever we returned from our daily frolicking with sea lions,
turtles, iguanas and assorted seabirds. Despite the friendliness of native
species, we tried our best not to provoke the adult male sea lions which get
aggitated if you (in its opinion) try to get fresh with the playful female sea
lions; or get mistaken for a female great sea turtle by their male counterparts
at the height of the mating season (they´ll get on top of anything...).

We also visited the Post Office Bay on Florena Island where visitors leave
unstamped postcards there by traditon, and hope that another visiters will pick
them up and deliver them by hand (or via respective national post offices in the
home countries) if the latter are travelling that way. I have left a postcard
for Singapore and asked my mother to buy a lottery ticket if the postcard ever
reaches her!

On our last day there, we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station where the
top attraction is Lonesome George, a 90 year old giant tortoise which is the
last of its species from Pinta Volcano. (They live well into the late 100's)
Scientists captured George in 1971 and have been trying to get it to mate with
two female tortoises of a neighbouring species so as to save George's near
extinct tribe. However, George hadn't shown any interest in carnal activities
and in fact have been biting the two female tortoises rather than getting on top
of them. Well, perhaps George is gay. If that is so, it must be really cruel to
force a 90 year old queer to have group sex with two females.

The Galapagos Islands are simply magical. Few places in the world come anywhere
near. Even then, 8 days are somewhat long for one who is sometimes prone to
seasickness. I had enjoyed myself tremendously but was also glad when the trip
ended. Over the next few days, I will upload the amazing photos taken on these
islands. watch the space!


Regards,

WeeCheng
Quito, Ecuador



http://weecheng.com - Travel Writing, History, Business