Category: Ecuador Page 3 of 5

We go ashore on Rabida Island with red beaches and cliffs. There is a large pool and 20+ flamingos wade and sift the water for shrimp. I take what I think are good shots and then discover yet again that the camera end of the lens has fogged. I detach it and let the air dispel the ring of condensation. It only takes a few seconds and the quality of images is significantly improved.

There is a mocking bird in the bushes…

…and a juvenile hawk hiding low in a tree.

We make our way back along the beach and a pair of oysters catchers are feeding a chick on the shoreline. I sit down and keep still. The chick is curious and so close that I think it will peck at my toes. Too close for pictures at this stage!

We then snorkel along the rocks at the end of the bay. The fish life is good but this is not the best snorkel here and the current on the swim back was quite strong. On entry a cloud of comb jelly fish hang below the surface. They are benign and do not sting.

We then make passage to Chinese Hat. This is an island created as a vent from the main volcano and its shape is indeed very much like a paddy planter’s hat.

We make a wet landing on white coral sand. Two sea lions laze and are occasionally cooled by the lapping waves.

A third sea lion comes ashore. It is inquisitive and makes its way towards us. It takes a liking to me. I am crouched down and think I will have the most amazing shots as it approaches within 3 feet of me. But guess what? The flipping lens has fogged up again and I dare not move to clear it. Frustrating. This is not to say that I did not take some decent shots however. Just not as incredible as they could have been.

We walk along the shore. It is a truly beautiful place. There is loads of coral washed up on top of the lava.

Up until the late 1980s there was a thriving coral reef here. However there was an extreme El Niño then and the coral has died. I did see tiny corals regrowing in one or two spots, which is encouraging, but there is a long way to go.

We walk across the jet black eroded lava and watch a heron stalking fish in a rock pool and a marine iguana sunning himself on the rocks next to a sleeping sea lion.

The snorkelling here was incredible. There was little current and good visibility. Four penguins pretty much swim into me….

I see a large white tip shark…..

…but abort following him because an eagle ray has swum below me going in the opposite direction.

I then encounter the penguins again….

….and find four huge white tip sharks sleeping under a ledge. Just wonderful. It is hard to describe just how special these encounters are. I have snorkelled for years but never experienced anything like this.

This is the last night for everybody else on the boat and they will leave tomorrow. We are lucky and have two more circuits to make of the North and South islands and I am sure these will be just as varied and amazing as the Western Circuit. The crew all line up for a farewell drink. Kerli, the barmaid, has made a revolting green concoction.

The saving grace is that she is very economical with the quantity in each glass, so it’s easy to down it in one ghastly gulp. This is penny pinching on a ridiculous scale. The welcome drink was no better and also served as a minuscule measure. It sends a really negative message. Why on earth the crew cannot buy a couple of bottles of cava and give us all a full glass of something drinkable is beyond me. Likewise running out of white wine is not OK. This was not a cheap cruise by any means.

It is April Fool’s Day and there are no jokes apart from the fact that I cannot unlock my door. I open the window and call out. Jane hears me and says “Are you alright.” I say “No. I can’t get out of my room.” She goes to fetch someone. In the meantime, I fiddle with the lock, which I cannot turn at all. I decide maybe if I hold a bath towel around it I can get more leverage and after a few minutes of fiddling I managed to unlock the door.

We are anchored in Buccaneer Cove on James Island, also known as Santiago. There are towering cliffs with impressive rock strata. After breakfast we have a two hour panga trip along the coast.

Photography is difficult. The boat bobs around in the swell, is constantly being turned so that no matter which way you turn your body, you have to move again three seconds later. I am at the front which should help visibility, but everything we see is either behind me or I am shooting into the sun. As it happens, I am pleasantly surprised that I have managed to at least record some of what we have seen.

We see blue-footed boobies, nazca boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, pelicans, lava herons, noddys and sea lions. Then we see something we have never seen before – twenty or so golden rays gliding along beneath the surface. The water is crystal clear and we can see them brilliantly.

In amongst them are a couple of small manta rays. On our way back a manta ray leaps out of the water and somersaults. It is huge but only jumps once so no evidence I am afraid.

We have a quick 20 minute turnaround to go snorkelling. I decide on a wetsuit as it is a deep water snorkel along the rocky coastline so I think the water will be cool and I also will have protection if the swell carries me onto any rocks. Visibility is not particularly good but I do see 3 white tip sharks and am visited fleetingly by two sea lions. As we near the shore, visibility is down to a couple of metres, so we all decide to abort the snorkel.

Before lunch we are shown the kitchen and treated to a cookery demonstration of how to make traditional Galapagos ceviche. This is then our starter for lunch and very delicious. In the meantime the ship changes location and we admire the scenery on route to our next location.

In the afternoon we make a wet landing on Espumilla Beach, James Island. We leave the beach and walk along a dusty track between scrubby trees. Alexis shows us an aromatic tree that the locals use as an insect repellent. It smells of liquorice and when burnt in homes acts as a natural insecticide.

We enjoy a guided walk along the coastline composed of lava flows that have eroded in places forming arches and blowholes.

The views are just stunning. Finches and warblers call from the trees and we see 3 land iguanas. They are big – much bigger than the marine iguanas. For some reason best known to myself, I decide to not bring my camera on the walk. I am annoyed as there is lots to see and I have to make do with the iPhone. In fairness it does a pretty good job.

After the walk we snorkel off the beach. It is very hot – has to be close on 40C and a swim is exceedingly appealing. The water feels cool, but it really is not. I do not have high expectations for the swim but I could not be more wrong. I have never seen so many fish in my life. Rocky outcrops are completely covered in shoals of fish and when you look at the shoals, smaller fish are within them. There are huge parrotfish of varying colours, beautiful angelfish, a large potato grouper and loads of fish that I need to look up. I also spot an eagle ray swimming below me and a huge stingray rests on the sand with a smaller one on top of it. As if this wasn’t enough somebody spots a shark and as I swim to find it, a sea lion swooshes past me. It’s just astonishing. Life in the seas here is so abundant. I have never in my life experienced anything like it.

Dinner is good with tomato soup, red snapper and some yummy moist vanilla cake with an oozy sauce.

We breakfast at seven and leave in the tender at 8 o’clock to go ashore on Punta Espinoza,  Fernandina Island. This is one of the youngest volcanic islands in the world. Pitch black lava-flows, a dome-shaped summit and green mangroves dominate the landscape here.

We negotiate the rocky outcrops and motor into the sheltered bay. We step carefully onto the concrete steps which are a little slippery. Hoards of iguanas are sleeping on the path under the trees.

This island has an extremely high marine iguana population and Alexis our guide has told us to watch very carefully where we step. My camera appears to have become very misty. I examine the eyepiece and the end of the lens. They are clear so I cannot quite understand why the images appear to be fogged. I detach the lens and discover the camera end has misted up. I let the wind evaporate the moisture. It is incredibly humid and misting up turns out to be a consistent problem here.

A Galapagos hawk surveys the magnificent landscape.

We walk onto a lava flow where Charles Darwin came ashore. A lizard scuttles past my feet.

There is the skeleton of a juvenile whale which is interesting. Alexis shows us the bones – an intervertebral disc and the top vertebra where the skull rests.

The US are monitoring the movement of the islands and have put down a GPS marker. They have established that the island has moved 6 metres since Darwin first landed here.

We make our way to the beach where hundreds of iguanas are sunning themselves.

An American oyster catcher guards its eggs and brightly coloured crabs feed amongst the rocks.

Lizards sit on some of the iguanas heads as this is a good spot to catch flies.

Some of the iguanas are now warm enough to enter the sea. If you look carefully you can see one caught in the breaking surf below.

It is exceedingly hot despite the fact that it is only 8 o’clock in the morning. It is an interesting walk and we have lots of time for photography.

We head back to the boat for a quick turnaround and deep water snorkel. I decide to wear a wetsuit and this is a good call. I see some pretty cool things:-

An iguana swimming  underwater, a sea lion circling me several times, huge giant turtles which are much too interested and literally swim within inches of my face. It is actually quite disconcerting to have them invading my personal space. There are loads of fish, including bump-head parrotfish, beautiful king angelfish, large shoals of grunt, blennies and lots of small fry. There is a reasonable swell so we need to pay attention as we swim along the rocky coastline.

We motor up to the northern tip of Isabela whilst we eat lunch. Our anchorage is next to impressive towering cliffs at Punta Vicente Rica. The rock strata is amazing and you can really see the different mineral layers.

We then have another deep water snorkel. This time the swell is really extreme, moving us 3-4 metres as the waves surge in. Visibility is poor and in my view being close to the rocks is dangerous. Staying off shore it is deep and hard to see much. Huge turtles join us and at one stage I am sandwiched between two with one actually resting on my back! Insane!!

We head back and are greeted with hot chocolate. This is very welcome. I am cold despite the 28C temperature. The skies are cloudy today and it has rained lightly. The humidity keeps everything damp all the time so when the sun is not shining it can feel cool. 

We have a panga ride along the shore. I sit in the front footwell in the hope of better photos but it is hard. The swell creates a lot of movement and I need to be very fast focussing. There are sea lions, flightless cormorants, blue-footed boobies, brown noddys, pelicans, iguanas and the ever present turtles. Marine iguanas cling to any available ledge.

There is a cave that we motor into. Boobies and noddys nest on the edges. We feel like we are in the target area and, as I take photos, someone splashes me with water and says ‘Oh no! That’s lucky” I don’t re-act but am relieved to find out that it was just water on my head!

As we return to the boat a vicious fight breaks out between the noddys.

We set sail for a long journey around the northern tip of Isabela. This involves crossing the equator. We stand on the bridge so we can film 0.00.00 on the instruments. Andreas – a guest’s son, is allowed to take the helm and his sister sounds the horn. I video to capture the exact moment but the screen goes from .001S straight to .002N.

We are given pirate hats, rum and have a celebratory dance to placate Neptune, together with a certificate to prove our passage.

We then watch a gorgeous sunset over the equator.

Overnight we travel to the south-western coast of Isabela. We anchor at Moreno Point and go ashore for, we are told, a dry landing. Well it is dry if you get it right, but there is no dock. The pangas carefully manoeuvre up to the rocky shoreline and we carefully disembark onto the sharp and uneven lava flow. I am very glad I decided to wear my walking boots. The terrain is uneven, with jagged lava and loose cracked plates. It looks like a lunar landscape. Unlike anywhere I have ever been before. Occasional cactus, grasses and scrubby trees have somehow managed to take root in places.

We see some Darwin Cactus Finches….

…. and are given a geology lesson on volcanoes. On the way back we see flightless cormorants and penguins.

Turtles abound as do sea lions which are continually popping up around the panga.

We go back to the boat and have 20 minutes to change before going snorkelling. I decide to not wear a wetsuit but get a shock when I slide off the side into the water.

It is way colder than yesterday. There are thermoclines and the water close to shore is much warmer. I am filming a large shoal of fish when a sea lion photobombs the footage (extract photo from video below)

How cool. I am thrilled. It was only a brief encounter but it is excellent footage. There are loads of turtles. The weather is clear and I have good video of them too. The sea life is abundant and wonderful to experience.

Lunch is huge and consists of an Ecuadorian speciality of tuna in a spicy sort of soup. It was pretty filling and yet there is more to follow. It turns out this was the starter and the main course was a choice of fish or tiger prawns, rice and salad. We are certainly not going to starve on this trip. Whilst we eat lunch, the boat weighs anchor and we motor up the coastline to Tagus Cove. Somebody shouts dolphins and we rush outside, but in fact it is sea lions, behaving exactly like dolphins and swimming in formation and jumping out of the water as they swim. We are also treated to frigate birds taking advantage of the air currents above the bow. They hover and soar above our heads on the top deck.

Initially there is only one bird but shortly it is joined by several others. They squabble in mid-flight and soar back and forth above our heads literally feet away. They probably stay with us for at least an hour and it is just a completely astonishing experience.

We set anchor at Tagus Cove and again go snorkelling. Jane has decided to try and snorkel again this afternoon. I gave her a lesson a couple of days ago in the shallow water and hope that will enable her to be more confident in the deep water. She is wearing a wetsuit so that will aid buoyancy. Fingers crossed. I also decide to wear a wetsuit, as I believe the water will be cold. In fact, it was a reasonable temperature, but as we are close to the rocks and there is a strong swell , the suit offers a little protection from potential grazes. We slip off the side of the boat. There is a strong swell which washes us several feet towards the rocky shoreline before pushing us back to where we started. There are masses of turtles they come very close to us and equally are pushed to and fro in the strong currents. There are eight of us in our tender and we swim largely as a group along the shoreline. There are lots of fish of all sizes and varieties and a chocolate chip starfish.

Then something shoots past me. Wow! It’s a penguin chasing fish. I cannot believe it. I really did not think this would be something that I would see, though I very much hoped I would. A second penguin appears, a large turtle swims  directly beneath me and then a large white tip shark nonchalantly cruises past my right shoulder – pretty much within touching distance. My camera has steamed up so no photos but AMAZING. Just AMAZING!!!!!

After the best part of an hour we return to our boat and are welcomed with hot chocolate and biscuits. The heat has built up and a heavy rain shower looks like it is coming our way.

We have a quick change before setting out again in the panga to cruise along the coastline in the hope of seeing penguins and blue-footed boobies.

We are not disappointed and also see pelicans nesting with young chicks, flightless cormorants, sea lions and noddys. Iguanas rest on the ledges and sally lightfoot crabs scavenge on the wet rocks.

Sea lions again join us, manta rays make enormous jumps in the distance and then a most amazing rainbow appears above the sea.

Could this day get any better? Dinner is sushi which is very good. We then go on deck to see a sea lion asleep on the stern decking. I have no idea how it managed to get aboard. It was not at all bothered by us watching it.

We have breakfast at 6.30 and then leave for a dry landing and walk. It is a beautiful morning and we climb into the pangas and drive across the bay to Islote Tintereros.

Here there are nesting marine iguanas. Two are sitting by a seat on the pier as we disembark but we see few others.

We have to keep strictly to the path and walk in single file as we do not want to tread on the nesting sites. Lizards dart between the lava and bask in the sunshine.

There is an unpleasant smell which turns out to be sea lion poo. We make an effort not to stand on it. The scenery is barren with occasional scruffy plants around the edges. We round a corner and spot sea lions on the beach ahead. The sun is in the wrong direction for particularly good photographs however I do manage to capture one or two.

We finally arrive at a beautiful little cove with a sandy beach where we watch sea lions playing in the water and just chilling. They are totally unperturbed by our presence and it is refreshing and surprising to be able to be so close and yet the animals completely ignore you. A huge change from the Amazon experience. Indeed everything here could not be further removed from the lush paradise that we have just left. This environment is as harsh as it is hot and yet life abounds.

We make our way back to the panga. There is a channel that is frequented by sharks and seals and we had hoped to see them swimming through and be able to take good photographs. Sadly today we are not in luck. I do see three sharks in the bay and I suspect that in half an hours time they will indeed be swimming through the channel.

We return to Solaris and need to be ready to leave again at 10:30 as we are to go snorkelling. As it turns out the chosen beach is not a good choice and we go to an alternative spot which involves a short walk along a boardwalk through the mangrove swamps to a sheltered pool. We have to watch our footing. Iguanas are sunbathing and make no effort to move.

Entry is via wide steps. The water is much clearer than yesterday and I can see a variety of fish. I see an absolutely enormous turtle and a sea lion also pops his head up just yards away. Annoyingly my mask keeps steaming up. I changed the one I had yesterday as it was too small and I have a brand-new one. I need to take it back to my room and rub toothpaste on it to remove the manufacturing film. I think this will solve my problem.

As we walk back to the boat it is amazing to see sea lions on the other side of the road lazing about outside a café and lying directly underneath a hammock.

Lunch is good with soup, teriyaki pork chops and fish in a garlic sauce with salad followed by caramelised pineapple and ice cream. There is no way I am going to lose weight on this trip. After lunch we go to the tortoise breeding centre where we are told all about the program. They have bred approximately 12,000 tortoises for release into the wild. The carapaces are different shapes depending on their habitat. Some have domed openings above their heads, whilst others are flat because they are ground grazers. At one time there were probably 3 million tortoises here.  Numbers had fallen to just 300 in the 70s and have now recovered to about 35,000 thanks to the breeding program eradicate alien species like goats, donkeys and rats.

We then walk from the breeding centre along a path over a lava flow, along walkways through the mangroves and down to the beach. Along the route we see marine iguanas, a red-legged stilt, a pink flamingo and some ducks.

We are told not to touch the overhanging trees that are covered with little green fruit. These are poison apples and even the tree sap is caustic. We are shown a non-native creeping plant which is clematis like and scrambles over other vegetation choking it out. This is a real problem for the islands and there is a continual program to try and eliminate non-native species.

We walk through the little of town of Tintereros where we can purchase souvenirs, ice creams and beers. Jane and I find cornettos. Very welcome in the heat.

Dinner is pasta with a choice of sauces. It has been a long day and bed is calling.