The origin of the word evolution came from the Latin root evolutio, or unrolling of a scroll. In modern terms, it would have meant something as uncontroversial as reading a book, had Charles Darwin not used the word in the last sentence of his book:
There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone circling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.
Today the word evolution is inextricably associated with Darwin, as are the islands of the Galapagos. Maria and I first started talking about going there in 2009, and ended up on a luxury tour (sponsored by SPG free nights) of France and Spain instead. So when there was rumor that the Ecuadorian government planned to limit the number of tourists to Galapagos in 2011, we found our next travel destination.
We arrived on Baltra Island on a chilly November morning with beautiful clear skies. As we flew over, we saw the open waters littered with tiny islands and islets, surrounded by even tinier cruise ships. Ours was called the Coral, a ship that holds only 36 passengers. Once onboard, we were quickly divided into groups of albatrosses, boobies, cormorants, and dolphins. I have to confess that at the time, I didn’t recognize any of those words except for the dolphins.
We didn’t waste much time onboard, and quickly hopped on a dinghy to head over to North Seymour Island, where we were welcomed by a group of friendly sea lions. OK, so they were really just sunbathing on the rocks and paid us zero attention, but our entire group was completely blown away by how close we could get to these beautiful creatures, we refused to leave the docking area until everyone had a photo with a sea lion in the background.
We would get over this amazement very quickly in the next few days.
After much fuss we continued onto our first nature hike, which was more like a very casual stroll. We were told that the average age of visitors to the Galapagos was in the 60s, which seemed to be the case as we looked around our tour group and found ourselves to be among the youngest crowd. The slow pace didn’t bother me, since I’m usually the one lagging behind any tour group, wanting to capture everything I see. And on North Seymour, that meant lots and lots of birds:
That evening we had a delicious meal onboard and met our new friends, Dave and Josh from San Diego, who would be our dinner companions for the rest of the trip. At night, through our tiny cabin window, we saw reef sharks swimming around merrily looking for their dinner. Not bad for my first ever cruise!
Day 2 was reserved for Santa Cruz Island, known for giant iguanas and human sized cacti. And, of course, more birds. I was mesmerized by this beautiful goldfinch and watched it for at least minutes. I know that doesn’t seem very long, but in my ADHD attention span, it’s already quite a feat. I then followed an iguana on its long and arduous path across the beach towards the ocean with incredible zeal. Why the sudden change in patience you ask? I looked at my phone longingly with its No Service sign, and put it away for good. Perhaps it’s time for me to actually enjoy nature, without instagramming it.
That afternoon was when Maria and I discovered our secret hide out — the hammocks. They were on the top deck with a gorgeous view of the ocean, and for some reason no one ever ventured up. So from that day on, we spent most of the time between activities in “our” hammocks (and the hot tub next to it), reading, napping, and just watching the birds fly by.
Day 3 was beach day on Floreana Island. I had been super excited about the snorkeling, until I touched the water. Even though the Galapagos was right along the equator, the Humboldt Current brings cold water and the temperature is in the low 70s most of the year. While that may sound warm to some, I ended up hyperventilating and did not enjoy the activity much :/ I did see some turtles and rays (the grey blob in the photo below) from shore, and of course, the playful sea lions are always fun to watch.
Out of all the islands we visited, Espanola was my favorite. Here we witnessed a few things that I’ll likely never see again in my lifetime, including:
An albatross mating dance that somehow turned into a threesome?
An iguana – bird face off (not to mention the pile of iguanas in general)
And just heaps and heaps of the most adorable baby sea lions ever!
One of the most amazing things we saw was a sea lion that had just given a birth. There was still blood on the mother, and the placenta was still attached to the pup. She was not a happy mother. As we walked past, she was picking fights with the other sea lions. Our guide explained that she was probably a new mother and didn’t quite know how to be one yet. I guess parenting is hard no matter what you are!
We also managed to go to the other side of Santa Cruz to see some tortoises! Unfortunately we did not make it to Pinta Island to see Lonesome George, who passed away a few months after our visit. In case you (like me) didn’t know, the main difference between a tortoise and a turtle is that one is land dwelling and the other lives in water. Tortoises have stumpy round feet for burrowing and turtles have webbed feet for swimming. The Galapagos giant tortoise can weigh 250kg and live 100+ years, but like many others, their population have been diminishing because of humans 🙁
Our last day was reserved for a boat ride around Black Turtle Cove. I opted out of the snorkeling and just stayed dry this time. We finally got to see the elusive fur seals, who, unlike the sea lions, stay as far away from humans as possible. During the 1800s, thousands of these seals were killed for their fur by poachers, and the sense of danger is now ingrained in their genes.
As we boarded the cruise ship one last time, a little baby sea lion swam up to our dinghy playfully as we watched in awe, marveling at the fact that he was not scared of us human predators. I hope he never has to be.
Darwin did not like the word evolution. He preferred phrases like “transmutation by means of natural selection” or “descent with modification”. He also did not think evolution (as we call it now) meant progress, it simply meant change. It was humbling to have the opportunity to observe nature and its diversity, and watch how all these creatures can live in harmony, humans included!
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