Baltra and South Plaza Island

  The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Wednesday, August 29, 2007

I first remember learning about the Galapagos when I was five years old.  Ever since then, I´ve wanted to visit them to see them for myself.   You could say that I´d even elevated them to a "pedestal" status.  So some 35 years later I finally get to see them for myself and see if my self-created hype would meet expectations. 

Just a little background on the islands for those of you who may be unfamiliar.  Set about 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, the archipelago was/is formed by a volcanic hot spot, similar to the Hawaiian islands.  The placement of the Galapagos and the other influences are what set them apart.  The islands are located at the confluence of four separate (five in their winter) ocean currents that originate from distinctly different parts of the world.  You have your tropical currents, your current flowing South from North America, and in winter you have an additional current flowing up from the antarctic.  Big deal you´re thinking, but it´s the currents that brought the unusual variety of animal and plant life to the islands.  Where else can you snorkel and see tropical fish falling prey to penguins and emerge onto a beach populated by descendants of the California Sea Lion?

a Arrival at Baltra

We booked our trip in Quito on a last minute basis having heard that better prices could be found on last minute deals.  The rumor proved to be true and we were successful in booking an eight day tour with Andando/Angermeyer cruises, a family run fleet of ships with most ships being sailing vessels.  I would highly recommend this company.  Our last minute strategy was effective in landing us a cruise on a "first class" ship at a "tourist superior"class price.  We had initially planned to book on the boat featured on Globe Trekker, but it was unavailable and lucky for us as it had been sold since the airing of the show and now offers a diminished experience.  I should mention that we have learned that we were lucky with our planning.  The better boats are booked 6 months ahead of time and a last minute strategy could resign you to a bad operator or no available berths on ships.  

Our ship, the Mary Anne

Our ship would be the "Mary Anne," a two hundred foot Barkentine sailing ship.  I really wanted a sailing ship rather that a houseboat like cruise.  We had heard that the sailing ships handled rough seas better and the size of the Mary Anne would add to its´stability. 

We arrived on Baltra, an island formerly used by the U.S. military as an airbase and were shuttled to the harbor of our departure.  As soon as we set eyes on the Mary Anne, we knew we had chosen wisely.  This is the most beautiful boat running in the Galapagos.  A spotless ship kept in pristine order would be our home for our eight day cruise.

There are some that would say the boat doesn´t matter as the islands and animals are the same either way.  I would consider this bad advice.  A good portion of your trip is spent on your ship and the islands are toured in the company of yourNaturalist.  The better Naturalists work on the better boats so a few extra dollars spent on your ship gets you better food, more comfortable surroundings and better knowledge from your guide.  Our Naturalist, Alejandro is the head of the Naturalists in the Galapagos, son of one of the founders of the Darwin Research center, and I would speculate is unrivaled in his knowledge of the islands. Once again, luck was in our favor. 

We departed Baltra and sailed to South Plaza island for our first island walk.  A bit of information on South Plaza from Wikipedia..

d Island Landscape

It is named in honor of a former president of Ecuador, General Leonidas Plaza. It has an area of 0.13 square kilometers (0.05 mi˛) and a maximum altitude of 23 metres (75 ft). The flora of South Plaza includes Opuntia cactua and Sesuvium plants, which forms a reddish carpet on top of the lava formations. Iguanas (land and marine and some hybrids of both species) are abundant and there are a large number of birds that can be observed from the cliffs at the southern part of the island, including tropic birds and swallow-tailed gulls... how scientific! 

b Our first Sea lion

We approached the island in a Zodiac with our 12 shipmates to be greeted by a very possessive and territorial bull Sea Lion.  He had set up camp on our stone dock and didn´t want any of us on the island.  This prompted a game of chicken with our ship´s crew and the sea lion.  After winning a few battles chasing the crew back to the Zodiac, the bull finally tired of the game and begrudgingly dove into the water, barking the entire time to voice his discontent.

South Plaza island is small but holds a population of Sea lions, marine and land iguanas.  The landscape looks like something out of a science fiction movie with the above mentioned orange and red carpet contrasting the lava rock and pastel cactus.  I could not have been more pleased.  So far the islands were surpassing even my highest expectations.

c Island 1

One of the things you are always told about the Galapagos is the lack of fear the animals have towards humans.  This is true and hard to describe until you´ve actually experienced it.  The animals are so fearless that you have to pay close attention to where you walk to avoid stepping on them.  We met our first sea lions and iguanas and even spotted a mother and baby humpback whale off the coast. We ventured back to the ship after sunset and spent the evening getting to know our shipmates.