Day 149: January 11, 2008 P.Ayora to Guayaquil
Trip Start
Aug 15, 2007
1
152
202
Trip End
Mar 01, 2008
Guayaquil,
Ecuador
Friday, January 11, 2008
We got up at 6:00 for our final breakfast at 6:30. It must have been a good trip. Almost no one wanted it to end. When we finished, everyone brought their carry-on bags up and we boarded the panga and made two trips to the municipal dock. Most of the crew was on deck waving good-bye.
From the dock, we took a bus to the Charles Darwin Research Station where we saw the giant tortoise captive breeding program for all of the other subspecies that live on islands other than Isabela. The highlights of the place are Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta subspecies. The center has been trying to get him to mate with females from other, nearby islands but the guy just isn't interested-a solid recipe for extinction.
And then there is Diego, George's polar opposite. He was believed to be the last male from Española when he was found at the California Academy of Sciences where he was taken in 1906. Upon release with the three remaining females, at the center, he started mating on the first day. When several other males were found, they had to isolate Diego because he wouldn't let them near the females. Thanks to Diego and the others, hundreds of Española tortoises have been released on Española and the subspecies has been saved.
Before leaving, I bought some Darwin Center field clothes: a shirt and a t-shirt. I also bought a field vest at the National Park store. Others, particularly Danny, bought a lot of Darwinwear as well. We then walked back to the bus and it took us across the island to the ferry at the Itabaca Channel, which we took over to Baltra. After about a 15 minute wait, a bus took us over to the airport. Before long, we were onboard and leaving the Galápagos.
It was a smooth flight to Guayaquil where we deplaned, briefly, during refueling. Then we took the half hour flight to Quito. I had been confused about when our departure date was when I made hotel and bus reservations in Punta Arenas and Río Gallegos, and, possibly, my return flight to Punta Arenas. I checked the internet and discovered my flight reservations were fine. I tried changing my hotel and bus reservations but none of that was possible.
After a couple of quick emails followed by a couple of cappachinos, I sat and read my book while the others did similar things. At about 6:30, we moved into the check-in area and stood on very slow lines. My LAN line got me through first so I paid my $42 exit tax and waited for the others. Delta apparently screwed up something because not all of the group had return tickets! Ken was offered $400 and a night at a 5-star hotel if he would give up his seat. He turned them down. Todd stayed with those who had been bumped to see if they could get on stand-by at 9:30. The rest of us went through customs and security. Danny checked out all of the stores along the way.
My flight was called at 8:05 so I said good-bye to those who were with me and boarded my flight. We took off on time and were soon on the ground in Guayaquil for refueling. They must not fill the tanks completely in Quito so the plane will be lighter for takeoff at the high elevation. We did not need to deplane but we sat there for more than an hour before we took off. During that time, I finished "Harvard Yard". Dinner was served almost as soon as we took off. It was almost 1:00 when I finished. I fell asleep soon after.
Comments
Hey JR
Oh my gosh..those are the coolest things I've ever seen! Miss you and Argentina!