The missing link?
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2008
1
10
147
Trip End
May 01, 2009
Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands,
Ecuador
Friday, July 11, 2008
The internet, like most things here, is expensive, hence only a short entry for now. When I return to Ecuador mainland I will share my fishy tails with yee olde friends. I have managed to secure a last minute 8 day boat cruse around the islands which sets off tomorrow, 16 June, so very exciting. Iīve been in Puerto Ayora for 5 days and its been amazing already and Iīve not really been anywhere.
Yesterday, I went to the Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre and saw all the fantastic work they are doing there to try and reintroduce these big fellas to the Islands. Lonesome George is here too, but I didnīt get to see him. A very sad story of mans destruction of the islands since the 1800īs, with the introduction of non indigenous animals and plants which resulted in poor old George being the last remaining Giant Tortoise of his particular breed left on one of the Islands (Pinta Island)
The last of the sun
. The research centre rescued him and have been trying to find a mate for him to breed with for years from all known colonies of Giant Tortoise worldwide. But it seems he is the only one.. Heīs shacked up with two females of the closest match to him, but the magicīs just not happening .... 28.7.08 - WOW WOW WOW - Galapagos was simply amazing. I will try to update some photos soon just realised I cant plug my camera into this computer, but have taken so many will probably take for ever. Had such a fantastic time, the boat cruse was everything I could have wished for and more. It was a lot of money but don't regret that at all. Luckily, for me not so for them, but a family of four started the cruse with us but after the first day had to put to shore as one of the children wasn't so good at sea and the second night we had 7 hours through the night to reach the next island. So after they left there was a spare room at the front of the boat with a large bed. I was going to stay in my shared bunk bed cabin but this was right at the back of the boat next to the engine room and on that night it was very loud. The first night we were in port so that wasn't a problem. I had previously asked if anyone else wanted to move into it as there were two married couples but no one else wanted to so it was all mine.. fab...
I had a really great group we had such a laugh, we were all sad to say goodbye at the end
Feeding time
. So much rave about this wonderful place very difficult to pin point a best moment, but swimming with penguins, sea lions, turtles and white tip sharks will most certainly be memories I hope I will never forget. The tour took us from some of the oldest islands in the south right up to the newest islands in the north. We crossed the equator and now I can definitely say I've been there because we all were all on the bridge of the boat counting down the GPS and I have a photo of 0,00,000° N. Its tradition when you cross the equator at sea to sing and have a drink with the captain and I even have a certificate, we crossed it again as we headed back south but that was around midnight, so it passed with no cocktail that time.... boo!
I forgot to note it down but I think we covered over 500 nautical miles in the 8 days, and your trusty hero wasn't sea sick once thanks mainly to the sea sick tablets but others who took them still succumbed to the ups and donws of the sea....
So I said to the captain, how do you know if you're a pirarate? Ya just aarrrrr.. But he looked at me blankly, he spoke no English...
Comments
Photos
Loving the photo captions Jon. You have to put the one of you in a shell as your FB one. Missing you lots but looks like you're having a wicked time!