Bartholomew & Santiago Islands
Galápagos is often said to harbour surprises. However, most are thinking of unusual wildlife sightings or behaviours – which we’ve had in spades. Today the archipelago showed an enchantment of a totally different variety – the weather. It had changed.
Our flat calm waters had disappeared, and in their place large swells rolled in from the northeast, not unusual for this time of year. It made our landing on the island of Bartholomew an exciting adventure – rather! The trek to the top was successful and a lot easier since the cloudy skies kept the temperatures down; finally relief from some serious sun. After breakfast our beach time turned out to be a matter of body-surfing rather than snorkelling, but hey – whatever works after the week we’ve had. Trying to out-do the snorkelling of previous days would have been impossible anyway.
This evening we all gathered in the lounge and listened to what the word “Galápagos” now means after a week of personal experiences. The marine world won hands down in honourable mentions, sharks in particular (Tuesday’s whale shark sighting notwithstanding). Not only was the diversity of species in the underwater realm mentioned, but the dramatic contrast of the rich marine environment with the seemingly barren landscape above was highlighted.
In Galápagos, being “touched by nature” means having a sea lion come behind you when you’re snorkelling and put its nose against the back of your knee. One of our guests this week, Bill, told us that Galápagos, to him, brings a new definition to “in your face nature.” A couple other guests agreed, and talked about their “touched by nature” moments: a penguin head-butting a forehead (lightly); a marine turtle coasting into a snorkel mask because you can’t back up for that pesky flightless cormorant behind you. Personally, it was expressed never more clearly than when a large male sea lion threw a fish in my face (I have witnesses). Later on during the Zodiac ride the same large male provided the viewers with a front-seat view of how sea lions corral fish in shallow coves and “binge feed.”
This week we had an unusual combination of people and occurrences, and somewhere in the mix of cosmic energies we found a harmony that brought out the best in everyone and everything around us. On board we shared a week of wonders with two local teachers who had never been out to the uninhabited islands of the archipelago; we travelled with two naturalist guide interns preparing themselves for a possible career of natural history interpretation in Galápagos; we danced to unique music created from and for the islands, and learned Spanish from the crew’s English teacher – all to improve communication.
And improving communication is a goal at Lindblad Expeditions – we want to communicate the importance of caring for our world – whether an exotic destination or one’s own backyard. Sustainable conservation practices deserve notice, and we try hard everywhere we travel. We hope that everyone leaves with the seed of stewardship inside their being, ready to return home to speak up for their own world wherever that may be – Washington, D.C. or Wayzata, Minnesota.
This evening, another guest mentioned that a university-level education was just had by all, and many felt their expectations had been exceeded. I believe we succeeded in another aspect as well: someone mentioned reaching the point where they felt comfortable with wildlife. This is no small feat when many still feel threatened by wildness. But that’s Galápagos for you – something you must come to see first-hand to believe. It’s all true.
Galápagos is often said to harbour surprises. However, most are thinking of unusual wildlife sightings or behaviours – which we’ve had in spades. Today the archipelago showed an enchantment of a totally different variety – the weather. It had changed.
Our flat calm waters had disappeared, and in their place large swells rolled in from the northeast, not unusual for this time of year. It made our landing on the island of Bartholomew an exciting adventure – rather! The trek to the top was successful and a lot easier since the cloudy skies kept the temperatures down; finally relief from some serious sun. After breakfast our beach time turned out to be a matter of body-surfing rather than snorkelling, but hey – whatever works after the week we’ve had. Trying to out-do the snorkelling of previous days would have been impossible anyway.
This evening we all gathered in the lounge and listened to what the word “Galápagos” now means after a week of personal experiences. The marine world won hands down in honourable mentions, sharks in particular (Tuesday’s whale shark sighting notwithstanding). Not only was the diversity of species in the underwater realm mentioned, but the dramatic contrast of the rich marine environment with the seemingly barren landscape above was highlighted.
In Galápagos, being “touched by nature” means having a sea lion come behind you when you’re snorkelling and put its nose against the back of your knee. One of our guests this week, Bill, told us that Galápagos, to him, brings a new definition to “in your face nature.” A couple other guests agreed, and talked about their “touched by nature” moments: a penguin head-butting a forehead (lightly); a marine turtle coasting into a snorkel mask because you can’t back up for that pesky flightless cormorant behind you. Personally, it was expressed never more clearly than when a large male sea lion threw a fish in my face (I have witnesses). Later on during the Zodiac ride the same large male provided the viewers with a front-seat view of how sea lions corral fish in shallow coves and “binge feed.”
This week we had an unusual combination of people and occurrences, and somewhere in the mix of cosmic energies we found a harmony that brought out the best in everyone and everything around us. On board we shared a week of wonders with two local teachers who had never been out to the uninhabited islands of the archipelago; we travelled with two naturalist guide interns preparing themselves for a possible career of natural history interpretation in Galápagos; we danced to unique music created from and for the islands, and learned Spanish from the crew’s English teacher – all to improve communication.
And improving communication is a goal at Lindblad Expeditions – we want to communicate the importance of caring for our world – whether an exotic destination or one’s own backyard. Sustainable conservation practices deserve notice, and we try hard everywhere we travel. We hope that everyone leaves with the seed of stewardship inside their being, ready to return home to speak up for their own world wherever that may be – Washington, D.C. or Wayzata, Minnesota.
This evening, another guest mentioned that a university-level education was just had by all, and many felt their expectations had been exceeded. I believe we succeeded in another aspect as well: someone mentioned reaching the point where they felt comfortable with wildlife. This is no small feat when many still feel threatened by wildness. But that’s Galápagos for you – something you must come to see first-hand to believe. It’s all true.
