In Banos everything is great like always. Went canyoning after a flood, it's unbelievable how the canyon has changed. Places that were green are now nothing but a deserted spot, humongous rocks like 2X2X2 meters are gone and nowhere to be found. A place where the water is only touching the feet has a tree stuck horizontally between the walls where you can freely walk under it. I can't believe how the water in that place rose up to 3 meters high.
We went with a group of tourists who are on a tour. I will never in my life book a tour. They pass the most interesting spots, rush through towns really quickly, stay in hotels where laundry costs $2.50 a kilo, while normally all around town it's 80 cents and do most of the driving during the day because it's safer ... are you kidding me??
Went rock climbing 4 more times. Each time I'm getting better and better, and getting higher and higher. 2 times went with tourists, and there were guys who are built and strong, and they couldn't get as high as I did :))) Then once I was out of energy, and had to put my foot up very fast, but didn't make it that far and landed on a bone, so I had a hole in my leg. It's 3 weeks later now, and I can still feel it when I walk, and can't apply any pressure to it :( Later on, I put leg protectors to climb, but still was scared of that part, just hung there and wined :))
One of the friends brought some warms from a jungle, and you eat them live!!! :SSSS They're huge and fat, and I was disgusted sitting next to them, but then got brave enough and even touched it :)) But nope, I was thinking about it for days and days, and just couldn't make myself do it :) So others ate them, said they taste like mashed potatoes :))
Time to leave Banos, so so sad :((( But I only have the visa for 2 more days. Alright then, I'll go the a village beside the border with Peru on an overnight bus, relax there for 2 days, and will go for the border. Checked the passport, and apparently I have 1 more day, so I'll relax for 1 day and the next day will go. Got on a bus, and actually fell asleep. This bus was supposed to go for 12 hours. 7 hours till Cuenca, and 5 hours till Loja, where I'll change for another 1 hour bus to Vilcabamba. So alright, 9pm exit, means 9am in Loja. I'm sleeping, then the bus stopped, Loja, Loja, the driver wakes everybody up. I open my eyes, it's 5am. Can't think, in my mind we're in Cuenca. So I get out of the bus to stretch my legs. The bus almost leaves, when it hits me, OMG this is my stop!! I rush to the bus to get my things, almost didn't make it. What are we doing in Loja 4 hours earlier?? Ok then, at 5:45 got to the bus to Vilcabamba. The whole village is sleeping, just the rooster are crowing there is nobody on the streets. I found a hostel, checked in, did some stuff, got out at 7:30 to eat breakfast, but everything is closed. Somebody told me that breakfast starts at 9am. This is my kinda town :)) Went back to the hotel to get some sleep. I didn't get any, because the girl who works at the hostel has a guide book of Peru, so I borrowed it from her to read it while I got the chance. At first it was overwhelming. There is whole north of Peru and I have no idea where to go and where to cross the border. Where do I go? What do I do? But then after I while I found a spot that interested me. At 11 I got out, made some copies of the book, ate lunch and went to the bus terminal to ask about buses to the border. Apparently there is another border crossing which I didn't find in the book, and it's much better for where I want to go. But the best thing is to go on a night bus which leaves at 11:30 tonight ! Great !!! Another sleepless night. Also the bus from Loja to Vilcabamba took an hour and it's about 1 cm on a map. Until the border it's about 2 mm, so I figured I'll be there in no time, but nope, the people told me that the road is in very bad condition and it will take about 8 hours !!! Are they serious ??!!???
After that I went on a hike. The surrounding is beautiful. The village is in a valley surrounded by mountains. It's very quiet and green and flowery. Some places in mountains are made out of very soft material, some rocks mixed with mud. So when it rains, the rain washes off the mountains and in some places it created mud columns. There are many different birds and butterflies, and there is a river. Also strangest thing ever, there are spots with huge webs with like 10s of spiders. I've never seen that many spiders at one place. And I thought that they're territorial, and even eat each other. So I guess there must be enough food for everyone (pix didn't turn out :( ) Everybody is very friendly, but that's not surprising anymore :)
Went back to the hostel to get some sleep, but again couldn't get any, so just lied around. At 11 I got up, got ready, go out, and everything is dark and closed. Hello??? Hello??? nobody answers !!! thank god I knew where the room of that girl is, so I woke her up, and she pointed me to the room of the owners. - Where are you going? - To Zumba. At this hour?? There are no buses at 11:30, there are at 10:30 and at 1:00 !!! GRRRR !!! Nevertheless, I left, and sat at the bus stop. Beside there was a group of people playing soccer. I asked them at what hour does the bus go, and got all kind of responses from 12:00 - 3:00. And across the road I found a schedule that says 6:45 am. Then they left, and I was all alone in the dark waiting for I don't know what! NEVER EVER EVER again I will ask just one person for either time or directions. A few days ago I bought a cheap $2 book that teaches English. I wanted to find one that teacher Spanish but couldn't find anywhere. So I thought that because of Spanish translations I will be able to learn it. Since when cat is pronounced at "cot" ??? And why on page 2 I'm learning about bricks and gravel???? :S
2 more people showed up ... alright, there is hope! And 40 minutes the bus came! Yippiiii !!!!
What a ride. The bus wasn't full, so I sat on two seats and could lie down. The driver played the most loud music ever! It was like a night club all night long. Where are my ear plugs??? But even they didn't help. The bus was crawling through the mountains and mud slides. When we arrived at Zumba at 5:30 (again, it arrived early), I asked the driver where we are? He's like "what"? So I'm yelling "where are we"? and he's like "what"? Finally he got close to me, and then he heard! I am wondering if the music was so loud because he couldn't hear it, or because he's deaf from the music! At the bus "terminal" full of chickens, it was 2.5 hours till the chiva bus that takes you to the border. Of course I received times that were between 7 and 8 in the morning. There was a helpful man, because of course nobody knows anything, so he told me which bus to take, and later on when the bus came, he came over and took me to it, then showed me places where I could have breakfast. At the restaurant, for some reason they didn't have any breakfast food, so I ordered chicken with rice and lentils and herbal tea. It took some negotiations to order only half a breakfast, since the portion size was gigantic. And even half a portion I couldn't finish :)
The chiva bus was so uncomfortable. There was no space for the legs. It took 1.5 hours to get to the border, and again, I received times from 2-3 hours ... can't trust nobody !
At the border with Peru, the immigration officials were nice. Although some weird rules: fill out that form, go to Peru side for a stamp, then come back... In the guide book it said to be sure to ask for full 90 days, and the officer asked me how long I need, and I said as long as you can give me, so he gave me a visa for 180 days ... hmmmm ... I wonder how that's gonna work out :))
From the border took a 1.5 hour taxi to the nearest town where I thought I would stay for the day and relax. The driver was crazy !! He stopped at nothing, and I have no idea how the car still has wheels, I really wished I had a sports bra on :)) And meanwhile driving the car like formula one, the cd was blasting the most romantic music ever :)) After getting to the town, I understood that it's not a very good idea to stay there, and decided to take a bus to Chachapoyas. Guess what? There is no direct bus, I need to take another taxi to the next town. Meanwhile I have no idea where to go. I only know the name "Chachapoyas", so everybody is coming up with solutions on how to get me there. It's pretty far away, so I thought it's better to take taxis that leave earlier and go faster than to wait for the bus. And they're only a $1 more expensive than buses. Alright, took a motorcycle taxi to the taxis that go to next town. There got a taxi to the next village of Jaen which it 2 hours away. In this taxi at one point there were 11 people !! 3 in the front, 4 in the back with 2 babies on top, and 2 with all the suitcases in the back. At Jean, guess what?? There is no direct bus again. Alright, took a mototaxi to another taxi station. From there 2 more hours until the next village of Bagua Grande. There was a man in the car which wouldn't leave me alone. Do you want chocolate, how about gelatin? ... some water??? no, no, no and NO!! From Bagua Grande waited another hour until the next taxi to leave for the final ride of 2.5 hours to Chachapoyas. I'm not sure which driver was crazy, the other one, or this one? But otherwise I think it would've taken us 5 hours to get there. The road was very beautiful, until it got dark. We passed some natural tunnel like structures of mountains that hang above the road. It's like a tunnel with one of the sides missing. Pretty cool.
9pm I'm in Chachapoyas !!! FINALLY !!! I feel something like a zombie right now. Head doesn't work and eyes are somehow stay open but don't understand anything. Found a nice hotel pretty quickly, and already booked a tour to some archeological site for the next day that leaves at 7:30 am ... :S
Crash out !!
A hike and 30 hours of bus rides ... Time to hit the shower!! :)) Damn it, it's cold !!
This place is very rich with history and archeological sites, but with very very few tourists. In my 22 hour journey, I didn't come across any ... figures !! Good luck getting here !!!
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/Vilcabamba
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Galapagos
In the airplane for some reason we were sitting in the first class ... too bad the flight was only an hour and a bit :) Then we went on a bus, then a boat then a bus to get to the town. I don't think we left our backpacks that many times at any day during our travels :)
A bit of history:
The islands were created by volcanic activity around 1.5 million years ago, and only long range migratory birds, and seals could've got into the islands. Also on the main land when trees would fall for any reason, they would sometimes create huge rafts, and flow with the current. Any animals that were on these trees, involuntarily ended up transferring to the islands. And since lizards/iguanas/turtles can live long without any food or water, they were the only once to survive the trip. Seeds that were on the trees or any seeds that were on the birds made it to the islands and life has began.
It's very interesting to see evolution in here. For example the same cactuses evolved differently depending on the animals that live on the islands. Some are only 1 meter tall, while other reach 15 meters because they protect themselves from turtles and iguanas, they also developed a tree like trunk so that it won't be edible. Some birds have lost their instincts to fly because they don't have any predators on the islands. And from land iguanas developed marine iguanas, since in the time of food shortage, some brave iguana went into the water to get some seaweed, and because it became larger than others, it became more dominant, and hence produced more babies who instinctively started to mimic parental behaviours, and now million years later there are 2 species of iguanas.
So the reason Galapagos is soo cool is because it wasn't inhibited for all these years, so the animals don't have an instinct to be scared of humans. They allow to get very close to them, but "unfortunately" by park rules, you have to keep a 2 meter distance from the animals. Although, if they themselves get closer, well ... what can we do? :)
Some ship accidently discovered Galapagos, and in the letter they wrote back home they said that they caught a lot of birds by hand cause they just wouldn't flee. Also pirate boats would catch the gigantic turtles by hundreds and keep them on the boat as fresh meat, since they can survive for about a year without food or water :(
Some text from Galapagos guide book:
It's not often that you come across a place that's unique in the world. All too many "must sees", no matter how glowingly described by guide-books and friends, seem to pale in a harsh light of reality. But the Galapagos islands exist truly without parallel. Huddled far into the Pacific Ocean, the archipelago protects a bubble of life like nowhere else on earth.
The feeling of looking at acres of wild animals that don't flee at your arrival - a place where you actually have to be careful not to step on anyone as you walk down the trail - is nothing short of amazing.
The archipelago is as close to a perfect laboratory experiment on evolution as any place ever discovered. Take a few species, stick them out in the middle of nowhere for a few million years, and see what happens.
Bring twice as much film or digital memory as you think you'll need, and then some more on top of it.
The only way to survive here, it seems, is to adapt, which means a high level of endemic species (those found nowhere else on earth). The Galapagos has 1900 endemic species out of 5000 total: 32 percent of the plants, almost half of all birds, half of all shore fish and insects, and 90% of the reptiles have become so specifically adapted to life in the islands that they hardly resemble their original mainland ancestors at all.
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Galapagos is expensive! Everything costs double the price because it's all shipped from mainland. So we decided not to count the money, and just deal with it for these 12 days that we're here. In the evening we went to the port which is illuminated in the water, and in about an hour that we've been there, we saw pelicans, seals, baby sharks and sting rays. I got close to one pelican, which was pretty comfortable around me, but then other people ran to it, and stood on the other side, so it was funny how he glanced at me, and did 2 steps away, then glanced at them, and made a few steps my way, finally he flew away :)
The next day, for the whole day we went from agency to agency checking out different trips. Each agency deals with different boats, so anywhere you go, you get different itinerary and different prices. We got offered some first class boats for economy class prices, but we didn't like their route, and usually they were only 3 or 4 days, so then we would've have to look for other boats on return. Finally we found one that we really liked. We bargained with the agent the whole day, going in and out of office, and hoping that nobody would take the last spots. Finally we got 8 days for $770. On the boat we asked around, and 1 couple who booked the tour from Quito 5 days in advance, paid $1140 for it. In the evening we went to the dock and found a seal to sit beside. Me and Geoff were sitting, and suddenly the seal got up, and squeezed himself in between me and the wall, leaning on me, while I was leaning on Geoff, trying to breath calmly and really hoping that seals don't feel fear as the dogs do :)
Day 1 - Santa Cruz island
At 12pm we got on the boat which fits 16 passengers. The boat is alright, but the cabins are tiny. It barely fit our bags, has 2 bunk beds, washroom with a shower, which of course is very fun to take :) All the people on the boat are nice, we all get along great! At 12 we had amazing lunch. The cook is really good. Every time he makes something different, and adds a special touch of something. Like an olive on mashed potatoes, or special sauce or something. It's very healthy too! The problem is that every day we get breakfast, lunch and dinner and that's it. So it takes some time to get used to it. First 2 days I could barely wait until the food comes :)
In the afternoon we went to an excursion to a place that has the giant turtles. It was alright. Turtles don't get me excited that much :) They hiss when you get close to them, so that's fun :) Later on we went for a walk in a lava tunnel. It's huge! When the lava flows, the outside portion gets hard, and inside it's still melted, so when it finishes flowing it creates a tunnel. Basically it looks like a cave. I wouldn't be able to tell a difference.
Sometimes it's fun to take an organized tour. Everything leaves on time. When we got to the shore, we went straight to the bus that drove us exactly to the location. Wait, what, we don't have to ask 10 people where and which bus to take. Bargain with them for 5 minutes. Get out not sure where, and walk in an unknown direction? And get soap and water and a towel when we got out of the tunnel :) Of course we save like 50% of the cost of the trip, but oh the hassle! :)
At night, I couldn't sleep at all, it was soooo hot, and no space. I couldn't find any position to sleep in, and was just rotating all night long. Geoff was surprised when he saw me awake at 5:45 am, no extreme measures needed to be done that morning :)
Day 2 - Seymour island
At 6 am we went to a bird island. OMG, how cool was that??? There are birds everywhere. The sky is full of them, the bushes, the rocks. You hear different sounds everywhere. It's mating season, so we saw a lot of birds either performing mating rituals or already sitting in the nest with young chicks. There is no need to look for them, or to use binoculars or zoom in the camera, they sit right on the path. The famous male blue footed boobies were busy trying to seduce some females. The more food they have, the bluer are their legs, so the ritual consists of them walking beside the female and lifting their legs :) There are other birds with red sacks on their necks, so they puff them up, and sit with a huge red balloon on their necks. These birds are lazy at fishing, so they might kill other birds for food, or at least shake them very hard until the food falls out. Some birds make a circle out of poop, and if their chick steps out of it, the parents abandon it. Also saw a bunch of sea lions, and I almost stepped on one when I was busy making pictures of the birds, it just lied there on the path.
7:45 breakfast time
Later the ship had to get some fuel, so during that time we went to the beach to snorkel. Snorkeling was alright, not the best I've ever had, but I found an octopus, although it was hiding in the rocks, and a huge star fish, probably over half a meter in diameter.
When we sailed to another island - Bartolome, there were dolphins swimming right beside the boat, and an eagle ray jumping out of water for some reason.
We arrived at another snorkeling location. How can I describe what was happening there??? There was more fish that I could ever count. Thousands and thousands of fish swimming, all of different species and colors and sizes. Sometimes it was impossible to see the corals underneath because of the amounts of fish. There were schools of fish by hundreds, and you just swim with them, I tried to touch a few, but they're so synchronized with their movements :) The whole shore was covered with sea lions, they took interest in our cloths and bags, I was wondering how we will be able to take them afterwards. A bunch of sea lions went for a swim, and were playing with a few divers. Once I took my head out of the water, and saw a bunch of divers just hanging there in one spot. I swam in that direction, the water started getting deeper, I couldn't see the bottom anymore or any of the small fish, and suddenly my heart just stopped. There was a shark swimming right directly at me. I prepared myself for this moment, and I knew the possibilities would be good to see a shark, and I really wanted to, and ofcourse the first instinct was to swim away as fast as I could. But then I managed to relax somehow, and even started swimming after it. It wasn't that big though, about a human size. Then at the end right beside the shore, there were 6 baby sharks swimming around. When I got out of the water, there were sea lions playing in the waves. Some divers didn't see them and went out of the water right at that location, so it was funny to see the sea lions getting unhappy, and the divers terrified :)
After snorkeling we went for a hike up to a volcano. It was one of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen!! There are what they're called "parasite volcanoes" which are little volcanoes beside the big one, and once you get up, you have the sea at one side with beaches, a tall rock standing out of the water, and a lot of green hills in the distance, and on the other side 10s of volcano craters in a dessert like setting.
At the evening the sea got rough, I was late with my pill, and right away I got sea sick. Took a second pill, but still didn't feel right. This night the AC worked, so I froze completely.
Day 3 - South Plaza Island
This day wasn't that great. We went to an island, that had a cactus forest, and hundreds of iguanas. Anywhere you look there are iguanas crawling around. There are also 2 areas with sea lions. One area has tens of female with one male who's called the beach master. All the males are fighting each other to get a chance to mate with the females. The males that lose go to the other side of the island (which is called the bachelor area) to heal themselves and to get into shape which takes about 3 weeks, and then they go back to the beach to fight again.
The whole day I wasn't feeling well, still from the day before. So I was constantly sleeping. Go to excursion, sleep, have lunch, sleep, go snorkeling, sleep, and pretty much after dinner I was ready to sleep again.
when we did snorkeling, it was not comparable to the first time. But this time we saw 2 bigger sharks, although they got away quickly. It was fun because while I was snorkeling, the little boat was patrolling us, and it was time to go back. So instead of going into the boat, i grabbed onto the rope and did a super fast snorkeling :) After everybody got onboard there was a sea turtle swimming nearby, so it was funny how everybody got whatever mask they could and dived into the water. While I was watching her nearby, a sting ray swam right beside it in a different direction. It was a difficult decision which one to follow ... but the sting ray won :)
Day 4 - St. Christobel Island, the capital of Galapagos Islands
This day wasn't super exciting. In the morning we went to Galapagos museum, but I already read about everything in the book, so there was nothing new for me, then we got free time in town. The whole time on land I was feeling like drunk although without a headache. Everything around me was flowing, and I was walking from left to right :) Afterwards we drove to the beach to do more snorkeling. The waves were huge, but where we snorkeled there was a reef, so they didn't pass through, although the current was extremely strong. The guide told us to be very very careful snorkeling, stay away from rocks and from waves ... cause there have been some unpleasant cases. Snorkeling again was alright. Since it was very wavy, the visibility was very poor. There was the largest school of fish ever. We swam meters and meters, and they were still there. We all got across 3 turtles, I dove in to touch it, and take a closer look, since one of them was just sitting there and not moving. It was humongous. And then Geoff bumped into a sting ray, he called me, and I just gathered all my energy and swam as fast as I could go there on time, and I did. It looks very graceful when it swims. It was huge. I was on top of it, and opened my arms completely, and it was right about that size.
Day 5 - Isla Espanola
That day the cook has changed on the boat, so what I thought was great up until now, turned 100 times better! The variety and quality was incomparable to the first cook, and he did more complicated things, different every time, wish special sauces. And this time it was a buffet, so I wasn't starving all day long waiting for the time to eat. Me and Geoff left him extra tip at the end of the trip.
Isla Espanola was one of my favourite islands too. It was covered with thousands of birds and marine iguanas who just sit on the trail and don't bother to move at your sight. So many pictures were taken without the zoom, I just stuck my camera into their face :) Right now is the mating season, so a lot of birds either sit on their eggs, or already with chicks in the nests. The chicks grow very fast though, so they don't look all cute of fluffy :) Apparently these birds who dive into the ocean for fish have oil glands, so they constantly cover their feathers with oil to make them waterproof. Also they sit with their wings spread towards the sun to dry them quicker.
There is a sight for the nesting area for the marine iguanas, they dig and dig a hole in the ground which is about 1 meter deep. Enrique (our guide) said that they're lucky, because other iguanas on another island have to climb one month up to the crater of the volcano to nest there, because it's the only spot on the island that has enough soil for the required depth of the nest.
The whole island ends with a cliff, offering a beautiful scenery all around, with blue ocean with breaking waves, birds flying around and sitting right on the edge of the cliff, and in addition to that there is a blow hole. Which is a small hole in such a spot that when the water comes in, it has nowhere else to go, so it blows with enormous pressure upwards. There was a trail before going right beside the hole, but some curious tourists came to close to see how the hole works and got some broken arms and legs, so now the trail is closes, and you can only view from above. But when we were leaving the island, we were the only group on it, so Enrique got that smile on that face and asked us if we want to do something fun, and took us down to the hole ... yeiippiiii :)))
Next we went snorkeling. This time wasn't too cool. But there were 10s of star fish, and now, every day I practice speed snorkeling :) Every time we finish snorkeling and penga picks us up and takes us to the boat, I ask to be dragged at the end :)
Then we went to a very beautiful white sand beach, very soft sand and a bunch of seals hanging out. Me and Geoff went for a run, and Geoff was always trying to jump over them. When we went snorkeling there was a very friendly sea turtle swimming. It needed to get up for air, and it surfaced right in front of me. So we were just swimming beside it for a while. When we got to the boat, I was sitting on the back with my feet in the water. There was a lot of curious fish swimming around, and they started getting closer and closer, and then one of them bit me so hard on the big toe that some skin came out ... these bustards!! :)
At night I couldn't sleep due to the heat, so I got up in the middle of the night and started searching the boat for a location to sleep. Found one on the bench beside the tables, almost all the crew was sleeping there. That was the only bench left, and the mattress was missing, but even lying of a half a meter by 1.5 meter of wood with some breeze was better than down there at the dungeon. After a few hours Geoff started roaming the boat for a place to sleep, so we went to sleep on the deck of the boat.
Day 6 - Isla Floriana
This island is also called the post office bay. There is a "post office" in there, and you drop a post card, and then all the tourists view all the cards, and you can take a card only if you can deliver it somewhere in person.
On this island we went to another lava tunnel, which was cooler than the 1st one. It was completely dark, and at the end there is water, so a bunch of us went swimming in this freezing water in the dark.
Later on was snorkeling. The place was very nice because it had a lot of rocks with very shallow water, so you could see everything very close. This time we saw probably 5 turtles feeding. I swam beside one turtle so it was right under me. I could touch its shell and its tail and feet, and suddenly it decided to change its direction, so it started turning right under me, and there was no space at all, so it kinda pushed me out of the water :)
Next snorkeling we did was one of the best snorkeling ever at the devils crown. It was very deep with very clear water and excellent conditions. There we saw about 10 sharks and underwater caves. There was such a strong current at one place that I swam and swam and couldn't feel any progress, so I started measuring by rocks. I would look at a rock like a meter away, and peddle very very fast, and half a minute later I'll be there, then I'll find another rock :)
After that we went to some green beach, but it was more brown than green, and there we saw flamingos in some lagoon.
Back on the boat we started navigating, and 6 dolphins appeared and were swimming at the front of the boat for around 5 minutes. These were the largest dolphins I saw.
Plan change. The navy for some reason decided to do a boat check, so we had to return back to Santa Cruz instead of Isabella. But the good thing is that at the evening all of us went to dance at a bar, and it was one of my best evenings out. I felt so relaxed (and yes, without any alcohol :) ), and danced all night long :)
At night we went to sleep on the deck again, but woke up all wet cause it started raining.
Day 7 - Isla Isabella
Since our boat was going through a check, we took a speed boat to Isla Isabella for 2 hours (it takes 7 hours with our boat to get there). They put us in the nicest hotel we've ever stayed in :) On the island we went to a turtle reproduction center. Their mission is to have as many turtles on the islands as there were years ago. I think around 200,000. When the pirates came to the island, they caught the turtles which were the closest to the beach, which were mostly females. Males are usually in higher parts, and that's why the population decreased so dramatically. Right now it's difficult for the population to grow due to all the introduced species. The pigs, mice, rats, donkeys eat the eggs. People even saw how a turtle was laying eggs while a pig was eating them right there on the spot. The island has a big program where they kill the introduced animals and chop down introduced plants, to return the island to the state as it was in before. The goats are the worst animals cause they destroy and erode all the landscape. So they catch some goats, put chips in them, and let them go. And since goats are social animals, they find herds of goats, and then people go in helicopters and kill all the goats around. In 3 years they already killed 150,000 goats.
When they created the national park, there were turtles everywhere, and on some people's properties too. The people were given a choice either to give the turtles away or if they choose to keep it and something happens to them, then the people have to pay the price of the turtle. Most of the people gave the turtles away, but there were 3 who decided to keep them, and they put a chain around their legs so they won't run away. The chain was so tight that it cut the blood flow to the leg. 2 turtles were fine, but with the other one, they had to amputate the leg. Since there is no technology to do that in Ecuador, they flew the turtle to U.S. for operation!! I couldn't believe it !! All 3 of these people were arrested and put to jail.
When there was an eruption of the volcano, they also sent helicopters and rescued all the turtles who were close to the lava.
Btw, the islands are called Galapagos, because years ago when ships arrived there, they saw these huge turtles. The people saddled them. And "saddle" in some language is Galapago.
Next day me and Geoff stayed on Isabella to do a volcano hike. The volcano has the 2nd largest crater in the world 10 km in diameter. We drove for 45 minutes, and it was funny how the driver slowed down and beeped at birds who were flying near the road :) It's so nice how all the people really care about nature and the environment.
This hike wasn't too bad, because the car got us almost all the way up. But it was long!! We were walking from 9 - 4. Since it's a mountain, on one side there are always clouds and rain and on the other side it's all sunny and dry. So half of the walk was in pure mud :)
The crater is beautiful and huge, you can't see anything except the crater all around. It's still very hot inside, so when it rains, the water goes into the soil, and then it evaporates and creates these steams. The weather is funny up there, it changes from minute to minute. It could rain, then sunny, then windy, then foggy, completely unpredictable. After the big volcano, we came to the little volcanoes. The landscape is very interesting in there. We were joking that nothing really landed on Mars, these videos were shot on Isabella. The vegetation goes from green to absolutely nothing. Last eruption was around 30 years ago, and the lava burnt everything it touched. The rock formations are very interesting. In some places it's filled with multiple colors. It looked like someone had a paint fight in there :) There are a lot of lava tunnels in there, and some weird colorful holes for no reason. A bunch of structures that look like fluid liquid in solid form, like waterfalls. In the middle of the hike I started feeling land sick. I was fine on the boat, but once got on land, everything started flowing around me. When we got back, we went to the dock to book the boat back to Santa Cruz. I let Geoff handle the negotiations, and fell asleep on the bench nearby. Geoff didn't see me and went back to the hotel. All dirty from the hike, I got up with a headache, and walked side to side back to the hotel. Somebody asked me if I was drunk :), and the first car that went to the center stopped and said that I look like I need a ride :)
Next day woke up at 4:30 am to catch the boat back to Santa Cruz. We went to the agency to complain about the AC, and they pretty easily agreed to give $50 back each. We were pleasantly surprised. Me and Geoff wanted to do different things. I wanted to go diving, and he wanted to go snorkeling on another island, so he went to St. Cristobel. I couldn't do the deep dive where everything happens because I don't have the license, so I could only go 12 meters deep. I went with 4 more divers, while they were diving, I was snorkeling, then I dive, and then snorkel again. The boat left me beside a huge rock in the middle of nowhere. It's very deep in there, I couldn't see the bottom at all, and on the other side it's completely dark blue. The waves are huge throwing me side from side, and current is pretty strong. I lift up my head, and the boat is pretty far ... all I'm thinking breath, just breath ... HEEEELLPPPPP !!!! But after 5 minutes I calmed down :) While snorkeling, I saw 5 turtles, some playful and very curious seals circling me, and 2 sharks. With one shark it was scary. The visibility wasn't that great, so it came out of nowhere, just swimming towards me, and it was a bit bigger than other sharks I've seen. It came 2 meters from me, and then swam under me. Then it was my turn to dive. It wasn't super interesting, with 12 meters depths, I didn't see much. The instructor said that I did very well, and if they had an additional tank, they would take me to do a deep dive ... oh well ... I guess I'll do the license in Peru where it's cheaper.
Overall the trip and Galapagos was amazing !! It felt like somebody took me from the real world and put me into a fairytale. The only downside of the trip, is why and where would I snorkel again, and which other place on earth will drop my jaw for 2 weeks straight? :))
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/Galapagos#
A bit of history:
The islands were created by volcanic activity around 1.5 million years ago, and only long range migratory birds, and seals could've got into the islands. Also on the main land when trees would fall for any reason, they would sometimes create huge rafts, and flow with the current. Any animals that were on these trees, involuntarily ended up transferring to the islands. And since lizards/iguanas/turtles can live long without any food or water, they were the only once to survive the trip. Seeds that were on the trees or any seeds that were on the birds made it to the islands and life has began.
It's very interesting to see evolution in here. For example the same cactuses evolved differently depending on the animals that live on the islands. Some are only 1 meter tall, while other reach 15 meters because they protect themselves from turtles and iguanas, they also developed a tree like trunk so that it won't be edible. Some birds have lost their instincts to fly because they don't have any predators on the islands. And from land iguanas developed marine iguanas, since in the time of food shortage, some brave iguana went into the water to get some seaweed, and because it became larger than others, it became more dominant, and hence produced more babies who instinctively started to mimic parental behaviours, and now million years later there are 2 species of iguanas.
So the reason Galapagos is soo cool is because it wasn't inhibited for all these years, so the animals don't have an instinct to be scared of humans. They allow to get very close to them, but "unfortunately" by park rules, you have to keep a 2 meter distance from the animals. Although, if they themselves get closer, well ... what can we do? :)
Some ship accidently discovered Galapagos, and in the letter they wrote back home they said that they caught a lot of birds by hand cause they just wouldn't flee. Also pirate boats would catch the gigantic turtles by hundreds and keep them on the boat as fresh meat, since they can survive for about a year without food or water :(
Some text from Galapagos guide book:
It's not often that you come across a place that's unique in the world. All too many "must sees", no matter how glowingly described by guide-books and friends, seem to pale in a harsh light of reality. But the Galapagos islands exist truly without parallel. Huddled far into the Pacific Ocean, the archipelago protects a bubble of life like nowhere else on earth.
The feeling of looking at acres of wild animals that don't flee at your arrival - a place where you actually have to be careful not to step on anyone as you walk down the trail - is nothing short of amazing.
The archipelago is as close to a perfect laboratory experiment on evolution as any place ever discovered. Take a few species, stick them out in the middle of nowhere for a few million years, and see what happens.
Bring twice as much film or digital memory as you think you'll need, and then some more on top of it.
The only way to survive here, it seems, is to adapt, which means a high level of endemic species (those found nowhere else on earth). The Galapagos has 1900 endemic species out of 5000 total: 32 percent of the plants, almost half of all birds, half of all shore fish and insects, and 90% of the reptiles have become so specifically adapted to life in the islands that they hardly resemble their original mainland ancestors at all.
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Galapagos is expensive! Everything costs double the price because it's all shipped from mainland. So we decided not to count the money, and just deal with it for these 12 days that we're here. In the evening we went to the port which is illuminated in the water, and in about an hour that we've been there, we saw pelicans, seals, baby sharks and sting rays. I got close to one pelican, which was pretty comfortable around me, but then other people ran to it, and stood on the other side, so it was funny how he glanced at me, and did 2 steps away, then glanced at them, and made a few steps my way, finally he flew away :)
The next day, for the whole day we went from agency to agency checking out different trips. Each agency deals with different boats, so anywhere you go, you get different itinerary and different prices. We got offered some first class boats for economy class prices, but we didn't like their route, and usually they were only 3 or 4 days, so then we would've have to look for other boats on return. Finally we found one that we really liked. We bargained with the agent the whole day, going in and out of office, and hoping that nobody would take the last spots. Finally we got 8 days for $770. On the boat we asked around, and 1 couple who booked the tour from Quito 5 days in advance, paid $1140 for it. In the evening we went to the dock and found a seal to sit beside. Me and Geoff were sitting, and suddenly the seal got up, and squeezed himself in between me and the wall, leaning on me, while I was leaning on Geoff, trying to breath calmly and really hoping that seals don't feel fear as the dogs do :)
Day 1 - Santa Cruz island
At 12pm we got on the boat which fits 16 passengers. The boat is alright, but the cabins are tiny. It barely fit our bags, has 2 bunk beds, washroom with a shower, which of course is very fun to take :) All the people on the boat are nice, we all get along great! At 12 we had amazing lunch. The cook is really good. Every time he makes something different, and adds a special touch of something. Like an olive on mashed potatoes, or special sauce or something. It's very healthy too! The problem is that every day we get breakfast, lunch and dinner and that's it. So it takes some time to get used to it. First 2 days I could barely wait until the food comes :)
In the afternoon we went to an excursion to a place that has the giant turtles. It was alright. Turtles don't get me excited that much :) They hiss when you get close to them, so that's fun :) Later on we went for a walk in a lava tunnel. It's huge! When the lava flows, the outside portion gets hard, and inside it's still melted, so when it finishes flowing it creates a tunnel. Basically it looks like a cave. I wouldn't be able to tell a difference.
Sometimes it's fun to take an organized tour. Everything leaves on time. When we got to the shore, we went straight to the bus that drove us exactly to the location. Wait, what, we don't have to ask 10 people where and which bus to take. Bargain with them for 5 minutes. Get out not sure where, and walk in an unknown direction? And get soap and water and a towel when we got out of the tunnel :) Of course we save like 50% of the cost of the trip, but oh the hassle! :)
At night, I couldn't sleep at all, it was soooo hot, and no space. I couldn't find any position to sleep in, and was just rotating all night long. Geoff was surprised when he saw me awake at 5:45 am, no extreme measures needed to be done that morning :)
Day 2 - Seymour island
At 6 am we went to a bird island. OMG, how cool was that??? There are birds everywhere. The sky is full of them, the bushes, the rocks. You hear different sounds everywhere. It's mating season, so we saw a lot of birds either performing mating rituals or already sitting in the nest with young chicks. There is no need to look for them, or to use binoculars or zoom in the camera, they sit right on the path. The famous male blue footed boobies were busy trying to seduce some females. The more food they have, the bluer are their legs, so the ritual consists of them walking beside the female and lifting their legs :) There are other birds with red sacks on their necks, so they puff them up, and sit with a huge red balloon on their necks. These birds are lazy at fishing, so they might kill other birds for food, or at least shake them very hard until the food falls out. Some birds make a circle out of poop, and if their chick steps out of it, the parents abandon it. Also saw a bunch of sea lions, and I almost stepped on one when I was busy making pictures of the birds, it just lied there on the path.
7:45 breakfast time
Later the ship had to get some fuel, so during that time we went to the beach to snorkel. Snorkeling was alright, not the best I've ever had, but I found an octopus, although it was hiding in the rocks, and a huge star fish, probably over half a meter in diameter.
When we sailed to another island - Bartolome, there were dolphins swimming right beside the boat, and an eagle ray jumping out of water for some reason.
We arrived at another snorkeling location. How can I describe what was happening there??? There was more fish that I could ever count. Thousands and thousands of fish swimming, all of different species and colors and sizes. Sometimes it was impossible to see the corals underneath because of the amounts of fish. There were schools of fish by hundreds, and you just swim with them, I tried to touch a few, but they're so synchronized with their movements :) The whole shore was covered with sea lions, they took interest in our cloths and bags, I was wondering how we will be able to take them afterwards. A bunch of sea lions went for a swim, and were playing with a few divers. Once I took my head out of the water, and saw a bunch of divers just hanging there in one spot. I swam in that direction, the water started getting deeper, I couldn't see the bottom anymore or any of the small fish, and suddenly my heart just stopped. There was a shark swimming right directly at me. I prepared myself for this moment, and I knew the possibilities would be good to see a shark, and I really wanted to, and ofcourse the first instinct was to swim away as fast as I could. But then I managed to relax somehow, and even started swimming after it. It wasn't that big though, about a human size. Then at the end right beside the shore, there were 6 baby sharks swimming around. When I got out of the water, there were sea lions playing in the waves. Some divers didn't see them and went out of the water right at that location, so it was funny to see the sea lions getting unhappy, and the divers terrified :)
After snorkeling we went for a hike up to a volcano. It was one of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen!! There are what they're called "parasite volcanoes" which are little volcanoes beside the big one, and once you get up, you have the sea at one side with beaches, a tall rock standing out of the water, and a lot of green hills in the distance, and on the other side 10s of volcano craters in a dessert like setting.
At the evening the sea got rough, I was late with my pill, and right away I got sea sick. Took a second pill, but still didn't feel right. This night the AC worked, so I froze completely.
Day 3 - South Plaza Island
This day wasn't that great. We went to an island, that had a cactus forest, and hundreds of iguanas. Anywhere you look there are iguanas crawling around. There are also 2 areas with sea lions. One area has tens of female with one male who's called the beach master. All the males are fighting each other to get a chance to mate with the females. The males that lose go to the other side of the island (which is called the bachelor area) to heal themselves and to get into shape which takes about 3 weeks, and then they go back to the beach to fight again.
The whole day I wasn't feeling well, still from the day before. So I was constantly sleeping. Go to excursion, sleep, have lunch, sleep, go snorkeling, sleep, and pretty much after dinner I was ready to sleep again.
when we did snorkeling, it was not comparable to the first time. But this time we saw 2 bigger sharks, although they got away quickly. It was fun because while I was snorkeling, the little boat was patrolling us, and it was time to go back. So instead of going into the boat, i grabbed onto the rope and did a super fast snorkeling :) After everybody got onboard there was a sea turtle swimming nearby, so it was funny how everybody got whatever mask they could and dived into the water. While I was watching her nearby, a sting ray swam right beside it in a different direction. It was a difficult decision which one to follow ... but the sting ray won :)
Day 4 - St. Christobel Island, the capital of Galapagos Islands
This day wasn't super exciting. In the morning we went to Galapagos museum, but I already read about everything in the book, so there was nothing new for me, then we got free time in town. The whole time on land I was feeling like drunk although without a headache. Everything around me was flowing, and I was walking from left to right :) Afterwards we drove to the beach to do more snorkeling. The waves were huge, but where we snorkeled there was a reef, so they didn't pass through, although the current was extremely strong. The guide told us to be very very careful snorkeling, stay away from rocks and from waves ... cause there have been some unpleasant cases. Snorkeling again was alright. Since it was very wavy, the visibility was very poor. There was the largest school of fish ever. We swam meters and meters, and they were still there. We all got across 3 turtles, I dove in to touch it, and take a closer look, since one of them was just sitting there and not moving. It was humongous. And then Geoff bumped into a sting ray, he called me, and I just gathered all my energy and swam as fast as I could go there on time, and I did. It looks very graceful when it swims. It was huge. I was on top of it, and opened my arms completely, and it was right about that size.
Day 5 - Isla Espanola
That day the cook has changed on the boat, so what I thought was great up until now, turned 100 times better! The variety and quality was incomparable to the first cook, and he did more complicated things, different every time, wish special sauces. And this time it was a buffet, so I wasn't starving all day long waiting for the time to eat. Me and Geoff left him extra tip at the end of the trip.
Isla Espanola was one of my favourite islands too. It was covered with thousands of birds and marine iguanas who just sit on the trail and don't bother to move at your sight. So many pictures were taken without the zoom, I just stuck my camera into their face :) Right now is the mating season, so a lot of birds either sit on their eggs, or already with chicks in the nests. The chicks grow very fast though, so they don't look all cute of fluffy :) Apparently these birds who dive into the ocean for fish have oil glands, so they constantly cover their feathers with oil to make them waterproof. Also they sit with their wings spread towards the sun to dry them quicker.
There is a sight for the nesting area for the marine iguanas, they dig and dig a hole in the ground which is about 1 meter deep. Enrique (our guide) said that they're lucky, because other iguanas on another island have to climb one month up to the crater of the volcano to nest there, because it's the only spot on the island that has enough soil for the required depth of the nest.
The whole island ends with a cliff, offering a beautiful scenery all around, with blue ocean with breaking waves, birds flying around and sitting right on the edge of the cliff, and in addition to that there is a blow hole. Which is a small hole in such a spot that when the water comes in, it has nowhere else to go, so it blows with enormous pressure upwards. There was a trail before going right beside the hole, but some curious tourists came to close to see how the hole works and got some broken arms and legs, so now the trail is closes, and you can only view from above. But when we were leaving the island, we were the only group on it, so Enrique got that smile on that face and asked us if we want to do something fun, and took us down to the hole ... yeiippiiii :)))
Next we went snorkeling. This time wasn't too cool. But there were 10s of star fish, and now, every day I practice speed snorkeling :) Every time we finish snorkeling and penga picks us up and takes us to the boat, I ask to be dragged at the end :)
Then we went to a very beautiful white sand beach, very soft sand and a bunch of seals hanging out. Me and Geoff went for a run, and Geoff was always trying to jump over them. When we went snorkeling there was a very friendly sea turtle swimming. It needed to get up for air, and it surfaced right in front of me. So we were just swimming beside it for a while. When we got to the boat, I was sitting on the back with my feet in the water. There was a lot of curious fish swimming around, and they started getting closer and closer, and then one of them bit me so hard on the big toe that some skin came out ... these bustards!! :)
At night I couldn't sleep due to the heat, so I got up in the middle of the night and started searching the boat for a location to sleep. Found one on the bench beside the tables, almost all the crew was sleeping there. That was the only bench left, and the mattress was missing, but even lying of a half a meter by 1.5 meter of wood with some breeze was better than down there at the dungeon. After a few hours Geoff started roaming the boat for a place to sleep, so we went to sleep on the deck of the boat.
Day 6 - Isla Floriana
This island is also called the post office bay. There is a "post office" in there, and you drop a post card, and then all the tourists view all the cards, and you can take a card only if you can deliver it somewhere in person.
On this island we went to another lava tunnel, which was cooler than the 1st one. It was completely dark, and at the end there is water, so a bunch of us went swimming in this freezing water in the dark.
Later on was snorkeling. The place was very nice because it had a lot of rocks with very shallow water, so you could see everything very close. This time we saw probably 5 turtles feeding. I swam beside one turtle so it was right under me. I could touch its shell and its tail and feet, and suddenly it decided to change its direction, so it started turning right under me, and there was no space at all, so it kinda pushed me out of the water :)
Next snorkeling we did was one of the best snorkeling ever at the devils crown. It was very deep with very clear water and excellent conditions. There we saw about 10 sharks and underwater caves. There was such a strong current at one place that I swam and swam and couldn't feel any progress, so I started measuring by rocks. I would look at a rock like a meter away, and peddle very very fast, and half a minute later I'll be there, then I'll find another rock :)
After that we went to some green beach, but it was more brown than green, and there we saw flamingos in some lagoon.
Back on the boat we started navigating, and 6 dolphins appeared and were swimming at the front of the boat for around 5 minutes. These were the largest dolphins I saw.
Plan change. The navy for some reason decided to do a boat check, so we had to return back to Santa Cruz instead of Isabella. But the good thing is that at the evening all of us went to dance at a bar, and it was one of my best evenings out. I felt so relaxed (and yes, without any alcohol :) ), and danced all night long :)
At night we went to sleep on the deck again, but woke up all wet cause it started raining.
Day 7 - Isla Isabella
Since our boat was going through a check, we took a speed boat to Isla Isabella for 2 hours (it takes 7 hours with our boat to get there). They put us in the nicest hotel we've ever stayed in :) On the island we went to a turtle reproduction center. Their mission is to have as many turtles on the islands as there were years ago. I think around 200,000. When the pirates came to the island, they caught the turtles which were the closest to the beach, which were mostly females. Males are usually in higher parts, and that's why the population decreased so dramatically. Right now it's difficult for the population to grow due to all the introduced species. The pigs, mice, rats, donkeys eat the eggs. People even saw how a turtle was laying eggs while a pig was eating them right there on the spot. The island has a big program where they kill the introduced animals and chop down introduced plants, to return the island to the state as it was in before. The goats are the worst animals cause they destroy and erode all the landscape. So they catch some goats, put chips in them, and let them go. And since goats are social animals, they find herds of goats, and then people go in helicopters and kill all the goats around. In 3 years they already killed 150,000 goats.
When they created the national park, there were turtles everywhere, and on some people's properties too. The people were given a choice either to give the turtles away or if they choose to keep it and something happens to them, then the people have to pay the price of the turtle. Most of the people gave the turtles away, but there were 3 who decided to keep them, and they put a chain around their legs so they won't run away. The chain was so tight that it cut the blood flow to the leg. 2 turtles were fine, but with the other one, they had to amputate the leg. Since there is no technology to do that in Ecuador, they flew the turtle to U.S. for operation!! I couldn't believe it !! All 3 of these people were arrested and put to jail.
When there was an eruption of the volcano, they also sent helicopters and rescued all the turtles who were close to the lava.
Btw, the islands are called Galapagos, because years ago when ships arrived there, they saw these huge turtles. The people saddled them. And "saddle" in some language is Galapago.
Next day me and Geoff stayed on Isabella to do a volcano hike. The volcano has the 2nd largest crater in the world 10 km in diameter. We drove for 45 minutes, and it was funny how the driver slowed down and beeped at birds who were flying near the road :) It's so nice how all the people really care about nature and the environment.
This hike wasn't too bad, because the car got us almost all the way up. But it was long!! We were walking from 9 - 4. Since it's a mountain, on one side there are always clouds and rain and on the other side it's all sunny and dry. So half of the walk was in pure mud :)
The crater is beautiful and huge, you can't see anything except the crater all around. It's still very hot inside, so when it rains, the water goes into the soil, and then it evaporates and creates these steams. The weather is funny up there, it changes from minute to minute. It could rain, then sunny, then windy, then foggy, completely unpredictable. After the big volcano, we came to the little volcanoes. The landscape is very interesting in there. We were joking that nothing really landed on Mars, these videos were shot on Isabella. The vegetation goes from green to absolutely nothing. Last eruption was around 30 years ago, and the lava burnt everything it touched. The rock formations are very interesting. In some places it's filled with multiple colors. It looked like someone had a paint fight in there :) There are a lot of lava tunnels in there, and some weird colorful holes for no reason. A bunch of structures that look like fluid liquid in solid form, like waterfalls. In the middle of the hike I started feeling land sick. I was fine on the boat, but once got on land, everything started flowing around me. When we got back, we went to the dock to book the boat back to Santa Cruz. I let Geoff handle the negotiations, and fell asleep on the bench nearby. Geoff didn't see me and went back to the hotel. All dirty from the hike, I got up with a headache, and walked side to side back to the hotel. Somebody asked me if I was drunk :), and the first car that went to the center stopped and said that I look like I need a ride :)
Next day woke up at 4:30 am to catch the boat back to Santa Cruz. We went to the agency to complain about the AC, and they pretty easily agreed to give $50 back each. We were pleasantly surprised. Me and Geoff wanted to do different things. I wanted to go diving, and he wanted to go snorkeling on another island, so he went to St. Cristobel. I couldn't do the deep dive where everything happens because I don't have the license, so I could only go 12 meters deep. I went with 4 more divers, while they were diving, I was snorkeling, then I dive, and then snorkel again. The boat left me beside a huge rock in the middle of nowhere. It's very deep in there, I couldn't see the bottom at all, and on the other side it's completely dark blue. The waves are huge throwing me side from side, and current is pretty strong. I lift up my head, and the boat is pretty far ... all I'm thinking breath, just breath ... HEEEELLPPPPP !!!! But after 5 minutes I calmed down :) While snorkeling, I saw 5 turtles, some playful and very curious seals circling me, and 2 sharks. With one shark it was scary. The visibility wasn't that great, so it came out of nowhere, just swimming towards me, and it was a bit bigger than other sharks I've seen. It came 2 meters from me, and then swam under me. Then it was my turn to dive. It wasn't super interesting, with 12 meters depths, I didn't see much. The instructor said that I did very well, and if they had an additional tank, they would take me to do a deep dive ... oh well ... I guess I'll do the license in Peru where it's cheaper.
Overall the trip and Galapagos was amazing !! It felt like somebody took me from the real world and put me into a fairytale. The only downside of the trip, is why and where would I snorkel again, and which other place on earth will drop my jaw for 2 weeks straight? :))
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/Galapagos#
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