< Continued from page 3
Galapagos Marine Life
I have already mentioned going snorkeling for the first time in my life. I was actually lucky enough to snorkel on six occasions during our week amongst the Galapagos Islands. It was a lot of fun.
In addition to my close encounters with a marine turtle and some playful sea lions, I saw large numbers of fish of different colours, sizes and varieties, together with star fish and sea urchins.
I even saw a couple of nurse sharks, albeit - thankfully - well below me.
However, the most memorable marine life we saw was a pod of dolphins on the second morning of our cruise. We arose early that day to enjoy a 7am zodiac ride around Kicker Rock, being an interesting volcanic rock formation rising from the ocean. We skirted in and out of the nooks and crannies of the rocks for awhile - which was great fun in itself - before our zodiac driver suddenly took off and charged across the waves away from our cruise ship.
It turned out that our guide had spotted some dolphins frolicking in the water. We proceeded to tail them in our zodiac as they periodically leaped from the water in graceful arcs before surfing on the waves our own boat was creating. Boh and I were thrilled by the experience, as were many other of the guests.
The Rare Galapagos Lava Texans
We met some wonderful people whilst cruising on Celebrity Xpedition.
Special mention should be made of a Texan couple, who I shall name JR and Sue-Ellen for the purpose of this journal.
To use language they would understand, those two were a hoot!
JR and Sue-Ellen joined us for dinner the first night onboard Xpedition. It's fair to say, I think, that the four of us hit it off immediately. They had a sense of humour very similar to our own. We ended up dining together - sometimes with others - each night and going on most of the expeditions together. By the end of the cruise, the other friends we made onboard were in the habit of saving four seats for us - rather than two - because they knew we would be together.
JR had a sense for the ridiculous which we loved. He came up with an amusing theory that none of the animals on the islands were real and that they were merely animations being controlled in a computer room onboard the boat. So the guides would take us to the pre-arranged location and the captain in the computer room would put on a show. JR had us laughing until our sides ached as he developed his theory day-by-day.
He also pointed out, with his wry Texan smile, that fairly ordinary animals were made to seem exotic through the use of an exotic name. For example, a humble, common-place lizard was elevated to being a "lava lizard" and an everyday lady beetle was revered for being a "Galapagos lady beetle". Before long, thanks to JR, we were naming everything as a "Galapagos lava whatever..." in reverent tones. By the end of our trip, we agreed that the holy grail of Galapagos wildlife was the "Galapagos Lava Marine Flightless Rice Rat".
Sue-Ellen was adorable. Speaking with a very broad Texan accent - in our limited experience - she kept us entertained with her infectious giggle and girlish attitude. Whilst short of stature she was very big on personality.
Sue-Ellen and JR were with us during the incident described earlier when the bull sea lion was defending his territory. After our guide warned that the bull might bite our legs if we got in his way whilst in such a foul mood, Sue-Ellen made the perfectly reasonably enquiry as to what the guide would do to intervene. However, as a Texan born-and-bred, Sue-Ellen proposed a Texas solution to Galapagos problem. In short, she asked the guide whether she had a gun!
As a naturalist by profession and an animal lover at heart, our guide was horrified. She stopped in her tracks and looked at Sue-Ellen as though she were the devil himself.
From that moment on, there was a running joke about Sue-Ellen wanting to shoot the sea lions and harpoon the dolphins. The truth, of course, was that she adored the living creatures on the islands as much as anybody else. However, with one slip of her Texan tongue, the guide had Sue-Ellen painted as a redneck.
Whilst Sue-Ellen loved animals, she reserved a special hatred for the marine iguanas. On one occasion, we were returning to our zodiac to find that a large number of iguanas sleeping across our narrow path. Our guide advised us that our only option was to walk quietly, in single-file, through the nest. As long as we did not threaten the ugly creatures, they would not bite us. JR told Sue-Ellen that her best option was to swim around the headland. I suspect Sue-Ellen actually gave that option serious consideration before dismissing it as impossible. The poor thing ended up holding her breath as she painstakingly stepped through the iguanas' nest, desperate to avoid stepping on any tails.
As I am writing these words, we are entering our last afternoon at the Galapagos Islands, which means Boh and I will soon be saying goodbye to JR and Sue-Ellen, which makes us truly sad. Our adventures over the last week were made infinitely more entertaining for the unexpected friendship we quickly developed. We hope that the bond will be maintained through cyberspace and - hopefully - face-to-face on some future travels.
The Road Ahead
Sunday will see us returning to Quito for one night. We will fly to Lima the next morning for our journey around Peru, which will include visits to Cusco and Machu Picchu.
As we embark upon this phase of our adventure, we will, no doubt, reflect upon the wonderful week we had around the Galapagos Islands.
Galapagos Marine Life
I have already mentioned going snorkeling for the first time in my life. I was actually lucky enough to snorkel on six occasions during our week amongst the Galapagos Islands. It was a lot of fun.
In addition to my close encounters with a marine turtle and some playful sea lions, I saw large numbers of fish of different colours, sizes and varieties, together with star fish and sea urchins.
I even saw a couple of nurse sharks, albeit - thankfully - well below me.
However, the most memorable marine life we saw was a pod of dolphins on the second morning of our cruise. We arose early that day to enjoy a 7am zodiac ride around Kicker Rock, being an interesting volcanic rock formation rising from the ocean. We skirted in and out of the nooks and crannies of the rocks for awhile - which was great fun in itself - before our zodiac driver suddenly took off and charged across the waves away from our cruise ship.
It turned out that our guide had spotted some dolphins frolicking in the water. We proceeded to tail them in our zodiac as they periodically leaped from the water in graceful arcs before surfing on the waves our own boat was creating. Boh and I were thrilled by the experience, as were many other of the guests.
The Rare Galapagos Lava Texans
We met some wonderful people whilst cruising on Celebrity Xpedition.
Special mention should be made of a Texan couple, who I shall name JR and Sue-Ellen for the purpose of this journal.
To use language they would understand, those two were a hoot!
JR and Sue-Ellen joined us for dinner the first night onboard Xpedition. It's fair to say, I think, that the four of us hit it off immediately. They had a sense of humour very similar to our own. We ended up dining together - sometimes with others - each night and going on most of the expeditions together. By the end of the cruise, the other friends we made onboard were in the habit of saving four seats for us - rather than two - because they knew we would be together.
JR had a sense for the ridiculous which we loved. He came up with an amusing theory that none of the animals on the islands were real and that they were merely animations being controlled in a computer room onboard the boat. So the guides would take us to the pre-arranged location and the captain in the computer room would put on a show. JR had us laughing until our sides ached as he developed his theory day-by-day.
He also pointed out, with his wry Texan smile, that fairly ordinary animals were made to seem exotic through the use of an exotic name. For example, a humble, common-place lizard was elevated to being a "lava lizard" and an everyday lady beetle was revered for being a "Galapagos lady beetle". Before long, thanks to JR, we were naming everything as a "Galapagos lava whatever..." in reverent tones. By the end of our trip, we agreed that the holy grail of Galapagos wildlife was the "Galapagos Lava Marine Flightless Rice Rat".
Sue-Ellen was adorable. Speaking with a very broad Texan accent - in our limited experience - she kept us entertained with her infectious giggle and girlish attitude. Whilst short of stature she was very big on personality.
Sue-Ellen and JR were with us during the incident described earlier when the bull sea lion was defending his territory. After our guide warned that the bull might bite our legs if we got in his way whilst in such a foul mood, Sue-Ellen made the perfectly reasonably enquiry as to what the guide would do to intervene. However, as a Texan born-and-bred, Sue-Ellen proposed a Texas solution to Galapagos problem. In short, she asked the guide whether she had a gun!
As a naturalist by profession and an animal lover at heart, our guide was horrified. She stopped in her tracks and looked at Sue-Ellen as though she were the devil himself.
From that moment on, there was a running joke about Sue-Ellen wanting to shoot the sea lions and harpoon the dolphins. The truth, of course, was that she adored the living creatures on the islands as much as anybody else. However, with one slip of her Texan tongue, the guide had Sue-Ellen painted as a redneck.
Whilst Sue-Ellen loved animals, she reserved a special hatred for the marine iguanas. On one occasion, we were returning to our zodiac to find that a large number of iguanas sleeping across our narrow path. Our guide advised us that our only option was to walk quietly, in single-file, through the nest. As long as we did not threaten the ugly creatures, they would not bite us. JR told Sue-Ellen that her best option was to swim around the headland. I suspect Sue-Ellen actually gave that option serious consideration before dismissing it as impossible. The poor thing ended up holding her breath as she painstakingly stepped through the iguanas' nest, desperate to avoid stepping on any tails.
As I am writing these words, we are entering our last afternoon at the Galapagos Islands, which means Boh and I will soon be saying goodbye to JR and Sue-Ellen, which makes us truly sad. Our adventures over the last week were made infinitely more entertaining for the unexpected friendship we quickly developed. We hope that the bond will be maintained through cyberspace and - hopefully - face-to-face on some future travels.
The Road Ahead
Sunday will see us returning to Quito for one night. We will fly to Lima the next morning for our journey around Peru, which will include visits to Cusco and Machu Picchu.
As we embark upon this phase of our adventure, we will, no doubt, reflect upon the wonderful week we had around the Galapagos Islands.
Source...