Our Easter islands are in the Galápagos, since today (Easter Sunday-April 5th) we visited both Rabida and Santa Cruz islands. Our morning kicked off with our tour director, Dale, playing Easter Bunny, by delivering Easter chocolates to our cabins. I love a day that starts with chocolate!!
This morning began with another scorching walk along the sandy beach and inland lagoon of Rábida Island. We hunted in vain for a Vermillion flycatcher, but as they have become endangered, we were not successful. We found a very friendly brown pelican, though. As we walked further along the beach, we did see a young seal on the beach, who obligingly posed for many photo ops with us.
Rabida IslandRabida Island
Rabida Island
Rabida Island
Rabida IslandRabida IslandRabida Island
We then returned to our landing site and cooled off with another great snorkel along the coast. We got to borrow a GoPro camera and shot some underwater video, which was especially cool when we saw some brown pelicans fishing right next to us. We even saw a reef shark swimming around!
Rabida IslandRabida Island
In the late afternoon we landed on Santa Cruz Island, and saw signs that the sea turtles had recently left their eggs in the sand. We wandered inland around a salt marsh and watched the waterfowl at play. In particular, there were pintail ducks. We had hoped to see flamingos, but our hopes were dashed. However, as we walked further inland, we started seeing large numbers of land iguanas. Seemingly, all the males were in the mood for a little lovin’. The females seemed to be staying as far away as possible. It appears male iguanas need to step up their game some. Having now taken about 500 iguana pictures alone, we went back to the ship and toasted a great cruise with the crew. Tomorrow, we fly back to Guayquil, and the next day, home at last.
This, dear Reader, concludes Part I of our South American sojourn. Since, as you can tell, the postings on this leg got seriously behind, we will commence the postings from the second part of exploration of South America immediately. Stay tuned for our adventures in Bolivia!
Today, April 4th, we visited Isabela island in the Galápagos. The largest of all of the islands in the Galápagos archipelago (and shaped like a sea horse), Isabela is home to two of the iconic species of the islands: the Galápagos tortoise and the land iguana. Charles Darwin based his studies on the role of natural selection in part on his observations of Galápagos tortoises. Isabela was created out of six volcanoes, and Luke the rest of this area, is very seismically active. So much so that the area where we had our first hike (Urbina Bay) was part of the seabed less than until and earthquake in the 1950s lifted up a major portion of the seabed in the 1950s, and parts of the path we walked was lined with dead mangove trees that had lived by the ocean.
The intrepid adventurer ready for the day’s exploration!
Almost immediately, we saw a female Galápagos tortoise walking down the path. You can somewhat tell how old a tortoise is by counting the rings on its shell. This youngster appeared to be merely 50-75 years old. A very young Galápagos tortoise brought back by Darwin in the early 1800s ( and probably born about 1800-1810) lived with an Australian family over several generations until its death in 2006.
Land Iguana
Have we mentioned that it’s hot here?!!! As we walked through the lava landscape and the shrubby trees, which are toxic to touch, it felt like the volcanoes were still erupting. After we saw a land iguana, which was actually kind of pretty (orange and yellow instead of the dull black lava color of its marine cousins), all I could think about was flinging myself in the ocean just steps away from this hike through hell! But no, we kept marching (think Bataan death march) until we had seen a total of 10 tortoises and iguanas each. Since most of them were hiding in the shrubs under the shade of the toxic manzanita trees, and thus, could not be photographed decently, I thought this was a little excessive.
After surviving the hike, we returned to the ship for lunch and the ship moved to the northern end of Isabela Island for our afternoon snorkel. We could see lots of turtles swimming with us, as well as the ever present seals. There were plenty of nesting pairs of flightless cormorants on the rocks surrounding our snorkeling spot. There was even one penguin on the rocks where we were snorkeling. We tried to get him to come in and play with us, but he was playing coy.
The Captain repositioned the ship to Punta Vincente Roca off the northern most end of Isabela island, and we took a panga ride in the late afternoon. Among the highlights, we had fun watching a large group of seals frolicking in the waves as the tide came in against the rocks. Which raised the question: What is a group of seals called? Pod or colony seems to be the most common, but…. Crash, Harem, Herd, rookery, spring and also team are used. I’m going to go with “Pod”, as in, we had fun watching a large pod of seals swimming in the surf.
We also saw brown pelicans, blue footed Boobys, Nazca Boobys, nesting colonies of frigate birds, and of course, the ever present marine iguanas. The sea turtles swam right up to the panga. As we rode along the coast, we took the panga into a huge sea cave, which was part of the caldera of one of Isabela’s volcanoes. Our little penguin mascot was also still sitting on his rock.
As we sailed away from Isabela, we crossed the Equator for the sixth time this trip, and we toasted the sunset with champagne, and were given new fish-oriented names by the crew. You have to know the secret handshake to learn our new secret names! It has been a very full day!!!!
Today, Good Friday (April 3rd,) was very good indeed. We started off with a dry landing on Fernadina Island; one of the youngest of the Galápagos Islands. As we approached the shore, you could see countless iguana heads bobbing in the sea. As we landed on the lava fields, the challenge was trying to find a place to walk where you were not stepping on iguanas. Truthfully, it was more than a little creepy! Despite the desert atmosphere, it was almost reminiscent of Antarctica as the aroma of iguana poo was pervasive!😉
Swimming iguana
Carpets of iguanas
As we toured the island, in addition to the iguanas, we were in the hunt to see flightless cormorants, who can dive to a depth of over 60 feet, but cannot fly. We saw one nesting pair already sitting on their nest with two eggs inside. We also saw some herons, a young hawk, and some Pelicans. However, by the time our 2 hour tour was done, all any of us could focus on was the lure of our snorkeling expedition.
Galapagos hawk
Isabela Island
Even more than the refreshment of the water after our lava hike, the sea life was amazing! As we approached the dive site, once again, the rocks were carpeted with iguanas, with lots more of the little suckers bobbIng in the surf. I was somewhat surprised to find them very graceful and appealing as we watched them grazing on the marine algae. The fish were again amazing in both their quantity and diversity. Right as we dropped in, there was a whole school of baby pufferfish and it only got better from there!
The highlight was the few moments we saw first a large sea turtle grazing, then an iguana joined the party, and finally, a sea lion plunged in, and twirled around, as if to say, “What about me?!” Don’t forget to play with me!”
After lunch, the Captain moved the boat to Fernandina island. Later this afternoon, we had an opportunity to go kayaking. Noteworthy moment: it was the first time Jim and I had shared a kayak without wanting to brain each other with the paddles! Even though it was spitting rain, we set off, and saw more cormorant, some great brown pelicans and more fur seals.
This afternoon, we again took the pangas out to see if we could spot some Galápagos penguins. SCORE!!!!
In addition to the Galápagos penguins, we saw a great blue heron, more fur seals and some Blue-footed Boobys nesting in the cliffs around Tagus Cove.
This morning started off with a killer panga ride along the cliffs and outlying islets of Santiago Island. Fair warning, it’s REALLY hard to take decent pictures when you’re sitting on the side of of bobbing little boat, so some of these photos are more, shall we say suggestive, of what we saw than truly representational. However, the later land-based photos will hopefully make up for it.
During the panga ride, we saw the first of the Blue-footed Boobys for which the Galápagos are famous. However, even more cool, we saw lots of sea turtle bobbing in the waves! A blue heron graced us with his presence on a rock outcropping really close to our boat. Then we got to see some Manta rays breaking the surface, as the chased some amazing schools of surgeon fish massing at the surface. As a preview of things to come, we also saw our first marine iguana basking in the sun. This afternoon, we hope to see more of these prehistoric-looking reptiles.
Santiago IslandSantiago IslandSantiago IslandSantiago IslandSantiago IslandSantiago IslandBrown Pelican
A pirate’s crewSantiago IslandA marine iguanaThe Blue HeronBishop’s RockSantiago Island
Then we returned to the ship for some snorkel time.
Later that afternoon, we landed on Santiago, and were immediately greeted by more fur seals. We even captured some video of a baby fur seal nursing!
Fur sealsSantiago IslandSantiago IslandFur Seal NursingSantiago IslandSantiago IslandMarine IguanaSantiago IslandSome other kind of lizardMarine Iguana blocking the path
As we hiked over the lava, we began to see the marine iguanas, as well as some lizards. We dodged a small rainstorm, and then I spent some time chasing Sally Lightfoot crabs through the tide pools for pictures, and we even got some decent late afternoon seashore shots. We’re looking forward to another great day tomorrow.
Another one!Farewell to Santiago IslandMarine Iguana & Sally Lightfoot crabs
Our story resumes at sea some six hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador , in the Galápagos Islands, moored off Isla de Genovesa on this, the first day of April, in the year 2015. Yesterday, we flew from Guayaquil to San Cristobál Island, where we boarded our small expeditionary yacht, the Isabela II. Our cabins are very comfortable, if small, and there are only 22 cabins. We spent the afternoon and evening being briefed on safety and ecological protocols, which are very strict here. Here is the map of where we will go.
Generally, we landed on San Cristobal island, and in this order, will visit Geneovesa, Santiago, Isabella and Fernandina and back to Isabella, Rabida, and end on Santa Cruz Island.
Arriving in the Galapagosos Islands
The day began with a panga (which is what the locals call the small Zodiaks we use) tour along the cliffs of Genovesa Island, to our landing spot at Prince Phillip steps. We climbed up some challenging stone steps about 150 yards to get to the lava fields on the top of the island which are nesting grounds for the frigate birds and the Nazca boobies and red-footed boobies, among tons of other bird life.
Right away, we saw the frigate birds who were at the height of their mating season. How do we know this, dear readers?! Because the males have a huge red air sac under their necks which they inflate into giant bulbous balloons as they are hunting for female frigates with whom to mate. Some of them stay in this condition for very long periods of time, which led to many funny Viagra jokes amongst our fellow travelers. We also saw a bunch of fur seals right on the rocks next to the stairs, resting after a big morning swim.
As soon as we got to the top of the stairs, we were virtually surrounded by horny frigate birds, in the sky, on the ground, and in the bushes. In many cases, even when you couldn’t see the frigates, you could see these giant red balloons sticking out of the bushes.
We also saw the Nazca and red-footed boobies nesting in the bushes and on the ground. While some were building nests or sitting on their nests, we also got to see baby boobies being fed. It was pretty cool. However, the height of the morning for me was that as we hiked across the lava fields, we found an owl hiding in the lava crevices hunting for its prey. We stalked it long enough, we even got to see it leave its hiding place to attempt an attack.
Mommy Red-footed Booby feedings its chickNazca Booby
Our ship, the Isabela II
Then we returned to the ship to do some some snorkeling off the pangas. The snorkeling was pretty awesome, and the water was about 78 degrees. Jim got to see a manta ray, but I was elsewhere. I had fun helping one of our tour members overcome her apprehension, so we could expose her to the wonders of the undersea world. Some of the seal lions came very close to us and played around where we were snorkeling. How cool!
We returned to the ship for lunch, and the Captain moved the ship to another part of the island, where we went to see more boobies and frigates, and to see if we could spot some fur seals. Score on all three counts! We had a wet landing this time on a small secluded beach where we were the only people. right away, we saw some nesting red-footed boobies. This part of the island has completely different terrain than our landing site this morning, with lots of tide pools, low mangrove trees, sandy beaches, and lots of cactus. In some of the larger tide pools, we could see small sting rays flitting around, and as we looked over, there was a baby fur seal playing in a rock crevice!
short tailed gull
baby fur sealSmall sting ray in a tide pool
We walked along the beach and saw hundreds of frigate birds, all puffed up and looking for their mates. There were also jillions of Sally Lightfoot crabs, which are so attractive with their bright orange and blue coloring. Finally, we took advantage of the lovely secluded beach, and took a plunge while we were waiting for the pangas to come to take us back our floating home. tomorrow promises to be another great day!
This morning, Palm Sunday, we awoke in our luxurious surroundings at the Belmond Monasterio, where we had a lovely breakfast overlooking the courtyard of the monastery. We left to tour the Plaza de Armas, which is the central plaza in Cusco, surrounded by fabulous Colonial-era buildings, including the Cathedral of St. Francis, which is a perfect Baroque building. It’s bells were ringing constantly in honor of Palm Sunday.
We met our bus at the plaza and rode to the outskirts of Cusco which is built around a bowl. We then visited another Incan ruin called Saqsaywaman, which was a giant Temple of the Sun and Moon site, and probably pre-existed the Incan empire. The intricacy of the stone work and engineering was amazing, particularly given the absolutely immense sizes of the stones they used!
Our next stop was the weavers’ cooperative at Awana Kancha. This was a really fun stop (not just for the shopping opportunities), because we got to see and feed alpacas, llamas, vicuñas, and they also raised guanacos. Then we got to see the collective members demonstrating all the steps in preparing and weaving the wool. They also had some fantastic and unique woven pieces for sale.
We returned to town and proceeded to the Cathedral of St. Francis, now that it had emptied of the Palm Sunday crowds. The glitter inside this church is gob-smacking, because almost every surface had been covered with gold and silver, entirely looted from the Incans. The thing I found most interesting about the church was that the priests had employed Incan artists to do most of the carvings and pairings in the church. Although they had nominally been “converted”, their artwork displayed that they were still following the Incan faith, as the images, particularly of the saints and madonnas showed Incan motifs. The best example of this was a painting of the Last Supper where the main platter showed not the traditional loaf of bread, but instead, what was clearly a roasted guinea pig!
Jim and I wandered around the town a little more, and shared a glass of wine in a pub overlooking the plaza. We finished the day by sharing a terrific meal at a fantastic restaurant called Chi Cha, which is one of the restaurants operated by the famous chef Gaston of the great Peruvian restaurants called Astrid y Gaston. Our friends, Scott and Liz, joined us for this adventure.
Tomorrow, we leave early for Quayaquil, where we’ll have a brief overnight before leaving for the Galápagos, which will be our next post.
Today I awoke at 5:45 to check the weather to see whether I should climb up to the Sun Gate to see the sun rise over the ruins. However, the weather was not cooperating as it looked like the entire mountain was cloaked in clouds and fog. Instead, Jim went on a guided tour of another part of the ruins, while I opted just to go commune with the ruins in the fog.
Walking in the steps of the ancients was just unreal! I watched the fog roll in and roll out several times and watched the llamas grazing on the terraces. These pictures don’t do it justice, but even the clouds seemed imbued with their own grandeur!
We returned to the lodge for breakfast, and then back down to the train for our ride back to Ollantaytambo, and on on to Cusco. As we rode down the valley, the sun came out and gave us a glorious ride down. The train personnel served us a great lunch, and entertained us with a spirit dancer and a fashion show.
We then made our long drive back down through the Andes to the city of Cusco, admiring the gorgeous vistas all the way!
Upon our arrival in Cusco, we went directly to the Convent of Santo Domingo, which is built directly upon the ruins of the Incan palace and temple of Korikancha. When the Spaniards arrived in Perú, Cusco was the epicenter of the Incan empire, and Korikancha was its tribute to the greatness of that empire. Even the gardens of Korikancha were clad in gold, and the site contained the most important temples to the sun and moon in the empire. Needless to say, the conquistadors proceeded to tear the temple and palace buildings down, and melted all the gold and silver to embellish the alters and interiors of the Cathedral of San Francisco on the square in Cusco, they built upon the foundations and partial remaining walls of Korikancha. In a cosmic twist of fate, the Convent has been destroyed several times by earthquakes, but the foundations and walks built by the Incans remained undamaged!
We then checked into our hotel, the Belmond Monasterio. This has been rated one of the top hotels in the world, and it deserves its billing! We were greeted in the former chapel of the monastery, and taken to our room which was formerly a monk’s room ( OK, maybe two monks’ rooms!), which had been thoroughly and beautifully modernized.
After we checked in, we walked around the town a bit , shopped a bit, and returned to the hotel for a great dinner!
It’s finally the day we get to see Machu Picchu (Mar. 27, 2015). When we arose this morning, the Andes were capped in clouds which added a whole mystical element to our journey. It’s about a two hour train ride from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu, but we stopped first in the old town of Ollantaytambo to visit a local family who has lived in the town for centuries in their home which was originally built by the Incans. We talked with our hostess about traditional life and watched her cooking while her guinea pigs ran around under foot.
Shortly thereafter, we left for the train station to ride the beautiful Peru Rail trains to the station at Aguas Calientes, where you board the bus to ride up to the entrance of the national park. We got to ride in one of those rail cars that has glass panels in the ceiling and picture windows so we could see our whole ascent up the valley, with the Urubamba river running alongside . The rail cars were lovely, as you might expect from the company that owns the Orient Express.
The bus let us off in front of our hotel, the Belmond Sanctuary, which is the only hotel right on the grounds of the national park. The entrance to the park is literally about 100 steps from the entrance of the hotel. After we eat lunch, the clouds are clearing and we are ready for our assault on Machu Picchu. words can’t describe this experience, so I hope the pictures tell a fraction of the drama and majesty.
After such a big day, we had a fabulous dinner at the hotel and hit the sack!. Will we or won’t we hike to the Sun Gate tomorrow morning to capture the sunrise? Let’s see …
Today, March 26th, we left Lima to fly into the Andes. We landed in Cusco, which was formerly the center of the entire Incan empire. At over 11,000 feet, the Andes at this altitude take some getting used to, even for experienced skiers like us. Luckily, the locals are prepared for how common this problem is, so there are vendors selling coca candies, and we immediately boarded a bus to drive to Urubamba. everywhere you go, you are also offered tea made from coca to combat altitude sickness. It’s not narcotic, but weirdly, does seem to really help cut the worse affects of altitude sickness (which for us, is usually just a heavy-duty headache).
After about a two hour journey to our wonderful eco-lodge called Sol y Luna,
Sol y Luna resort
we left to visit our first Incan monument, the fortress at Ollantaytambo. As we drove, we could see the giant valley the Incas called the Sacred Valley with the Urubamba river running through it.
Urubamba River
The town of Ollantaytambo is an ancient one, with the current houses and businesses all still standing atop their Incan stone foundations. The terraced fortress site was amazing, and you could not help but wonder about the advanced civilization that built it!
Yes, Jim and I actually hiked about 2/3 up these stone terraces to get a better view of the Sacred Valley. The things I’ll do to catch the shot even amaze me sometimes!
After we had our fill of Ollantaytambo and its marvels, we returned to our lodge for a show about the spirit world of the Incas and a fine dinner. Tomorrow, Machu Picchu!
We left Rio on March 23, 2015, to fly to Lima to join our next tour, which has us traveling to both the Andean region of Perú (and Machu Picchu), as well as to Ecuador to see the Galápagos Islands. Both of these destinations have been on our bucket lists for years, and we’re really excited to set off on our new adventure!
Our first day in Lima was a down day so we could recharge our batteries after the last trip, including having a mountain of laundry done at the hotel, and having the all-important nail appointment. Our hotel, the Belmond Miraflores, is incredibly nice, and Jim checked out the rooftop pool and bar. There’s also a beautiful open air mall built into the hillside above the coast right next to our hotel. After watching the sun set over the Pacific, Jim and I had dinner outside at a great Peruvian restaurant in that mall, called Tantu.
The next day, we joined our new tour group, and set off for central Lima to see the private museum of Rafael Lorca Herrera. What an amazing museum dedicated to Pre-Colombian Peru! Just the sheer size and diversity of the collection was mind-boggling, particularly in this day and age where comparable cultural cache are usually in the hands of the government.
In the Museo Larco Herrera
However, I think most of us would agree that the highlight of the day was our visit to a hacienda just outside Lima where the family raises and shows the famous Peruvian Paso horses.
These beautiful horses are distinguished by their unique gait which has all four of their legs moving at the same time (as opposed to the two by two style of all other horses). Once you get used to it, the benefit is that it is a much more comfortable gait, particularly if you are going to spend hours in the saddle. Luckily, we only had to ride around the arena, and then we were treated to a great barbeque and show of folkloric dancing, Peruvian style.
We ended our day with a tour of downtown Lima and with dinner in a historical mansion.
The Belmond Miraflores by night.The cathedral on the central plazaCentral plaza in downtown Lima
Tomorrow, March 26th, we fly to Cusco, to begin our Andean adventure.
Vaya con Gringos 
