So the Fuller Family newest great adventure begins in the Galápagos Islands. We arrived in Quito, Ecuador on Friday evening and spent a night in the very nice Wyndham Hotel at the airport. They had a sign that declared they were voted the best airport hotel in South America-- and I believe them! It is both convenient and modern.
We hopped on a plane the next morning to fly to the island of Baltra in the Galápagos where we are "glamping" in the very nice and accommodating Safari lodge! We are staying in luxurious tents complete with some Wi-Fi and electricity and nice bathroom.
But before we checked into the Lodge, and after clearing a rigorous customs procedure at the airport, we met our fantastic guide, Carla. Then the REAL adventure began. We traveled by boat (we left our luggage to be delivered to the Lodge) to the island of Santa Cruz. The landscape varies greatly. Y the airport it is very arid - semi desert with large volcanic rocks and cacti. The water is so clear and with a white sandy bottom, the ocean takes on a glorious aqua blue color! After crossing to Santa Cruz we drove up to the highlands where we saw some large ancient craters - remnants of the volcanic era when the islands were formed. There are no active volcanos on Baltra. However, last year there were two eruptions on two of the islands in the Galápagos group. We hiked on some trails to visit old lava tubes. KC loved "the caves" and kept wanting to go back. But we had more adventures awaiting us.
Off we went to have lunch and visit a Tortoise Reserve.
We saw lots of these amazing animals - now an endangered species, with a population of 25000, down from over 200,000!
Next we went to have lunch in the Tortoise reserve where we saw LOTS of Tortoises. We saw one that was around 30 years old and a very large one that was around 80 years old, There are 11 recorded species of Tortoises in the Galápagos and then two more that are considered hybrids. A Tortoise May live one year without food or water and they may live up to two hundred years.
We had a lovely dinner outside on the Lodge deck with delicious food that they were gracious enough to customize for our varying tastes.
We also saw some Galápagos Sea Lions by the boat dock. The girls were thrilled, both with the Sea Lions and the Tortoises! Gaby is, unfortunately, a bit under the weather so she was fairly quiet. She seems a bit better today so we hope she’s close to being over whatever she has picked up.
We also drove to the "highlands" area of the island where we saw the canopies of the Secasia trees. When they are small trees, they have very large and very velvety soft leaves because they are competing for sunshine. As they grow taller and that is no longer an issue, the leaves become very tiny. These trees are endemic to these islands and have been here long before man arrived.
The pirates and early explorers decimated the Tortoise population. They were hunted for food and their shells. Today they are working very hard to restore the population. Rats, brought by the early sailing ships also hurt the Tortoise population. Just about five years ago, they discovered a type of rat poison that is on,y harmful to the rats. That has brought the rat population down and for the first time in almost 50 years, 10 hatchlings were spotted this past December! Tomorrow we go fishing for our dinner! Good luck on that one. Both Trey and Bill are notorious for bringing bad luck to a fishing boat.... We’ll see.....maybe two negatives will make a positive!
It’s late and I’m looking for bed! More tomorrow....
.
We hopped on a plane the next morning to fly to the island of Baltra in the Galápagos where we are "glamping" in the very nice and accommodating Safari lodge! We are staying in luxurious tents complete with some Wi-Fi and electricity and nice bathroom.
But before we checked into the Lodge, and after clearing a rigorous customs procedure at the airport, we met our fantastic guide, Carla. Then the REAL adventure began. We traveled by boat (we left our luggage to be delivered to the Lodge) to the island of Santa Cruz. The landscape varies greatly. Y the airport it is very arid - semi desert with large volcanic rocks and cacti. The water is so clear and with a white sandy bottom, the ocean takes on a glorious aqua blue color! After crossing to Santa Cruz we drove up to the highlands where we saw some large ancient craters - remnants of the volcanic era when the islands were formed. There are no active volcanos on Baltra. However, last year there were two eruptions on two of the islands in the Galápagos group. We hiked on some trails to visit old lava tubes. KC loved "the caves" and kept wanting to go back. But we had more adventures awaiting us.
Off we went to have lunch and visit a Tortoise Reserve.
We saw lots of these amazing animals - now an endangered species, with a population of 25000, down from over 200,000!
Next we went to have lunch in the Tortoise reserve where we saw LOTS of Tortoises. We saw one that was around 30 years old and a very large one that was around 80 years old, There are 11 recorded species of Tortoises in the Galápagos and then two more that are considered hybrids. A Tortoise May live one year without food or water and they may live up to two hundred years.
We had a lovely dinner outside on the Lodge deck with delicious food that they were gracious enough to customize for our varying tastes.
We also saw some Galápagos Sea Lions by the boat dock. The girls were thrilled, both with the Sea Lions and the Tortoises! Gaby is, unfortunately, a bit under the weather so she was fairly quiet. She seems a bit better today so we hope she’s close to being over whatever she has picked up.
We also drove to the "highlands" area of the island where we saw the canopies of the Secasia trees. When they are small trees, they have very large and very velvety soft leaves because they are competing for sunshine. As they grow taller and that is no longer an issue, the leaves become very tiny. These trees are endemic to these islands and have been here long before man arrived.
The pirates and early explorers decimated the Tortoise population. They were hunted for food and their shells. Today they are working very hard to restore the population. Rats, brought by the early sailing ships also hurt the Tortoise population. Just about five years ago, they discovered a type of rat poison that is on,y harmful to the rats. That has brought the rat population down and for the first time in almost 50 years, 10 hatchlings were spotted this past December! Tomorrow we go fishing for our dinner! Good luck on that one. Both Trey and Bill are notorious for bringing bad luck to a fishing boat.... We’ll see.....maybe two negatives will make a positive!
It’s late and I’m looking for bed! More tomorrow....
.
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