I have wanted to go to the Galápagos ever since 1969,
when my first job at La Trobe University was assisting Professor Thornton
dissect and describe the Psocoptera book lice he had collected from the various
Galápagos
Islands. As a biologist I was
well aware of the role the islands had played in Charles Darwin’s formulation
of his theory of the Origin of Species. It was brought to the attention of TV
viewers more recently by David Attenborough in his excellent coverage of the
biological and geological history of the islands. Most of the volcanic islands
in the archipelago, like the Hawaiian islands, have been formed as the Nazca
tectonic plate moves south-east at 5 cm a year over a hot spot in the earth’s
crust. Española in the south east is the oldest and Fernandina in the north
west is the youngest, although further north Roca Redonda is the tip of the
next island that is forming.
Drew and I arrived on May 24th before the main cruise to have
a couple of days to get over the gruelling trip: 12 hr flight Sydney to
Santiago had us arriving a few hours before we left, then a 7 hr transit in the
lounge (sleeping on cushions on the floor of the lounge alongside other
Australians from the same flight), followed by a 4 hr flight to Guayaquil. We
didn’t care that the Guayaquil hotel we had booked on the internet was rather
basic – the bed was all that mattered!
Early next morning, May 23rd, we flew into the new airport on Baltra Island, a small Galápagos islands just north of circular Santa Cruz Island, then a bus, ferry across the Itabaca canal to Santa Cruz , and another bus finally delivered us to the Red Mangrove hotel on the harbour in Puerto Ayura , where we had breakfast and met the first local inhabitants.
Early next morning, May 23rd, we flew into the new airport on Baltra Island, a small Galápagos islands just north of circular Santa Cruz Island, then a bus, ferry across the Itabaca canal to Santa Cruz , and another bus finally delivered us to the Red Mangrove hotel on the harbour in Puerto Ayura , where we had breakfast and met the first local inhabitants.
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| Marine iguanas and sea lions basking on the hotel deck |
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| ...and the lounges! --- reminded me of Soju. |
Our
very comfortable accommodation (4 rooms on 6 levels) was in the Divers Lodge a
couple of blocks away from the main Red Mangrove Hotel.
The main street of the town, the tourist drag with shops and
restaurants, was a short walk along the foreshore past the busy fish market,
where the brown pelicans seemed to be the main customers.
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| Puerto Ayura fishing boats in harbour |
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