Galapagos: Arrival at San Cristóbal

In early May Joan and I, along with our good friend Richard (Rick) Inge, visited the Galapagos with Lindblad Expeditions. To avoid connection worries we took a direct flight to Miami with Delta, followed by a six-hour layover before the Lindblad group flight on American to Guayaquil, Ecuador. In the several months since making our reservations, American had "changed equipment" twice, each time automatically reassigning seats -- each time separating Joan and me. The final reassignment happened no more than a day or two before departure, and we didn't discover it until check-in.

In Miami we tried to rectify this. Whitney at the American "Admirals Club" tried valiantly to fix the seating, but she couldn't. She did phone us before our plane started boarding to let us know that she hadn't succeeded. Once aboard we were able to arrange a swap with another passenger, so Joan and I were able to sit together.

As we approached Ecuador the American flight attended handed out immigration forms, one per family. However, at Ecuadorian passport control, we discovered it should have been one per person. Fortunately they accepted the solo form and waved us through.

In customs there was another form to turn in, which American had not passed out. The customs official in charge of collecting the forms wouldn't give us any, saying "they should have been handed out on the airplane." After five or ten anxious minutes another customs official told her to give us the forms, regardless.

There was a festive crowd packed into the arrivals hallway; some people were holding balloons and banners. Tomorrow was Mother's Day, a major holiday in Ecuador. Once our Lindblad group was assembled we were taken to our hotel (it was now midnight-ish in Guayaquil).

We tried to get some sleep and then returned to the airport. Our flight was destined for San Cristóbal, the easternmost of the Galapagos Islands and one of two airports in the archipelago. On the way our carry-on luggage was sprayed to prevent introduction of non-native insects. We received an aerial tour of San Cristóbal when the plane had to break off its first landing (something about communications with the tower) and fly around again.

On arrival our carry-ons were X-rayed to detect any contraband. Then we were bused to the port district of Puerto Moreno, the main town of the island. We were free to walk the boardwalk, gawk at the animals, or grab a drink while our ship finished its turnover cleanup. (Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar as its official currency, so no conversion or exchange is needed.)

This is a Sally Lightfoot crab. We would see lots of them in the coming week.

These sea lions (not "seals") were taking it easy.

Some were in the water to keep cool.

Also present was a striated heron, until recently called a lava heron, but it's been decided that it's not endemic to the Galapagos.

Somehow this sea lion was comfy on the rocks. Must be all the insulating blubber.

There was interesting architecture on the other side of the shoreline street.

Our friend Rick was having a great time, having realized a long-term dream of visiting the Galapagos.

Transfers to and from our ship, the National Geographic Islander, were by zodiac.

Boarding the Islander (click on any photo to enlarge).

Before we cluttered it up, I took this panoramic photo of our cabin. Panoramic photos do make things look larger than they really are.

Looking back at Puerto Moreno from the Islander. There are lots of tour vessels parked here.


Our expedition leader, Lynn Fowler, gave us a briefing. The agency regulating tourism in the Galapagos has divided the day into 3 segments, 6am-10am, 10am-2pm, and 2pm-6pm. (Here on the equator the sun always rises about 6am and always sets about 6pm.) Luckily, and through Lindblad's foresight, our groups will go ashore during the 6-10 and 2-6 slots. Between 10 and 2 there may be time for a siesta, presentations, and always time for lunch. The unlucky or unprepared companies must send tours ashore during the midday sun.

Today after lunch we picked up our snorkeling gear, that is, wet suit, mask, snorkel, and fins. The guides were expert at matching us to wet suit sizes just by holding one up in front of each person.

Then it was time for an introductory hike to "Frigate Hill". The shipboard complement of about 41 guests split into three groups, each with a naturalist guide. Joan and I were in the group led by Christian Saa.

Early on there were a few lingering hibiscus blooms.

Soon we spotted a lava lizard. The species here on San Cristóbal is endemic (limited to) this island.

The lower level of the trail.

Just a few minutes higher up we entered a zone heavier with trees.

We saw several species of birds, including the San Cristóbal mockingbird, also endemic to the island.

A gorgeous yellow warbler or two.

There was talk of a female vermilion flycatcher, but that's been declared extinct on San Cristóbal.

Near the high point of the hike we could look down on one of the other groups, next to the statue of Charles Darwin. This is the spot where the H.M.S. Beagle anchored in 1835.

Rick was in that group.

Then we tromped down to the bus, rode back to the dock, and took zodiacs back to the Islander for a cleanup and dinner. The food was great!

We sank gratefully into bed as the Islander began sailing overnight to our next Galapagos island, Española.