THE GALAPAGOS!

I've been to all 7 continents, and once you've completed your continental journey, you begin to think: "What's next?"

For me, there are 2 answers to that question:

     1.  What countries am I really curious about that I haven't visited yet?

     2.  What are some places that are unlike anywhere else on the planet?

I have a list of countries that provide my answer to question 1:  Russia . . . . Chile . . . . India . . Tanzania . . . . Turkey . . . . and Ireland!  I don't know how I missed that one.  My list is a long one and I'm eager and excited to put together my plans over the years ahead.

But my answer to question 2 seemed simpler and clearer to me:  there's no place on Earth like the Galapagos.

Just so you all know, it's the place where there was no human development to influence animal evolution until a couple hundred years ago.  It's where Darwin conceived his theory of evolution, the most significant parts of which were "Natural Selection" and "Survival of the Fittest."  For more information, I highly recommend his world changing book, "Origin of the Species."

The problem is that the Galapagos lie 600 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean, along the equator.  It's reachable by plane, but then you explore the islands by boat, and if there's something I am not, it's a cruise guy.  I've never been on one so I grant this is an uninformed conclusion . . . but what little I know about cruise life reinforces that it's not for me.

But this voyage was completely different.  The ship, technically a large catamaran named  "The National Geographic Islander", was built for 40 passengers.  And really, it was not a  "cruise" . . . . it was a way to get from island to island, usually at night, allowing guests to spend their days disembarking and exploring the distinctly different islands,

We learned the Galapagos were young islands, having emerged as volcanic eruptions starting 2 million years ago, to as recently as 500,000 years ago, and more such eruptions are anticipated.  For comparison purposes, the Hawaiian islands emerged as volcanic eruptions 10 million years ago.

It was striking how different the islands were from each other.  The oldest ones were lush and full of life and greenery, and the youngest were beautifully barren lava-flow formed rock, totally devoid of life, outside the ever-present variety of birds.

You could see the points Darwin made about evolution from island to island.  There were islands with the famous tortoises (not turtles), with different features from one island to the next.  There were sea lions - - not seals, a mistake I continually made - - everywhere.  The native iguanas were sometimes large, sometimes small, but always creepy looking.  The birds were many types of boobies - - red-footed, blue-footed, and nazca boobies - - and albatrosses, hawks, finches, petrels, and the occasional owl.  One island even has penguins!

The sea life is another story: every size and color and shape fish and crustacean you could imagine . . . . Crab, squid, octopus . . . . and sharks!  You see all of this every day you snorkel off the islands.  Except for some reason, every one of the other 39 passengers on board saw sharks, some as big as 12 feet, except me.  I have no idea why they were avoiding me.

That said, the animals were delightfully without fear of humans.  Touching the wildlife is strictly prohibited, unless they touch you first.  On the Galapagos Islands, every type of weapon is banned, so unlike everywhere else, the human species is not a natural predator.  

Days were spent snorkeling, or kayaking, and hiking on the land.  We trekked across lava flows, and walked through a half mile long underground lava tunnel.  The islands were quiet and restorative and just what I needed to reflect upon the journey I was on and the journey I've been on for much of the past few years.  

I decided upon the Galapagos after my operation last summer to remove my cancer,  the subject of an earlier post.  My good friend Joe counseled me before I booked this trip to use the recovery period to plan the vacation of my life. It was excellent advice.  He said to treat it as a graduation, and think of the vacation as a graduation party, which made the whole period of recuperation way more fun than I ever thought possible.  I took Joe's advice to heart and decided to book the best berth on board, so the vacation felt like a treat even when I was just hanging out in my cabin.

Upon reflection, I think my anxiety around cruising was that I'd be stuck on a boat for days on end with people I didn't like and couldn't get away from.  In fact, my fellow passengers were a vibrant, fun, adventurous, and social group, making the Galapagos experience a blast every minute.  I've reconsidered my stance on cruises, and suggestions are welcome.

That's all for now. I'm looking forward to another adventure and the subject of my next post:  Cooking School in Mexico!