For all of us, the Galapagos was the highly anticipated climax of the three weeks long Ecuador trip.
In the long history of our planet, this volcanic archipelago has never come into contact with any of the existing continent plans. Until recently, it has seen few humans, aside from pirates and fishermen. Most of the islands, till this day, belong to birds and reptiles. They enjoy a world without predators. They know no fear.
In 1835, 26 years old Darwin stepped on the black sandy beach of Santiago Island for the first time. He visited four islands in the following five weeks, and noticed those famous finches that adapted differently on each island. Later he formulated his theory of evolution, and his observations made in the Galapagos made a major contribution. Islands within the archipelago are not far from each other, but each of them has a distinct climate and ecosystem. Some of them are desert-like, only the sparse pioneer plants could be seen struggling among the volcanic rocks; some of them are lush and green, resemble the Amazonian basin.
Lobo de Mar III would be our home for the next eight days and seven nights. There were sixteen passengers, seven crew members, and a guide lives aboard. Our daily schedules were relatively similar: visit one island in the morning, another in the afternoon; swim or snorkel after lunch around the boat during siesta. We sailed at night toward the next day’s destination.
Our fellow passengers include the quiet and friendly Israeli young couple Ron and Ada, the Swedish couple in their late twenties who kept to themselves, a tall single Swede who shaved his head but kept a goatee, the outgoing and humorous Danish couple who were in their 50’s, the Italian couple who never left the boat without their large camera bags, a New Zealand woman who has hearty laugh and incredibly tanned skin, and then there was the German girl Tena. She wore a pair of lovely fine silver ankle bracelets, a brow ring, and a tattoo on her lower back. Tena and Sarah were the only vegetarians on our boat, they naturally got acquainted quickly. Sarah told us that Tena worked as a nurse for international Red Cross. She spent the past year in Guatemala, where she learned to speak impeccable Spanish. She was not sure where to go next, Africa? Afghanistan? She didn’t know.
Each cabin was double-occupancy. Two single beds separated by a small nightstand in the middle. Each cabin has A/C and bathroom. Maybe because it was a relatively small boat, it was very rocky at night when we were sailing. Helmut couldn’t sleep till the last two nights, I would easily get sea-sick unless the A/C was on full blast. Sarah often complained that our cabin was like an ice box. There was not much else I could do.
Neither of us had sailing experiences. The first night, we settled in the same way as we did in hotels, fell asleep around 10pm. When our boat started its night journey at midnight, our serene little cabin turned into a chaotic Cosmo instantly. It was like in that ballet Nutcracker, everything sprang to life and made merry! All the bottles and jars knocked each other over, crashed into one side of the night stand, then another; closet doors, bathroom doors, and shower doors all joined the fun by opening and closing loudly, or sliding back and forth as if playing an instrument. I was holding on to the edge of my bed tried to stop myself from feeling the spinning motion in my head. The next day Sarah told me how she tried to tie down, lock down, and press down everything into place, while herself being thrown from one side of the cabin to the other.
From then on, we would clean up all loose items before going to bed. Yet, every night, due to our changing travel direction, current and the wind, there were always some unexpected quiet items started “Bang!” in the middle of the night. There was always a new story to tell the next morning. Slowly, I got used to the rocking motion of the waves, so was able to sleep and not feeling sick anymore.
On board of Lobo de Mar, we lived like sea lions: eat, sleep, play, then repeat. We all learned to enjoy siesta from the second day. Luckier than the sea lions, our meals required no hunting; they were readily served three times a day. White table cloth, silver wear shinning.
Breakfast always started with a glass of fresh juice, pineapple, black berry, papaya, or “tree tomato” (They are a little sweet, taste nothing like the usual tomato). Then came a plate of freshly cut grape fruit, papaya, or fried green banana, plus toast and cheese. Sometimes we had eggs, either boiled, or sunny-side-up.
Lunch is the main course in Ecuador. It often started with a large bowl of thick soup. The kind I love the most was made from rice and corn cooked in chicken broth, plus diced yucca (it tasted like potato, but has a different texture). In this kind of golden colored soup, there usually floated some green beans. The main course was made up of rice, vegetable, and chicken breast, steak, or fresh fish steak. Desert was full of surprises: from chocolate covered banana, to grapefruit dipped in honey, or mixed fresh berries and yogurt.
Dinner was often similar to lunch, minus the soup, but added in salad with avocado. Ecuadorian avocado was the best avocado I have ever tasted: rich, fresh, and silky, almost cheese-like.
Since there was rice with every meal, my Chinese stomach was in heaven. My fellow passengers didn’t seem to agree. One night the main course was spaghetti, everyone was cheering “Mama mia!”
Ecuadorian food had been delicious and varied through our entire trip. In addition to three meals a day, our always smiling chef Luis would prepare snacks every mid-morning and mid-afternoon, after we returned from our excursions. It would usually include a tall glass of fresh squeezed juice, cookies, candy, and chocolate. Sometimes there were given bite-sized pizza (still hot!), sandwich, and BBQ’ed chicken wings(yumm!). Exhausted from swimming, getting off the panga, we always rush to the dinning room to grab a delicious bite and finish the fresh juice in one gulp. With a satisfied tummy, we would then climb up the stairs, go back to our cabins, take a shower and change to dry clothes.
It is the World Cup year. Ecuadorian national qualified for the first time. The entire country was in soccer fever. One night, Caroline was wearing the Ecuadorian soccer shirt she bought in Quito. Every member of the crew fell in love with her. They said, look, your blonde hair matched the golden color perfectly! The name “Caroline” was officially obsolete on Lobo de Mar III, from captain to the cabin boy would smile and call her “Ecuador”.
For all of us, the Galapagos was the highly anticipated climax of the three weeks long Ecuador trip.