All packed and ready to go

  Galapagos - San Cristobal Island, Ecuador
Monday, April 17, 2006

Taking life in a new direction, I decided to go off to the prehistoric lands of the Galapagos, to row my way in a kayak through the wilderness, to trace the footsteps of evolution while at the same time discover the evolving map of my existence. Well, it was a heroic idea to begin with but in actually, I arrived in Quito, the capital of Ecuador to meet the tour coordinators and my fellow kayakers. Once we are all introduced and checked for proper equipment and baggage, we then flew to the main island of San Cristobal and then took a boat to our campsite.



Once there we were greeted with friendly seals, equaly friendly Ecuadorians (no natives except for the wildlife), and pleasing views from our campsite onto a quiet cove and beach.



The first full day of kayaking targeted Kicker Rock, also known as the Sleeping Lion because of its resemblence. This is the remains of a lava cone eroded by the sea, the two vertical rocks rising 500 feet from the ocean form a small channel which we paddled through...oooh scary moments! Thank goodness I finished my clumsy boat handling and flipping over while out on the open water. Actually the south blowing wind and the cross currents between shore and the rock made for treacherous paddling. And the rock is a lot further than it looks.




Water life, both in the air and in the water is abundant at the rock. Due to the visibility in the nearly crystal waters we saw giant sea turtles, two whales, scores of brilliantly colored tropical fish and a Galapagos shark, which I dove down to for a picture (by the way, Stacy, we mixed up our cameras, you have my shark picture! I have a CD of your pictures that I will give to you once back in NYC). The water is really cold, so it is best is you have a wetsuit, or at least a shorty. I would have froze without mine, but then again I am such a sissy. The gap between the small rock in the middle and the tall rock on the right is where we paddled through. I will post a picture from the water looking back at that gap when I get my pics.



Finally, after rowing back with my hero, Rachel (I know that you were not just trying to make up for tipping me over earlier) we see the rest of the crew standing in ovation when we arrived at the cove. They didn`t think that we would make it back! Come, on guys, it wasn`t so hard. But we learned why they rushed back on the motor boat...they had drinks ready and waiting. Nice.



After that full day we all enjoyed a spectacular sunset and then picked our way back through the multitudes of hermit crabs for dinner on the beach.