Galápagos I - Journey to the Lost World

Even the journey to the fabled Galápagos Islands would prove to be spectacular to this geographer on a busman's holiday.  As the plane approached Guayaquil from Quito, it flew low over mile after mile of inundated farmland.  Scenes of flooding like I'd never seen before, all with an eagle-eye view.  Perfect.  The landscape was more of less flat with vast expanses completely covered in water.  Isolated farms and hamlets were left stranded, with the roads that once connected them to society having disappeared completely.  In places, the submerged river channel could be traced in the floodwater.  This was flooding on a biblical scale, the likes of which we just don't see in the UK.

The following leg of the journey was equally impressive.  It began with some of the most stunning vistas of our planet I've ever seen from a plane window.  The perfect expanse of the Pacific Ocean stretched out across a curved horizon.  A chance to appreciate the fact we live on a sphere, an experience which only became possible for the general public during my lifetime.  The deep blue of the ocean blended seamlessly into a bright white horizon before once again darkening into the shades of indigo only visible at the edge of space.  Maybe I'm a little weird, unable to take my gaze away from the window, my nose pressed to it like a kid.  Looking around I see people reading magazines telling them about places they aren't currently in or things to buy that they don't currently have.  Meanwhile, I can't get enough of the present.  Is it possible to be addicted to flying?

As we reached our destination 1,000km west of mainland Ecuador, the Galápagos Islands began to appear.  One by one and far more spaced out than I'd imagined, these famous islands already seemed to possess very different characteristics from one another.  The smaller ones looked lonely and hostile in their isolation.  The bigger islands, large enough to significantly alter the flow of air, had billowing cloud formations above them.  These cloud masses, copying the islands' coastlines almost perfectly, prevented any visual contact with the mysterious interiors of these oceanic oases.  Sandy beaches could be seen dotting the shores with their turquiose waters inviting even the most reluctant swimmer.  I couldn't wait to land.

The airport of the Galápagos Islands was very pleasant... at least it was when it was first constructed by the US military during WWII.  During its construction nearly all the indigenous fauna of the island was wiped out.  It seemed the airport was trying to do the same to its passengers.  Desperately long queues in equatorial heat isn't my idea of fun.  However, it was the Galápagos and, after paying $100 to enter, we were in.  Although we had been expecting Andrea, our elusive contact for the trip, we were met by the first guide of many, Carlos.   

After leaving Baltra island by ferry, Carlos took us to see the giant turtles grazing in the wild at a unique location on Santa Cruz, the main island of our stay.  Being the wet season, our timing was rather fortunate as normally the terrain is too dry for these enormous reptiles.  However, during February there is enough rain to provide a rich source of food and they venture ashore to feed and mate - like a spring break for tortugas. The turtles are astoundingly tame and you can get within four metres before they react to the human presence.  Even then, these gentle beasts simply retract their necks and pull their heads into their carapaces.  This movement causes the expulsion of air from their sizeable lungs with a resulting noise that sounds a bit like they're hissing at you.  As the Galápagos National Park was only established in 1959, no one knows how old these turtles are as they've only been effectively monitored from that time.  It is thought their lifespan can stretch over 180 years, possibly more.  We mulled this over a cup of organic Ecuadorean coffee before heading further along the road to the next spectacle.

Being one of an archipelago of volcanic islands, the landscape on Santa Cruz is dotted with lava tunnels, some modest in size and others large enough to walk through.  Our next stop was a 200m journey underground through one of these tunnels.  They form when runny lava flows along the surface of the island during a gentle eruption.  The outer surface of these flows solidifies leaving the central core a flowing river of molten rock.  As the eruption subsides, the flow diminishes and the lava levels fall leaving a tunnel.  I was reminded of a school project I'd written when only seven years old with the title 'Volcanoes'.  That love of all things volcanic is still alive and well, the journey to the Lost World was proving to be a dream come true.