Galapagos -by Susie

I love the sound of that word, “Galapagos, Galapagos, Galapagos, Galapagos…say it fast 5 times. With four syllables it just rolls off my tongue, easy.  This place has been on my “Bucket List” since the beginning. So remote, so aquatic, so undiscovered (according to Darwin). It just HAD to be on our itinerary for our Around the World trip, especially since we had kept putting it off since it’s kind of expensive too.  But we lucked out, if you wait until the last second, sometimes they need to fill the last cabin on the boat and we got a “last minute deal.” At LAST! And a triple cabin, with 3 twins, to boot, right next to the Captain’s bridge.  Our ship is called “The Millenium,” and she’s a beautiful Catamaran for only 16 passengers and a crew of one incredible Naturalist Guide (Samuel), one cool Captain (Otto), one clever cabin-cleaner (Diego), two amazing cooks, and three happy deckhands (Miguel, Lukas, & Matteo).  Even though we were happy not to have to share our ship with 100 other pesky passengers, like on the larger cruise ships, we still worried that the other 12 people aboard might be annoying in close quarters for a week.  Thankfully, our shipmates quickly became great friends, cracking jokes and listening to our life-stories without any hesitation.  They were especially nice to Noa when he had a mild fever and belly ache the first 24 hours (I think it was from jet lag, really). Norm identified himself as Noa’s personal pediatrician if needed. Thanks Norm 1 and Norm 2! After climbing aboard the Millennium, and getting through all the introductions and the speech for do’s and don’ts, we started out to island hop among the Galapagos Archipelago. Did you know that they were formed out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (on the Equator and 90 degree parallel) just like the Hawaiian Islands over a volcanic hotspot?  The Galapagos Islands are moving over that hot spot about 4 inches every year; that’s what makes the next island, and also explains why they are all “lava like.” Some tall and lumpy, some low and sandy. But the best part, (for me & Charles Darwin too, I suppose), were the amazing animals and marine life. Right away, on our first hike, we saw those giant black frigate birds soaring overhead with forked tails and red balloons billowing out under their beaks, the blue-footed Booby was little more elusive, and all the Pelicans we named Bob. A little further up the sandy trail, we saw lava lizards skittering around and got all excited snapping pictures. But WAIT! What’s that? A GIANT iguana (like 4 feet long!) “It must be Godzilla!” Les exclaims. It’s just lounging one foot away from us. And they are totally unafraid, if you sneak up slowly. (Which Noa is really good at doing). To heck with those lava lizards…check out the IGUANAS!  Not to be outdone, the Sea Lions, (or as Samuel clarified, Sea Wolves) were equally as friendly and tame by letting us get up close to say “Hello.” And it’s a good thing too because now is when our good video camera died; I think I overzapped the battery with 220volts -instead of 110volts- in the Peru plugs. Hooray for the friendly animals and cheapo backup camera!  But what is lurking under the water you ask? Oh, let me tell you that right now. Because in our family, it’s all about the snorkeling and swimming that we get excited for. Samuel gave the thumbs up for snorkeling, but says, “Oh I just saw a shark!” I laugh with him and say, “Yeah right,” -wink wink- the other tourists must always fall for that one. Cannonball it, and we are floating in the 78 degree ocean squealing with delight into our snorkels as the sea wolves go whisking underneath us. This is incredibly cool. We see some familiar parrot fish, yellow tangs, and moray eels tucked in the holes, like in Hawaii. But then, just laying there on the sandy bottom is an enormous Stingray. It is like 3 or 4 feet across and long.  Noa immediately takes big breath and dives straight down for it. Who is this kid? Wonder of the deep, no fear, off he goes. The sting ray is big and still, but just in our peripheral…towards the deeper blue, we see a side-to-side swimmer. Yep- it’s a shark! A 5 to 6 foot long black-tipped reef shark. Again, Noa gives a few flipper kicks and chases after it! What the heck? I mean, I know he wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up, but shouldn’t he grow up first and not get eaten by a shark? Have you ever tried to catch a kid underwater? They are slippery & fast! Maybe the Junior Lifeguard program in San Diego has given him TOO much confidence in the ocean…ha! Back onboard, with wrinkly fingertips from nonstop swimming, we eat the most incredible four course meals (which Les professes is “the BEST he has ever eaten” in his life –oh well, so much for my wifely cooking skills, which I admit, I end up burning most dinners). Evening comes , and since there are no other lights on the horizon, the stars shine extra brightly. We are all excited to see the Southern Cross for the first time… ‘you understand now why you come this way’ (that CSN song keeps humming in my head).  Oh, but just look back DOWN in the water now…”What do you see?” Samuel asks me. Ugh! Gulp! Okay, that’s creepy. Four sharks are circling round, under the back of the boat, in the floodlights. Maybe tomorrow I’ll count my toes before I cannon ball in/out of the water! Or just be fearless, like Noa. Sigh… This place is exhilarating! Galapagos, Galapagos, Galapagos, I love you so.