Humans are Guests Here

Too anxious and tearful to look into the camera lens for our pre-departure photo, I suggested Michael and I look at each other; his face was what I needed to feel ready.

At 11:30, we departed Isabela, Galapagos, 0° 58S 90° 57.7W for the 3,020 nautical mile passage to Hiva Oa, French Polynesia. We will go southwest until we reach 5° latitude, and then we will go west. On my first night watch, I will do what I always do to lift my spirits and relax: write about where we’ve been. 

There is a place on earth where sea lions are the harbor masters and penguins serve as aids to navigation, guiding dinghies toward the dock. Sea turtles outnumber people, and tortoises outlive them there. It’s called The Galapagos, where the animals are second to none. They’re kind enough to let us humans come for a price.

Ironically, it took humans to distract me from the school of blacktip sharks that circled Gerty for days.

Andy and Ellie arrived, breaking the spell of our allure, and the sharks finally dispersed.

So I could focus on other things like empanaditas dulces and bike riding. We painted the town with these two ol’ friends. Actually, two towns, Santa Cruz and Isabela. We went out exploring every morning by land or sea and didn’t rest until our stomachs demanded we do so.

The animals and volcanoes captivated us until the day we came home to a cockpit full of sea lion poop. One had wiggled his way through our barrier. In a word, shit!

Post clean up, Ellie and Andy saved the day by turning Michael’s freshly caught yellowfin into a gourmet sushi dinner. There’s nothing like eating authentic Japanese food in Ecuador and stargazing to ease frustration because nobody, not even a Galapagos sea lion, can deface the southern hemisphere sky.

Besides, the best was yet to come—manta rays and hammerhead sharks en route to Los Tuneles! With a guide named Darwin, how could it not be our best excursion?

When Andy and Ellie departed, it was time for us to prepare for today by tending to Gerty, provisioning, and squeezing in as much land-based exercise as possible before we became boat-bound for two to three weeks. I never expected giant tortoises to accompany us on our morning walks or a provisioning dream in the form of Señor Silvio Troya’s finca.

We have an organic stash of fruits and vegetables fit for the gods, yet we are mere mortals. How is it possible? There are almost no pests in the Galapagos.  Why? Because the animals let us humans come and then insist shortly thereafter that we GO.