Galapagos -May 11, 1999

Position: Galapagos -May 11, 1999

June and I departed Aspen with the Hoopers, Rich and Teri, for Quito, Ecuador where we met the Campbells, Tamie and Bob. We had an exciting tour of the city and traveled out of Quito to visit the Saukisili market. What an experience to see a truly local, non-tourist market! Quito is a large city in the mountains, 8,000' elevation. It is a third world city with major economic problems. The country is in financial difficulty with the government employees not being paid and all bank accounts of individuals are frozen. Definitely not a happy situation. Our stay was a short one with no problems. After touring the Quito area and part of Ecuador, we all left for the Galapagos.
We were not allowed to use SeaQuell for the Galapagos tour so we had to go on a local tour boat, a 110' motor yacht. This boat normally had 16 on board but our tour organizer, Gundi from Angermeyer Tours, had arranged for just our family of 6 to have the boat for the week with a very special guide. Our guide, David Day, has been guiding in the Galapagos for 27 years and was overflowing with knowledge to share with us as well as endless enthusiasm. Having a small group, we were able to cover more of the islands and trails than normal, and at most stops had the anchorage to ourselves.
The Galapagos have their own unique creation of land and sea life. The sea iguanas, land iguanas, tortoises, sea turtles, blue footed boobies, albatross, fur seals, dolphins, penguins and sea lions are all in abundance. Most of our trip was walking through nesting areas, over large lava flows, and snorkeling with the sea lions and dolphins. The sea lions would swim right with you, dive and play with all of us just having fun. There were large schools of dolphins, 100 or more, which just played around our boat. We rode through the school of dolphins in the dinghy and they would bow ride with the dinghy and at times our guide has actually been able to swim with them just like with the sea lions!

These island are located where the cold southern Humbolt current and the warm current from the north meet, creating waters that the sea life thrives on. The seawater was 70 degrees, cold for snorkeling, but ideal for the sea life. Normal water temperature just north of the islands was 85 degrees. The 7-year cycle of El Nino (just over) caused the sea life to leave looking for colder water and food. This is first year that sea life is coming back. The warm water and weather had its effect on all the creatures of nature due to lack of vegetation on which the land species survive. It did provide a cool climate that surprised us, as being on the equator we were all prepared to be baking in the sun.
It was an unforgettable experience for those of our family that were able to make the trip. We would encourage everyone to see the Galapagos before it is spoiled by too may tourists and uncontrolled growth. Be prepared for trail walking, beaching from the dinghy and bring good walking shoes. June did just fine, even with her new shoulder and her arm in a sling. Snorkeling with the sea life is a big part of the trip, if you can, but not essential to enjoy.

The value of the trip depends on the guide and we would recommend using Gundi of Angermeyer to arrange the trip and ask for David Day to be your guide. They can be reached at:

Angermeyer Enchanted Expeditions
P.O. Box 17-1200599
Quito Ecuador

Fax 593-2-569-956 (Suggest using FAX)
Phone 593-2-569-960

E-mail: angermel@ecnet.ec

Attention Gundi

SeaQuell departed on May12, westbound for a 3-week sail to Tahiti with crew and John.

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