Charles Darwin was right

I felt really alone after the attempted mugging. Partly because I was by myself , but mostly because it dawned on me that I was utterly helpless. I decided to do two things that night. First, I was going to change hostels for one that had people to talk to, and second that I had to go to Galapagos. My thought process was that had lost all faith in Ecuador. the only way to redeem it in my mind was to visit the place that had mystical power to inspire awe. It was the only way for me to redeem Ecuador as a decent place. So, after my prepaid two days were up I changed to another hostel in the old town. It was a bit more dingy and well worn, but it was full of fellow travelers to share experiences with. I was able, through other people, to get the low down on visiting Galapagos. Basically, you are screwed. There are two airlines flying into the Islands and the price is set at $400 for the 1200 mile round trip ticket. Once in Galapagos, I was told, it was relatively easy o find a cruise at the discounted rate of $100-400 per day based on the class of boat on which you embarked. The boats vary from 36 foot converted fishing boats to 300 foot luxury liners. All include meals and guided excursions to the various islands. I also found out that cruise ships that offered live aboard accommodations were not allowed to take people scuba diving. All that could think about when I thought of when I thought of living aboard a 36 foot boat, the only one that I could afford, was me spending numerous hours with my head over the side in the rapture of sea sickness. So, I chose to stay on the land and take diving excursions from Punto Aroya on the Island of Santa Cruz. The most populated of the islands.
The day finally came and it was time for me to bid a due to my least favorite city that I had visited thus far. By the way, I also learned from the people at my new hostel that being robbed in Quito is almost a right of passage. Nearly everyone that Ii spoke to knew someone or was robbed themselves at some point. So if you ever go to Ecuador, keep your staY in Quito as brief as possible. Maybe the odds won't catch up with you. Back to Galapagos. I left early to catch my flight. When I arrived at the airport, it was already bustling with tourists decked out in full safari gear. It was as if Ii had walked into a Colombia Sportswear fashion show. I was in my standard jeans, t-shirt and flip flops and was a little worried that I had not come prepared. I wondered if perhaps I too needed a travel vest and a wide brimmed hat with the optional drop down mosquito/bee net. I wondered if the wilderness of the Islands was going to warrant some extreme clothing and preparation, of which I had neither. True to form i said screw it and decided that I would go ahead anyway. Prepared or not I'll figure it out when I get there.
Now is the time to tell you about the process of going to the Island. It is definitely a process. First, at the airport, don't make the mistake I made and wait in line for 30 minutes behind the guy with the telephoto lens that could see the faces on Mars. Once you get to the front they will send you, as they did me, to the counter where you but your $10 Galapagos tourist card and have your bags checked for any contraband that could disrupt the Island's ecosystem. Then back into line for another 20 minutes. The flight from Quito will stop to pick up more passengers in Guayaquil. Then off to the Galapagos. The flight took about 3 1/2 hours total. I arrived to the Islands at about 11:30 local time ( Ecuador is Eastern time Galapagos is Central,) Once at the Baltras Airport you go through a border crossing like immigration process, then you pay $100 National Park entry fee. So before you have seen one sea iguana or blue footed boobie, you have already spent around $510 per person. Once at the airport, you load into a bus for the 10 minute ride to the canal between Isla Baltra and Isla Santa Cruz. Then a five minute ferry ride across the canal. Then onto another bus for the 45 minute ride (or 2 hour ride if your bus breaks down as mine did) to Punto Aroya. All in all it is a pretty long day of travel and compared to the rest of Central and South America an expensive trip.
My first order of business in Punto Aroya was finding accommodation. I did not have a reservation anywhere, but there were a number of places suggested in my guidebook so I figured there would not be a problem. There was a problem, no one had any rooms for less than $100 night. Apparently everyone else was using the same guidebook I was using. I finally found a room at the crappiest hotel on the Island for the ridiculous price of $20 a night. I then headed to the dive shop to get fitted for the equipment for the following day's dive.
Understand that to this point my description has been somewhat negative on travel to the Galapagos. I just want everyone to understand the biggest lesson I have learned thus far in my travels is that no great experience comes without some discomfort or substantial financial sacrifice to get there or, as in the case of Galapagos, both. The difference with Galapagos is that every inconvenience is rewarded by the natural beauty of the Islands. My flight afforded me views of the crystal blue waters surrounding the Islands. My ferry ride gave me a first glimpse of an aquatic iguana and seals swimming in the water. Even the breakdown of the bus was a blessing. We stopped in a small parking lot next to an ancient volcanic crater where i had enough time to hike around for a few minutes until the replacement bus arrived.
My first day of diving changed everything. We met at the dive shop for our dive briefing then loaded into taxis to head back to the canal between Baltra and Santa Cruz. Once on the boat we set out for the 1 ½ hour ride to the dive site, Cousins Rock. As soon as I hit the water I knew that this was a special marine environment unlike any that I have had the privileged of diving. Once we got to the bottom 75 feet below the surface, I took a look around. Most of my diving has been in the tropical waters of the Carribean Sea . The warm water there is ideal for the growth of coals and most of the diving is done around these coral formations. The reason that underwater Galapagos is so unique is that it is in a tropical environment, but the cold Humbolt Current brings cold water North from Antarctica. It is the Humbolt Current that encourages the growth of plankton, which in turn attracts whales, whale sharks, and a multitude of smaller sea dwellers. The other dwellers attract predators like dolphin, seals, penguins, hammerhead and other types of sharks even killer whales. Rather than using the coral reefs for cover and protection, small fish use the rocky, volcanic underwater topography as cover. The rock formations alone are worth the dive though. At the bottom we were greeted by a massive school of silver shad. The school covered around 40 square feet or so and there were more fish than you could ever imagine. Swimming through the school actually blocked the sunlight and the only light that was visible was reflecting off of the fish's mirror like scales. After a few minutes of swimming into the darkness of the school, the divemaster beckoned us to set off in search of more underwater spectacles. The water was a comfortable 85 degrees and I was having trouble figuring out why the dive shop had forced me into the 7mm full body wet suit that was extremely hot in water of this temperature. After we swam for a while I figured it out. They are called thermoclines. Thermoclines are what is left of the Humbolt current as it is split up around the Islands. Their location is completely abstract and can be somewhere one day and gone the next. I quickly learned how to recognize them though. They appear like mirages on a hot road. Visibility is decreased, then you are hit with a 15-20 degree drop in water temperature. I chose to dive without a hood and after 5 minutes in a thermocline I thought that my head was going to freeze and fall off of my body. I wore a hood for the rest of my dives.
The highlight of my diving trips were not even when I was in full scuba gear. I was with part of the crew from a yacht that was moored in the bay at Puerto Aroya (more on them later.) We were motoring from one dive sight to the next one when the captain spotted something large surfacing on the water about 300 yards away. We headed over and the surfacing became more and more frequent once we got close enough our guide indicated that they were false killer whales. Instead of making sure that the whales were safe to swim with, we all grabbed our fins, masks and snorkels and dove in to have a closer look. The animals were around 12 feet long and weighed about 900 pounds. They moved in the water effortlessly and quickly swam out of sight. The next thing I knew, there were 10 or so swimming right at me. I watched in awe as they swam under and all around me. It was truly an experience I will never forget. The pod of forty or so whales swam away from us so we headed back to the boat to follow them some more. We followed for about 10 more minutes, then they disappeared.
As beautiful and awe inspiring the landscape and as exciting the animals, my favorite part of being in Galapagos was the people who I met. I was really lonely in Quito and really wanted to find some people to hang around with. On my second day of diving I met some truly great friends. Theo is originally from England and now lives with is Danish girlfriend Mette in Copenhagen. We were instant friends. They both work as managers in restaurants in Copenhagen so it was easy to find common interests and stories to tell. after the first day I met them, I spent every day thereafter with them. My first Saturday in Galapagos was the celebration of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday. Mette, Theo, and I loaded up in a water taxi to attend the celebration at Tortuga Bay, a beautiful white sand beach about ten minutes from Puerto Aroya. There, we met the crew of the Aquilla . The Aquilla is the dive yacht of some Russian billionaire, the y were not allowed to tell us who. They had come to Galapagos because one of the owner's friends was planning a trip to Galapagos. It turned out that the guy could not come so they were all free to do as they pleased. Working on a private yacht is a pretty sweet gig. The owner is on board about two weeks a year. I had several conversations with Shane, the chef, about life on board. They travel to exotic locals, usually two to three weeks before the owner so that they can do all of the activities in the area. This allows them to serve as tour guides when he arrives. Almost everyone was at least dive master status. The yacht slept eight guests plus eight crew, had a formal dining room, a beautiful kitchen, a tv room, a pool, hot tub helicopter pad, two decompression chambers, its own compressed air to fill tanks, full scuba gear for up to 20 people, a it towed a thirty foot dive boat behind for times when the yacht was too big. Needless to say, this thing was a money pit that could never be filled. I guess that is what you do when you have billions of dollars. The craziest thing was that this was one of the Ruskie's 5 yachts.
Because of the people I met there, I stayed in the Galapagos for almost 3 weeks. We had some really great times. It is one of my favorite places that I have ever visited and I will go back some day.