Galapagos Galapagos
Salsa af Stavsnas
Ellinor Ristoff Staffan Ehde
Sat 4 May 2013 01:28
|
My feeling towards Galapagos was surely not
enthusiastic, the reason for going here was mainly for the children. Why? I
think that when I was here 20 something years ago I had so much trouble with the
authorities, and then the shooting of the film was really hard work.I remember
when we edited the film I was astonished on how many great pictures we got but I
had no feeling of actually experience this place.
So now here I am, with the whole family in our own
boat and it is a total different experience. So nice, so unreal, so
friendly.
Yesterday we had the inspection on board and we
where approved to stay and to go ashore. So we jumped in the same Taxiboat as
the people from the four different authorities and got ashore. My task was to
get us ready with the harbour captain (wich is the biggest office on the
islands) and that was not so easy. But I really feel I can take it much more
easy now.OK if it does not work now, we'll do it later. No big deal. I went to
the main street wich is a dirt road with some houses on a stretch that is 250
meters. Found my family in a restaurant eating lunch for 3 USD a piece. I got
lunch as well and then the kids had been promised ice cream. We found a shed
with some shading palmtree branches and there they got their ice creams. A guy
was playing the guitar and a young guy from Equador started to ask us on how we
got here. We had a really nice chat. He is a guitar teacher that has taken a
long brake to try to find out what he wants to do in life. He took his guitar
back from the guy that was playing it and played some spanish song about an
elephant in love, he had written it himself, then he asked if we could play and
of course my family had to tell him I've been playing for a little
while.
So we played a Swedish song (Jag är en fattig
bonddräng) and the kids where really cute when they gave all they
had.
After that we took a walk (we really need to walk
now!!!) and found a beach with a lot of marine iguanas. They are really small
black monsters that are incredible to watch. They eat some sea plant that they
take from the bottom of the sea. That plant cannot be digested just like that so
the iguanas boil it before they can eat it. BOIL IT? Where? In their body! They
are black and they lay down on the black lava in the sun. So their body get so
hot they actually boil the sea weed. How can you tell? The water that boils
comes spouting out from their noses. Looks absolutely crazy.
Today Ellinor and I went diving with friends from
other boats. Christina on Miss My took all the kids.
We went with a diving boat to an island called
Tortuga Island and there we dropped down in big waves that where splashing
towards the walls of the island. On the island itself there where birds nests
all over and the fregatt birds are just starting their mating season. It is the
fregatt bird that blows a red baloon on their throat to atract the females. Very
strange beaviour. Another thing is that fregatt birds cannot fish themselves,
they are all dependent on stealing fish from the boobies. The locals here call
them pirate birds.
Under the water we noticed that the fish was much
bigger than usual. The school of barracudas where like a big black wall, hundred
thousand of individuals, suddenly broke up when a sealion came down to hunt
them.
We came very close to white tip sharks, lots and
lots of big sea turtles, big schools of surgeon fishes etc etc.
The visibility is not big, about 8 meters, because
of all the nutrition coming with the currents. We could actually see and feel
the currents moving up. And it was a current dive, we went along the wall of the
island with it.
We had two dives and then went home. Very nice! We
found our kids playing on the beach with at least 5 other kids and they had no
time whatsoever to talk to us. On the beach you find humans but also sea lions
getting some sun on their body.
Iguanas cooking food and the Galapagos crab (orange
like a warning sign).
Tonight we are back on board and right now Ellinor
is reading Villervalle på Söderhavet for the kids.
Galapagos is fine....
|