Daphne Major

Galapagos - Daphne Major, June 10th

Animal of the Day: Snorklers

We spent a week in the Galapagos Islands trying to disturb the wildlife as little as possible. The naturalists who accompanied us on all outings made sure that we know what to do and what no to do. Lindblad Expeditions ensures that the species to human impact is as little as possible on the natural habitat of the Islands. They formed a partnership with the National Geographic Society and won many awards for their conservation efforts. On our last day of the trip, Gisela and Heiko tried to do their share by contributing to the Galapagos Conservation Fund, which was started by Lindblad Expeditions in 1997 in an effort to promoted local conservation projects preserving the islands for the generations to come.

The wake-up at 7 a.m. was followed by a circumnavigation of a tuff cone island named Daphne Major. Here Rosemary and Peter Grant study the changes of the Galapagos Finches due to environmental changes. For the past 30 years, they have been living for months each year on the little island catching and measuring each finch on the 70-acre island. They were able to show, with the results of their research, that the effects of natural and sexual selection could be observed in a relatively short period of time and not over millions of years as predicted by Darwin. But, they are still out there with their team on the little islet to observe the emergence of a new species.

Sunrise over Daphne Major

Daphne Major

Our Last Breakfast on the MS Polaris

Hotel Manager Sophia

After breakfast, the Lindblad staff started to transport our check-in luggage from our cabins to the airport. Thus, we only had to handle our carry-ons. While the crew took care of our luggage, we saw a documentary about Darwin's finches and the Grants in the lounge. After the movie, we disembarked and our black limousines brought us to the dock on Baltra Island. A week later now, we still saw the four Galapagos Sea Lions (Zalophus galapagensis) sleeping on the benches—it appeared to us that we saw them a long time ago—so many things had happened during this week in the Galapagos.

Departure

A short bus ride brought us to the airport where we received our boarding passes. Our flight brought us in 90 minutes from Baltra Island to Guayaquil and from there without having to leave the plane in another 30 minutes to Quito.

In Quito we only received our luggage in order to hand it over to the waiting Lindblad staff who transferred it to our hotel rooms at the Hilton Colon. During the bus ride from the airport to the hotel, the Lindblad representative explained the schedule for our short stay in Quito.

Quito

After our check in, we went shopping at a local crafts market near the hotel where Gisela, Sophia and Alexandra bought nice sweatshirts for very little money. The colors used by the local artists are all very strong and reminded us that we are in the middle of the Andes at a height of 9,200 feet above sea level.

Andes Crafts

Andes Crafts with German Touch

Afterwards we joined other fellow Polaris passengers for a panoramic tour through the old part of Quito, organized by Lindblad. Quito's colonial style old city was with Krakow, Poland the first city under UNESCO protection as world heritage. Now, Quito is the cultural center of South America. A dinner with Joe and Erin at the hotel completed the evening. Heiko had a goat stew which was delicious.

Return to Pittsburgh

After a short night we received a wake-up call at 4:45 a.m. At this time however, we could not appreciate the huge breakfast buffet. A bus ride brought us to the Quito International Airport from where we left to Miami after the laborious immigration and security checks. Arriving on time in Miami we passed immigration and customs and boarded our flight to LaGuardia , New York .

In LaGuardia, New York, American Airlines surprised as again with a new excuse for hours of delay. This time the flight attendant was not there and they had notified the backup one who needed only two hours to come to the airport.

We arrived late in Pittsburgh where Diane was waiting to bring us back to our house were Tony was anxiously awaiting us.