Galapagos musings...

I find myself confined to indoor-activities on account of my foot still troubling me. Fortunately the rain continues to pour steadily and so I do not feel like I am missing out on anything. Besides this is the perfect opportunity to reflect on our 8 day cruise around the Galapagos Islands. Things began rather unexpectedly...

After our first lunch onboard Yate Fragata I was feeling both relieved and optimistic about avoiding seasickness (unfortunately this would later prove to be misguided optimism). We were moving at quite a clip, and the boat was easily cutting through the calm water.

Having decided to venture out to the stern for some fresh air and sunshine we were immediately captivated by a gory scene.

Below us were two young men we hadn't been introduced to. They were butchering a goat. It was clear this was an action they had performed many times as they moved with the assuredness and ease of the practiced. Though carrying some extra flesh themselves, they were strong and I believed them when they described the difficulty of the hunt due to rough terrain.



As they hacked away at the goat there was often a moment of pause when they would look to see whether one of the many black frigate birds swarming above had been able to catch one of the bloody bones which they lobbed out over the water.

Alas, for the birds there was no feast as they were unable to do little more than create a dramatic silhouette against the brilliantly blue sky. I wondered at the daring of these birds which lacking the ability to swim, nevertheless attempted to snatch the heavy bones in their hooked bills. To time it wrongly and dip their wings in the water would have meant certain death.



Instead the bones and blood dropped into our wake.

It's interesting that despite being an UNESCO world heritage site, introduced animals such as feral goats continue to be allowed to represent a threat to native animals and species. The locals were able to convince the National Park Board not to undertake pest eradication programmes on some of the populated islands in order to preserve stocks of introduced wild animals for food.

But of course one of the main threats to the Galapagos must be the impact of tourism as described in recent news articles (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/aug/12/wildlife-conservation for example).

Sir David Attenborough's view that tourists are a "necessary evil", providing income to the islanders and funding for conservation efforts makes me feel a little better about being a contributor to this human impact. As does the knowledge that this was (and rightly so), a once in a lifetime trip.

So guilt subsiding at least for the moment, here are a few favourite photos. I hope you enjoy them.

Mrs R