The Galapagos Islands are 600 miles west of Ecuador’s Pacific coastline. Ecuador annexed Galapagos Islands in 1832, three years before Charles Darwin encountered the islands during his service as a naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle. To this day, Darwin’s name is the one most closely associated with the Galapagos, due to the islands’ influence on Darwin’s theory of evolution.

About one hundred years later in 1934, Ecuador passed the first legislation making the Galapagos Islands a protected area. In 1959, legislation established the Galapagos National Park, which commenced operations in 1968. Park jurisdiction covers 97 per cent of the territory, with the remaining 3 per cent encompassing populated areas.

American awareness of the Galapagos Islands became more pronounced between 1942 and 1947 when the United States established an air base on Baltra Island as part of the defense strategy to protect the Panama Canal. Baltra was a great place to build an air strip, but the island had no water. No matter. Americans brought water across from nearby San Cristobal Island.

Silver Galapagos

Our vessel was the Silver Galapagos operated by Silversea Cruises. The ship carries 100 passengers, 75 crew members, and displaces 4,077 tons. Fresh from her latest refurbishment, the officers and crew welcome new guests with champagne before snapping their identification picture.

Flights to the Galapagos Islands land at an airstrip on Baltra Island. Visitors then go through Galapagos immigration, pay the Galapagos National Park Entrance Fee ($US100, cash, unless other arrangements have been made), and proceed into a wonderland Walt Disney never imagined. Silversea took care of all fees and transfers.

From the airport, we boarded a bus that took us to a zodiac landing area. This was the first of many zodiac transfers. At no point did the Silversea Galapagos come alongside an actual dock. This was termed a “dry landing” because passengers boarded from a firm cement platform rather than the beach. (More on that another time.)

So, picture a busload of people who’ve never met getting their first look at their transportation. Crewmembers deftly got folks into life jackets and the small vessel, motored it across fairly calm water, and pulled up to the area for boarding the ship. Passengers were handed up onto a small platform and then climbed a short ladder to the deck. Trust me, we all felt entitled to that champagne.

Genovese Island

The first stop on our cruise around the North Central islands was Genovesa Island, more popularly known as Bird Island. I must be honest. I like birds. They are amazing creatures. But it wasn’t until I visited Genovesa Island that I understood the dedication of die-hard “birders.” The birds were completely oblivious to their gawking observers.

Swallow-tailed Gulls

Swallow-tailed gulls nest almost exclusively in the Galapagos Islands. The birds are pelagic hunters, meaning they fly out over open ocean. These gulls are unique, because they feed nocturnally on fish and squid eating plankton at the ocean’s surface.

Nazca Booby

There are three types of booby birds in the Galapagos: Red-footed Boobies, Blue-footed Boobies, and Nazca Boobies. Nazca Boobies are the largest of the three.

Red-footed Booby

The Red-footed Booby is the smallest of the three. Like their Nazca cousins, Red-footed boobies forage at sea for food. They catch flying fish by skimming the ocean surface and catching the fish before they can splash back into the water. Red-footed boobies build their nests in trees. Each couple lays one egg.

Blue-footed Booby

Blue-footed boobies are found near all the islands and remain close to shore. Blue-footed boobies have an elaborate mating ritual, and I was fortunate to watch part of it. The male dances to attract the female. He raises one foot in the air, then the other and sort of struts in front of the female. Both birds stretch their necks and point their bills upward. In the sequence below, the male gave the dance his full effort, and the female seemed interested. But she pulled back, and he gave up by flying away. Did they get back together? Who can say?

Frigate Birds

Frigate birds follow a different mating ritual.

Male frigate birds, like the one above, have red throat pouches, which they inflate in a effort to attract females.

The day spent on Genovesa Island was magical, but it was only the first day of my Galapagos Cruise. More images next week.

Acknowledgements:

Featured Image: Visitors are only allowed on clearly marked trails. In case the “Stop” sign was not enough, there was also a guard bird.

Photos by Author. All Rights Reserved.

Map of the Galapagos Islands from Freeworldmaps.net, Creative Commons Share Alike, Wikimedia Commons

Parque Nacional Galapagos Ecuador Here.

Silversea Cruises. Here. 

The post Exploring Genovesa Island, Galapagos first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

It’s a long way from Hawai`i to Peru. Actually, it’s a long way from Hawai`i to anywhere – the downside of living in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We flew from Hilo to Honolulu to Los Angeles to Lima. It was “time travel” in the sense that the destination, while bordering the same Pacific Ocean, was completely different.

First Stop: Miraflores District, Lima, Peru

In 1857, Miraflores became an official district of Lima, but it’s history reaches back to pre-Incan times. An eighteen-acre archeological site dominates an upscale residential and commercial area.

Huaca Pucllana is dated at the year 500 in the Common Era. Historical ruins are called huacas. Pucllana is the word for temple. Hence, Huaca Pucllana. Another interpretation says pucllay is a word in the Quechua language meaning game. So the site is one where ritual games took place.

Either way, Huaca Pucllana is epic testimony that a lot happened before the Incan period of dominance from 1476-1534. Prior peoples included the Wari (600-1000), and the Moche and Lima (200-600).

Huaca Pucllana was probably an administrative and cultural center. The dominant structure is a large adobe clay pyramid surrounded by seven staggered platforms.

Archeological digs look rather stark without material evidence. Fortunately, the Museo Larco, founded by Rafael Larco Hoyle (1901-1966) in 1926, is a short drive away. The museum was founded in Chiclin, but moved to Lima in the 1950s where it is in what was once the Luna Cartland family house, built in 1700. The most recent museum renovation was completed in 2010, making it a world class museum.

Rafael Larco Hoyle collected the museum contents between 1933 and 1941.

The Spanish colonial period began in 1532 when Francisco Pizarro (c.1471-1541) captured The Inca Atahualpa and told the native people that if they wanted him to return The Inca, they had to fill a room with gold. The people met the demand. Pizarro executed The Inca in 1533, the same year he completed his conquest and entered the Incan capital city, Cuzco.

In 1535, Pizarro founded Lima as the City of Kings. I can only presume he meant either himself alone, or perhaps all the conquistadors. Pizarro might have been a conqueror, but he was not without rivals. One, Diego Almagro, mounted a rebellion. Pizarro defeated and excuted his enemy after the Battle of Las Salinas, but he neglected to kill his rival’s son, who in 1541 assassinated his father’s killer. Pizarro’s remains are housed in an ostentatious chapel near the entrance of Lima Cathedral.

Pizarro authorized two buildings in 1535 – the City Palace and City Cathedral.

The Palace is constructed over what was once a large native bural ground and is still the seat of government and the residence of Peru’s president. There is a ceremonial guard. The guard changes every hour with a full-blown ceremony, complete with band concert, at noon.

In 1968, UNESCO named Lima’s historical center as a World Heritage Site due to its originality and high concentration of historic monuments built by the Spanish. In particular, UNESCO mentioned the intricate carved wooden balconies.

The balconies were designed so women could see out, but no one outside could see onto the terrace. The balconies survive due to the dry climate – only about three inches of rain annually.

The present Cathedral has fourteen side chapels, in Spanish baroque style. The nave is done in a simple fashion.

An unusual aspect of this cathedral is the placement of the transept to enable more high ranking people to be buried near the gold-plated high altar.

Thought I’d throw in this picture of me at the cathedral door – purely in the interest of scale.

The Cathedral and Monastery of San Francisco, located near the historic plaza, was consecrated in 1673, completed in 1774, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. It contains an extensive complex of catacombs, because it was a city burial site until 1808 when the city established a cemetery outside Lima. About 25,000 people were buried here. Families could establish their own “niche”, but no remains were untouched in perpetuity. They had to be moved for new occupants. Archeologists discovered the catacombs in 1943.

There are other interesting artifacts on the site. The monastery maintained an extensive library, still in use by authorized persons. I was surprised to see that no effort has been made to house the old books in a climate controlled area – and they seem to be in good condition. There are also a number of paintings. One that I found especially interesting is the Last Supper by Diego de la Puente. We all know da Vinci’s illustration. De la Puente traveled throughout Peru. When he painted his monumental art piece, he included foods unique to Peru – chilies, potatoes, and guinea pigs. Also, he painted the devil hovering by Judas, the betrayer.

All this sightseeing made me thirsty and happy to return to the Belmond Miraflores Park Hotel – and its delicious ceviche and well stocked bar.

 Next Stop: Machu Picchu

See you next week.

 Acknowledgements:

Featured Image: Fountain in city park facing Museo Larco, Lima, Peru.

Photos by Author. All Rights Reserved.

Patrick O’Brian. Master & Commander

Belmond Miraflores Park Hotel, Lima. Here.

Huaca Pucllana More information about what life may have been like here.

Travel Arrangements:

Silversea Cruises. Here. 

Akorn Destination Management here.

American Airlines and their One World Partner LAN

The post LIMA – City of Kings first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.