I Walked On Lava

Geography has never been my thing.

In truth, I have always found it to be the most tedious of all of the natural sciences. And, as a subsection of geography, geology is a total yawner. I simply cannot get myself stoked about rocks. I suppose that I am far more interested in the earth's end story as opposed to its origin.

When I was in Grade 9, my geography teacher did little to stoke my educational interest. Truly the most monotonous and colourless woman on the planet, she managed to kill whatever lingering curiousity I might have had in the subject and our field trips to places like the Niagara Escarpments to collect rock and soil samples felt like a descent into the third circle of hell. Suffice it to say, that was the end of my geographic studies.

If I had had any one of the naturalists who guided us here for freshman geography, I might have taken up the study with more gusto. The excitement and verve with which they approach their conversations about such benign topics as volcanic ash, lava, sediments, and small burgeoning flora species is a delight for this geography curmudgeon.

And so it was, that we found ourselves hiking through a one-hundred-year-old lava field on Santiago Island at Sullivan Bay and being totally captivated by the ribbons of dried lava. The uneven terrain made for some harrowing hiking but the fascination in this field as rekindled a small ember of my geologic fascination. As we hiked further inland and deeper across the formerly molten landscape, we approached areas that were not affected by the eruption and have already begun to rejuvenate. Here we found various species of cacti, small ground covers, and a few small trees. A closer examination of the sedimentary and porous rocks reveals an entire world within a small area. At one point, it was even possible to view what seemed like a river of lava that stopped within centimetres of the desert landscape. The fact that the Cumbre Volcano on the island of Fernandina, which is just a few kilometres off the coast of Santiago, erupted this past Sunday brought the entire exercise very close to home.

Another geography lesson occurred during our afternoon hike to the top of Bartolomé. We did the steep climb up the six-hundred metres and were treated to spectacular views of the rock formations below. Some of the most famous views of the Galápagos Islands are shot from the summit. The climb was certainly worth the effort.

Geography and its subsections will never be my favourite part of science but for this one day, it had me captivated. Take that, Mrs. S.

Some tidbits.

1. Many of you have asked me to chat about our trip. I am happy to engage with anybody who wants to email or private chat but I will say, everybody's needs and abilities are different. We chose Celebrity because, in part, it offered us everything we wanted to see and do and we didn't have to deal with a lot of the hassles that come with travel here. There are paperwork and park passes and tour arrangements that must be made if you choose to travel without an organized tour. You cannot visit many of the islands WITHOUT naturalist park guides even if you travel here on your own. So, do your planning carefully.

2. We have been very fortunate with the weather. While it hasn't rained (yet), we haven't had a whole lot of sunshine, either. It is quite warm and humid and that is a sign that the rainy season is coming. I am so glad that we decided to view the stars on our first, and so far only, clear night.

3. Another plug for The Husband's photography. Private message me if you can't see his Instagram or Facebook postings. I have shlep and will get you in.

I'm A Bird Watcher

Have you ever heard of a "thing" called the "Big Year"?

Apparently, amateur birdwatchers venture out into the wilds of the planet in order to see how many different species of our avian friends they can spot in a single calendar year. They are absolutely on the honour system, they spend a shitload of money traversing the globe, and the only thing that they are permitted to shoot is a camera. Sometimes the contest is done within a single geographic area and sometimes the entire world is in play. The current record for a Big Year in North America is 839 species while the world big year record of 6,852 species was set in 2016 by Arjan Dwarshuis of the Netherlands.

The first time I was made aware of the Big Year was in a movie of the same title starring Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson. Frankly, I thought the entire escapade was ridiculous and boring as hell but guess what...

I've become one of those people.

I am officially a bird-watching fanatic. Sign me up for a membership in the Audubon Society. Take me to the wilds of the continents to discover the mating habits of the Great Blue Heron or perhaps the Baltimore Oriole. My fascination is real and deep. Today, I put an app on my phone that will help identify various species by a simple photograph and attended a lecture on the endemic and indigenous fowl of the Galápagos Islands. I am in it up to my armpits.

And nothing helps to stoke a fascination and a burgeoning hobby like an eco-vacation. I find myself looking up into the sky as often as I do onto the ground or into the water. I was truly amazed by the diving and feeding habits of the Galápagos brown pelicans that we saw today at dusk of the beaches at Rabida Island. I loved that the Galápagos flycatcher that landed on The Husband's camera lens this morning on Santiago, was so fearless that he was almost posing for the shot. The flamingos that came to feed in a tidal pool in the red sands of Rabida were so at peace with us idiot tourists that they didn't even seem to mind us photographing their evening meal. The American oystercatcher was almost proud and puffing to show off her two eggs in her nest on the black volcanic rocks of Santiago. And me...I just lapped it all up like a thirsty puppy.

The sea lions (we saw a mom nursing her pup. Bestill my heart.), fur seals, various varieties of crab, and...yes...those weird-assed iguanas and lizards are truly something to see but for me, it was the birds. Sorry, Mom. I know that you have a fascination with the reptiles but I will stick with the marine mammals and the brilliantly feathered.

A few tidbits.

1. We haven't snorkelled yet and that is my doing. The Husband is unable to breathe out of a tube and I simply didn't want to go without him. There will be other opportunities still to come, so stop nagging me, Twin Son's Better Half. 😉

2. We are incredibly impressed with Celebrity and this tour. If anybody wants to ask me questions for a future trip, private message me. My only mistake so far was not bringing water shoes. Those wet landings in bare feet are making for some interesting markings on my soles.

3. My vegetarian food choice has been very much validated and not for the reasons you might think. I am watching the food chain and natural selection happen in real-time while here and I have no illusions about eating meat, but the ecosystem is so very fragile that one alteration to even the smallest of lichen or plankton can have catastrophic consequences on the whole. I feel very strongly that the planet is in crisis and doing my small part to keep it in balance is important. We all have choices to make, and I am certainly not advocating that anyone choose to become vegetarian or vegan, but practicing some conscientious eating is something that we all should strive for.

4. If you aren't following The Husband on either Instagram or Facebook, you are missing out on the best photography on this tour. If you are reading this and don't know him, ask a friend to send you his info. A few of his masterpieces can be seen below.