First look at the Galapagos

We took an early flight from Quito to Baltra airport in the central Galapagos islands on Thursday morning. If Quito by night is amazing, Quito from the air is just spectacular.


We got into Baltra airport and crossed over the canal to Santa Cruz island in a little ferry. From there it was a long drive into the town of Puerto Ayora, plenty of time to just check out the landscape. I have been on many islands, but this was like nothing I have ever seen. Capt. George Vancouver who visited the islands in 1795 described them as the most dreary barren and desolate country he ever beheld. There really aren't many tall things away from the high areas of the island, but it has its own beauty. Here are a couple of wide angle pictures from the GoPro cameras.


Towards the town of Puerto Ayora, there is more plant growth in general. And the dock area has a great intertidal zone!

Quito by night...

...is absolutely amazing. That is all.

Hello Quito

Jon, Leslie and I got into Quito late last night and pretty much passed out immediately. Our flight to Baltra in the Galapagos isn't till tomorrow morning, so we have today to check out the city. This was my first look at Quito in the light, from a 4th storey hotel room with a broken window.


Leslie and I spent the morning wandering around Quito. I attempted to try out Jon's GoPro cameras out of the water, before we switch out the wide angle lens for the flat one. I didn't realise I'd left the camera on time lapse instead of just single shot mode, so I ended up with 160 pictures that were mostly of the inside of my pocket. But here is one of the few decent shots I did get.


I never manged to get the haircut I wanted in the US because I was busy with packing, moving, taking the GRE and (of course) collecting and sorting algae. So we went looking for a place to get it cut in Quito. Here I am with my six dollar haircut and the milo tin I found at the giant hypermarket, Megamaxi. I am always excited when I see milo being sold (e.g. in Moorea, New Zealand) because it's so much harder to get in the US.

Off site algae collection

Today we drove slightly over an hour north to Rye, NH to revisit a site from last summer and do some algae collections there. This is a picture of our entry point into the water, and the actual site of collection is just next to/behind the big rock on the left.

The picture is deceptively warm and sunny and hides the fact that the water temperature was still 7ºC/45ºF, which is about where it is in the early winter. So we were freezing in our wetsuits for both dives and I am still cold 7 hours after exiting the water.


But on the way back we got crabcakes at a roadside place and sat in the sun and it seemed like New England summer again.