Day 238: Golindrina Yacht – Galapagos Islands – Feb 10th

Docking at Moreno Point, we did a hike up some rugged lava rocks. Looking like a desert of lava rock, it was crazy to stumble across this massive green sinkhole in the middle of nowhere. Apparently, fresh water flows from the mountains through crevasses in the lava rock and fills several ponds and sinkholes, being a hotbed for life. CRAZY. The Galapagos really is strangely inhospitable on land, and those animals that do make it have some very specific traits making them survive the harsh conditions. And strangely enough, there were two flamingos just chilling in the ponds, along with some massive fish. The whole place exerted such an eerie calm, like living in a world of its own.

The mandatory snorkel time came after, and despite the rains and strong currents, we toughed it out as this area is popular for spotting sea horses! We tried to look for the little fellas in the green algae, but our mofo guide forgot one little detail….the seahorses are RED and hide in the red algae! Jerk. Oh wells, there were plenty of tortoises, and swimming face to face with one as the currents pushed and pulled both of us together and observing the graceful ways it moves around in the water was well worth the effort.

Back on board, we ate, did some reading on the deck and quickly fell asleep. Before long, the ringing sounds of the “time to go” bell woke us up, and we went out for a hike. It was raining, but no fear we have our Gore-Tex jacket to save us from being soaked, while the others went out in their jeans and cotton hoodys. Bad idea for them! We also made the stupid idea of bringing our P&S and our DSLR. The DSLR hung uncomfortably around my neck underneath my hardshell, while the P&S was in the pocket. After the hike, I was bone dry inside, but when I unzipped the pockets to reach for my camera, I felt a puddle of water……… SHIT. Pulled out my camera, and you can literally pour water out of it… SO SAD!

We let it dry out, but there really isn’t much I can do. The Goretex was let out to dry in on a hanger in the covered deck. Next morning….. because the boat was going through some rocky waves and windy rains, a second unfortunate event happened as my beloved jacket was GONE! That’s like…. a lot of good gear just broken/lost, and also a good chunk of change as well. We made a little joke out of it though, imagining the jacket had a mind of its own and feeling guilty for soaking our camera, it didn’t want to face us anymore and found a new home with the sea lions…. or so we’d like to think.

Hope the park rangers don’t come back and fine us for littering.