(Galapagos: the Creatures is still a work in progress.)

The Ecuador mainland is the closest launching point for the Galapagos, but it still seems worlds away from mainland life. Two flights (with a delay for erupting Cotopaxi within view of the Quito airport), bring us to the island of San Cristobal. A quick jump into the back of a white flatbed pickup truck taxi (Mimi, “Are you kidding me?”) delivers us to our hostel on the main drag of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the official capital of the archipelago. Coming from Annapolis, one of the quainter state capitals, PBM still seems pretty sleepy. Avenida Charles Darwin houses mostly dive shops, cafes and “ferry” ticket kiosks. If you aren’t in the well-heeled, empty-nester, national-geographic cruiseship demographic (love them, can’t wait to be them), then you’re doing the DIY land version of the Galapagos adventure. Introducing: the ferry.

There are no ferries between the islands of the Galapagos. There are small, privately owned power boats that ferry passengers through the open waters of the decidedly non-pacific Pacific Ocean between San Cristobal and Santa Cruz and from there on to Isabela Island. In groups of 22-25 people, we are grouped with a Capitán and encouraged (I’m being kind) into small taxi boats, our luggages piled high onto the teetering bows. 50¢ gets you to the small speedboat for the 2 1/4 hour boat ride. Luckily, one daughter (guess who) immediately sizes up the situation and angles for the best position on the taxi boat to get the least nauseating spot on the “ferry”. The choices are limited, and the maneuvering begins. The Capitán pressures the first boarders to move deep to the front of the airless vessel, but the locals and Goldsteins feign deafness and sit tight in the favorable outer seats. Within moments, the seats are full, lifevests and barfbags are distributed, and we are off. No instructions or information given, neither in Spanish nor English, and we hit the chop fast, 400 hp of smoky outboard power hurling us towards our destination. I now understand why the small Entebe airline sells out it’s overpriced inter island flights.

We face each other across a narrow space for the journey, and for days after, we wave and chat with our 22 fellow passengers when we encounter them in town or on the beach – bonded by the hours we shared, everyone clammy and green through 8 foot swells on the beam, even seasoned boaters using full concentration powers to stay well. Luckily, we only need to do this two more times according to our ambitious itinerary and the extraordinary beauty of the scenery and wildlife and the kindness of the people make the journey worthwhile.

-Gail