"Bay-yah Dōn-ah buena nama" says the garbage taxi man as he picks up our trash. I can not get used to the coolness of the mornings and evenings. The mid day heat is not bad; the air is fresh, clean and a gentle warm breeze pours over you. The closest climate I can think of is Hermosa Beach in Los Angeles.
The people here are extremely peaceful and clean. The public recycle containers outnumber the trash cans. You do not see local people drinking much in public. For example, they have challenge volleyball games dear the town dock; three men on a side instead of two like the US. Also unlike the US there is no beer drinking on the sidelines, nor on the streets nearby. Anyone you see drinking in a sidewalk café is probably a tourist and probably an American. Aggressive behaviors are never observed. The children are always smiling and playful.
Some young people can be seen touring with backpacks and bedrolls on their backs; together with a group of ecology students that come here, primarily from America, to do studies for weeks at a time, they form a community much like the hippie culture I experienced in the late 60's and early 70's in Hermosa Beach. You don't suppose it is the weather? One thing that seems to permeate this culture is the use of recreational drugs. They hug trees during the day and relax with a joint at night. It is there but openly spaced out people are not seen and it does not seem to touch the locals who are extremely family oriented and openly religious. I want to know more about the local culture and find out if Ecuador and Peru are also like these people or if the special nature of these people is limited to the Galapagos.
Yesterday we took an almost 5 mile walk to Tartuga Beach, turtle beach. We did not see tortoises but we did see surfing and body surfing off a very clean white fine sand beach. Even though many people were enjoying their Sunday on the beach, ther were no trash cans and no garbage; these people packed it all out. Sometimes 5 waves would roll in one set. In fact they were so closely spaced you could be hit by two or more before you could recover your balance. John, Deborah and Anthony played like little children in the surf. John said it took him back 20 years; it reminded him of beaches in South Africa.
Today we went ashore in the morning to research taking tours. We met Ricardo, our agent, and based on our desires we chose two one day tours. This should complete our consumption of Galapagos. Thursday we are going to Bartolomé, it is a little island off the west coast of San Salvador, a much larger island. The centerpiece of a visit is the steep climb up Cerro Batolomé, the view is spectacular. This is the view seen in most Galapagos literature that defines the image of the Galapagos. One prominent feature is Pinnacle Rock. To cool off you go to the base of Pinnacle Rock to a beach for a swim where it is probable to see teams of penguins diving for food. The second day trip is to Seymour to see the Blue-footed Boobies.
God Bless Bella Donna.
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