druger’s zoo By Marvin Druger
Adventures in the Galapagos Islands
O
ne day, my wife, Pat, announced: “We are going to the Galapagos Islands.” I was busy working on a radio script, “Science on the Radio” on WAER-FM 88.3, and I didn’t pay much attention to what she said. I uttered my usual response to such statements: “I don’t want to go.” “Then I’ll go without you,” was her response. After a brief discussion, we “compromised,” and Pat made arrangements with the Road Scholar travel organization for us to visit the Galapagos Islands for a week. Time passed quickly and, before I knew it, Pat said, “Pack your bag, We’re leaving tomorrow.” I hastily threw clothing and things into a suitcase, and, the next day, off we went. To save air fare, we decided to start our flight from the Rochester
airport. So, we drove to Rochester and stayed at a hotel overnight, before embarking on a plane at 6 a.m. the next morning. The hotel was at the airport and we could park for an extended time in the yellow parking lot for $1 a day. This may not have been a great bargain, if you consider the amount of gas we used driving endlessly at night around the airport, looking for the yellow parking lot. Eventually we found it, and an obscure shuttle bus drove us to the hotel. We slept restlessly, afraid that we would miss the plane. We didn’t. The 14-hour trip from Rochester to Chicago to Miami to Quito (the capital city of Ecuador) to the Galapagos was painfully long, but uneventful. I didn’t bring a book to read, so I sat in a window seat, watching the wing of the airplane to make sure it didn’t fall off.
Druger during his visit to the Galapagos Islands. “We saw sea lions, penguins, lizards, iguanas, sharks, crabs, giant tortoises and many varieties of birds. 44
55 PLUS - August / September 2011
On a long airplane trip, I tend to doze, as if I’m in a coma, but I can’t sleep in the confines of the airplane seat. I can’t seem to figure out how to position my head. To add to my woes, the passenger in front of me eased his seat back, further restricting my breathing space. Partially re-circulated air blasted germs into my face, while I tried to blank out the discomfort from my mind. Pat sat in the middle seat, and was squashed between me and a stranger sitting in the aisle seat. Somehow, she managed to close her eyes and sleep through it all. A flight attendant dutifully announced safety instructions. She told us about life jackets, and described how to proceed in case of a water landing. Who was she kidding? Then again, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger did manage to safely land a US Airways jet in the Hudson