River. I wondered if this would work in the Pacific Ocean? Free food is no longer served on airline trips in the U.S., but we were hungry and were willing to pay for a turkey and cheese sandwich. The flight attendant sold the last sandwich to the person sitting next to Pat. The passenger saw my forlorn expression and commented, “Don’t worry. You’re not missing anything.” Pat and I have had the privilege of traveling to many places in the world, but this was our first trip to South America. The Galapagos Islands consist of about 13 major islands and many smaller ones. The islands are located about 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, and are the product of undersea volcanic action. About 3 percent of the land area of the Galapagos is urban and agricultural, while about 97 percent is designated as a national park. Charles Darwin visited four of the islands, collected specimens, and his experiences at the Galapagos Islands contributed to his ideas about natural selection and evolution. We flew from Quito on the mainland to Baltra Island in the Galapagos, and boarded the boat at Baltra. We lived on the small boat for seven days, as we traveled to visit different islands. There were 14 mostly retired tourists, a crew, and a guide. We spent the days ashore, and ate our meals and slept on the boat as it traveled at night. The cabin had two beds, a noisy air conditioner, and a bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet. When we entered the room, I immediately spotted two small moths. I am not a fan of bugs, and I envisioned myself soaked in insect repellent every night to avoid mosquito bites. I wondered if “Quito” was short for “mosquito?” As it turned out, there were no bugs in the room on the entire trip. The mosquitoes preferred staying near the island vegetation, rather than attack the ship that was anchored offshore. There were some inconveniences in the cabin. Washing laundry was not permitted, and we had to use and reuse the same dirty, wet towels for several days. The sink had a push faucet that would provide a small amount of water each time it was pushed. No paper was permitted in the toilet, so all used toilet paper had
to be put into a can by the side of the toilet. The shower was fine, except for the rising water because of a defective drain. This turned out to be a good feature, since our feet could be soaked in deep water in the shower after we returned from a beach trip. What were a few highlights of the trip? • The amazing diversity of animals and plants. We saw sea lions, penguins, lizards, iguanas, sharks, crabs, giant tortoises and many varieties of birds. Every organism seemed oblivious to humans, and we could get quite close to them. Everyone was an avid photographer, and my favorite photo was a photo of everyone taking a photo of yet another orange crab. • Snorkeling was a popular activity. I put on a wet suit, flippers and a mask, but I couldn’t seem to be able to breathe properly through my mouth. Also, I kept falling down near the beach because I tried to walk forward with my flippers. Pat and I decided to forego the snorkeling, but we wished we had been given more opportunity to practice. On the other hand, I wasn’t eager to swim in an open fish tank, with sharks and stingrays that “never attack humans.” • We hiked on treacherous rocks on nearly every island. It was hot and humid. One lady in our group passed out from the heat. Several people tripped and fell on the rocks including Pat and me. On one island, we climbed 379 wooden steps, in the blazing sun, high heat and humidity, to get a spectacular view of the surroundings. I thought this trip was supposed to be mainly for older people? It was really for older people who were in great physical condition. Our regular workouts at Fitness Forum in Fayetteville paid dividends and we managed to endure the rigors fairly well. • On one island, we stood on a red line that was supposed to be the equator, as identified through GPS technology. A guide demonstrated the Coriolis effect. There was a pan of water with leaves floating on top. The guide pulled the plug and the water and leaves swirled clockwise. Then, he did the same thing with the pan of water one foot away from the red line on the other side of the Equator
and the water swirled down the drain counterclockwise. Wow! One of the members of our group had a doctorate in biophysics. He took the guide aside and questioned the validity of that demonstration. The guide admitted that it was faked. The reason the water swirled in opposite directions was that he twisted the drain plug in opposite directions to start the flow of water down the drain. No wonder that it swirled in opposite directions on opposite sides of the equator, if indeed the red line really marked the equator at all. Some members of our group were upset by this fraudulent demonstration, and they felt that the guide should have told everyone that this was simply an illustration of what would happen under ideal conditions. The Coriolis force is very weak and can be observed in movements of large air masses and weather systems and on either side of the equator, but not in water going down a drain, where other conditions are much more influential. There were many other memorable moments on this trip. Since we have traveled extensively, people often ask us what was our favorite trip? My answer is that every trip was our favorite one, since each trip imprints special experiences in our memory. So, despite my negativity about traveling anywhere, or doing anything new, I follow my wife’s adventurous spirit and go wherever she decides we should go. And we always learn something and have fun. August / September 2011 - 55 PLUS
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