Galapagos tips [HAPP-L]

[Leslichten@xxxxxxx]

I know some of you are planning a trip to the Islands & I thought I would pass along some hints that were given to me before I went over the winter break. The water is great but you do loose track of time when swimming with the sea lions and penguins. Don't forget sunscreen on your lips. To avoid a cabin full of soggy T shirts try a wet shirt (surfboarders wear these and you can get them at dive and board shops) they weigh next to nothing, take up little room in your duffel and dry almost instantly. Gals try a pair of guy's baggies or board shorts over your suit bottom, they aren't much on style but they protect the tops of your thighs from sun in the panga, the backs in the water and from the panga when swimming off it. They also come with secure pockets that just fit a disposable underwater camera. Be sure your hat has a chin strap, panga circling to pick up soggy hats can
 be tricky. Tevas are a must, flip flops just don't 
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ut it. Many landings are wet ones (even the ones they said would be dry, due to the tide). They say put your camera in a plastic bag to protect it, but Eagle Creek makes neat little waterproof zipper bags that you can clip on your shorts & if the camera isn't too big they work well and leave your hands free. 
       Shopping in the Islands is very limited & slide film very expensive (if you can find it), so take more than you think you need. You don't need to take all those pics of the baby sea lions. but every one is a ham! Puerto Ayora has a nice general grocery and misc. store right by the dock; it also has the shops for CDRS & Nat. Park (Darwin has better prices but the Park shop is air conditioned and has more stuff). Puerto Moreno has very limited shopping. Guide books are much more there than here (often double what Amazon wants). Most recommended is Michael Jackson's Galapagos: A Natural History Guide, Univ. of Calgary, but it is big. Horwell & Oxford's Galapagos Wildlife, from Bradt is smaller and easier to fit in a daypack. English fiction paperbacks are nonexistent or fiendishly expensive but there are paperback swaps on most of the boats and in the towns so you can trade what you brought. Postcard stamps (you need 2 for th
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states) are $1/card and can be bought easiest at the airport on Baltra (last kiosk out & mailed there too in the big blue mail box outside the CDRS kiosk). 
       Guides in Guayaquil and the boats say the unpeeled/uncooked veggies are OK to eat; unless you have a cast iron stomach don't believe them!  We started out 11 but several of our little band spent more time in the head than the pangas because they couldn't resist that peeled avocado sitting on the lettuce! 
Check out the sea lion skeletons, there are some interesting arrangements of cartilage in the vertebral columns. If you get to Floreana, don't forget to bring a post card for the barrel (you won't need a stamp on that one).
Have a great trip and say hello to the sea lions on Santa Fe for me,
Leslie
 
Leslie Lichtenstein
Massasoit Community College
One Massasoit Blvd.
Brockton, MA 03203
llichtenstein@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx