Google… StreetTrail View Comes to Galapagos

The Galapagos National Park service announced today  =that those who can't visit the Galapagos just now can still have a great opportunity to "see" what this World Heritage site is all about is, thanks to the alliance of the Galapagos National Park Service, the Charles Darwin Foundation and Google, which for the first time in Ecuador will capture all kinds of 360 degree images along trails.   

Park rangers accompanied Google and Darwin Station staff to several visitor sites and seascapes on the islands of San Cristobal,  Santa Cruz and Isabela, where they captured three types of images for the project  - closed environments, terrestrial visitor sites and the seabed.   A tour of the Sierra Negra crater Isabela (the 2^nd largest volcanic caldera in the world - and often in the clouds…), the North Seymour visitor trail (habitat of bird species such as blue-footed boobies and frigate) and the tortoise breeding centre in San Cristobal.  

The Piper Navajo twin-engine 7 passenger plane was presented to the authorities in recent days on Isabela Island as an alternative interisland connectivity, invoking the rather spotty service record of the existing company, EMETEBE.

The plane is owned by Julio Zavala, Galápagos resident naturalist guide, piloted by experienced pilots and managed by Jaime Morales Polit, who has been involved in the aviation business for over 20 years.

It should be noted that there have been several attempts to establish an interisland carrier with regular flights and the longest was EMETEBE, which was led for nearly two decades for its pioneering Jaime Morales Polit.  It is unclear if Mr. Polit has left EMETEBE at this point, or if he is co-managing both companies.  

Other companies that were operating interisland services in the Galapagos were Arica, whose operations were dashed after his plane crash in December 2004 (no injuries) and Saereo which ceased operations in 2013.

CNH Tours hopes that this will improve the quality and reliability of interisland air service.   EMETEBE, no doubt experienced in what it takes to run this business in Galapagos, is considered a bit non-chalant in the way it deals with clients, likely because it has had very little competition.

Over the past several months, the Galapagos Marine Reserve has placed about 30 fixed anchor systems (ecological mooring buoys), which can be used by tourist boats visiting sites where they are located.

Mario Villalta, head of Conservation and Marine Ecosystems at the Park Service, notes that this project originated with the "Zero Anchors" project, which tested various systems and materials for five systems subsequently installed in Bartholome Island.  After one and a half of use, they proved the effectiveness of these with a significant recovery of the seabed.

Through this initiative, the Park Service is promoting lower impact tourism in the archipelago, aimed at improving the quality of this activity while reducing the impacts caused by traditional mooring system (anchor and chain).  One can imagine the impact on the sea floor from dropping anchors, and chains dragging on the bottom, every day all year long, in different places.   The new system will result in only a tiny fraction of sea floor impact compared to before.

The Park Service has plans to install a total of 70 fixed anchor systems at 10 sites the marine reserve over the next while.   An added benefit will be "no more noise" from an anchor being dropped or raised in the middle of the night.     Keep an eye out for an anchoring buoy near you!

This 16 passenger day outing ship burned up last weekend just off Las Bachas beach, on the north end of Santa Cruz island.   Despite a rapid response from nearby ships, they were not able to control the fire and the ship was completely destroyed.   Nobody was hurt.    The Genovesa had just been refurbished in 2012.  If you had any plans to use this ship in the coming days/weeks, we suggest you revisit them.  

Genovesa burning up off Las Bachas beach.  Photo credit:  Ivan Lopez, Wreck Bay Diving

Yesterday (Sunday) at approximately 14h00, two rangers of the Galapagos National Park Service, part of the search team looking for a tourist considered lost since the previous day, found the body of Thomas Berman who had arrived in Galapagos the previous Tuesday.   The body was located about 118 meters from the path leading to the "Las Grietas" visitor site, near the main town of Puerto Ayora.

A group of 13 rangers, with the support of local fire department, had intensified the search in the morning, expanding the search area.   On top that, a National Park boat searched shorelines nearby. 

78 year old Mr. Berman, a British-Israeli national was reported missing by the tour operator who had sold him a trip to Isabela Island, which was scheduled to depart at 14h00 on Satureday - but Mr. Berman did not show up. Staff of the hotel where he was staying confirmed that on Saturday, Mr. Berman had left the hotel indicating he was going to Las Grietas, and intended on returning for the trip to Isabela.   The hotel surveillance cameras confirm that at 10:28 he left the hotel with a small backpack and a camera.  It was based on this information, that the Park proceeded to organize the search party.

Unfortunately, accidents do happen.  Mr. Berman was smart in having informed the hotel of his plans - otherwise, the park would not have known where to search.   The trail to Las Grietas is fairly well marked, but it's not inconceivable that someone could take a wrong turn and lose their bearings.  Heading off on unknown trails on your own is not recommended for exactly this reason.    One supposes that Mr. Berman was in good shape and confident in his ability to do the 1.5 mile / 2 km, trail - which does go over moderately rough terrain from time to time, and which is used quite regularly by locals, particularly on a weekend.   Still, one would have expected a person to have survived a little more than 24 hours in this area.  We suppose that Mr. Berman must have suffered some sort of malaise.  

Off the trail hiking in Galapagos is notoriously difficult.   Vegetation is dense, the ground can be very uneven on ancient lava flows, and a lot of plants have thorns.   Being on the equator, the sun doesn't quite help finding north and south.    A very good friend of CNH Tours and an experienced naturalist guide recently recounted his harrowing tale just in February, having lost   bearings when accompanying a scientist in the field.  It took them all day to find their way out.    Tourist and locals are reported lost fairly frequently.  Sometimes they make it back, sometimes their remains are found much later. 

The Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment reported yesterday from Galapagos that it launched the tender for the granting of Tourist Activity Operators' licenses in the park.   

A total of 31 licenses will be granted as follows:  

Scuba diving - day trips:    5 in Santa Cruz, 8 in San Cristobal, and 2 for Villamil on Isabela. 

Bay tours:  4 in Santa Cruz, 6 in San Cristobal and 6 in Villamil.

CNH Tours is always very pleased to see the government authorities establishing order in the tourism sector of Galapagos.    While cruise ship tourism has been highly regulated for many years, land based tourism has been a bit of a free for all.   Until the mid to late 1990's, the vast majority of visitors to Galapagos did a cruise ship visit, leaving only a very small land based sector.   But as demand grew and as the government kept a lid on the expansion on the number of cruise ships allowed to operate in the islands (over environmental conservation and visitor experience quality concerns), and as cruise ship prices rose, there has been a very rapid expansion of land based visitors to the islands.    This happened before the authorities could implement any measures to control the proliferation and quality of services. 

Yesterday's announcement is part of the effort to ensure that visitors to Galapagos will be well taken care of, that safety measures are in place and that all service providers operate from the same, level playing field.    This complements the Ministry of Tourism's OK Galapagos campaign, which provides the "OK Galapagos" label to all tourism service providers that operate according to regulations.    CNH Tours always encourages visitors to patronize legal and licensed service providers in Galapagos (e.g. hotels, bay tours, inter-island transport operators) to ensure that the tourism industry in the islands grows in a sustainable, safe way.

CNH Tours is relaying information that it has just received - from Monday 25^th March, the new passenger terminal on Baltra Island in the Galápagos was fully operational for both arriving and departing passengers.  It had been operational for only arriving passengers for several weeks prior to that. 

Though touted as an improvement to travel to and from the islands, having recently used the airport 2 weeks ago, CNH Tours is sorely disappointed in the overall look and layout.  While the previous airport was indeed reaching its limit in terms of passenger capacity (it was built a good 20 years ago, when there were just 4-5 flights a week arriving to Baltra, and now there are up to 6 a day...), it was at least built with mostly local materials, and fit right into the landscape as best an airport terminal could.

The new behemoth is at least 4 times the height of the old one, and built with large white panels, and filled with pipes and wiring - looking more like an manufacturing plant out of a Monty Python cartoon, than an airport terminal (at least when we saw it in early March - perhaps some aesthetic touches still remained to be completed).  It is even equippred with sprinklers in case there are fires - dangling from the rafters above - but frankly, beyond the Panama hats many visitors are donning, one is hard pressed to find any flammable material in sight.  And another thing - despite having an area of about 3 football fields, the toilets are tiny!

Oh well, such is progress we suppose.   To add insult to injury, visitors will have to pay a $26 tax to use the airport.  This will be automatically added to the price of your plane ticket (if bought after April 4th - otherwise you will be charged at the check-in counter). 

Old Baltra Airport below - built with local and natural materials - lava rocks, wood... a realy homey feeling!

CNH Tours has been informed that local authorities in Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island, started charging a new tax / landing fee of 20 US dollars effective today.

This new fee will serve to ensure the maintenance of the town's main landing docks, where tourists disembark from cruise ships, day tours and inter-island trips.  The docks also serve as moorage for smaller fishing boats and other working vessels.  

It is not clear how visitors will be expected to pay - whether this will be incorporated into cruise prices, or other transport service prices, or if you'll have to pay $20 in cash upon arrival.   Only time will tell. 

The rates are $20 for foreigners, $10 for Ecuadorians and $2 for Galapagos residents if on a day tour or a cruise, and $5 for foreigners, $2 for Ecuadorians and $1 for Galapagos residents if just using the docks for inter-island transport, or work related purposes.  

Though we understand the need to have users pay for the upkeep of facilities, CNH Tours is starting to wonder over how far this will go.  The Park fee is $100, the tourist card fee is $10, there is a new aiport tax of $24 in Quito...  We suggest that the Galapagos authorities arrange for the unification of Galapagos related taxes and fees so that visitors do not feel they are being asked, every time they move, to pay yet another tax.   This will have (and may already have had) and dampening effect on visitation to the islands.  

Economist and US educated Rafael Correa was re-elected as president of Ecuador over the weekend in the first round of presidential voting - indicating widespread support from Ecuadoreans.   He first came to power in 2007, then basically strong armed a constitutional review, which allowed him to present his candidacy for the 2009 elections (he won) and now again in 2013. 

CNH Tours has been following Ecuadorian politics (in no great depth admittedly, but following nonetheless - and we're sure some of our friends in the islands will disagree with us!) since 1998, when we first moved to Galapagos.   During our first four years there, we got to see at least 5 presidents (at one point, there were 3 joint presidents!), many ministers of the environment, massive inflation, a run on the banks and the abandonment of the national currency for the US$.  The 3-4 years after we left in 2002, the Galapagos National Park Service had a revolving door directorship, with 13 directors or interim directors in 3 years.  

Since Correa came along in 2007, things have calmed down tremendously, both in the country and in Galapagos.   One of the first moves we took note of under the Correa administration was the ending of fuel subsidy cheating for cruise ships.   Fuel in Galapagos was subsidized, but this was for fishing boats.   Under the lax regimes prior to Correa, many ships somehow managed to get access to fishing boat fuel subsidies - essentially resulting in the poor taxpayers of Ecuador subsidizing profits of the ship owners, and lower cruise prices for international visitors.   No more - and that's a good thing.  

The new constitution of Ecuador also removed the "Provincial" status for Galapagos.  This small territory, with a population of under 30,000, had the same constitutional status as other mainland provinces, with populations of up to 3 million people.  This had led to completely warped politics in the islands, with plenty of destructive in-fighting amongst small minded politicians, who exploited various interest groups to make a name for themselves.   Things have been quiet in the islands over the past several years - that's good for local residents and good for visitors.  Galapagos is now managed by a governing council, comprised of national administration and local representatives.  This seems to be working. 

CNH Tours had the pleasure to have known the minister of environment under Correa, Marcel Aguiñaga, who was a tough cookie and did her job well.  She was a colleague of ours ' when we worked at the Charles Darwin Research Station, she was the legal advisor with the Galapagos National Park Service.  She resigned from her ministerial post last November to present herself as a candidate for the National Assembly in this election - and we note that she was duly elected. 

Correa has invested a good deal of the country's oil revenues in infrastructure and services (sometimes via massive advance selling of oil to China).  Roads have been built, teachers hired.  In Galapagos, a modern hospital will be built for the first time.  All this isn't to say that Correa is perfect - his relationship with the press is worrying - he has bullied owners of newspapers and television stations into submission, or forced them to sell their businesses.   It is ironic that while his administration has brought in measures to ensure that government is more transparent on the one hand, he is making life more difficult for the press to verify that.  

But given the choice between Correa and the previous administrations we've known to have run Ecuador, we will stand with Correa.  He has been better for Ecuadorians in general, and better for Galapagos. 

Comet PanSTARRS will be making a (modest) showing mid-March, just after sunset, low on the western horizon.  It's worth making a special effort to spotting it.  It may be hard to see with the naked eye, as there will be the glow of dusk to mask it.  That's why looking for it on the Equator, at sea, gives you the best viewing potential.  Binoculars will help tremendously though!

German national Dirk Bender, 32, finally got his just desserts.   He was sentenced to 4 years in prison (the maximum penalty) on Monday this week, after having been found guilty of attempting to smuggle out very rare and endemic Land Iguanas from Galapagos last July.   He has been held in pre-trial custody in Galapagos since then, but will now be moved to Guayaquil to satisfy the judgment.  His time already spent in custody will be deducted from the sentence, meaning he's looking at a July 2016 release from prison. 

Mr. Bender had been caught doing the same thing in Fiji in 2011, trying to smuggle local reptiles out of that country.   One wonders how many times he has been successful in doing so at other places.    Clearly, the Fiji experience did not discourage him from continuing this abhorrent practice.  CNH Tours hopes that Ecuador's environmental justice will be more successful, and congratulates the lawyers and judges involved in applying a law that too often is disregarded or considered unimportant.

The illegal trade of protected species around the world contributes to the decline in population numbers for many rare plants and animals.  Most of these die while being smuggled, but the practice continues.    These species are best observed where they live, not in people's homes as conversation pieces.   

For more information on illegal wildlife trade, consult TRAFFIC (The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network - www.traffic.org). 

Below:  Dirk Bender goes to trial on Monday, February 4th, 2013

Below,, the CNH Tours "Picture of the Year', the moment Dirk Bender gets caught by the authorities, in July 2012:

According to the latest information available from Quiport, the company charged with operating the new Quito airport, operations are finally set to start on 20 February.    They were supposed to start last year, but for various reasons, the opening has been delayed.   CNH Tours feels confident that this time, the start date will be honoured.

The new airport is quite a bit further away from downtown Quito - you will need to plan for a transfer time of between 1 and 1.5 hours, depending on traffic, according to Quiport.  Though an express road is planned between the airport, which is down in a valley, to Quito, which is up higher, it is not yet completed.

Quiport also notes that all flights to and from Quito in the evening of the 19th of February will be cancelled and indicate that airlines have already planned around that closure.  If by chance you a scheduled to be flying into Quito in the late afternoon or evening of the 19th, please double check with your agent.

On Sunday 17th February Ecuadorians will head to the polls for presidential and legislative elections. A "dry law" goes into effect from midday on Friday 15th February until midday on Monday 18th. This measure prohibits businesses in Ecuador from selling alcohol during this period.

This ban does not apply to people on board ships, but does apply to everyone else. 

A new hospital is being built in Galapagos, in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island.  This is the capital town (not quite city!) of Galapagos, though smaller by far than the main tourist town of Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz island.

The US$8.1M investment will lead to a new and modern facility, part of the government's plan to improve health services in the islands.  Last year, it spent US$5million on equipment and personnel. 

Of particular importance to tourists on ships in remote locations, there is now a Navy operated Bell-430 helicopter that is available for emergency evacuations, in operation since last August.  It has already carried out ​​48 missions (38 interisland emergency evacuations, 5 rescues at sea and the transport of 5 medical teams to attend to emergencies in situ).

CNH Tours is pleased to announce that dates for its highly acclaimed "ACTIVE GALAPAGOS" trips have just been posted on our website.   We have been custom designing the ACTIVE itinierary for 10 years, growing from 2 cruises a year to a record 14 planned for 2014.

This trip consistently attracts a like-minded group of inquisitive carpe diem guests from the US, Canada, the UK, Europe and beyond who want to make the most of what will usually be a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience Galapagos in an "up close and personal" way.   Our ACTIVE guides receive rave reviews and are often cited in the bulletin boards. They are hand picked and among the very best in the islands. The Samba crew and on-board experience receives consistent positive comments.  Altogether, these elements combine to make this an intimate and ideal way to see the islands. 

"I want to thank you for organizing such a wonderful trip to Galapagos for me.  Juan and the rest of the crew of the Samba were amazing.  Thank you for helping me realize a dream adventure."  Holly, on a 2012 Active Tour

Recent group photo: Crossing the Equator, we all dress up accordingly.  Spot Juan Salcedo, as Neptune, and Samba guests as various Galapagos animals.

CNH Tours has unilaterally (we are not very democratic it seems!) decided that the picture below is the best Galapagos picture of the year, courtesy of the Galapagos National Park Service.

In it, we see the moment in which inspectors at the Baltra airport have discovered live iguanas stashed away in the suitcase of Dirk Bender, a German national about to embark on his flight to the continent, and beyond.   Mr. Bender, in the background, looks like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.   This happened last July 8th, and Mr. Bender has been in detention at a Puerto Ayora prison ever since, awaiting trial.   There is a 6 month statute of limitations in Ecuador, and if he's not tried before the 8th of January, he goes free.   The Park Service announced yesterday that a trial is scheduled for tomorrow, January 4th.

Mr. Bender was caught doing exactly the same thing in Fiji, on December 3rd, 2011.  In that case, he was trying to smuggle a Crested Fiji Iguana.  He was liable for a fine of up to $20,000 - but CNH Tours has not been able to determine what his sentence was exactly.

It's very nice to see the law being fully applied in Galapagos, particularly when it comes to environmental crimes.  Infractions of environmental laws are not often taken seriously by courts in many countries.   The work of the judiciary in Galapagos is becoming increasingly sensitive to environmental issues - a good thing for this very fragile natural area. 

British nature documentary superstar Sir David Attenborough presents the 2^nd of his 3 part series on Galapagos tonight in the UK (Sky TV), but this time in 3D.   "It is usually a mistake to go back, but I have now returned three times to the Galápagos Islands since my first visit in 1978 and each time the excitement has been undiminished. On my latest trip, indeed, it has been heightened, for I have had the opportunity not only to film the islands in a new medium but - as we disclosed earlier this week - to film an entirely new species" he stated.  He refers to the pink iguana, first documented a few years ago. 

Galapagos documentaries remain very popular, and CNH Tours certainly appreciates the free publicity for this (truly) unique place.  I recall once, after 3 years in the pressure cooker that is Galapagos conservation life in the islands, I took a Christmas holiday in Canada with my family, and we went to the extended family retreat, a small lakeside cottage in the snow.  We started a fire, and distractedly turned on the television, only to be confronted by a, you know it, Galapagos documentary!  

The Galapagos National Park reports that a 74 year old woman died after tripping and falling on the boardwalk at the Cerro Colorado Semi-natural Tortoise Breeding Centre on San Cristobal island yesterday.  Jane White from the USA was on a cruise on the La Pinta ship.  While visiting the tortoise centre, she decided to join a group of three other visitors who were headed off to the restrooms.    She appears to have tripped and knocked her head against the boardwalk as she fell.  She was pronounced dead at the hospital in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, 24 kilometres away.   

No place is risk free, and Galapagos is perhaps a bit riskier than your typical cruise experience.  Not only does a cruise include several short hikes on what can be uneven trails, but you may also find yourself quite far away from professional medical attention.  Anyone considering a Galapagos visit should take that into consideration and be willing to accept these risks.   Of course, the trails are not "death defying" -  thousands of visitors walk over them every year, many well into their 70's and often into their 80's (CNH Tours has no doubts that sprightly folks in their 90's also frequent them).   But accidents may happen.    We are sad to hear of this accident.  

The Galapagos Port Captain reported yesterday that the 20 passenger, tourist superior Galaven yacht had hit some rocks at the Cerro Dragon (NW sector of Santa Cruz Island) and was taking on water.  Passengers were on land while this happened.   The crew was able to control the leak and took the ship to the Canal de Itabaca (which separates Baltra, the airport island, and Santa Cruz island).  The passengers were later taken back to Puerto Ayora.  

Based on this information, it would appear that the Galaven may be out of service of a while.  If you planned to cruise on the Galaven in the next few weeks, CNH Tours recommends you get in touch with your agent as soon as possible.

The town of Puerto Ayora (the main tourist service centre in Galapagos) recently inaugurated a nice "Laguna Las Ninfas" mangrove interpretive boardwalk/trail, with nice panels explaining the ecosystem, both in Spanish and English.  It's just a short walk (e.g. 10 minutes) from downtown - well worth a visit.