Looking back

A humpback whale and its baby surfaced a few feet from our kayak

















































After four months in the Galapagos, what are my impressions? I have never been in a more intensely watched world, a World Heritage Site that is an icon for millions of folks, most of whom will never set sight on the islands. The intensity made me dig under layer after layer until I simply found more layers of confusion. I wish I could say "I got it" but I cannot.

Layer 1 The miracle. Hundreds of species of flora and fauna have evolved into unique beings never seen elsewhere. Most are utterly fearless of humans and seem as innocent (and sometimes as adorable) as babies. These stunning animals evoke feelings of hope and love in almost every tourist. They deserve a safe place to live, play and reproduce.

Layer 2 The less miraculous part is the advent of humans, who have entered as the most influential "invasive" species ever. The humans and their dogs, cats, rats, pigs and goats rose to the top of the food chain in a speck of time. The residents think about making a living and raising children; the national park is hardly a concern.

Layer 3 Then there are the environmentalists, who see their duty as preserving the endemic species so that some of the pristine landscapes remain.

Layer 4 How about the tourists? They fall in love with the animals and never meet the locals. They hear rumors that this paradise will be saved because there will be a cap on tourism someday.


The layers make all kinds of assumptions about each other but live almost completely isolated from each other. All of this rankles me, and I feel like a bobbing cork in a tempest. As I leave, I look wistfully at a cloudy Puerto Baquerizo, marvel at the leaping rays, and chat comfortably with the boat captain.

My thoughts drift to my last day in Santa Cruz. While completing the paperwork at the Darwin Station, I ran into the Darwin Station's executive director, Gabriel Lopez. A Cuban-American who has worked for the UN, his job is to take the first steps into the second fifty years. After 50 years of scientific research, the Station is proud of its documents [mostly in English], an informative visitors' site, and loyal donors. Lopez himself is a marvelous ambassador for the Station's work. He has charm, humor, and endless patience. He is determined to find a way to carry out scientific research AND have an improving relationship with residents. This is a new road to follow and it will not be built easily. The scientific research has been the cornerstone of the organization, and the "social sciences" are a recent addition. Lopez reallizes that the community will determine what happens to the environment and how tourism will develop. The problem is how to relate to the community so that the research conclusions will be understood and have some influence. A long history of mutual suspicion gets in the way, and this is not easily changed.

However, if anyone can reconcile the two worlds, it will be Dr. Lopez. He knows he has a lot to overcome but he senses his ability to be "oil on turbulent waters." I wish him the best.

To me, the way to take a first step is to befriend the local community. Take part in the life of the community and get out of the "ghetto" located on 450 acres "just past the cemetery." This change is not as easy as it seems. A few people like me can interview residents and publish their stories. But if the donors see that the CDF is ineffectual in promoting conservation, will they continue to contribute? If the CDF proposes to link their future to the residents' needs (better schools, more parks, etc.), who will donate funds? Will such a change not imply that the human community has the pivotal role, not the CDF?

Support from the Ecuadorian community hardly mattered in 1959 when the Station and Park were founded; there were only 3,000 residents and almost no tourism. Now there are almost 40,000 residents and a massive tourism industry, worth about $.5B dollars. The residents don't rely on the Station to interpret their world; instead, they look to the hand that butters their bread and that is the hand of the tourist.

To many locals, the Station is anathema. The CDF literature glorifies the animals and endemic plants so consistently that local folks frequently complain. The most common statement is some version of this one: "it is easier for a sea lion to get stitches than for a person to get his broken arm treated." All of the non-profits address the challenges to flora and fauna, with nary a word about the humans. In a survey of books sold to tourists, geographer Christophe Grenier found that 98% of the photos were of animals and plants. Of the 2% featuring humans, virtually all of the pictures showed the tourists themselves.

The non-profits' studies imply that humans are destroying the environment either directly (overfishing, shark finning, sea cucumber harvesting) or indirectly (via rats, cats, dogs, pigs, goats and donkeys that destroy habitats and eat tortoise and iguana eggs). The residents know they need tourist dollars and have no thoughts of cutting back on their income-producing activities. In fact, just the opposite is true. I went to a university class where local students presented their ideas for increasing (sustainable) tourism. Each idea was creative (coffee tourism, video tourism, etc.) and all involved plans to augment income from foreigners and mainland Ecuadorians.

More influential businessmen have proposed deep-sea fishing expeditions, "artesanal" fishing, and increasing the number of local cruise ships. All of these ideas have an entrepreneurial flair and some might succeed. But they are being developed with the goal of adding income to local coffers, not in order to enhance the care of flora and fauna.

Tourists assume that there are no local people and their visits to uninhabited islands only confirms this impression. Tourists meet multi-lingual guides, a few boat attendants and a cook or two. A German asked me if any people lived on the Galapagos, and I responded by asking if others were wondering the same thing. All nodded. I said that there were 30,000 - 40,000 residents, roads, schools, governments, trash dumps, universities and more. There was a need for books, hospitals and sewage treatment plants. The looks I got!

A tourist on my cruise asked about shark attacks and the guide's response was, "there are many types of sharks here but they are really passive." The truth is that there was a bull or tiger shark attack near Isabela. Well informed tourists could have asked about the 2001 oil spill by the freighter Jessica, that polluted the coast with 240,000 gallons of diesel. Or, the killing of 53 sea lions. Or the clubbing of 15 sea lions in 2008 and removal of their genitals, to be sold, presumably, as aphrodisiacs. But dialogue like this is rare.

Not surprisingly, non-profits advocate limits on growth. One NGO employee told me that he just could not wait for the locals to turn around their thinking:

"We don't have the luxury of waiting. Pretty soon, the animals will be gone, because the islands won't be able to support them. You can try to educate the folks here, and then they might change. But maybe not. These island are too important. They are too unique for us to be patient. Once they are gone, it will be too late to do anything."

I agreed but how could this occur, I wondered. "There are good laws, but there is no enforcement. Your donations of two-way radios is commendable, but who is going to use them? And if the radios locate illegal fishing, who is going to arrest and prosecute?"

"That is a problem," he acknowledged. "We have to give them the technology. At least they have the tools. We are now helping find the law-breakers, but local governments will have to make the laws work.

"And how can we get local judges to judge their brothers, fathers and uncles? Is it possible that a judge would fine his close relative? If he did, would he be welcome in local homes? In the neighborhood bar or restaurant?"

"I know that is tough," he answered, "but we have no choice.

The thinking goes like this: "Publish the facts and show people what to do. Eventually, they will do the right thing." Behind the words are lots of assumptions: local folks don't have the fact and they don't know what to do. If they had the information collected by the foreign NGOs, they would change. They will see that they are killing the goose (or tortoise) that is producing the golden eggs of tourism, and they will wise up. Or they will lose everything.

Many tourists told me that they had no idea there were local folks. Even more told me that they had heard there was a plan to eliminate the people. Some said that there was a prohibition on growth and immigration. All of these assumptions are wrong. At the current rate of growth, the islands will double their population within the next 11-15 years. There will be 100,000 residents within one generation and 200,000 by 2050. The the "Special Law of the Galapagos" limits the granting of permanent residency, but there are ways around the law. There are no plans to deport the permanent residents, who have a very high birth rate.

One lovely natural jewel near Puerto Ayora is called Las Grietas. This is a populare swimming and diving spot that is a boat ride and short walk from town. The grietas (chasms) are 70' cliffs on either side of a transparent canal flowing from volcanic rocks to the sea. Risking their lives, teenagers jump from the vertical walls.

The two cliffs are like the two Galapagos communities: the environmentalists and the local residents. They are upright, striking and quite separate. Foreign organizations live on one side of a chasm of misunderstand. Foreigners are utterly convinced that the human community must be limited, and now. To the locals, this is like advocating poverty, dwarfism and malnutrition. Their reasoning is like this: environmentalists come from outside, don't stay long and they are wealthy. After all, they are the only ones who can take the expensive cruises ($200-$700 per day), fly round trip from Europe or the US (another $1,000) and pay the Park fee ($100, soon to be a lot more). Since the tourists and non-profit employees have vast wealth, they can enjoy our natural treasures. We can't. We are not allowed to go to our own islands, unless we join a prohibitively expensive cruise. We are condemned by politically correct foreigners for being ignorant, for trashing the streets, for low scholastic achievement and for having too many children.

The term "Darwin Station" is a red flag to the bullish Galapaguenos. The fishermen, the most organized and angriest, attacked the Darwin offices a few years ago and would not hesitate to do it again.

How can the world's most famous environmental organization be a fund-raising monster and a local non-entity? Has it become influential in every corner of the world but one? In my Don Quixote manner, I imagined that I could bridge the gap. I thought that, if I only could interview local folks and tell their stories, then the first seed of reconciliation would occur. Like two feuding families, the two groups just need to find a little love. Surely the Montagues and Capulets will have some kids in love that will make the parents forgive and forget. If the Hatfields and McCoys see the travails in each home, won't they drop their anger?

I was wrong. The Darwin Station is not comfortable functioning in the community and the residents have no entry point into the world of the Station. While working at the Station, I was convinced that all I needed to do was to speak with local folks so as to diminish the suspicions that abound. I guess I was partially right, since many folks opened their hearts and minds.

I am Lee Marvin

Yesterday, a store manager in the airport motioned for me to come to her candy counter. In a loud whisper and with big green eyes, she asked, "Are you a movie star?"

"Huh? Sorry. Are you talking to me?" I said. I almost burst out laughing, but, considering that anything that is weird can and will happen here, I simply stared and waited for whatever was to come next.

"I have some friends, some foreigners who are waiting for their plane. They identified you as Lee Marvin. And since I like to meet all of the stars, I wanted to meet you."

"I see. Well, thank you. That is nice to hear. But, actually, I'm not an actor at all."

"You look like him, they say, and I'd like to ask for your autograph and a picture. Come to my restaurant tonight. It is right behind the church."

Remembering the Dirty Dozen, I felt a surge of energy because I admired the idea of Lee taking the criminals, building a fighting force that learned to work and even love one another. Long ago, others had compared me to Lee, but, somehow this was different. This was in a foreign country, far from Hollywood. And I no longer was determined to hide or deny my looks. Many tell me I look just like my dad and I am dismayed to not be just Tito. And, to be like Lee is to have big lips and a sad brow. So I was in denial of the likenesses. But, now that Dad is no longer here and neither is Lee, I am ready to shoulder the distinction. When Dad died, I realized that, thank God, there was still someone with his good looks. His bald head is my bald head and his lips are mine. As for Lee, his raging and shooting could be my metaphorical trip through life.

The shop owner´s name is Marianna Avila. She told me that, since 1985, she has met most of the stars who have visited the Galapagos. At first, I simply nodded when she invited me to her bar. But, at 8:00, I found myself with nothing to do. So I biked over to the church and into a yard with circular tables and umbrellas. Behind the tables was a door that opened into a living room. There, a large guy (who reminded me of Marco) was examining his new Fuji camera. It turned out that Rodrigo, her nephew, as back from his life in Brooklyn, NY. He offered to make me a mojito complete with her fresh ingredients.

El Barquero advertises itself as "the oldest bar in the Galapagos, with 20 years of experience, visited by local, national, international, and Hollywood celebrities. It is not much in the way of a bar, rather, more of a living room with a little garden. She was so happy I had come and immediately took out various cell phones and snapped pictures of herself and me. Lee was honored with an entire page. She added my a list of my best films and notes on my life. I signed: "Love You! Lee Marvin aka Tito Craige"

Turns out she has hosted Richard Gere and Angelina Jolie, among hundreds of others.

We looked up Lee on the internet and discovered that he had died in '87, at the age of 63. But now, on Thanksgiving of 2009, Lee, like Lazarus, he is alive again.

Voluntary Servitude

At the Casablanca Hotel’s seaside cafe, I met the flamboyant and fascinating Ruth, a young woman whose hardships and love affair touched me in ways I could not have predicted. I was drinking a frothy mochaccino, when an English accent caught my ear. I turned to see curly hair attached to a ruddy, brightly burned face. In a clipped accent, she ordered her coffee and the most “chevere” item on the chalkboard, a torta de chocolate -- the famed chocolate cake, smothered in chocolate sauce. Her Spanish was modest but comprehensible; she had been in-country for only a few weeks, I figured. She gesticulated rapidly, as if she was angry.

The cure for my intense island fever was a conversation with a foreigner. I found myself introducing myself to anyone who might share a smile and a story.

“Are you perhaps from the British Isles?” She turned towards me, and her irritation seemed to disappear. “Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt,” I said, “but can I help you order?”

“No, he knows what I want. It is always the same.”

“Yes, I like the coffee here... it is the only place that serves the beans that always seem to get exported. I’m Tito Craige and work at the Darwin Foundation. What are you up to?”

"Good to meet you,” she said in proper English. “I am from northern Britain and I'm working as a volunteer at the Hacienda Tranquila in the highlands."

I guessed she was about 22, bursting with an energetic voice, and properly British.

"Nice. Sounds like an interesting placement and you are living in the prettiest part of the island.  There are so many lush farms."  Looking at her sunburned arms, I had a spot of envy, suspecting that she was discovering the old-timey farms where all of the original colonists had lived.

I blathered on. "And it must be really cool to be an international volunteer, to really make a difference.  So, how is it going?"

"I hate to say this, but it is awful. Mind if I tell you about it?"

"I'm all ears."

"The eight of us volunteers, from all over Europe and the US, paid hundreds dollars to the owner of the place that is called Tranquil Plantation or actually Hacienda Tranquila. We were told that the owner ran a non-profit that found ways for foreign volunteers to improve life in the Galapagos specifically. The purpose of the organization, we were told, was to provide benefits the community, especially the children, and help give locals an understanding of the importance of preserving the fragile environment.”

“Is that what happened?” I asked.

“Our job has been to remove non-native plants so endemic flora can return, but the whole thing started off badly since we were flown to the wrong island.  Then we came to San Cristobal by speedboat and were housed in a beautiful place, but only for one night. We were taken to the owner’s ‘holiday home’ where we were welcomed by the energetic Fabien, a guy whose real identity was hidden behind his street name, Billabong. The place was beautiful; we thought we’d finally arrived in paradise.  However, to our surprise, we were there just enough time for the Hacienda to collect our huge volunteer fees.  We were then transported to the Hacienda, located in the highlands, 20 miles from the town. It was cold and rainy, a different climate from the port of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, and we were shocked to find that we were housed in what can only be described as a shack with half-built walls.  It was filthy. It felt like something out of a horror movie. A cow’s skull rested on the sign greeting visitors. By 8 o’clock at night we were huddled in our sheets, very cold without any blankets. The half-completed walls allowed the rain to pelt us, so my friend Abby asked for a blanket. She was given a flea-bitten curtain and we froze. The next day, we were told to fix our own meals, but there were so many flies that I could not see the surface of the rice I cooked. I had to throw it away.  At night, the rats came out and it was scary. The toilet never flushes and the smell is revolting."

I was gasping at the thought of my daughter suffering this kind of abuse and I wondered what Ruth’s family would think. But I had to find out some background first and I asked her if we could continue talking later in the day. I did some sleuthing around town, to find out if her allegations could possibly be true. From the Charles Darwin office, I discovered that all links had been cut with the Hacienda due to its exploitation of its volunteers and its l lack of a non-profit status.

I asked what she had been told before arriving. "We believed that we were assisting the landowner in his efforts to extend the natural park areas. But now I see that we had been lied to about the nature of the work, the farm and its connections. The Hacienda Tranquila is a for-profit farm, a business that makes money from its workers instead of paying them.”

In the weeks that followed, I discovered that the clever owner had hoodwinked dozens of groups of volunteers into paying to the right to live in squalor and increase the value of his hacienda. The perfect scam. Even worse, the owner published internet information (since removed) claiming to have an affiliation with the Charles Darwin Foundation.

I met with Ruth and Abby again. I asked, "are you safe from any threat of violence? Are you going to survive? If you leave, will anyone take revenge on you?”

"I don’t know and I don’t really care,” said Ruth. “I cannot stand to be there one more day. Know what? We fix food on cutting boards that were used to cut bloody meat. The filth is unbelievable."

I was getting infuriated. How could such a rip-off exist in “paradise.” Or maybe that is what Eden was, a place where everyone finds his shot at profit. I had heard of dull and boring volunteer placements, but this one seemed dark, evil. I felt queasy just thinking of paying to fly from Europe to Ecuador and then paying more to live in an unsanitary dump so you could do unpaid work all day. 

"Ruth, that sounds like a nightmare. I am old enough to be your dad, so forgive me if I ask some fatherly questions. Do you think you should continue to work with Fabien? Perhaps you should leave before something worse occurs."

Ruth, who had a tough, almost belligerent way of talking, turned reflective and spoke quietly: "I have so much invested in this.  I will see myself as a big failure. I must have made a huge mistake and I am just so frikkin' stupid.  I had planned to use my savings for a Masters program.  Instead, I spent all that I had saved so that the owner can get his Masters in the States. I am paying for him to have a great time and get trained in exploiting people.  I am also living in utter misery. I want to leave."

Without hesitation, I told her, "Then leave and don't feel one iota of regret or guilt.  No one has a right to exploit you.  At the very least, you must have a decent place to live, warm covers, sanitary food, and freedom from rats. For the money you paid, a person should be cooking your meals and providing snacks, too."

Ruth looked at me as if she had still more secrets to reveal. In a hoarse whisper, she said, "Oh, Tito, it gets worse.  Guess what the work is? It is to take machetes and cut down blackberry bushes that have taken over the niche once held by endemic plants. But, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure this out, if all you do is cut them, it is living mowing grass: the billions of blackberry bushes come back stronger.  If you don't dig up their roots, the work is useless.  We are almost willing to live in these conditions if we knew the work we were doing was worthwhile but so far it seems disorganised and pointless. In fact, we are helping make things worse”

At the Darwin offices where I was working, I asked about the Hacienda.  I was shocked to find out that the farm is, in fact, owned by an absentee landlord who chose a bunch of deputies/thugs, the leader of whom is that he has given management responsibilities to Fabien, a man so so consumed by surfing that he hardly had time to manage a plantation. He had a reputation as an absent minded and charismatic fellow. He is charming but he had absolutely no skills or training to be left in charge. His interests lay purely in surfing or chatting up the latest volunteer to arrive, in hopes of a romantic liaison.

Ruth then called her dad in England who urged her to leave immediately.  Between angry, staccato comments, Abby asked me if I knew any places to stay.  I sent her to a nearby hostel, a breezy stuccoed building next to the bay.

Two days later, Ruth met me over a cappuccino, but, this time, she brought the other 8 volunteers.  All were upset and a few were determined to leave. Ruth, by far the most outspoken, was quite clear about her course of action.

"I am going to shut that place down. It will never rip off another volunteer.  I will go on 'net and make sure that no one has to go through what I experienced. We are covered by mosquito bites. We have been lied to.  Know what is worse?  Last year, when I was 21, I was a raging liberal and wanted to have a career helping people. I used all of my savings to come here to try to improve the lives of Ecuadorians, but, instead, I have been mistreated and I don't like it.  I think I have become a conservative.  I think I will simply try to become rich and forget poor people."

Within days, three of the eight left, Ruth, Abby and an American girl who later became quite a legend in the small town of San Cristobal.  The other volunteers, horrified to have wasted so much money, felt they had to stay.  In the weeks that followed, those who left had the time of their lives. Ruth, Abby and another woman extended their planned three-week visit to two months, took scuba diving courses, partied and fell in love with the magic and beauty of the island. 

Those who stayed told Fabien that they were not happy with the work or living conditions. At first, he paid them no attention, but the volunteers organized a strike, in that they refused to cut blackberry canes.  Instead, they began to dig up the roots, even when they were ordered to stop. The owner was silent and Fabien was confused; had no idea what to do and feared for his job if the owner blamed him for the rebellion.

One volunteer was a tall, bearded and earnest Scandinavian named Paul: "You won't believe this, Tito. One day, we were awoken and told that about a kilometer away a party had taken place the night before.  The teenagers had left a mountain of trash and guess who Augusto said would clean it up?  Us!  Can you imagine?  We, who are foreign volunteers, are to become garbage collector for the locals! We refused to do what we were told. Of course, we had wild parties at university, but we would never have expected volunteers from abroad to come and clean up or crap!”

“So,” I asked, what happened to the strikers?”

Paul spoke with great animation, “Instead we suggested using the time to make some bins ourselves, and teach the locals about recycling. Cleaning it up for them will not do any good, we need to educate these people. They do not realise how fragile these islands are.”

By mid-November, all of the volunteers left but the long-termers had, to some extent, succeeded in changing the farm. The house had walls and the toilet flushed.  The work slow-down had succeeded in as much as the owner acknowledged that some changes were needed. Perhaps he feared the loss of income from wealthy foreign volunteers, should his fiefdom be revealed. He must have realized that, to avoid irreparable damage to the reputation of his organisation, he would have to clean up his act.

Last night I talked with Ruth. She was enthusiastically drinking rum and enjoying the attention of a certain Fabien.  Yes, it was the very Fabien who was in charge of the Hacienda. He is a broad-shouldered, wiry man with narrow eyes and electric movements. He reminded me of a large cat, maybe a puma. Other volunteers told me that he used to live in the Amazon jungle where he had lived as his ancestors had, hunting animals and people. Now he was a surfer, hitting on tourists.

A month later I saw Beth and Abby at the best known outdoor grill. Beth had mellowed, and her angry tones were almost gone. She even asked me about the word “humble” as in, “I would not know how to be humble with my parents. It just isn’t something I do. How would I start? What do I say that is humble if my parents ask what I will do with Fabien?” That prompted many comments from the gathering. It was a last-night-on-the-Galapagos entourage, all eager to down some fresh fish or beef off of the grill. Some said that her question itself indicated a sea change in attitude. Others suggested that she look lovingly at her parents and accept that they did the best they could.

I asked Beth how she reconciled her awful experiences at the Hacienda with the relationship she was enjoying with Fabien. She looked at me with a smile and then a frown: "I love him but I don't accept some things. In fact, I got so mad at him last week, because he was talking to some other girls and ignoring me. I took a chair and threw it at him. It hit his face and you can still see the bruises. I told him that he had better behave."

I could not believe she had tamed this surfer/hunter. After all, she was a British gal from far away, unable to speak Spanish or hold her liquor very well. Somehow, she was having a partnership of equals, or at least that is what it seemed to me. I asked her why she trusted someone who enforced a cruel regimen from an absentee landlord who had robbed them of their funds.

She told me earnestly, "It is funny how things turn out. I have really changed because of finding out what he is really like. He is very gentle. He helped me when I twisted my knee and I was in enormous pain. He came to my hotel room and brought a local healer who massaged and manipulated my leg.”

And how about the others who will soon be caught in the hacienda’s web of deceit, I asked.

“After our protests, he has rebuilt the hacienda and everything is better. You won't believe this but I am going up to the hacienda tomorrow to help him paint."

A month later, Abby called to say that Beth and Fabien were still in a relationship, though they were far from one another. Beth was planning a trip back to the Galapagos. Fabien was working at the hacienda.

Abby, on discovering that I was returning to the Galapagos for a short stint, had one request for me: “For Ruth’s sake, could you check on Fabien’s behavior? See if he is running around with anyone else, OK?”

The Golden Age

For the oral histories I am assembling, I've been interviewing Sergio Mora. He is a gaunt and grizzled 78-year-old known as a spry fellow who is capable of dancing and singing at any moment. Last week he invited me to attend a meeting of the Third Agers (aka Golden Agers), and, if I was well behaved, I could join in three years. To check it out, I attended the recent arts workshop where five men and women practiced drawing iguanas and dolfins. A young local artist drew outlines and the oldsters filled in the pictures with lines and colors.

Inspired, I asked for pencils and started drawing faces. I started getting chills, as I remembered my father's world. As as artist, he must have been silent and solitary for hours if not days. The artist who was helping out told me that his father, too, was an artist, and that I must continue to draw. "You are really talented, and, after a few days, all of your talent will come back. You should draw because you are remembering your father and you're good." Wow.

Sergio's story: "The way we carried things was on a donkey. In the 40s the only way to go to the continent was to take a boat for five or six days. If you had a heart attack, you just died. We were cured by medicinal plants and God's blessings. Farmers like me were really healthy because we never used chemicals while farming. Thanks to good health, my mother lived to be 96 and died only four years ago.

As a farmer, I used to barter with the fishermen, trading corn and beans for fish. There was no cash. Some things had no price and were totally free: avocados, oranges, lemons and plums.

Before WWII we had a house made of cactus leaves, sugar cane and bamboo. Rain entered and termites ate a bit of the house each day. After the war, people had a chance to get a free house from the US military base on the island of Baltra. [The US withdrew its forces from Baltra when the war ended.] An official organized us into a line and, eventually, I chose the house you see here. With a few friends, we took the house apart, packed it up in big bundles, paid the captain for shipping and reconstructed it here on this island. The house was made of white pine from the United States and it lasted many years. [Maybe the pine was from NC or SC??] After decades, the pine rotted and only the uprights made of the local wood called matarsarno were left. So I removed the old pine and replaced it with poured concrete.

"Paradise" is a concept that is used to sell the Galapagos to tourists. This has become a business. Those in the business with a lot of money can make a lot more money. You have to have capital. A big problem is that the National Park helps sea lions more than people. These islands cannot really be called a "Heritage Site for Humanity." They should be called a "Heritage Site for Inhumanity." [The UN named the islands as a World Heritage Site.]

Now, we have a organization called People of the Third Age and it is for people who are 65 and older. Tito, you can aspire to become a member in three years. One of our jobs is to document our lives. Look at my painting of houses and beaches in 1940. You can see the old wooden pier, the old town hall, the cementery on the beach and the mountain village above town."

Later, I interviewed Sergio's wife, Natalia. She had puffy, speckled hands that patted her clothes patiently. Her face was filled with curves, so much so that her eyes were slits. Due to my earlier visits, she seemed to be warming up and had lots to say:

"I have a problem with my hand because it never healed properly. You see, I fell three years ago and the doctors on the islands were not help. After a few weeks, I flew to Guayaquil to get it looked at. The doctor said he would give me pain medication and then operate. So, I came to the clinic but he was chugging alcohol and was drunk. Finally, they operated and installed two nails near my shoulder. In the weeks that followed I was in continuous pain. I went back to the doctor, and he told me that the nails could be removed. I agreed, but, as he was starting to operate, I felt like someone was breaking my arm. I screamed and screamed for Jesus. The nails were removed, but, to this day, I cannot move two of my fingers. I am 84 and this is hard for me."

I felt her hand and it was warm, soft and inert.

Evangelicos

"En que le puedo ayudar," he said gently. His chunky short body, soft voice, and stubby fingers were framed by a wooden shed´s double bays. Behind him were dozens of bike tires, gleaming chrome forks and oily tools. "How can I help you," he was asking.

"I am Tito Craige and I am so happy to meet you."

"Me llamo Jesus Bueno. Un gusto de conocerle." I am Jesus Good and I am happy to meet you.

I had to suppress a laugh, since I had no idea there even was such a name. Was he joking? Perhaps he was a nut or a colleague of people like the basketball player World B. Free. I was tempted to say that my name was The Buddha or Adam Smasher. Maybe Che Guevara.

After a moment of being tongue-tied, I mumbled, "Jesus, we are organizing a day without cars for Puerto Baquerizo. We at the Darwin Foundation want to encourage kids to use their bikes throughout the day. The idea is to increase the safe spaces where kids can play. It is our first such day and we were wondering if you could help us repair kids´ bikes."

He looked at my eyes, as if searching for something. He was not sure what a tall, skinny gringo could possibly want from him. The wind blew quietly and some teenagers quietly repaired their bikes behind me.

"If I had a hand pump, I could help you. All I have is an electric air compressor and I need a pump."

"Aha," I said. "Yes, I have a Specialized pump, the professional kind, and it works for all kinds of tire valves."

"Great. Well, I will be there and am glad to help. I have some old bikes that I will lend to the town´s kids, so all can ride."

"Jesus," I said, "that is so chevere (cool). There will be some handicapped adults and kids. Is it ok for them to try out the bikes?"

"No problem. Excuse me, Tito. May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Do you go to church?"

"Not really."

"You are welcome to come to ours. We would be happy to have you any day of the week. There are no commitments needed. Be our guest."

"Thanks. Is that the church across from the barbeque place?"

"Yes, and next to the basketball court. God has a special road for you and it will help you ifind your way. This road is the way for you to lead a happy life. There are always detours that look good. But God has posted signs saying ´danger´ around those routes that involve drinking and drugs, wife abuse and sloppiness."

"Yes," I said, "it is sure easy to fall into those traps."

"God gives us lots of signs for the right path. We just have to follow his suggestions. But it takes work. Some people, for example, have houses that they never get around to cleaning. Things get dirty and unhealthy. You have to clean your house, just like you need to clean your life."

"Yes, it takes a lot of self-discipline to keep things working in my life," I had to admit.

"Well, the soul is like that. It needs lots of attention and self-discipline. Of course, we are all sinners, but the person who sins and shows remorse will be healed. He is cleaning his dirty house. A Christian who changes himself after committing a bad deed is a person who is on God´s path."

"Thanks, Jesus," I said. "I appreciate your sharing. I feel better just chatting with you!"

"Tito, thanks, too. I like to talk. You see, I get lonely here since my brothers, Jose and Lauro, are gone. I am not married, so I get lonely, but I know that God has made me feel I am at home. He will do the same for you."

"Un gusto, Jesus," I said. I wandered away, somehow happier. Jesus the Good. Good Jesus?

Last Saturday, during the Via Activa, there were no cars, but there were hundreds of bikers and hikers. And, of course, Jesus. He was fixing flats and pumping tires. Maybe he was helping people inflate their lives. And clean their houses.

Since then, Jesus and I have formed a bit of a friendship. We are dreaming of some bike events, bike rentals, bike sales. I have not found the will to go to the church, but I feel a kinship with his steady style. In the Galapagos there are many who drink, smoke, play video games and watch tv. Jesus has given up all of these, and I am finding myself less and less interested in the only one of these activities that I still do -- beer consumption.

_______________________________________

I was supposed to be the coordinator of the Via Activa. Since I have no idea how to organize an Ecuadorian town, I had to rely on many others. There were folks from the culture office, the children and teen advocacy NGO, the vice mayor and police chief, several community organizations, and, of course, the two locos, Tiro and Chaso. Virtually the entire town witnessed their spectacular bike jumps, and the day was a huge hit.

There was only one curious event, and that occurred when we were putting the finishing touches on the bike jumping dirt pile. After leaping off of the second ramp, the bike acrobats landed on a giant mound of volcanic dirt. The pile was so large that my office manager decided to place a Charles Darwin Foundation sign on side of the mound. I picked up a wide piece of cloth that has our logo on it. It also says that the CDF supports conservation efforts. I was ready to display this banner, but Juan Carlos told me, abruptly, that the notion of conservation is completely the wrong thing to talk about in this town. He used the work "jodida" which basically means that the concept is, to the local folks, screwed up or worse. I was surprised that conservation has become a dirty word, almost like words that we can remember during the Cold War. Commie. Faggot. Now conservationist.

Day of the Defunct

"Here are some baked 'babies,'" the waitress said "just out of the oven. You can choose the red boys or the blue girls."

"OK... Thanks!! But I can´t tell them apart."

"Doesn't matter. And while you are here, I´m going to give you the drink called mora colada, something special for the Day of the Dead, Dia de los Difuntos."

"Cool. Muchas gracias."

The blackberry drink was a thick, sweet juice, made from cinnamon, cloves, pineapple, currants, and some kind of flour paste. The babies and drink are highland Ecuador traditions brought here from the "continent" for the first day of November. Nationally, this is day to honor the dead and involves trips to the cemetery, cleaning up lawns around graves, and preparing food for the ancestors. Luis told me that the neighboring grave caretakers eat your food for the dead, so that, later, you imagine that the dead appreciate your generosity.

I am glad that today is overcast. Less sun means less sunburn and I am a roasted marshmallow if there ever was one. I have gone past the state of tanning, past the usefulness of sunblock, and I am now in a perpetual state of nut brownness. Some from Quito are so horrified to become deep brown that they wear long sleeve shirts and long pants, even when the sun is blasting. I just get darker.

I have been living in the highlands, about 2,000 feet above the seaside village of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Due to a lack of water for 6 weeks I had not a single shower. My friends in town gracioiusly offered their bathrooms.

My new apartment is in town, close to work, 10 degrees warmer and vulnerable to the sounds of roosters, dogs and cats. One night, over supper, I described my prior highland home, and I found out that there is plenty of intrigue up there. I wonder why we always find out these things after whaving left...

The land was owned by a couple, the story goes. A fight broke out, and the wife killed her husband. The local officials did not arrest her but she was forbidden to own the property. Soon thereafter, she left to live on the continent.

Later, a friend and I are chilling, drinking beer. A lovely woman says hi and we invite her to sit down. Shiny lip gloss, glowing smiles animate her. She is gracious, funny and well read: "I love to swim, travel and eat supper with a couple of friends." She is from the continent, but she has business interests in the islands, etc.

After she entertains us with talk of spiritual awakenings, she leaves. Then a nearby acquaintance comes to me and whispers in my ear. "She is the one who owns the property where you were living. It is she who cannot get access to the houses or land. Be careful!"

Could it be that this is the woman who sent her husband to the next world? Is this an urban legend? I will keep you posted...

We are a lot like finches!

A friend asked what made me happy. Let's see...

Swimming in the harbor, with sea lions, lifted by turquoise crystalline swells. Witnessing tropic birds soaring, trailed by two feet of white feathers, banking and braking just inches from a cliff. Riding my bike up volcanic cinders, to the rain forest where sweet oranges and the rich coffee grow. Enjoying the three families who have taken me into their lives. We slurp down fish soup, lentils, and rice and my loneliness evaporates.

I am happy when swapping ludicrous stories with cartoonist/Brit/French friend Alan Hesse. He and I have made more than a few cultural errors but we find a way to take the sting out. Here is my latest: I told a high-ranking guy that I was hoping that the educational reform would be finished in a 100 years. What I meant was that reform is never done. He interpreted my comment differently, and he responded with a tirade:

"The people from the northern hemisphere treat us as if they still own us. They are imperialists but they no longer control our country. The imperialists have said we cannot run our country. We have shown them that this is not true. When someone says reform will be slow, he does not understand it is happening now and the Darwin Foundation is helping. After 50 years, we have a contract to do educational work, and you cannot criticize what we do. I forbid any negative remarks."

My brief attempt trying to be smarmy, funny, a bit sarcastic, wise and profound was not welcomed by Mr. Important. I was chagrined, embarrassed, horrified to have made a mega faux pas. I wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

For two days, I was kicking myself. Until Alan and I chatted, that is. Then we looked at how many times we are not sure about the culture here. There are many layers of Ecuadorian culture, and so much originates from a history of colonialism and racism. Chatting with Alan makes the bad vibes disappear. After a couple of tall ones, we even revel in the oddities. He helps me shed my self-consciousness and self-condemnation. (That trait, that has never served me well, is not useful here.) I am learning, and that makes me happy. In fact, writing this email makes me happy!!!!!!!!!

One more happy thing, though it was born of tragedy: a wonderful father here, Patricio, lost his son in a car wreck. Ever since that sad day five months ago, Patricio has fought to make the streets safe. Today we had another Via Activa, and, as before, there are only bikers and pedestrians permitted on the streets. It is a sunny and happy day. I was so thrilled to be the documentalist and all-purpose gopher.

Aside from dozens of outdoor chess games, puppetry, aerobic dancing, and face painting, there was a spectacular bike jumping demonstration. These two nutty guys from Quito (Jairo and Daniel, a.k.a. Tiro and Chaso) sprinted down a 20' high ramp, went up a second ramp, and then they did flips in the air. They fell a few times and skinned elbows and hands. Ni modo, as they say. Whatever. Very cool. But, what was REALLY awesome was the utter do or die feeling. Here is why we in the audience had our hearts in our throats: the downward ramp was built on bamboo, the second ramp self-destructed (into splinters), their landing was on volcanic cinders, and the Locos were bloodied a few times. Everyone gasped, snapped away and loved the event.

Later, I spent a few days with Tiro and Chaso. Chaso, the taller Ivy League-looking guy, has competed in BMX contests throughout Latin America. Tiro is shorter ("I am a dwarf, that is just the way it is.") and funnier. He is missing a tooth in a prominent place, and he wears white-rimmed shades. He has won various world championships in one kind of suicidal bike race or another. His website features a skull and is named after a friend killed in an auto-car accident. Both young men are so full of life, curiosity and insight. As I realize how much I miss teaching, I am content to meet some youngsters with "animo," as they say here.

Whew! I feel happy, just thinking about today.

What makes me less than happy? Most of all the sense that there is blank check to exploit all of the resources here. There is lip service about the environment, but many powerful folks here see the conservationists, like the Darwin Foundation, as enemies of progress. The thinking is like this: the non-profits are outsiders who know nothing about people but who, out of arrogance, condemn residents and try to compel local folks to change. The developers have a good point in that conservationists often sound like tree huggers robed in Political Correctness.

There are two distinct cultures here: those who want the islands to develop quickly, and those who believe that a slowdown is absolutely necessary. The much smaller second group points to the lack of potable water, lack of sewage treatment (non-existent), lack of oil (none), and lack of excellent schools (there might be one). True, there are three turbines on the wind farm, and there is a plan for sewage treatment, but there is also a population that doubles every 11 years.

Last night over supper, some of us had a loud debate. One person felt that the islanders have it too easy, since government employees (including teachers) get a sizeable bonus due to high prices. The local folks, therefore, are not "hungry" and so they have no incentive to innovate, study and plan. Theory 1: People are spoiled.

Theory 2: island cultures are all like this. They are inbred worlds, isolated from other provinces, with their narrow view based on their self-interest. There is not one bookstore here and no movie theatre (or any other kind of theater), so folks re-invent the same ideas. More expansive and eccentric notions die off, from lack of attention. Few are interested in the unconventional. People are ignorant. They are weak, in terms of ability to quickly adapt to new circumstances. They don't do well when they leave here; many return from the mainland with wallets empty. Because of this slack style, people are like Darwin´s finches. They exploit the environment so that they survive, but they don't push themselves to prepare for future conditions. The finches are everywhere, as always, but they are scarcely able to survive the predation that environmental degration has brought. Humans have to be smarter than finches, so that we anticipate our tendency to destroy our own habitat. Here, philosophy, ethics and such abstract ideas are as remote as Ulan Bator. People stagnate. I am partial to this theory, but... maybe I am wrong...

Theory 3: Life here is pretty much like life anywhere. There are tensions between the innovators and the traditionalists. As in the USA, there are liberals and conservatives who battle about the same kinds of issues. Republicans want to drill in Alaska and Democrats do not. People are absolutely normal here.

I am not sure what to think. I am fuzzy about this. I have been here too long to make be sure of anything!

Getting back to the present. I have only one complaint this week. Why is it that, in this pristine setting, surrounded by exquisite bays and sugary sand, almost no one swims? Of the 30,000 residents, I have only seen eight swimmers. This little group of fanatics are a team that practices next to the Darwin Foundation beach. I am so thrilled that I will join them. It does not matter that I am the only one over12.

Writing this has led to a little epiphany for Halloween Day: I am going to start a school for swimming next week.

Tito

Don´t worry, be happy

A friend asked what made me happy here. Good question Swimming in the harbor, with sea lions and turquoise swells. Witnessing tropicbirds soaring, banking and braking just inches from a cliff. Riding my bike up the mountain to the rain forest where oranges and corn grow. Every physical challenge here is exhilarating: the air is brilliantly clear and dry, the roads have few cars and I have no fear of sharks.

What makes me less than happy? It is the human world that makes me worried, even paranoid at times. There is a great desire for political and economic independence here, that, to me, is the same as a blank check to exploit all of the resources the islands contain. There is lip service to conservation, but many of the powerful folks here see the conservationists, like the Darwin Foundation, as the enemies of progress. We are the outsiders who like to order local folks around, even though we don´t know or care about them.

There are two distinct cultures here: the islanders who want the islands to develop, and those who believe that the resources are extremely limited. The second group points to the lack of potable water (almost none), lack of sewage treatment (non-existent), lack of oil (none), and lack of excellent schools (there might be one). True, there are three turbines on the wind farm, and there is a plan for sewage treatment, but there is also a population that doubles every 11 years.

Last night over supper, some of us had a loud debate. One person felt that the islanders have it too easy, since government employees (including teachers) get a sizeable bonus due to the distance from the mainland and the high prices. The local folks are not "hungry" and so they have no incentive to innovate, worry about the future, study and plan. People are spoiled.

Others think that the island cultures are all like this; isolated from other provinces, Galapaguenos have their own narrow view that is based on their self-interest. There is not one bookstore here and no movie theatre (or any other kind of theater), so folks inbreed their ideas. The more expansive and eccentric notions die off, since there are so few interested in the unconventional. People are ignorant.

Another theory is that the people are like Darwin´s finches. They exploit their environment so that they survive. They adapt. But they do not feel any intrinsic need to develop their culture, since such development has no purpose. They are existentialists in that their experience is their teacher. Philosophy, ethics and such abstract ideas are as remote as Ulan Bator. Not a single bookstore on the Galapagos! People find a niche and stagnate.

I am not sure what to think. I have to refer to what makes me fired up and that wold be swimming, biking and viewing birds. Why is it that, in this pristine setting, surrounded by exquisite bays and sugary sand, no one swims? Of the 7,000 residents, not a single person swims more than a few strokes. (One notable exception: a large group of teenagers learned how to surf from some tourists and enjoy the big waves.) No one is kayaking or sailing. There are few cyclists and very few runners. I cannot think of a better thing to do than to encourage local people to get involved in their rugged and beautiful landscapes.

So as to change some of this, I am co-heading this island´s Ciclovida Cristobal - as in biking/life/san cristobal. We will have a book store on the boardwalk, biking games (jumps, obstacle courses), BMX acrobats, massages, and face painting. I lobbied for swimming lessons but that was a bit too radical. All of this ocean stuff will have to wait.

Sea lions are so ridiculously lovable!!!!

Odd picture -- pelican going in my head

The Orange People

On Saturday, Juan Carlos Guzman and I were biking in the fog-covered highlands, about 8 km north of the provincial capital, Puerto Baquerizo. His Haro aluminum and my Airborne titanium frames took us from the lustrous bay, filled with fishing boats, through the grimy barrios, and up a steep hill, past goats and cattle, past the overgrown cemetery and into the “garua” or misty rain. We left the asphalt and veered down the trail leading to a novel and critical experiment in environmental control. Our bike tires skidded on the crushed volcanic cinders, a crumbly kind of bubbly rock that is the color or iron oxide.

We fish-tailed to a stop at a varnished sign announcing a Darwin Foundation experiment to control invasive plant species, especially the accursed blackberry. Due to its massive number of seeds (often dropped by birds), blackberries blanket every one of the islands. This is a disaster for endemic plants, most of which are snuffed out by the aggressive "mora." And, if the endemic plants die, then the famous and exotic animals (finches, too) that depend on their seeds will die. Even though I love blackberry pie and cobbler more than anything else, I can see that here, at least, mora is something akin to evil incarnate.

Herbicide is the only large-scale way to control mora, although the only effective, long term way to permanently eradicate the berry is for humans to pull up every plant and burn all of them. That is difficult, since we are talking about billions of plants that live among scraggly bushes with large thorns. Other than herbicide and digging out the roots, the only other antidote may well be coffee plantations. Coffee trees shade the shorter bushes, thereby making sun-craving blackberries unable to thrive. So, oddly enough, Conservation International, an NGO here that is usually identified with goals like the preservation of endemic species, is helping to increase the number of non-native coffee plants in hopes of stopping mora. The head of CI, Fernando Ortiz, is quoted in yesterday's NYT article about “two-legged” threats to the islands and possible answers, including the coffee tree planting programs.

Coffee plantations will succeed, perhaps, since Galapagos coffee is, indeed, excellent. Still, the magnitude of plantation makes this solution impractical for most farmers, and such projects will hardly dampen the spread of mora. That is why the CDF is experimenting with types of herbicide, in the hope that a minimal application can be made more effective. The CDF land, donated by a local tour organizer, has dozens of squares, each with mora that has been treated by some kind of weed killer. The land seems spent, quite unfertile, but that is the point, it seems.

While admiring the agricultural plots, we saw a roundish woman and teenage boy emerge from the forest. Both were dressed in smudged T-shirts and muddy boots. The woman, who turned out to be the boy's aunt, carried a long machete and the boy toted a sack of giant oranges. They told us that they made their living by harvesting oranges throughout the highlands. This seemed illegal, by my hometown standards, so I tried to think of a non-judgmental question. I finally asked if the private land owners liked their oranges and she responded by saying that most are absentee landowners and never harvest anything. Private lands without fences are everyone’s domain, as long as the visitors only take fruit.

Her day’s wandering had another purpose: she was upset because her prized pig had escaped into the wild. We offered our condolences and then she offered us four large oranges. I fumbled at the skin, unable to open it at all. She reached for her machete. She grabbed another orange and nimbly cut away the skin. (I tried to suppress any worries about what else the machete might have been doing prior to cutting my orange.) Patient and meticulous, as if she were shaving a tender cheek in a barber shop, she peeled away. The shavings dropped on the cinders, and she handed me an Ecuadorian-style orange. The local custom is to squeeze the white husk and then suck out the juice out of the top, as if it were a water bottle. The juice was amazingly sweet.

As has become our custom, Juan Carlos asked about songs, poems and dances from her provincial home, meaning the province which she left to come to the Galapagos. She said that her husband was from Loja and used to sing many songs. A few years ago, however, he stopped singing. She explained, saying that her husband had joined a pentecostal church and that, aside from a ban on drinking and smoking, traditional songs and dances are forbidden. Earnestly, she explained that her husband had learned that songs of the world were often evil.

In every other L. American country I have visited, most of the evangelical songs are actually Baptist hymns from the southern USA. I was miffed that her family had dropped the ancestral customs, especially the culture that is carried via song. Still, I guess her husband has reaped much good from the church, especially in his refusal to drink. Alcohol is truly a curse for many men in my village, so perhaps this teetotaler now has what many lack: sobriety.

Ghosts in the High Part

With black shirt neatly ironed, Patrick looks like a young priest and I told him so. He laughed and confirmed that, indeed, he is a church leader, not in the Catholic church but in his Pentecostal temple. He sings, plays the electric guitar and gives sermons. I asked him what it was like to live in the Galapagos.

"I was born here, one of the few who have lived all of their lives on this island. I was born in Progreso, the village made famous by the sugar planter named Cobos. He was successful for two reasons: he was ahead of his time in machinery and his workers were prisoners. The way Cobos is honored today is not with photos or a statue. Instead, some of the gears from his sugar mill are in the Progreso roundabout."

I told Patrick that the gears are surprising. What about statues? Even statues of animals. After all, Puero Ayora, the largest town on the Galapagos, has statues of a tortoise, albatross, iguana and sea lion. Yellow gears????

"We want to remember Manuel J. Cobos since he was the first successful capitalist on the islands. However, we don't want a statue because Cobos beat his workers. Even though his sugar plantation employees were prisoners, they deserve rights, too. The prisoners might have been bad people, but they could not take it any more so they killed him. One inmate stole his revolver, shot him and then another finished Cobos off with his machete.

Ever since then, the spirits of the dead dictator and the prisoners rise up from time to time. They are around Progreso and I hear them all the time."

Patrick's tale brought back memories of the "Enchanted Isles" and an obscure poem by Herman Melville. Melville visited the Galapagos and was horrified by what he saw. His observations were incorporated in Moby Dick and a poem, excerpted below:

THE ENCANTATAS

(Enchanted Isles)

The Isles at Large

-- "That may not be, said then the ferryman,
Least we unweeting hap to be fordonne;
For those same islands seeming now and than,
Are not firme land, nor any certein wonne,
But stragling plots which to and fro do ronne
In the wide waters; therefore are they hight
The Wandering Islands; therefore do them shonne;
For they have oft drawne many a wandring wight
Into most deadly daunger and distressed plight;
For whosoever once hath fastened
His foot thereon may never it secure
But wandreth evermore uncertain and unsure."

"Darke, dolefull, dreary, like a greedy grave,
That still for carrion carcasses doth crave;
On top whereof ay dwelt the ghastly owl,
Shrieking his baleful note, which ever drave
Far from that haunt all other cheerful fowl,
And all about it wandring ghosts did wayle and howl."

Because life is hard here, you have to be very innovative and persistent to survive. Cobos somehow managed to build roads and canals, a pipeline and a waterworks all before the 20th century.

"Cobos paid the price, though. According to legends, he had told the workers that they were not allowed to pick any fruit from his prized guava trees. One day, he discovered that a boy had taken a piece of fruit. He called the boy out of his hut and whipped him to death. The mother, outraged by his cruelty, yelled to Cobos that the guava trees would never again bear fruit. Furthermore, she cursed him in vowing that he would never leave the islands alive. Today, you will notice that the tens of thousands of guava trees yield no fruit at all. And, by the way, Cobos was killed by the workers who hacked him to death."

"

Of idealism and realpolitik

SOME OF YOU WONDERFUL READERS ASKED ABOUT WHO TOOK THE PHOTOS AND HOW. I TOOK ALL OF THEM WITH MY NIKON D200 AND AN 18-200 LENS. THE ANIMALS, SEA AND SKY SEEM TO BE POSING, AS IF TO SAY, "SNAP AWAY, GRINGO! I LOOK GOOD!!!" THE RARE FUR SEAL (BELOW) WAS TWO FEET AWAY. A SEA LION SLEPT ON MY FOOT WHILE I VIDEOTAPED. DARWIN'S FAMOUS FINCHES EAT BREAKFAST WITH ME AND GIANT RAYS SLEEP AS WE VIDEOTAPE.













The Galapagos National Park is in charge of the 97% of the islands' land mass. Most of the land and the maritime areas are in a pristine condition, that is, without the influence of human settlement. Park officials, from the time of the Park's founding 50 years ago, have done a spectacular job of maintaining a world for flora and fauna (as well as tourists)that is minimally affected by introduced species. The result is that much marine and land life is not too different from what Charles Darwin observed in 1835. This is especially true on the uninhabited islands, where humans have left few feral dogs, cats, and rats.

The head of the park's educational programs is a wise and affable guy named Marco Hoyos Garcia. He has a crew cut, is from Ambato, talks softly and wisely about the 12years of intractable problems. He has been accused of being unable to wield a big stick, but he is operating successfully in a turbulent political world.

After talking with him, I have a kind of epiphany, realizing that, though I don't get paid for my work, I get to meet stellar folks like Marco Hoyo. He is calm, smart, and patient.

He sees a troubled future in store for the islands and the Park, because the non-park areas are intensely populated by the aggressive species known as "human being" a.k.a. "immigrant" --- this is THE most deadly of all "invasive species." He has some suggestions that make a lot of sense.

"We have to know the facts, first of all. We must find out, scientifically, what to do. We cannot just tell people whatever we think might work; there has to be a basis for what we say. Everyone has a point of view based on their personal preferences, but few can see the scientific truths. Secondly, we have to have enforcement of existing laws, or the laws are not worth the paper they are printed on. The police, Park and national officials cannot just pass the Special Law for the Galapagos and expect it to exist on its own. There has to be law enforcement. Finally, for folks to change their behavior, there must be some incentives. People don't just change. They have to see a reason to change. At this point the only incentive is a negative one.

"At the Park, we try to teach the teachers and the kids by offering them trips on our boats. That way, local people see the Galapagos wildlife and, all of a sudden, they see the reasons to not dump trash, to conserve the environment, and to be proud to be a Galapagueno. This is the incentive we offer.

"My concern is that there is no unity here because people come from many provinces. One day, hopefully, they will know what it means to be a Galapagueno."

Marco also told me that there had been a crisis in community confidence, and that, instead of uniting the community, it has ripped neighbors apart from each other. Here is what happened. A porno ring was discovered, and some residents were arrested and jailed. After the discovery, "experts from the continent" were called to help the community to understand sexual abuse and how to prevent it. In the months that followed, there were revelations of frequent violence against women, including injuries of wives by their husbands in the house and, occasionally, in public. The officials in town encouraged all residents to report any such incidents, so many folks took the recommendation at face value. There were "denuncios" of teachers, mothers and fathers. Now teachers are afraid to touch children, even on their shoulders, and parents fear their neighbors.

Of Humpbacks and Sharks, madness and grace

For a month I have been working for the Charles Darwin Foundation, a large non-profit dedicated to scientific and social research throughout the Galapagos. Aside from designing curriculum on history, I get to travel. Here are reflections on a sailing trip.

Four days ago a group of ten of us were exploring the eastern isles. We were on board the Beagle, a two-masted sailboat owned by our captain, Augusto Cruz. Each day, the Naional Park guide, Daniel Sanchez, encouraged us to snorkel, hike and kayak. As it turned out, Alan Hesse, a British cartoonist, and I were kayaking near the island of Bartolomeo. We were being watched by crew members on the inflatable speedboat. After a few minutes paddling near penguins and boobies, we saw Daniel standing in his 'panga,' wildly motioning us to turn around.

"WHALE AHEAD!!" he and our crewmates yelled.

Alan and I paddled like maniacs the length of the bay, out into the ocean. We leaned into each stroke, desperately trying to outrace the 40-horsepower engine. How many times in a lifetime do we get to see a whale up close? Was a killer whale, blue or what?

We caught the motorboat. Even better, since we had a tiny turn radius, we could easily follow the whales' regular surfacing. Soon we were glued to the rhythms of mama humpback and baby. Compared to us, both were megasized, the baby weighing unknown numbers of tons. Mom was bigger than a tractor trailer, gliding with grace, showing a black smoothness that was massive and sinuous. Behind the hump was our tiny sailboat, a speck getting ever smaller.

Every 3-4 minutes, madonna and child surfaced with geysers announcing their presence. They undulated, rose in curving vastness, side by side, knobbly faces touching each other -- and almost touching us.

I wondered where they were headed, only to realize they might be directly below our flimsy yellow plastic. It was then that I recalled a lecture by my hero and professor of American Literaure, Leo Marx. He told many semesters of rapt Amherst students about the madman on the whale, attempting to cross to the other side, past the wall of unknowing. Ahab knew there was something more to life than his mechanistic existence, killing the whale might yield his clue, maybe in death he truth would be known. Leo Marx made us all feel that we were Ahabs, ready to harpoon our white darkness, to suffer for truth. I remember being unable to breathe when I realized Leo was Ahab, and this insane tension was in our red hall. Leo was on the whale, in public view, for us to witness.

We students were madmen, too, we were Ahabs, incensed at the stupidity of the mundane, bewitched by the fog of ultimate truth, outraged by just about anything. When the lecture was over, the silence was deafening. Then the whole class erupted in applause, standing up for our own Ahab..

Next to the humpback whale, I didn't care if I died. He was truth incarnate. "Humpback" What a silly moniker for the most graceful giant I had ever seen. Like Quasimodo, these humpbacks were reviled by many, feared and hunted. But my humpbacked Madonna was sublimely wise, transcendentally good. Too awful to contemplate that they will be hunted by Japanese whalers.

Are these not two of earth's most gentle and lovely creatures, at home on our blue earth? It was one of those moments. Here was birth and motherhood, sea and sky, black giants and puny humans. Ahab and Gregory Peck were alive. Quasimodo was a saint. The lectures of 1969 were alive. Alan and I were hanging between life and death, on the back of grand mammals, carried forward in life by a subtle coaxing.

We saw the waters flatten when they rose. Flukes climbed to the sky and slapped the green sea. We sat, gaping, too mesmerized to move away. Mother and child had no fear in their vast home.

Someone yelled to me that I was in danger of being smashed. Or tossed tossed like a matchstick. Life in that moment seemed too extraordinary. Why worry about death?

. . .

The next day, at a neighboring island, we made a wet landing and walked on one of the Park trails. We detoured around red land iguanas and boobies standing right in the middle of "our" path. We crossed a spit of land, and at the sea's edge, we spotted fins of some white-tipped sharks. They were sliding in the water, just yards from the water´s edge. Not thinking about Jaws, we stepped into the wavelets.

You need to realize that we tourists had become domesticated, due to the utter fearlessness of all island creatures, whether they be hawks or iguanas. Boobies and albatrosses had wandered up to us every day. Sea lions slept on our feet. So, we stood in 2 feet of water, naively snapping photos of fins and shadows. We did not notice their muscular gray bodies getting closer. Then, in a moment I won't forget, the sharks turned right into our little forest of pale legs. They brushed against our shins and feet. They swiveled, bending and propelling, touching our flesh lightly. They made a slalom course through our legs and headed out of the lagoon. They were as gentle as the waves themselves.

Sharks and humpbacks. Two heavenly creatures. Earthly beings living in the sea. Misnamed and misunderstood, hunted and hated. And yet they are the repository of nature's grace. They shed light on our manic selves. They are evidence that there really is something on the other side.

A few of my favorite pix

SCUBA diving, cruising on the Beagle

September 8, 2009
Leon Dormido (sleeping lion) is a famous diving site known for being a monolith whose twin spires rise out of the ocean floor to a height of several hundred meters. Its more common name is Kicking Rock, for no reason that anyone knows, but perhaps it stands for the frustration some feel here in Ecuador. In that sense, perhaps it is what the Ecuadorian soccer team ('World Cup hopefuls') is doing to itself after losing to Colombia 2-0 last weekend.

Our guide is Victor, a bear-like man with a crew cut. AFter he helped me put on my gear, he asked me, "Tito, have you really ever been Scuba diving?" I had to admit that my last dive was in 1979. I did not want to add that I was unable to recall anything other than a primordial fear of the depths. He rolls his eyes, because we are already at the Rock, ready to somersault off the boat's gunwales. Patiently, he watches me stagger around, due to the 25 pound lead belt and air tank. I wonder if the weight will have the same effect as concrete boots attached to former friends of the Mafia. At a nod to warmth and buoyancy, and especially since the Humboldt Current makes the Equatorial waters as cold as Maine's Atlantic, we are outfitted with thick neoprene, from toe to head, even gloves, booties and a head warmer.

During our two dives of 40 minutes apiece, we see majestic ray, sea lions, and four species of shark. The hammerheads have an odd appendage on their heads, eyes protruding from the "hammer." The Galapagos sharks have big shoulder humps, making them look vaguely like bulls. The black-tipped sharks are long and lean, smooth-moving and slinky. At 90 feet depth, around the base of a volcanic pinnacle, there is a world of movement.

VOYAGE OF THE 2009 BEAGLE

It turns out that Alan Hesse, an Englishman and cartoonist, is my new friend, and we will share a double in the two-master called the Beagle. Alan is a practicing conservation biologist who has decided to put his childhood doodling ability to good use for conservation education. As he puts it, his aim is to "bring my grain of rice to reunite art and science... cartoons enriched by science and social content for educational purposes."

Check out Alan's website: http://www.alanhesse.co.uk/

We depart this evening on the Beagle, named after Charle's boat that landed on San Cristobal 167 years ago. Tonight, after a dinner with our 10 new friends, we will cruise to an island overnight. Since your mates determine how much good conversation occurs, he and I are hoping for some lively, youthful passengers. You might think this is an specious concern, but some tourists are animated; some are not. I did not think about this until I attended a history/ecology seminar by Felipe Der Ger. The 16American tourists seemed tired from their busy schedule, so, during dinner, heads rolled backwards. Alan looked for a feather. A man with a Pawley's Island t-shirt became comatose. During the fascinating and hilarious slide show, the tourists were pasty, silent. The only lively one was a Floridian with huge, gnarly mitts. Noisily, he told me that 'most of the problems today are caused by tree huggers.'

I guess it really does not matter who else is on the boat. After all, the crew of the original 19th century Beagle was a varied lot. Charles, himself, was an eccentric divinity student working as a volunteer. The captain was nutty.

NEW FRIENDS
Pedro: our tour guide to Los Lobos, an island known for its sea lions and iguanas. I grew up in Guayaquil but moved here 25 years ago. For a long time I was a barman on a cruise boat – three months on the boat and 15 days vacation. It was a good job but then I had a family. Now I like the day cruises better. I do one 4-hour bay cruise in the morning and one in the afternoon. Americans are the best tourists because they are humble and don’t say mean things. I married a woman from Nebraska. We have a three-year-old daughter. I am going to Nebraska this fall but need to learn English before I go. My wife does not like the island life so she comes here a few times a year. It is good you are working with the people of the Galapagos, since there is almost no connection between the FCD and the local people. We don’t know what the FCD does and they don’t know us.