As the motor boat sputters toward Rabida Island, you hear the raspy bark of a sea lion. You scan the rocky beach, hoping one or two of the creatures will come close enough for you to take a picture. But as you step onto the rust-color sand, you realize that what you thought were rocks are actually dozens of sea lions basking in the sun. A few glance in your direction, but most seem unconcerned that you are standing only a few feet away.
This nonchalance is common among the animals of the Galápagos Islands, the chain of volcanic islands that lies roughly 620 miles off the coast of Ecuador. Because of the lack of predators here, most animals don't have the slightest fear of humans. It's not out of the ordinary for a vermilion flycatcher to peck at your shoelaces or for a land iguana to step over your camera bag as it seeks a place in the sun.
Later in the afternoon, when you grab a snorkel and step into the ocean, some baby sea lions get curious. Soon they are swimming alongside you, occasionally staring into your mask or nipping at your fins. One rambunctious youngster even gives the back of your bathing suit a sharp tug, making you feel like the Coppertone girl. The pup's mother cries sharply, and he quickly swims back to shore to join her.
Most people come to the Galápagos to see the amazing array of animals, many of them found nowhere else on earth. The most famous visitor to the islands, the naturalist Charles Darwin, found inspiration here for his groundbreaking treatise, The Origin of Species. "I never dreamed," he wrote in his memoirs, "that islands, about 50 or 60 miles apart, and most of them in sight of each other, formed of precisely the same rocks, placed under a quite similar climate, rising to a nearly equal height, would have been differently tenanted." Darwin postulated that the slightly different conditions on each of the islands had caused animals and plants to eventually develop into completely different species.
A Naturalist's Dream
The Galápagos chain includes more than a dozen islands whose rocky terrain is constantly being shaped and reshaped by volcanic activity. Since 1835, when Darwin came ashore, more than 60 major eruptions have been recorded, including two during the past decade on Fernandina and Isabela Islands, on the archipelago's western edge.
The islands are very close together, but each is unique. Rough volcanic rock, for example, rings Santiago, where dozens of marine iguanas are often seen nibbling on algae the receding tide has left exposed. In the resulting tide pools you can find snails, crabs, or even a stranded octopus. Bartolomé, on the other hand, is extremely sandy; its inhospitable landscape means that only a few animals, among them the shy Galápagos penguin, come ashore.
As Darwin noted, animals of the same species sometimes differ from island to island. The odd-looking birds called blue-footed boobies are common on Isabela, for instance, but their red-footed cousins are more numerous on Genovesa. Land iguanas are a buttery yellow on Plaza Sur, but on Santa Cruz they are bright orange. Marine iguanas the color of charcoal can be found on just about every island, but on Española they are called Christmas iguanas because they turn vivid shades of red and green in December.
Darwin's theories are especially intriguing when you consider the giant tortoises. The curve of their shells varies greatly from island to island. You can easily distinguish a tortoise that comes from San Cristóbal from one that comes from Santa Fé. Charles Darwin Research Station (tel. 05/526-146 or 05/526-147) on Santa Cruz provides the opportunity to view these sad-eyed creatures up close.
Under the Sea
Some of the most amazing Galápagos sights occur below sea level. From the comfort of a boat, you can watch sea turtles swimming just offshore, and dolphins and other creatures also make surprise appearances. With a mask and snorkel, you can spy starfish as big as dinner plates, among them the chocolate-chip sea star, so named because its yellowish body is dotted with brown. Sea urchins abound, and if you're lucky, you'll spot a moray eel before it darts back into its hole.
Along the sandy bottom lurk the spotted ray and the eagle ray. Although the sight of them is terrifying, the sharks have little interest in humans, content, it seems, to snack on the huge schools of fish circling the islands.
Seeing the Islands
Few visitors ventured to the Galápagos until 1959, when they were declared a national park. Not even five decades later, the islands must cope with 100,000 visitors each year. Concerned that the steadily increasing number of tourists will damage the fragile ecosystem, the Ecuadorian government has restricted access to most of the islands, which can only be seen with a guide licensed through the Galápagos National Park Service.
Except for short jeep excursions from one of the islands' four villages, the only way to see the Galápagos is by boat. The vessels cruising these waters range from yachts with room for less than a dozen people to cruise ships that can hold 100 or more. Journeys last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, although most take about seven days.
Amenities vary from vessel to vessel. The larger boats, such as the Galápagos Explorer II, operated by Canodros, and the Galápagos Legend, run by Kleintours, are veritable floating hotels with every amenity from plush lounges to swimming pools. Bigger isn't always better, though. These boats often have so many people on board that you may be asked to wear a name tag. And going to the islands can be a hassle when 100 passengers are clamoring to get into the small boats that carry you ashore.
Smaller yachts offer a more intimate experience. You get to know the other passengers well, and the captain often dines with everyone on board. Three ships run by Ecoventuras - Eric, Letty, and Flamingo I - have spacious cabins and polished teak interiors trimmed with shiny brass fittings. Cabins on the upper decks have windows you can fling open to catch the breeze.
Another plus on yachts: the guides have the time to explore a topic that interests you, whether it's orcas or ornithology. During a recent voyage on the Letty, naturalist Raúl Salazar Herrera delighted two young girls when he described how a Sally Lightfoot crab, the brilliant orange species crawling around all the islands, sheds its shell.
Essentials
Getting There
LanChile flies from Newark, New Jersey, to Guayaquil, Ecuador, which serves as a gateway to the Galápagos. Flights arrive early in the morning, allowing you to transfer immediately to a flight to the Galápagos. Continental flies from Newark and Houston. American flies from Miami.
Ecuador's Tame is the only airline that flies to the Galápagos. Flights leave once or twice daily from Guayaquil for Baltra, a tiny island just north of Santa Cruz. The flight takes roughly three hours and costs $350 to $400 round-trip.
When to Go
People head to the Galápagos all year, but the best weather is generally from May through June and November through December. The high seasons, when most people visit, are from November through March and from mid-June through August. At other times of the year you are likely to find discounted rates on some vessels.
What It Will Cost
The price tag per person for a double cabin on a three-night, luxury-ship cruise can run from $765 to $1,300 in low season and from $880 to $1,600 in high season. Off-peak rates usually apply from May through mid-June, September through mid-October, and early to mid-December.
To save money you can wait until you arrive on the islands and try to bargain for a cheaper boat fare, as operators sell last-minute tickets at the airport. The risk of doing this, however, is that you might not find an available boat, especially during peak season.
All visitors to the Galápagos must pay a $100 entrance fee, in cash only. The money is earmarked for conservation efforts.
Contacts
Canodros (tel. 04/228-5711 in Guayaquil, 800/327-9854 in the U.S., www.canodros.com).
Ecoventuras (tel. 800/633-7972 in the U.S., www.ecoventura.com).
Galápagos Conservation Trust (5 Derby St., London W1J 7AB, 207/629-5049, www.gct.org).
GalápagosOnline (www.galapagosonline.com).
Kleintours (tel. 02/243-0345 in Quito, 888/505-5346 in the U.S., www.kleintours.com).
Traveling to the Galápagos was a dream come true for Mark Sullivan, editor of Fodor's South America. He also edited the recently released Fodor's Chile and the upcoming Fodor's Kenya and Tanzania.
Read more...
Monday, January 26, 2009
Movies Made in Wyoming
Wyoming has been a setting for movie-making from the industry's earliest days. Some films have celebrated such locales as Devil's Tower (Close Encounters of the Third Kind; 1977), Hole-in-the-Wall (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; 1969), and Casper (Starship Troopers; 1997 and The Hellfighters; 1968), but the principal location has been the exceptionally photogenic scenery of Jackson Hole.
Some of these Jackson Hole films have been easily forgettable horse operas, equally forgettable sequels such as Rocky IV (1985), or silly romances such as The Cowboy and the Lady (1922), starring the ill-fated Mary Miles Minter. She reclined in a sort of Arabian tent at the foot of the Tetons and received the peasantry there with royal condescension. Tom Mix's 1925 oater was no more memorable. Much less forgettable, in Jackson Hole at least, was The Big Trail (1930), an epic production that turned the economics of Teton County upside down and was a major flop. However, it served its purpose. It introduced to the public the handsome, if not very animated, features of John Wayne. The West and Wayne were pals from then on.
Shane starred Alan Ladd and was shot in Jackson Hole in 1951. During the same summer as Shane, two other films were made in the Hole: Jubal, with Glenn Ford, and The Big Sky, with Kirk Douglas. These three rather exceptional shootings were balanced by the egregious Spencer's Mountain of 1963, which attempted to graft the Appalachian tale full of moonshiners and religious revivals onto Wyoming scenery. Henry Fonda did his best in this one.
The roster of male stars who have worked in Jackson Hole also includes such stars as Charlton Heston, Clint Eastwood, and Wallace Beery. Among heroines, only Jean Arthur seems to have made much of a hit in the Hole. It is a man's world, from the movie-making point of view. A nice little TV series, "The Monroes," was shot there in 1970, as was footage for the popular but short-lived TV series, the "Young Indiana Jones Chronicles," 1991-93.
Somewhat different was the presence in the Hole of Western comedian Wallace Beery, who became an annual summer visitor and obtrusive local personality in Jackson bars. He arrived by plane on the flats near Jenny Lake in the late 1930s and put up a raffish pseudo-dude ranch called the Elbo, where he chased the cook around the kitchen. He then settled into his own summer place on Jackson Lake, where he made various forgettable films. His most spectacular public appearance was a much photographed ride across the flats to protest the creation of Jackson Hole National Monument, in 1943. This was supposed to be in defense of the rights of the range.
By Nathaniel Burt
Nathaniel Burt is a composer and writer whose published works include poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. He is the author of the book Jackson Hole Journal. The preceding article was excerpted from Compass American Guides: Wyoming, 3rd edition. Read more...
Some of these Jackson Hole films have been easily forgettable horse operas, equally forgettable sequels such as Rocky IV (1985), or silly romances such as The Cowboy and the Lady (1922), starring the ill-fated Mary Miles Minter. She reclined in a sort of Arabian tent at the foot of the Tetons and received the peasantry there with royal condescension. Tom Mix's 1925 oater was no more memorable. Much less forgettable, in Jackson Hole at least, was The Big Trail (1930), an epic production that turned the economics of Teton County upside down and was a major flop. However, it served its purpose. It introduced to the public the handsome, if not very animated, features of John Wayne. The West and Wayne were pals from then on.
Shane starred Alan Ladd and was shot in Jackson Hole in 1951. During the same summer as Shane, two other films were made in the Hole: Jubal, with Glenn Ford, and The Big Sky, with Kirk Douglas. These three rather exceptional shootings were balanced by the egregious Spencer's Mountain of 1963, which attempted to graft the Appalachian tale full of moonshiners and religious revivals onto Wyoming scenery. Henry Fonda did his best in this one.
The roster of male stars who have worked in Jackson Hole also includes such stars as Charlton Heston, Clint Eastwood, and Wallace Beery. Among heroines, only Jean Arthur seems to have made much of a hit in the Hole. It is a man's world, from the movie-making point of view. A nice little TV series, "The Monroes," was shot there in 1970, as was footage for the popular but short-lived TV series, the "Young Indiana Jones Chronicles," 1991-93.
Somewhat different was the presence in the Hole of Western comedian Wallace Beery, who became an annual summer visitor and obtrusive local personality in Jackson bars. He arrived by plane on the flats near Jenny Lake in the late 1930s and put up a raffish pseudo-dude ranch called the Elbo, where he chased the cook around the kitchen. He then settled into his own summer place on Jackson Lake, where he made various forgettable films. His most spectacular public appearance was a much photographed ride across the flats to protest the creation of Jackson Hole National Monument, in 1943. This was supposed to be in defense of the rights of the range.
By Nathaniel Burt
Nathaniel Burt is a composer and writer whose published works include poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. He is the author of the book Jackson Hole Journal. The preceding article was excerpted from Compass American Guides: Wyoming, 3rd edition. Read more...
Literary Baltimore
Baltimore does not belong to one writer. Instead, this southernmost of northern cities belongs to many, from Francis Scott Key, who penned the words to the national anthem after watching the bombardment of Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812, to Anne Tyler, a contemporary writer who captures the quirkiness of Baltimore and its inhabitants in novels such as The Accidental Tourist.
During the past two centuries, Baltimore has been home---sometimes only briefly---to writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, H. L. Mencken, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Upton Sinclair, Gertrude Stein, Dashiell Hammett, and Russell Baker, the New York Times columnist who recounted his Baltimore years in the Pulitzer Prize--winning Growing Up and its successor, Good Times.
Perhaps the most fitting place to explore remnants of the city's literary history is the Mount Vernon neighborhood, which hosts the annual Baltimore Book Festival each September. The two-day event celebrates books, writers, publishers, and storytellers. Begin in the heart of Mount Vernon at the Washington Monument, where the hearty can climb 228 steps to catch a glimpse of the Baltimore skyline and the lovely parks, museums, and homes surrounding the memorial.
Across from the monument entrance, at the corner of East Mount Vernon Place and South Washington Place, is Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church. Built in 1873, the church sits on the site where Francis Scott Key died in 1843. A plaque on the exterior of the church notes his death. On the other side of the monument, on West Mount Vernon Place, are two important cultural institutions, the Peabody Conservatory of Music and the Peabody Library. The library has more than 250,000 books, the oldest dating to 1470. Its marble court is often called the most beautiful room in Baltimore.
At 716 North Washington Place near Madison Street is the former hotel, The Stafford, where F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, stayed while she was being treated for mental illness at Johns Hopkins University. Fitzgerald later lived in a town house at 1307 Park Avenue, a few blocks west of the hotel, where he finished his classic novel Tender is the Night. Today a plaque notes the former resident.
Nearly three blocks west, at 12 Madison Street, is the 19th-century home of John Pendleton Kennedy, a best-selling novelist of the 1820s whose works many believe helped invent the myth of the Old South, a world of gentility and knights without armor. A congressman and Navy secretary, Kennedy also oversaw the creation of Baltimore's Peabody Institute.
A block south of Kennedy's home is the Maryland Historical Society Museum and Library of Maryland, at 201 W. Monument Street, which contains the original manuscript of "The Star-Spangled Banner." East of the historical society at 704 Cathedral Street, H. L. Mencken, the "sage of Baltimore," lived on the third floor with his wife, Sara Haardt. The iconoclastic Mencken, one of the most influential journalists of the early to mid-20th century, was well known for his razor-sharp political writing and literary criticism. He also wrote a monumental study called The American Language.
Three other important literary sites lie outside Mount Vernon. They are the H. L. Mencken House, at 1524 Hollins Street in Union Square, where the locally revered writer spent much of his life; it is currently closed to the public. The Poe House, at 203 N. Amity Street, is where Poe lived briefly in the early 1830s and wrote his first horror story, "Berenice"; the house is open to the public. More easily accessible (and in a better neighborhood) the final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe, the Westminster Cemetery and Catacombs, at West Fayette and Greene Streets. Poe's monument was donated from pennies collected by Baltimore schoolchildren in the 1930s.
The preceding article was excerpted from Fodor's Virginia & Maryland. Read more...
During the past two centuries, Baltimore has been home---sometimes only briefly---to writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, H. L. Mencken, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Upton Sinclair, Gertrude Stein, Dashiell Hammett, and Russell Baker, the New York Times columnist who recounted his Baltimore years in the Pulitzer Prize--winning Growing Up and its successor, Good Times.
Perhaps the most fitting place to explore remnants of the city's literary history is the Mount Vernon neighborhood, which hosts the annual Baltimore Book Festival each September. The two-day event celebrates books, writers, publishers, and storytellers. Begin in the heart of Mount Vernon at the Washington Monument, where the hearty can climb 228 steps to catch a glimpse of the Baltimore skyline and the lovely parks, museums, and homes surrounding the memorial.
Across from the monument entrance, at the corner of East Mount Vernon Place and South Washington Place, is Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church. Built in 1873, the church sits on the site where Francis Scott Key died in 1843. A plaque on the exterior of the church notes his death. On the other side of the monument, on West Mount Vernon Place, are two important cultural institutions, the Peabody Conservatory of Music and the Peabody Library. The library has more than 250,000 books, the oldest dating to 1470. Its marble court is often called the most beautiful room in Baltimore.
At 716 North Washington Place near Madison Street is the former hotel, The Stafford, where F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, stayed while she was being treated for mental illness at Johns Hopkins University. Fitzgerald later lived in a town house at 1307 Park Avenue, a few blocks west of the hotel, where he finished his classic novel Tender is the Night. Today a plaque notes the former resident.
Nearly three blocks west, at 12 Madison Street, is the 19th-century home of John Pendleton Kennedy, a best-selling novelist of the 1820s whose works many believe helped invent the myth of the Old South, a world of gentility and knights without armor. A congressman and Navy secretary, Kennedy also oversaw the creation of Baltimore's Peabody Institute.
A block south of Kennedy's home is the Maryland Historical Society Museum and Library of Maryland, at 201 W. Monument Street, which contains the original manuscript of "The Star-Spangled Banner." East of the historical society at 704 Cathedral Street, H. L. Mencken, the "sage of Baltimore," lived on the third floor with his wife, Sara Haardt. The iconoclastic Mencken, one of the most influential journalists of the early to mid-20th century, was well known for his razor-sharp political writing and literary criticism. He also wrote a monumental study called The American Language.
Three other important literary sites lie outside Mount Vernon. They are the H. L. Mencken House, at 1524 Hollins Street in Union Square, where the locally revered writer spent much of his life; it is currently closed to the public. The Poe House, at 203 N. Amity Street, is where Poe lived briefly in the early 1830s and wrote his first horror story, "Berenice"; the house is open to the public. More easily accessible (and in a better neighborhood) the final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe, the Westminster Cemetery and Catacombs, at West Fayette and Greene Streets. Poe's monument was donated from pennies collected by Baltimore schoolchildren in the 1930s.
The preceding article was excerpted from Fodor's Virginia & Maryland. Read more...
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