GALAPAGOS PILGRIMAGE PART THREE: The Book of Nature

“These people have learned not from books, but in the fields, in the wood, on the river bank. Their teachers have been the birds themselves, when they sang to them, the sun when it left a glow of crimson behind it at setting, the very trees, and wild herbs.”

 - Anton Chekhov, “A Day in the Country”
 

 
“We are tossed about by external causes in many ways, and like waves driven by contrary winds, we waver and are unconscious of the issue and our fate.' We think we are most ourselves when we are most passionate, whereas it is then we are most passive, caught in some ancestral torrent of impulse or feeling, and swept on to a precipitate reaction which meets only part of the situation because without thought only part of a situation can be perceived.”

- Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy
 

 
“Thanks, Scott, for your comments. I am grateful.
Very simply, we can encounter God without even reading the Bible. Aquinas says if you want to know something about God, then begin with creation.

- Blessings,Carol”

I'm having trouble finding attribution info for the Pee Wee picture - likely Warner Pictures

Who’s that sexy thang I see over there?
That’s me, standin’ in the mirror…
…If I was you, I’d want to be me too.
—Meghan Trainor

Elvis picture from very cool poster at Rock.com

Cause I’m a model, you know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the catwalk
Yeah, on the catwalk
On the catwalk, yeah
I shake my little tush on the catwalk

— Right Said Fred

Portland to Charlotte, to Miami, to Quito and finally to Baltra Island in the Galapagos archipelago (600 miles off the coast of Ecuador) - Map illustration derived from Google Earth

 

The Ecuadorian flight attendants were uncannily identical in appearance — from their red hats (faintly reminiscent of Hot Dog on a Stick Uniforms) to their tight bun hairdos to their matching lipstick — so that I was unsure whether I had slid into an alternate universe of 60’s stewardesses or a future populated by identical clones. In either case, they performed their jobs with military efficiency and no sooner had the plane landed, then all the doors were thrown open and we passengers spilled down the closest set of ramp- stairs to the sun baked tarmac.

Though I am handicapped by a severe case of monolingualism, the airport personnel were experienced enough, and our cruise guides attentive enough that I merely needed the skills of a cow to be herded to the transfer buses. Languid iguanas watched our little tourist parade with their impassive sidewise gaze, a gaze that because it only half meets our own, manages to seem indifferent…but probably really is indifferent. 

All the buses followed a curvy, dusty road down to what appeared to be the only destination on Baltra, a dock on the side of a small bay, where we were all deposited — a giant bolus of privileged humanity — into a staging area then sifted and spread onto our prospective boats.

While the fleet of excursion vessels prepared to disperse among the different islands, the passengers of the Nemo III were baptized into the equatorial waters of the bay through voluntary self-dunkings as we strove to demonstrate our capacities to regain entry into the kayaks we would soon be using (provided we mastered this skill). For me it perfectly accentuated the idea that I was suddenly immersed into a new environment.

Darwin spent 1 month in the Galapagos (Sept. 17^th – Oct. 17^th), though only 24 days actually spent on just 4 of the islands. Ultimately, I would set foot on 5 different islands and 4 islets over the course of 7 days, only two of which I’d have in common with Darwin. I mention this because when I figured it out, I was surprised at how little time he spent there on a voyage that lasted almost 5 years. Clearly, the ideas that were eventually triggered by observations in the Galapagos occurred only in the context of the rest of his observations on the South American Continent and other island chains spanning the globe — not to mention his academic training. I imagine he had to know very well how things were 'KNOWN' to be, in order to recognize the subtle importance of say, tortoises customized for each island.

The Galapagos Islands are volcanos that arise from the activity of a stationary hotspot underneath the Nazca tectonic plate. As the Nazca plate inches eastward over the hotspot on its way to subverting South America (causing frequent earthquakes in Ecuador) the resulting chain of islands poking above the ocean can be seen as a trace of the plate’s motion over geologic time, the islands to the West being the youngest and the Easternmost the oldest and most weathered. This idea of tectonic plates — drifting and colliding continental jigsaw pieces — would have been of keen interest to Darwin, who was looking for ways to explain why he was finding seashells embedded thousands of feet high in the South American mountains.

Not wasting any time, our nimble 75 foot catamaran sliced its way to North Seymour which would serve as my introduction to what the islands had to offer. “North Seymour — the island where you will ‘see more’” said Veronica the guide, seemingly embarrassed  before she even started saying it, but determined to share the dubious homophone regardless.

Our arrival at North Seymour was much like approaching a bird-shit stained jetty. I didn’t know if this was going to be a big island or a little island (I did research ahead of time, but my variable memory of 13 major islands with their alternate names didn’t include this one) and I didn’t really know enough to have a preference. In retrospect, I can imagine that this little flat shelf was a remnant of a Santa Cruz lava flow in a long past distant epoch. 

Long before we arrived I could see distinctive birds circling over the island vultures…or perhaps pterodactyls.

The crew took us to shore in what, by common consent, was referred to as a ‘panga’…but having grown up with Jacques Cousteau specials, I thought it resembled a ‘Zodiac’ (and began to wish I had a Steve Zissou style red watch-cap instead of my camouflaged boonie hat).

Nocturnal gull

Andres, our other guide (besides Veronica) soon explained that the circling birds were frigate birds. There were two kinds of frigate birds. Great frigate birds and Magnificent frigate birds. When Andres said it, it sounded like Mag-KNEE-fee-cent frigate birds, which to my mind, sounded somehow more spectacular. Turns out, these birds make a living by stealing from other birds which explains why they patrol the territory from high in the sky like opportunistic drones looking for a vulnerable target.  Andres explained how to distinguish magnificent frigate birds from great frigate birds (something about an ‘M’ on their chests?), but as I was often some distance away frantically searching my backpack for the wrong lens to use during our guide’s comprehensive explanations, I missed this subtle point.

A male frigate bird with red inflated I'm-ready-to-have-sex display

Like a peacock's ridiculous tail, this football sized red balloon shows how bad-assed its owner is since it can still perform all its alpha-bird functions while heavily disadvantaged.

Probably not a male frigate bird

The frigate bird's nest is not very elaborate.

The male frigate bird blows up his throat pouch display which essentially screams, "Pay attention to me! Pay attention to me!" Eventually he will stage a big production with his wings which will unfortunately remind me of Chinese Opera.

At this point, unexpectedly thrown (well, not entirely unexpectedly thrown) into a real life nature documentary, I began to imagine I could hear David Attenborough’s voice commenting about everything I happened to look at.  High above me, a dozen fork- tailed birds wheeled in a haphazard gyre while my audio hallucination whispered  “…frigate birds spend —months — continuously airborne at sea.” in that hushed way he has that makes it feel like you’re conspiring together not to have the T.V. animals over-hear.

Ecuadorians have come to treasure their Galapagos Islands and have grown serious about protecting them and the island’s unique species. To visit the islands, you need to be accompanied by a certified guide, stay on designated trails, refrain from bringing food, and keep a prescribed distance from the animals no matter how they try to interact with you.

Historically, the animals of the Galapagos (even many of the birds) exhibit no fear of humans. It’s as if they are consciously ignoring you. But when it comes to the sea lions, it seems they not only understand they are immune from human disturbance, they like to rub that fact in your face — how else to explain their propensity to nap in the middle of the designated trails? Because of this behavior, and others, it is easy for me to feel kinship with these fellow mammals who have abandoned life on land.

Sea lions are kind of perfect role models if you want to take a lazy vacation. But from what I’ve seen, they share my short-sightedness with regard to career goals.

In the distance, I noted Daphne Major’s abrupt shoreline and appreciated all the more the story of Peter and Rosemary Grant’s research as chronicled in The Beak of the Finch — a book I’d been reading previous to my trip — an amazing account that gives insight into the incredible discipline required to see evolution happen in real time (http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/jonathan-weiner.) 
In their unique island laboratory, they’ve been continuously studying generations of finches for 40 years.

August falls into the Galapagos’ garúa season, cooler weather marked by mist and clouds that shroud the highlands. The guides explained that the Humboldt current (cold water circulating up from the Antarctic) moderates the temperature here to the upper, middle seventies (Fahrenheit) while also infusing the water with a wealth of plankton and krill. Otherwise, there isn’t much precipitation, and the lower landscapes where the clouds cannot reach remain arid and appear desert-like. 

The shrub-like trees that grow here remind me of the krummholz back home that vie for existence at the upper limits of the timberline. Krummholz is the German word that means twisted wood and should never be used in the sentence, “I want to kiss you so please wipe that cheese away from your krummholz.”

Cacti will (unbeknownst to me at this point) greet us in many different forms as we hop from island to island, but for now, this one tempts the local land iguanas with fleshy pads of refreshment…almost out of reach.

(Yes I know. This iguana is not actually eating cactus. But at the evening photo review, it became evident that others had caught it in the act of propping itself on its hind legs to grasp at the lowest hanging cactus pads)

When I shared these pictures at the evening picture review, my serendipitous travel cohorts accused me of being a typical guy — focused primarily on butts and boobies (booby jokes never get old…right? I mean right?).

As I watched the booby set about laying out a poop nest, various questions occurred to me:

Is this a booby dream home?

Do prospective mates find this sexy?

How does one compare this to other poop nests (texture, smell, distance expelled, or symmetrical dispersal)?

Is there a booby vocational college that teaches poop-nests 101 — and if not, what the hell?

How many meals does this represent?

Is there an equivalent human behavior (for instance, in a material culture, do we tend to surround ourselves with a lot of shit?)

Is that anus blue?

…and did you just catch yourself looking?

By strictly evolutionary standards, I’m an abject failure. As an animal standing amidst all my cousin animals, I wonder if my failure is due to succumbing to bad instincts, or overruling good instincts with untested ideologies (free will, individuality, golden rules) springing from an experimental brain. Would I be happier if, in my late teens, I was seized by an overpowering urge to make a poop-nest?

Is my genetic makeup such that I would have better thrived as a Viking, utilizing my bulk to wield a broad-sword or battle axe —“… to crush my enemies, see them driven before me…” — only to be (upon return from raiding parties) forever confounded by smaller, quicker-thinking lawyers and accountants?

A well adjusted blue-footed booby making a living, diving recklessly into the ocean for fish among the rocks and surf.

Boobies doing what comes naturally.

To be continued...



see also:

Galapagos Pilgrimage Part 1
https://thenarrativeimage.blogspot.com/2017/03/galapagos-pilgrimage-part-one.html

Galapagos Pilgrimage Part 2
https://thenarrativeimage.blogspot.com/2017/03/galapagos-pilgrimage-part-two.html

Galapagos Pilgrimage Part 4
https://thenarrativeimage.blogspot.com/2017/05/galapagos-pilgrimage-part-4-truth.html

My "Personal Relationship" with Smith & Bybee Lakes

Paint a man’s house and he’ll have a nice painted house for about four years.

But teach a man to paint and he’ll be able to make his canoe look like a fish.

-Old Chinese Proverb-

“So…” devil’s-advocate-Scott leads off, “…how do you have a personal relationship with a wetland area?”

“Well…” I reply, “…it isn’t quite as complicated as having an imaginary dialogue with yourself, or believing in an invisible living God who was executed (briefly) in a political dispute with first century Romans…but…I guess what I’m really describing is a certain familiarity with a physical area developed over time.”

“I see,” says devil’s-advocate-Scott (hereafter simply Rational Scott or R.S.), “you’re simply anthropomorphizing the wetland area.”

“I wish you wouldn’t be so dismissive.” I say, sensitive to the smug tones accenting Rational Scott’s immediate conclusion. I continue, “This metaphorical framework for relating to an ‘area’ as an organism may not be entirely unfounded – that is, it may lead to knowledge and understanding – I mean, it’s not out of the question…entirely?” The certitude with which I began my speech slowly dwindled away under Rational Scott’s scrutiny, his eyes laughing beneath comically furrowed brows. Sadly, what I hoped would be a statement finishes as a confidence-less question.

At this point, a wise man would probably just drop it…but it’s me after all, so I keep on talking.

Chris preparing to perform a magic trick – he’s going to make that beer disappear.

I guess you could say it all started when Chris stood up in his canoe to take a piss and tipped over into the water. This made him considerably less enamored with the canoe, and he ended up trading it for my Atari Jaguar, Sega Genesis, and 80 dollars cash. Those particular game consoles date the transaction to approximately 1995.

That’s about how long I’ve known Smith and Bybee Lakes.

That’s a pretty long relationship for me.

Metro’s kayak launch path – almost wholly underwater.

Over the years, I’ve become familiar with their many moods…and come to understand how they are affected by the seasons. For instance, right now, they’re burning the candle at both ends during these longest days of the year, and putting up with a serious water retention issue.

There’s a nature trail that loops around a short peninsula that juts in-between Smith Lake and Bybee Lake. This observation structure on the east (Smith) side of the peninsula is up to its handrail in water.

…and the path leading to it is also submerged.

When the region's winter supply of water is still tied up in the mountain snowpack, the trail looks more like this.

But this spring, melting snow and endless rain have resulted in a path that looks like this.

The bird-blind on the west (Bybee) side of the peninsula is also standing in water.

Comparison shot

Invasive species continually vie for dominance in an eco-system beset by the challenges of being in proximity to vast numbers of people. Despite weeks of flooding, purple loosestrife manages to keep its head above water.

Last year, some channels were completely clogged with it.

And other plant species worked at converting all the water to biomass.

As the importance of wetlands has become understood – its capacity for filtering and cleaning water, its contributions toward flood control and its ability to support diverse wildlife – Metro has made enlightened efforts to impose the seasonal variation of water levels on the area through the installation of a water control structure. While not a perfect science, they do their best to mimic the natural rhythms of seasonal wetlands.

This piece of ‘designed’ wood brings me the message that the water control structure is currently not exercising much control.

The water control structure is completely submerged on my 06-25-11 visit.

Water was already rushing into the lake from the Columbia slough as early as

04-02-11

In August of 2009, water levels were considerably lower.

One of the characters I met at Bybee Lake.

He used to tell better stories in his younger days, when he still had limbs for gesticulating.

Another invasive species – the yellow flag Iris.

These things may look delicate and fragile but are every bit as resilient as those broomsticks in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

The Force is strong with this one.

I think this is beautiful.

But I don’t know why I think it’s beautiful.

I used to wonder if maybe preferences for landscapes (lakescapes?) were written into our genetic code somehow – perhaps some instinct that leads us to environments rich with life. I tried to research it a little, but the general consensus is that, given our origins, we’d likely be attracted to landscapes that resemble Africa’s savannahs.

But then again, we have the capacity to supplement our ‘instincts’ with the memory of our experiences (plus those memories available to us from our cultures) and we can play the ‘what if’ game, like, what if I had a fishing pole, or what if there are deer trapped on that peninsula or …remember that last time I caught a big catfish…wasn’t it on blue water as smooth as this where startled carp slapped the bottom of the boat, just like they’re doing now?

The sun presses against the back of my neck with almost tangible fingers, intent on tanning my hide – that is, intent on converting it to leather. I paddle in-between the wading trees and float in the cool air beneath the forest canopy. Here where the trees respire, I feel as if I partake in the breath of life.

Volumes of air move purposefully across temperature and pressure gradients as the sun withdraws its face.

I look for the ribbon that marks my route through the trees to the shore.