Saturday 19 February 2011

Galapagos: Charlie Don't Surf

But if only he had... The Galapagos bare the mark of his influence at every turn, but I think if Charles had packed a longboard*, a semi-gun* and some sunblock on the Beagle alongside his notebooks, he´d have kept the secret a little better. However, as a consequence of the Origin of Species, the Galapagos is so well protected by the National Park from any kind of development that the islands remain pristine, and with little impact on the surfing natural resources. I don't think the Save the Waves Coalition has much need to worry about here.

Having left volcanoes behind, I was on a one-way flight from Ecuador´s second city Guayaquil for the Galapagos Islands. I seem to be winging my way around the Americas on a fairly good run of luck with regard to waves and thankfully my luck held out in the Galapagos to score one of the most unique surfs I´ve had. Ever.

Arriving into the Galapagos I was quick to notice that I was one of the only people without need of wheelchair access and not in need of the toilet every 5 minutes. Seems the G' Islands are a haven for oldies from Germany and America. The typical clientele is not surprising considering just to get into the islands you have to pay a $100 national park fee. Not being constrained by time I was organising myself on the go and saving a few thousand bucks in the process. The natural remoteness, perceived cost and restrictions all meant I should be able to score some quiet waves.

All settled in a respectably awful hotel in Puerto Auora on the main island of Santa Cruz and I was off to inspect the surf before the beach closed. The beach in question is Tortuga Bay and is in the National Park, which closes at 6pm. I very nearly didn't make it as it's a 45 minute walk from town, and I  almost got locked in, but after the seemingly endless cactus trees began to give way, and I saw the sea, my hike was not left wanting. 


http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5411216754/in/set-72157625851037969/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5411218198/in/set-72157625851037969/

Tortuga Bay is a stunning beach of brilliant white sands. The tide was mid way in and the surf was in the shoulder to head high range and had a light on-shore wind but was still none the less inviting. As I was only a few hours off the plane, I was without board, so tried a spot of body surfing and got my first glimpse of the wildlife, which was rather apt for this bay, as what I saw in the distance seemed to look like a turtle!

The next afternoon I returned with a rented 8 foot minimal* and was not alone out in the surf. Sure there were some other local surfers, riding the now waist to shoulder high waves, but it was the fish, marine iguanas and the sting rays that ruled the line up. 


http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5411217080/in/set-72157625851037969/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5411204864/in/set-72157625851037969/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5410604643/in/set-72157625851037969/

The surf was good fun, only a beach break though and at various states of tide it was breaking in random places and sometimes reforming, but the environment was the most unique. Not only did I get to share it with one of the most inquisitive fish...


http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5411204710/in/set-72157625851037969/

...but the attitude of the local surfers was like that of nowhere I´d been. They were actually friendly and seemed to lack the typical aggressiveness associated with countless foreign spots in the Americas. After the guards called us in to make the 6pm close, I was keen to return the next day bright and early, as I had to make tracks to another island to start a tour the day after.

As with several well laid plans, my ambitions for a 6am surf were thwarted by love of sleep but I got down to the beach for around 9am and thankfully the surf was still just about ridable. The sun was out in full force, and surfing on the Equator, regardless of your tan you have to be sun blocked to the point you could give Casper the Ghost a fright.

This surf was truly special, the waves were now very small, but I was sharing the 2 foot sets with a couple local kids I'd met the day before and a bunch of Eagle and Sting Rays. I admit the Sting Rays didn't really understand how to ride the waves, but after I ran over the top of one of them on a left hander, I'm sure he'll be swimming to the nearest store to buy himself a "locals only" tee shirt. You'll be glad to hear that the sting ray in question was not harmed, just a little startled to have some kook from London surf over the top of him. 

That afternoon, the rental returned, I was off to the island of San Cristobal, as my 8 day tour was set to begin the very next day. The 2.5 hour ferry taxi ride over was the bumpiest boat in the world as it seem slam into the sea at 30 mph like the boat would snap in two. I was absolutely fine, however the same can't be said for the locals who sat opposite me, who were usually unable to get the heads over the side in time. Gross. Yes indeed, but I had to sit opposite this for 2.5 hours.

Entering the main town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, I was amazed. The surf was EPIC. Just cruising into the natural harbour (protected by a series of outer reefs) I saw a left breaking off the rocks that was well over head and seemed to just keep on breaking. I soon learnt that this was a break in the navy's backyard and you needed to buy a permit ($10) to surf there. None the less it looked superb. You can understand me not having any photos of this one as the boat was still very much a rodeo ride and I didn't want to risk my camera going for an early swim.

That night I met a bunch of surfers (Irish, English, Ecuadorian, Australian) who had all gotten cheap flights over to catch the incoming swell. Upon hearing this I was slightly nervous given I was about to set to sea, but this was nothing to what I saw the next day. From the cafe eating my huevos revueltos for breakfast, I could see both ends of the harbour were literally going berserk. Both were double over head, and you could see rather speedy barrels even at a distance of a mile away.

Sad to be missing the swell, I jumped on a catamaran for my tour (a fantastic experience and regardless of lack of surf - see follow up blog) around the islands. The next 8 days were however not without swell, as the true potential of these islands, finally began to show. Reefs and points would appear with rising and dropping tides and the idea of returning just on a boat for the sole purpose of surfing seemed a very good idea. 


http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5411236072/in/set-72157625851037969/

All of this sounds like a big sell out to an emerging surfing location, but this is far from the truth. The Galapagos remain on the world's surfing radar but are just out of reach of the majority, and thankfully so. Firstly the costs are naturally prohibitive, you can't just jump off the local chicken bus and paddle out, it takes flights, entrance fees and most expensive of all, a chartered boat. Also surfing is not recognised as an activity by the Galapagos National Park, so in short, outside of Tortuga Bay and the breaks around the towns, you simply can't go surfing.

Isolated from the world for such a long time, its home to some seriously friendly wildlife and to some seriously challenging surf. But I wouldn't change the rules, costs, or any of the other barriers that keep this place of most peoples surfing destinations. Its nice to know at least from a surfers perspective, that there is a little part of the world that is set to remain relatively untapped. I don't think many surf camps will be starting there soon.

I'm now off to get a wife in the Galapagos and buy a boat, so I can surf uncrowded perfect waves to myself... well that's the plan at least.

Here is a teaser for the pictures for the follow up blog. No surf, but spectacular wildlife.

Iguana checking the surf
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5410625121/in/set-72157625851037969/
Got crabs? Looks a bit red...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5410636031/in/set-72157625976482178/
Nice booby
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5410666171/in/set-72157625976482178/
Turtle giving it the eye
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5410689641/in/set-72157625851081393/
Sting Ray, looking grumpy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5411303446/in/set-72157625851081393/
Give me a kiss

http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5411313336/in/set-72157625851099551/
Man in grey suit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richsmith/5416063635/in/set-72157625851099551/

The rest of the Galapagos, including a full account of the shark that nearly ate our guide, the Killer Whales who ate said shark's best mate and started a feeding frenzy will be written soon and with a lot of photos to boot!

Rich

*types of surfboard 

No comments:

Post a Comment