GRIOTS REPUBLIC - An Urban Black Travel Mag - Jan 2016

Rancho Primicias, a private farm and
tortoise sanctuary where the giant
reptiles have free range. We strolled
barefoot along the beach at
Garrapaterro, where flamingos nest in
the surrounding lagoons. We hiked
nearly 45 minute to Tortuga Bay’s
beaches to kayak and watch birds and
iguanas. An 8 mile round-trip walk
brought us to the Wall of Tears, a 20-
foot stone wall stretching more than
300 feet that was built by prisoners at
a penal colony that once existed on
Isabela Island.
We walked nearly everywhere. It
reminded Washington of his days as a
solider on the Galapagos. Weighted
down by a backpack full of gear and a
gun, he recalled using his machete to
hack his way through raw vegetation
to get from shore to shore on just
about all of the islands. Today, long
trails leading to many of the beaches
are laid with paver stones. Other
paths are made of packed earth with
wooden bridges across lagoon
marshes. Though traversing the land
is much easier than when Maria’s
parents lived there, or when
Washington was in uniform, one of
the takeaways was that a Galapagos
vacation is an active one. My
mother, who is nearly 70, is in pretty
good health and full of energy. She
observed that many of the activities
may be too challenging for families
with small children or people with a
physical infirmity, even a slight one,
due to some of the terrain like steep
steps, long walks and the need to
constantly climb in and out of small
boats.
While tourism may be the one and
only industry on the islands, the
attitude toward actual tourists can be
uneven. The owner of our hotel on
Santa Cruz barely apologized for
canceling one of our three reserved
rooms, forcing me, my mother,
Washington and Maria to be
roommates for a night.
“The main income for Galapagos is
tourism,” Santiago explained, “but
they are not focused on the service
aspect of tourism. Many of the guides
try to trick you in order for you to
hire them for everything, and they
charge you whatever they want.”
Unanticipated costs were an