DAY 7
(I HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE LAND IGUANAS LET ALONE ....4 LAND IGUANAS)

These animals are simply amazing. I had no idea how beautiful they were until i see it in real life. I am not big on reptiles but, land iguana is an exquisite animal. I would to see them feed. I like the smirk of their face. like the other animals on the island. They are not afraid of people. Unfotunatley, as i was walking past a burrow. A land iguana just left it. i only took a photo of it. I would love just to see it come out of it. I saw so much wildlife. The photos i have is just the small % of what i saw. 

The Galapagos Land Iguana (Conolophus subcristatus) is a species of lizard in the Iguanidae family. It is one of two species of the genus Conolophus. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, primarily the islands of Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, North Seymour, Hood and South Plaza.

 

Taxonomy

 

The Galapagos Land Iguana varies in morphology and coloration among different island populations.There are two taxonomically distinct forms of Conolophus inhabiting the western part of the islands (C. cristatus and C. pallidus) and one in the central part (C. cristatus).Its generic name, Conolophus, is derived from two Greek words: cono meaning "spiny" and loph meaning "crest", denoting the spiny crests along their backs. Its specific name subcristatus is derived from the Latin words sub meaning "lesser" and cristatus meaning "crested," and refers to the low crest of spines along the animal's back which is not as tall as in most iguanids.

 

Anatomy and morphology

 

Charles Darwin described the Galapagos Land Iguana as "ugly animals, of a yellowish orange beneath, and of a brownish-red colour above: from their low facial angle they have a singularly stupid appearance."The Galapagos Land Iguana grows to a length of three to five feet with a body weight of up to twenty-five pounds, depending upon which island they are from. Being cold-blooded, they absorb heat from the sun by basking on volcanic rock, and at night sleep in burrows to conserve their body heat.These iguanas also enjoy a symbiotic relationship with birds; the birds remove parasites and ticks, providing relief to the iguanas and food for the birds.

 

Diet and longevity

 

Land iguanas are primarily herbivorous; however, some individuals have shown that they are opportunistic carnivores supplementing their diet with insects, centipedes and carrion. Because fresh water is scarce on the islands it inhabits, the Galapagos Land Iguana obtains the majority of its moisture from the prickly-pear cactus that makes up 80% of its diet: fruit, flowers, pads, and even spines.During the rainy season it will drink from available standing pools of water and feast on yellow flowers of the genus Portulaca.

 

It is estimated that the Galapagos Land Iguana has a 60-year lifespan.

 

Reproduction

 

Galapagos Land iguanas become sexually mature anywhere between eight and fifteen years of age, depending on which island they are from. Mating season also varies between islands, but soon after mating, the females migrate to sandy areas to nest, laying 2-25 eggs in a burrow 18 inches deep. The eggs hatch anywhere from 90 to 120 days later.

 

On South Plaza Island, where the territories of Marine Iguanas and Land Iguanas overlap, the two sometimes interbreed, resulting in a mixture of features from each species. The most likely unions tend to be between male Marine Iguanas and Female Land Iguanas. Despite their long separation time and their being two distinct species from different genera, the offspring are viable, although likely sterile.

 

Population

 

It is estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 land iguanas are found in the Galapagos. These iguanas were so abundant on Santiago Island at one time that naturalist Charles Darwin remarked when it was called King James Island that "...when we were left at James, we could not for some time find a spot free from their burrows on which to pitch our single tent". In the years since then, entire populations (including all the animals on Santiago Island) have been wiped out by introduced feral animals such as pigs, rats, cats, and dogs.

 

Reasons for decline

 

The biggest threat to Galapagos Land Iguanas is from feral animals introduced by humans to the islands. Feral dogs and cats attack the iguanas and destroy their nests; the iguanas, having lived in isolation for millions of years, never developed any instincts to flee from predators. Feral pigs destroy the nests of iguanas while searching for food and even eat the eggs of the lizards. This is common in Cerro Azul volcano and Isabela, and in Santiago pigs may be the cause of the disappearance of the land iguanas that were so abundant when Darwin visited. Introduced goats are a major competitor for food and water; and overbrowsing by goats also leads to loss of protective cover from birds of prey such as the Galapagos Hawk.

 

Recovery efforts

 

Beginning in the early 1990's the Galapagos Land Iguana is the subject of an active re-introduction campaign on Baltra Island. These animals became extinct on Baltra by 1954, allegedly wiped out by soldiers stationed there who shot the iguanas for amusement. However, in the early 1930s, William Randolph Hearst had translocated a population of Land Iguanas from Baltra to North Seymour Island, a smaller island just a few hundred meters north of Baltra because he could not understand why no iguanas were present there. Hearst's translocated iguanas survived, and became the breeding stock for the Charles Darwin Research Station captive breeding program which has successfully reintroduced the species to Baltra and a number of other areas. Visitors today frequently see iguanas on both the runway of the Baltra airport or while they cross the road.

 

Isla Isabela, Galapagos Islands The largest island in the Galapagos Archipelago at 4588 sq km, Isla Isabela was named by Christopher Columbus, in honor of Queen Isabela of Spain, who had sponsored his voyage. In the shape of a sea horse, this island measures around 100 km in length and is home to five young active volcanoes. An extremely beautiful place, Isla Isabela has a rich and intriguing past with many visitor sites on the island. A favorite hideaway for early pirates, buccaneers and whalers, there are a number of high cliffs here which enclose a protected bay.

 

The highest point on this island is the Volcan Wolf which sits at an altitude of 1,707 meters. A product of six volcanoes coming together over millions of years ago into one single island, Isla Isabela is undeniably one of the best places to tour in the Galapagos. Home to a huge variety of plant and animal species including the endemic Galapagos penguins, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, Sally Lightfoot crabs, boobies and pelicans, this island is also the habitat of the rare and endemic Darwin Finches, Galapagos Hawks, Galapagos Tortoises, land iguanas and the Galapagos Doves.

 

With a fairly large human settlement residing in Puerto Villamil on the southeastern tip of the island, some other points of interest on Isla Isabela include, the Volcan Alcedo, where large numbers of giant tortoises can be spotted from June to December. Some 1128m high with a 7 km wide caldera, till a few years back it was possible to camp near the summit of the volcan.

 

Another tourist hotspot here is Punta Albemarle, on the northern tip of the island. Used as a radar base by the US in World War II, this site is a great place to spot the flightless cormorant and a number of other birds. A definite must see when on Isla Isabela is Targus Cove lying east of Isla Fernandina. A former pirate haunt, this cove offers a great opportunity to take a panga ride, which not only presents some terrific snorkeling chances, but also lets you see many of the bird species here in their natural environment.

 

On the western shores of Isla Isabela lies Urbina Bay, where one can observe many animals as well. A nesting area for the Galapagos tortoises, Galapagos penguins, Brown Pelicans and Flightless Cormorants, this area is also inhabited by marine and land iguanas. Some other important visitor sight on the island include; Elizabeth Bay, Punta Moreno, Punta Tortuga, Punta Garcia and Villamil Lagoon.

DAY 6
(MY MUM WAS QUEEN FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK AND I WAS HER PRISONER)

Mum and I went upstairs after dinner to join in the festivities. I recognize the “crossing the line” ceremony from the Norway trip back in 2007. As soon as I heard “King Neptune” was looking for a QUEEN, I knew it will be either me or my mum. Sure enough, I saw Jaime, Rogelio, William and “little” Jorge dressed in KING NEPTUNE’S  stooges take my mum away.

 

HAHAHAH I was laughing and saying I knew it!!! I took photos and video of the capture. Then king Neptune wanted prisoners, guess who they captured…..ME and some of the NY peeps we hung out with and all the kids.

 

My mum was laughing the whole time. she was QUEEN OF THE REST OF THE WEEK. She was handed the “key to the xpedition” to control it whenever she wanted.

 

The prisoners were to do embarrassing tasks to let us free from the KING and QUEEN’S GRASP. Daniel and along lady was told to do the blue footed booty mating ritual. They told cindy to do the dance of the frigate. The kids were told to do the penguin dance. I was told to do the Galapagos snake. AND I DID TOO :)

 

I gave my camera to john from brazil to take photos of the “baptism”.  They we all given a “SHOT OF BLOOD” well, STRAWBERY JUICE.  Afterwards, we were given the “certificate” that we had crossed the equator.

 

So for the rest of the week, my mum was called “QUEEN”  :P

Afterwards, we danced to Latin music with the naturalists until 11pm. Tiara, Ken, Cindy, Daniel, William, Rogelio, and me talked and laughed until 1am. Oscar kept on going to back and not coming out for awhile. My mum got fed up waiting for her diet coke that she went behind the bar to help herself. William helped her passing out beers and drinks to everybody. I was so buzzed as well. I did 2 shots of vodka.  We all had a great time. Unfortunately, we all had to go to bed soon. We all had to get up at 7am to start our excurtions…..

THE HISTORY ABOUT “CROSSING THE LINE”

 

The ceremony of Crossing the Line is an initiation rite in the Royal Navy, U.S. Navy, and other navies which commemorates a sailor's first crossing of the equator. Originally the tradition was created as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long rough times at sea. Sailors who have already crossed the equator are nicknamed (Trusty) Shellbacks, often referred to as Sons of Neptune; those who have not are nicknamed (Slimy) Pollywogs.

 

The two-day event (evening and day) is a ritual of reversal in which the older and experienced enlisted crew essentially takes over the ship from the officers. Physical assaults in keeping with the 'spirit' of the initiation are tolerated, and even the inexperienced crew is given the opportunity to 'take over'. The transition flows from established order to the controlled 'chaos' of the Pollywog Revolt, the beginnings of re-order in the initiation rite as the fewer but experienced enlisted crew converts the 'Wogs' through physical tests, then back to, and thereby affirming, the pre-established order of officers and enlisted. Like the old physically- and emotionally-intensive boot camp, the "Crossing the Line" ritual deconstructs then reconstructs the initiates' experience from newbie outsider into the experienced military fraternity.

 

The eve of the equatorial crossing is called Pollywogs' Revolt and, as with many other night-before rituals, is a mild type of reversal of the day to come. 'Wogs' - all of the uninitiated - are allowed to capture and 'interrogate' any shellbacks they can find (eg, tying them up, cracking eggs or pouring aftershave lotion on their heads).

 

After crossing the line, Pollywogs receive subpoenas to appear before King Neptune and his court (usually including his first assistant Davy Jones and her Highness Amphitrite and often various dignitaries, who are all represented by the highest ranking seamen), who officiate at the ceremony, which is often preceded by a Beauty Contest of men dressing up as women, each department of the ship being required to introduce one contestant in swimsuit drag. Afterwards, some wogs may be "interrogated" by King Nepture and his entourage, and the use of 'truth serum' (hot sauce + after shave + ?) and whole uncooked eggs put in the mouth. During the ceremony, the Pollywogs undergo a number of increasingly disgusting ordeals (wearing clothing inside out and backwards; crawling on hands and knees on nonskid-coated decks; being swatted with short lengths of firehose; being locked in stocks and pillories and pelted with mushy fruit; being locked in a water coffin of salt-water and bright green sea dye (fluorescent sodium salt); crawling through chutes or large tubs of rotting garbage; kissing the Royal Baby's belly coated with axle grease, hair chopping, etc), largely for the entertainment of the Shellbacks.

 

Once the ceremony is complete, a Pollywog receives a certificate declaring his new status. Another rare status is the Golden shellback, a person who has crossed the equator at the 180th meridian (international date line). When a ship must cross these lines, the ship's captain will usually intentionally plot a course across the Golden X so that the ship's crew can be initiated into the Golden Shellbacks.

 

A watered-down version of the ceremony, typically featuring King Neptune, is also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships.

 

Controversy

 

In the 19th century and earlier, the line-crossing ceremony was quite a brutal event, often involving beating "pollywogs" with boards and wet ropes and sometimes throwing the victims over the side of the ship, dragging the pollywog in the surf from the stern. In more than one instance, sailors were reported to have been killed while participating in a crossing the line ceremony.

 

As late as World War II, the line crossing ceremony was still rather rough and involved activities such as the "Devil's Tongue" which would be an electrified piece of metal poked into the sides of those deemed pollywogs. Beatings were often still common, usually with wet firehoses, and several World War II Navy deck logs speak of sailors visiting sickbay after crossing the line.

 

Efforts to curtail the line crossing ceremony did not begin until the 1980s, when several reports of blatant hazing began to circulate regarding the line crossing ceremony and at least one death was attributed to abuse while crossing the line.

 

California Maritime Academy observed the line-crossing until 1989, after which the ceremony was deemed to be hazing, and was forbidden. The '89 crossing was fairly typical, as it was not realized to be the last one. Pollywogs participated voluntarily, though women midshipmen justifiably observed that they were under social pressure to do the ceremony but were targets of harder abuse.[citation needed] Pollywogs (midshipmen and anyone else who had not crossed) ascended a ladder from the foredeck to the superstructure deck of the ship. There, they crawled down a gauntlet of shellbacks on both sides of a long, heavy canvas runner, about 10 - 12 meters. The shellbacks had prepared 1 meter lengths of canvas/rubber firehose, which they swung hard at the posterior of each pollywog. Pollywogs then ascended a ladder to the boatdeck to slide down a makeshift chute into the baptism of messdeck leavings in sea water in an inflated liferaft back on the superstructure deck. Pollywogs then returned to the foredeck where they were hosed off by firehose and then allowed to kiss, in turn, the belly of the sea-baby, the foot of the sea-hag, and the ring of King Neptune, each personified by shellbacks.

 

In 1995, a notorious line crossing ceremony took place on an Australian submarine HMAS Onslow. Sailors undergoing the ceremony were physically and verbally abused before being subjected to an act called "sump on the rump", where a dark liquid was daubed over each sailor's anus and genitalia. One sailor was then sexually assaulted with a long stick before all sailors undergoing the ceremony were forced to jump overboard until permitted to climb back aboard the submarine. A videotape of the ceremony was obtained by the Nine Network and aired on Australian television. The television coverage provoked widespread criticism, especially when the videotape showed some of the submarine's officers watching the entire proceedings from the conning tower.

 

Most navies have, since then, instituted regulations which prohibit physical attacks on sailors undergoing the crossing the line ceremony. In modern times, rather than a dreaded rite of initiation, the line crossing ceremony has become a popular tradition in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard.

 

Line crossing ceremonies are also carried out on many U.S. merchant ships. However, without the oversight of military justice, they can often get out of hand and lead to the abuse and assault which occurred in line crossing ceremonies of the past.

 

Equatorial Baptism

 

Baptism on the line, also called equatorial baptism, is an initiation ritual sometimes performed as a ship crosses the equator, involving water baptism of passengers or crew who have never crossed the equator before. The ceremony is sometimes explained as being an initiation into the court of King Neptune.

 

The ritual is the subject of a painting by Matthew Benedict named The Mariner's Baptism, and of a 1961 book by Henning Henningsen named Crossing the Equator: Sailor's Baptism and other Initiation Rites.

 

Honors

 

A popular patch has also been created for shellbacks, that depicts Neptune battling a sea serpent with his trident.

 

This is the text from a certificate issued on a Royal Navy ship during the Second World War:

 

 A Proclamation

 

Whereas by our Royal Consension, Our Trusty, Well Beloved .................... has this day entered Our Domain. We do hereby declare to all whom it may concern that it is Our Royal Will and Pleasure to confer upon him the Freedom of the Seas without undue ceremony. Should he fall overboard, We do command that all Sharks, Dolphins, Whales, Mermaids and other dwellers in the Deep are to abstain from maltreating his person. And we further direct all Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and others who have not crossed Our Royal Domain, to treat him with the respect due to One of Us. Given under Our Hand at Our Court on board H.M.S. .............. on the Equator in Longitude .....° on this ..... day of ..... in the year .....

(Signed)

Cancer �" High Clerk

Neptune �" Rex

 

This is the text from a certificate issued on a United States Navy ship during the 1960s:

 

Know ye, that .................... on the ..... day of ..... , aboard .............. appeared at the equator at Latitude .....° , Longitude .....° entering into Our Royal Domain, and having been inspected and found worthy by My Royal Staff and was initiated into the Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of the Deep. I command my subjects to Honor and Respect him as one of our Trusty Shellbacks.

 

(Signed)

Davey Jones �" His Royal Scribe

Neptunus Rex �" Ruler of the Raging Main

 

Similar "fraternities" in the navy include:

 

    * The Order of the Blue Nose for sailors who have crossed the Arctic Circle.  *NORWAY 2007*

    * The Order of the Polar Bear for U.S. sailors who have crossed the Arctic Circle. *NORWAY 2007*

    * The Order of the Red Nose for sailors who have crossed the Antarctic Circle.

    * The Order of the Golden Dragon for sailors who have crossed the International Date Line.

    * The Order of the Ditch for sailors who have passed through the Panama Canal.

    * The Order of the Rock for sailors who have transited the Strait of Gibraltar. *GILBRALTAR 2006*

    * The Safari to Suez for sailors who have passed through the Suez Canal.

    * The Royal Diamond Shellback for sailors who cross at 0 0 degrees off the coast of West Africa (where the equator crosses the Prime          Meridian) 

    * The Realm of the Czars for sailors who crossed into the Black Sea.

    * The Order of Magellan for sailors who circumnavigated the Earth.