SADIE & CHARLIE URBANOWICZ: "WHAT WE DID LAST SUMMER (BUT IT REALLY WAS 'WINTER' SOUTH-OF-THE-EQUATOR!)"

Dr. Charles F. Urbanowicz / Professor of Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
California State University, Chico
Chico, California 95929-0400
530-898-6220 [Office]; 530-898-6192 [Dept.] FAX: 530-898-6824
e-mail: curbanowicz@csuchico.edu / home page: http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban

6 October 2000 [1]

[This page printed from http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/AAUW2000.html]

© [All Rights Reserved.] This handout accompanied a slide presentation at the AAUW [American Association of University Women] Meeting in Chico, California, October 6, 2000.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
VARIOUS WORDS (Perú & The Galápagos Islands)
CONCLUSIONS (Know Before You Go Again!)
ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS
SOME POTENTIALLY USEFUL WEB SITES!
SPECIFIC URBANOWICZ WEB SITES
THE ACTUAL JULY 2000 TRIP

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:

L O C A T I O N
S I Z E
CURRENT POPULATION
State of California
155,973 square miles
~34,000,000
Butte County
1,640 square miles
194,597
Republic of Perú
496,200 square miles
26,624,582
Republic of Ecuador
109,500 square miles
12,562,496
Province of Galápagos Islands
3,043 square miles
~15,000?

Table #1: Various locations: Area & Population. 

P E R U
A L T I T U D E
P O P U L A T I O N
Limá
Sea level
6,742,576
Cuzco (or Qosqo)
11,521 feet
~400,000?
Machu Picchu
7,650 feet
n/a (But ~1,000 Tourists / day?)

Table #2: Perú: Some specifics.

VARIOUS WORDS (Perú & The Galápagos Islands):

#1} "The Inca culture made a more extensive and profound impact on the region than did any other pre-Hispanic society. With meager beginnings as a small tribe centered around Cusco (or Qosqo in the Inca tongue of the Quechua) in southern Peru, the Inca Empire expanded rapidly in the mid-15th century; within a century, it controlled nearly one-third of South America and more than ten million people." Rolán Solís Hernández [Editor], 1998, Let's Go Perú & Ecuador (NY: St. Martin's Press), page 44.

#2} Tahuamtinsuyu = "The Inca term for their empire, the 'Land of the Four Quarters." Michael A. Malpass, 1996, Daily Life in The Inca Empire (Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press), page 151.

#3} "Cuzco, Capital of the Four Quarters. … Cuzco was founded sometime in the eleventh century A.D. by the first Inca, Manco Capac. It lies in a hollow - people called it a 'navel' or a valley - at 11,000 feet above sea level. On three sides mountains rise precipitously, while to the south-west stretches the valley, which forms a broad corridor between the mountains, and consists of fertile plains alternating with bogs." Victor Wolfgang von Hagen, 1976, The Royal Road of the Inca (London: Gordon Cremonesi Ltd), page 84.

#4} "The pucará [fortress] of Sascahuamán is not only one of the greatest single structures ever built in preliterate America, but it is also unlike its counterparts in that we know the identity of its architects, who gave their names to the three gateways to the fortress. …'The first and principal one was Huallpu Rimanchi Inca, who designed the general plan…. [citing Garcilasco de la Vega, born in Cuzco in 1535]. … The fortress was built into a limestone outcrop 1,800 feet long, and formed of three tiers of walls rising to fifty feet high. … The precise Inca records, as revealed in their quipus, state that '20,000 labourers, in continuous relays', worked for sixty-eight years to build Sascahuamán [stress added]." Victor Wolfgang von Hagen, 1976, The Royal Road of the Inca (London: Gordon Cremonesi Ltd), page 93.

#5} "…on 12 February 1832 Ecuador officially claimed the [Galápagos] archipelago, beating out halfhearted efforts by the U.S. and England." Julian Smith, 1998, Ecuador Handbook: Including the Galápagos Islands (Chico: Moon Publishing), page 350.

#6} IN JULY 1835, Charles Darwin sent a letter from Peru to his sister, Caroline Darwin, and he wrote (in part): "…I rejoice that I am now writing from Peru. … I am very anxious for the Galapagos Islands,--I think both the geology and Zoology cannot fail to be very interesting. With respect to Otaheite, that fallen Paradise, I do not believe there will be much to see. In short, nothing will be very much well worth seeing during the remainder of this voyage, excepting the last and glorious view of the shore of England.--This probably is the last letter I shall write from S. America….." Nora Barlow, 1946, Charles Darwin And The Voyage of the Beagle (Edited with an Introduction by Nora Barlow), (NY: Philosophical Library), pages 123-125.

#7} "The voyage of the Beagle has been by far the most important event of my life and has determined my whole career; yet it depended on so small a circumstance as my uncle offering to drive me 30 miles to Shrewsbury, which few uncles would have done, and on such as trifle as the shape of my nose. I have always felt that I owe to the voyage the first real training or education of my mind. I was led to attend closely to several branches of natural history, and thus my powers of observation were improved, though they were already fairly developed." Charles Darwin, 1887, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882, With original omissions restored Edited with Appendix and Notes by his grand-daughter Nora Barlow, 1958 (NY: W.W. Norton 1969 edition), pages 76-77.

#8} "My notions of the inside of a ship were about as indefinite as those of some men on the inside of a man, viz. a large cavity containing air, water & food mingled in hopeless confusion." Charles Darwin, Diary, November 23, 1831. In Keith S. Thomson, 1995, HMS Beagle: The Story of Darwin's Ship (NY: W.W. Norton), page 150.

#9} "The name Galápagos originates from a Spanish word for saddle, or saddleback tortoise. The islands also became known as Las Encatadas (the Enchanted Isles), not for their beauty but for the menace of their strong currents, thick fog banks and small emergent rocks." David Horwell & Pete Oxford, 1999, Galápagos Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide (Connecticut: The Globe Pequot Press), page 5.

#10} "September 15th. [1835] - This archipelago consists of ten principal islands, of which five exceed the others in size. … In the morning (17th) we landed on Chatham Island, which, like the others, rises with a tame and rounded outline, broken here and there by scattered hillocks, the remains of former craters. Nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance." Charles Darwin, 1845, The Voyage of the Beagle [Edited by Leonard Engel, 1962, NY: Doubleday], pages 373-374.

#11} "The Galápagos Islands are forever associated with Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. The islands are volcanic and of very recent geological age, covered with fresh and old lava flows. Several of the cones are still intermittently active. The present Galápagos are the successors of an earlier ridge of volcanic islands but still date back only a few million years. Even to the untutored eye the islands appear young and unfinished [stress added]." Keith S. Thomson, 1995, HMS Beagle: The Story of Darwin's Ship (NY: W.W. Norton), pages 193-194.

#12} "The numerous recent travel books describing the Galapagos--the 'Enchanted Isles'--had not sufficiently prepared us for the inglorious panorama. Behind a dilapidated pier and ramshackle huts stretched miles of dreary, greyish brown thornbrush, in most parts dense, but sparser where there had been a more recent lava flow, and the ground still resembled a slag heap. The land rose gradually, with no exciting features, to a sordid cultivated region, beyond which, partly concealed in cloud, were green downs, the only refreshing spot in the scene. Closer acquaintance in the next four months only increased the depression. The Galapagos are interesting, but scarcely a residential paradise. The biological peculiarities are offset by an enervating climate, monotonous scenery, dense thorn scrub, cactus spines, loose sharp lava, food deficiencies, water shortage, black rats, fleas, jiggers, ants, mosquitoes, scorpions, Ecuadorean Indians of doubtful honesty, and dejected, disillusioned European settlers. Admittedly these are merely discomforts, but their effect is cumulative [stress added]." David L. Lack, 1947, Darwins' Finches (Cambridge U. Press), page 1.

#13} "The natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and well deserves attention. … Hence, both in space and time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact--that mystery of mysteries--the first appearance of new beings on this earth [stress added]." Charles Darwin, 1845, The Voyage of the Beagle [Edited by Leonard Engel, 1962, NY: Doubleday], pages 378-379.

#14} "Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species have been taken and modified for different ends [stress added]." Charles Darwin, 1845, The Voyage of the Beagle [Edited by Leonard Engel, 1962, NY: Doubleday], page 381.

CONCLUSIONS (Know Before You Go, Again!)

ALL 121 of The Galápagos Islands
Isabela Island (also known as Albemarle
Santa Cruz Island (also known as Indefatigable)
Fernandina Island (also known as Narborough)
Santiago Island (also known as San Salvador or as James)
San Cristóbal Island (also known as Chatham)
Floreana Island (also known as Charles or Santa Maria)
~3,043 square miles
~1,771 square miles
~380 square miles
~248 square miles
~225 square miles
~215 square miles
~66 square miles
Information on Archipiélago de Colon (official name), one of the 21 provinces of the Republic of Ecuador.
Largest island of the archipelago and location of Volcán Darwin (4363 feet)
Location of the town of Puerto Ayora as well as the Charles Darwin Research Station; also headquarters of Galápagos National Park.
"Youngest" and most volcanically active island of the archipelago.
Location of lava tube pool named "Darwin's Toilet."
Puerto Bacquerizo Moreno (capital of the province) and location of the Visitor Interpretation Centre
Location of "Post Office Barrel"
Table #3: Approximations Pertaining to The Galápagos Islands: Area. [Source: Heide M. Snell et al., 1995, Geographical Characteristics of the Galápagos Islands. Noticias de Galápagos, No. 55, July 1995, pages 18-24 (The Charles Darwin Foundation).]

YEAR
1974
1987
1990
1997
1999/2000
ARRIVALS
~12,000
~25,000
~60,000
~63,000
~70,000?
Table #4: Approximations Pertaining to The Galápagos Islands: roughly twenty-five years of tourist arrivals. [Sources: data in publications below as well as the July 2000 research.]

ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS:

Peter Benchley, 1999, Galápagos: Paradise In Peril. National Geographic, Vol. 195, No. 4, April 1999, pages 2-31.
Ben Box, 1999, Footprint South American Handbook 2000 (Chicago: Passport Books).
Rolán Solís Hernández [Editor], 1998, Let's Go Perú & Ecuador (NY: St. Martin's Press).
David Horwell & Pete Oxford, 1999, Galápagos Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide (Connecticut: The Globe Pequot Press).
Michael A. Malpass, 1996, Daily Life in The Inca Empire (Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press).
Donald P. Ryan, 1999, The Complete Idiot's Guide To Lost Civilizations (NY: Macmillan General Reference).
Julian Smith, 1998, Ecuador Handbook: Including the Galápagos Islands (Chico: Moon Publishing).
Marylee Stephenson, 1989, The Galapagos Islands: The Essential Handbook for Exploring, Enjoying & Understanding Darwin's Enchanted Islands (Seattle: The Mountaineers).
Paul Theroux, 1979, The Old Patagonian Express (Boston: Houghton Miflin Co.).
Victor Wolfgang von Hagen, 1976, The Royal Road of the Inca (London: Gordon Cremonesi Ltd).
Jonathan Weiner, 1994, The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in our Time (New York: Vintage Books).
Alan White & Bruce Epler, 1982, Galapagos Guide, 4th Edition (Quito, Ecuador: Libri Mundi - Librería Internacional).

SOME POTENTIALLY USEFUL WEB SITES!

http://www.travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html [US State Department - Services - Travel Warnings....]
http://www.cdc.gov/default.htm [Centers For Disease Control and Prevention]
http://www.rree.gob.pe/economia/comercio.htm [Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del Perú]
http://homepages.which.net/~peru-embassy-uk/link.htm [Links to Perú]
http://ifip.com/Machupijchu1.htm [Machu Picchu]
http://www.machupicchu.org/library/ [The Machu Picchu Library]
http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/ [EcuadorExplorer.com - online guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos]
http://www.terraquest.com/galapagos/ [Virtual Galápagos]
http://www.iexplore.com/multimedia/galapagos.jhtml [iExplore | Multimedia Presentations} The Galápagos Islands]
http://www.darwinfoundation.org/ [The Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos islands]
http://www.galapagos.org/cdf.htm [Charles Darwin Foundation, Inc.]
http://www.gruts.demon.co.uk/darwin/index.htm [The Friends of Charles Darwin Home Page]

and

http://www.aauw.org/home.html [The American Association of University Women]

SPECIFIC URBANOWICZ WEB SITES:

http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/SoAmGIslands.html [2000, South American visuals]
http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/CELTFall2000ConfSubm.html [Conference submission with numerous references, including those below]:
http://mole.csuchico.edu:8080/ramgen/archive/darwinvoyage.rm [1999, 22 minute video available on your desktop with REALPLAYER; this is tape #2 of the proposed four-part series: it takes "Darwin" from England to South America.].
http://mole.csuchico.edu:8080/ramgen/archive/darwinreflections.rm [1997, 18 minute video available on your desktop with REALPLAYER; this is tape #1 of the proposed four-part series: it "sets the setting" of Darwin in England].
http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/Darwin/DarwinSem-S95.html [1995 January ANTH Seminar paper].

THE ACTUAL JULY 2000 TRIP (without any "extensions"): PART I: On July 6, 2000, we drove from Chico, California, to Sacramento, California, to spend the night and then flew to San Francisco, California, for a flight to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. Flew out of Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, into Lima, Perú then flew to Cuzco and took a train to Aguas Calientes then took a bus to Machu Picchu; reversed the process to return to Lima then flew to Guayaquil, Ecuador. PART II: Flew out of Guayaquil, Ecuador, to Baltra Island (South Seymour, north of Santa Cruz), then joined the M/V Rembrandt Van Rijn (184 feet long with crew of 16 and accommodations for 24 passengers) and sailed for seven days, with landings ("dry" and "wet") on Española, Floreana, San Cristóbal, Rabida, Bartolomé, North Seymour, Santa Cruz, and (again) San Cristobal. PART III: Flew out of San Cristobal back to Ecuador for flight back to Miami, Florida, then flew to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; flew out of Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, into Sacramento, California, then drove back to Chico, California on July 24, 2000.

By Overseas Adventure Travel
[1-800-221-0814]
One Broadway
Suite 600
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141


[1] © [All Rights Reserved.] This handout accompanied a slide presentation by my wife, Sadie, and me at the AAUW [American Association of University Women] Meeting in Chico, California, October 6, 2000. To return to the beginning of these pages, please click. To return to the beginning of this page, please click here.

For more information, please contact Charles F. Urbanowicz Copyright © 2001 Charles F. Urbanowicz

Anthropology Department, CSU, Chico
Cosmetic revision on 5 February 2001 by CFU


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