India and Nepal - Lawrence Collins writes:

On January 14th 2002, club member Alan Barber showed us some really remarkable footage of his visits to India and Nepal, apart from the classical shots of the Taj Mahal, what I found absorbing was the pictures taken in remote villages well off the usual tourist track. Public cremation on the banks of the Ganges with the remains dumped in the river adjacent to bathing and washing clothes and linen. 

On Monday 19th August 2002, Alan Barber talked about his visit to the Galapagos Islands. Alan told us he’d wanted to go there for years. There are many islands in the group, which are the result of volcanic activity. In 1845 Darwin spent six weeks there; the unique flora and fauna led him to write his work on the Origin of the Species.

The Islands, 400 miles off the coast of Ecuador, are in the path of several ocean currents including the Humbolt. The climate has a consistent temperature all year round. Alan and Gaynor flew to Quito, which is high up, so they had to acclimatise themselves for a couple of days. It’s a fantastic place to visit, Quito is in a valley next to a volcano that last erupted 25-30 years ago. The people are charming and the architecture is lovely. Buildings like the old Presidential Palace are in typical Spanish Colonial style. The ‘Angel of Quito’ is a huge statue that looks over the city from a hill.

After two days in Quito, Alan and Gaynor took a 2½ hour 400 mile flight to Esmerelda, the main island of the Galapagos, to join their cruise ship.

Tourism is tightly controlled by the Ecuadorian Government, visits are led by trained guides who are very safety conscious. Only 50 people are allowed on an island at a time, there is no litter and you are not allowed to go to the toilet on the islands.

Right: two blue boobys

Each island has a different feel. Cactus grows in the lava fields. Land iguanas eat flowers, are very solitary and can be aggressive “you keep out of their way”. Masked boobies have a black mask and white feet. Red footed boobies have blue and pink beaks, they nest in trees and bushes; blue footed boobies nest in the rocks.

White-tip sharks breed in a lagoon, with rays and turtles. The sharks spend three years in the lagoon and then swim out to sea. Frigate birds are scavengers that steal other birds’ eggs; they blow up their chests in a red balloon to attract females. If she doesn’t like the look of him she goes on!

Lava herons perch on rocks and iguanas eat the green algae on the rocks. Alan and Gaynor went snorkelling and the seals joined them. Nothing is frightened of man because they have never been attacked, they have been protected for a long time. There are 3 small hotels on the main Island, the other islands are not inhabited by humans. Alan recommends a visit, it is interesting and there are no mosquitoes!

Right: a red booby