Blog Post 11 - Galapagos

We are on day 6 in the Galápagos Islands. How time flies.

Sorry about the delay in getting this blog up but the internet on Isobela was so slow I couldn’t get the photos attached.

We landing in Isla Baltra, a small island off the north coast of Isla Santa Cruz to be greated by big Iguanas wandering around outside the Terminal building.

A sort bus trip, an even shorter ferry ride and then a 45 minute bus ride across Isla Santa Cruz to the Town of Puerto Ayora. Checked into our small apartment which was quiet close to the centre of town. The town is quiet touristy with endless very local restaurant and many tour operators all wanting your business. There is also a quiet a lot of local business going on. Food here is relatively expensive so we bought food at the local shops and cooked in out apartment. There seems to be a small local food stall selling groceries on every street corner as well as one in between.

We wandered back down to the water front. Within 30 minutes we had seen brown pelicans, a sea lion, red crabs, a blue footed booby and marine iguanas. They dont seem to be at all afraid of you and you can easily get to with 1m of them but the rule here id to keep2 m from all wildlife.

The next day we visited the Charles Darwin Centre which explained the history of some of his work on the island and his understanding of evolution. They also had a tortoise breeding centre at that site. They harvest the tortoise eggs from the wild before the rats get them, hatch them in hatcheries and release them back into the wild when they are big enough to fend for them selves. Not until they realized that they had to incubate them the same way up as the found them on the beaches, did they have any success in hatching them.

On the way to the Charles Darwin centre we passed the local fish market where they cleaned and prepared the fish for sale. There were pelicans and sea lions hanging around close the workers, making a meal out of all the scraps

In the afternoon,it was off on a long walk to a beautiful golden sand beach for a swim and relax in the shade of the mangrove trees that grow at the back of the beach. The water is really warm and the sun really hot in the heat of the day so we have had to keep the sunblock applied to avoid getting burnt. It cools down at night but you still need the aircon to sleep comfortably.

The next day we caught a local bus inland to Santa Rosa and then a 4 km walk to a private ranch that had lots of very large tortoises. The guided tour of the ranch gave us all the gen on the life of these old large creatures. The old ones, up to 180 years, weighing up to 200 kg were just enormous. They start breeding at about age 25 and keep that up for many years.

On the 14th we caught the early ferry to Isla Isabella, which is the largest of the islands. The 2.5 hour ferry that held about 30 people races across the rough seas with three 300 HP motors pushing it along. It was a bumpy ride but I still managed to dose off for a bit of it. This traveling is really tiring.

Every turn you take here seems to cost. Getting from the jetty to the ferry in a small boat was $US1. The same at the Isabela end and then $US10 to use the wharf. We expected the $US30 ferry price would have covered all that.

We are staying on Isabella in a town called Villamil in a nice apartment complex with a good mix of other travelers. We have got to know a young Finish couple.They are on a world trip and will come a see us in PN. Our apartment has hot water in the shower at last which is great after two weeks of cold showers.

Villamill is a dusty, run down sort of place with too many restaurants and tour companies for the number of tourists that are here. It is low season but I still can’t see that is will ever fill up. Most of the accommodation seems to be empty.

On the 15th was went on a Los Tunles Tour. Which is a boat trip with about 12 foreigners along the south coast to a great snorkeling location. Again we would have been twice thew age of the next oldest people. It was about an hour boat ride before stopping at a reef protected area where we donned our snorkels, masks and flippers and jumped in to swim with lots of small colourful fish, small sharks, giant turtles, rays and sea horses. We swam around for a bout 90 minutes before redoing the boat with wrinkly fingers.

Then off to another site to boat through narrow passages in the lava flows that line the coast. We got off the boat to wander around on the larger flows to a site of a nesting Blue Footed Booby. Quite a large bird that lays 2 to 3 eggs at a time but usually only finally fledges one as providing food for more than one can be a bit challenging.

Today we hired bikes and road out to the Wall of Tears which was the site of an Ecuadorian Penal colony. Very hot and desolate site. The prisoners presumably built this high stone all as part of their hard labour.

The Americans also had a radar station during WW2 on a high hill close to the site from which we could see out over the island and the coast. The inland area is a dry scrubby cactus volcanic rock area of no particular value other than to the local wildlife. On the way back there were large tortoises walking along the road. They take 4 or 5 steps then rest for a while before moving on. They need to live for 180 years to get anywhere. Quite extraordinary creatures.

We stopped for a swim at yet another glorious golden sand beach as we rode back to town

One more day on Isobela then off to Isla San Cristobal for 3 days.

Rice, fish and expensive veges again for dinner. We will probably eat out tomorrow night to try the local fare.