Today will, from now on, be known as Wildlife Day 1.
We are ashore by 9 am and happen to meet the guy we met yesterday on the water taxi. His brother has a tour firm and he offers to give us an island tour of 5 hours including lunch for $50 each. We negotiate for 3 hours without lunch for $25 each, still paying over the odds, but we are all happy with that.
He takes us to get the taxi and we travel across the island to the giant tortoise breeding centre. Our taxi driver doesn’t speak any English and we explain that we can’t understand Spanish but he insists on pointing out things and explaining them very loudly and slowly as if it will help. We nod and smile. He is trying very hard.
We arrive and have a look around the education centre first. Apparently these huge tortoises still live wild in the north of the island, but their numbers have decreased so dramatically (apparently due to rats and feral cats eating the eggs and the small hatchlings) that the breeding centre had to be set up about 5 years ago to stop them becoming extinct. We begin the walk through the reserve. Right at the start we see a large tortoise by a large pile of what looks to be top nosh for a tortoise – some sort of leaf. He’s about 18 inches across, so not exactly giant. Jim reckons that they keep dragging the poor bugger out so that the tourists get to see at least one tortoise!
We walk up a rocky path (most of which has been washed away by torrential rain) and up lots of stairs, peering into the undergrowth and between the rocks to see if there is any sign of life. None.
At the top of the hill, we have a look at the baby tortoises. There are quite a few ranging from in age from a year to 5 years old. There is just one 5 year old tortoises, the only successful baby from the first year’s breeding. Obviously they are getting better at it. We continue to walk and eventually find some large tortoises, then further on are rewarded with a group of 4 enormous creatures. I approach one to photograph one of them, secure in the knowledge that even if I get a bit too close and it gets pissed off, it can’t chase me! Instead, it hisses and pulls its head and legs in, continuing to glare at me from the safety of its shell.
Photo: Hissing at me from the safety of his shell
I film Hissing Sid for a while but he refuses to come out of his shell while I am so close, them Mike and Jim call to me that there is some real activity happening a bit further back, and sure enough, three of the most enormous creatures are in a clearing together.
We stand and watch for a while then the biggest one of all comes lumbering out of the undergrowth. This one is truly enormous. He doesn’t look where he is going. As he emerges from the bushes he is trailing a branch with him which only falls away as it catches on something else. He nearly has a problem with a rock at one point when he clambers over it then rocks precariously as he is half way over and his legs don’t all reach the floor. Gravity eventually pulls him forward and he lumbers very slowly away.
Photo: Big Daddy
Our next stop is the volcano crater. As we drive towards the top of the mountain, the mist, which has been hanging around the top all morning, turns to rain. When we reach the path to the crater, we realise that there is no way we are going to see anything, and certainly don’t want to walk up a mud slide for 15 minutes to get to see nothing, so we move on to stop number 3. This is the beach on the south side of the island which is full of iguanas. We climb over huge volcanic rocks then start to spot them. They can be difficult to see unless they are silhouetted against the sea, especially as they sit so perfectly still. God, they look positively prehistoric. No wonder people call them dragons.
Further along the beach we find a family of sea lions; mum, dad and pups. The huge bull has caught a fish and takes it back to the sea to thrash it around and kill it but he doesn’t share it with his mate or the pups. The pups are delightful and I am able to film them scampering around on the beach and playing in the water. There are some others just lazing around on the rocks, waving their flippers occasionally. But boy do they smell!
We get back to the anchorage having had a thoroughly enjoyable morning. Almost immediately we spot Judith, Joe, Jared and Tom from Brown Eyed Girl. Judith and Joe got back a few days ago after Joe’s operation. (He had to be rushed back to the US from Ecuador the day after arriving there as he slipped on the boat, caught himself from going overboard but ripped apart all his bicep muscles and tendons – he now has what looks like a ski boot on his arm – the bionic man!) Judith and I have a big hug and arrange to meet for dinner tonight. We then bump into Heidi and Casey who need a lift to Santa Cruz tomorrow and arrange for them to join us for the sail over.
Jim and I wait for Mike to go back to the boat to get the PCs then we go to an internet cafe to catch up on e-mails and get the blog sent. Although there is apparently wifi in the bay, no one can get onto it. We have lunch and a drink while we are there and have every intention of going to the Interpretation Centre but it is so hot and humid we end up going back to the boat and having a sleep instead, using the starboard steps as we have yet another visitor on the port ones!
We go back ashore around 6 pm and join Judith and Joe for a drink then spend ages wandering around the town looking for somewhere to eat. It’s not that there aren’t enough places but a couple of places have been recommended but we can’t find them as the directions (and restaurant names) are too vague. Eventually we meet up with Heidi, Holly and Casey and decide on a restaurant just off the beach but when we get there it is full so we go to another one which they recommend – and it is completely empty.
Now, I’m never sure what it means when you enter a restaurant relatively late and it’s empty. What does everybody else know that we don’t? Well, in this case, it’s probably the bugs!! They are everywhere; beetles (looking suspiciously like cockroaches to me), crickets, moths and flies. Heidi gets very good at killing them and I am glad she is sitting next to me as they seem very attracted to her and tend to leave me alone as a consequence. She also flicks them off of me when they land. Even when the waitress comes to take away the menus she refuses to relinquish hers as she uses it as a fly swatter.
The meal, when it arrives, is really good, although they serve the smallest glasses of wine I have ever seen!
We walk back along the waterfront. The beach is now completely covered with sea lions, and they are spilling out onto the boardwalk. I have never heard so much barking, hissing, snorting, hacking, sneezing, coughing and flapping of flippers. There are lots of very small ones too, nursing with their mothers. We stand and watch for quite some time as they are so entertaining. The smell, however, with this many all together, is pungent to put it mildly!
When we get back to the boat, we discover our stowaway has gone and once again the cockpit is beginning to fill up with tiny, dead flies. However, I have to say that except for the bugs, it’s been a fantastic day. Tomorrow we have to be up early as we are sailing to one of the other islands, Santa Cruz, and giving a lift to Heidi, Holly and Casey. I might need to give the boat a quick once over before they arrive around 7 am.
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