Galapagos Islands (part 2)

Nil has already covered our time on San Cristobal.  After saying goodbye to our guide Jessica, we took an early morning fast boat to Santa Cruz where we met our new guide Pablo.  A quick bag drop at the hotel and we were heading over to the Darwin Research Station. On the way we saw a fantastic sight, a fishmonger was trading that morning's catch and he was surrounded by dozens of Pelicans and even a couple of seals.  All eagerly waiting for any fish scraps the fishmonger may throw.

The Darwin Research Station has a Giant Tortoise breading centre as well as being home to the Galapagos' most famous resident, Lonesome George.  He is the last remaining survivor of a particular Giant Tortoise species and is estimated to be around 100 years old.  We were lucky to visit on a morning that the tortoises are fed so they were all out and active.  We expected seeing Lonesome George to be the highlight of the morning, when in fact it was the incredibly frisky Happy Diego.  Also, one of the last remaining Tortoises from a different species, Diego was brought over from captivity in San Deigo Zoo to help breed and restore the Tortoise population.  Well he is certainly frisky, we watched him first hand chase a female all round the coral.  Watch the youtube video, I'm sure you will find it very amusing.

The following day we visited a farm that borders the national park, but en route our tour guide took us down into a lava tube, very cool!.  As much of the forest is cleared many of the Giant Tortoises prefer to reside on the farmland than trudge through the dense jungle.  It was so fantastic to see so many tortoises in one place - and not in captivity.  The tour ended with having the chance to climb into the shell of a dead tortoise, naturally we all acted like kids; look at the photos to see grown adults making idiots of themselves.

That afternoon we had another fast boat to the biggest island of the archipalego, Isabella.  The night's accommodation was to be spent camping up in the highlands. It was more glamping than camping, there was a reasonable well equiped kitchen, barbeque, covered eating area, toilet block and the tents were already erected for us!  On our request our guide had arranged for some fish from that mornings catch to be kept aside for us, we received a huge piece of tuna weighing twenty pounds.  I can't recall the exact cost but it was ludicrously cheap.  Nil took charge in the kitchen and with many hands helping put together a feast.  The fish was marinated with lime juice before being cooked on the barbie.  A number of the group, myself included, proclaimed it to be the best fish they had ever ate!

Only two more days on the Galapagos islands, but the schedule did not let up.  Following an early start from the campsite was a long hike through the lava fields.  It was fascinating seeing the effect time has had over the lava fields from different eruptions.  In the late afternoon we returned to campsite where Pablo cooked up the remainder of the tuna, it was just as gorgeous as the night before!  That evening we found a local bar down by the beach where we had great fun challenging the proprietor to games of pool.

Last day on Galapagos :-( It had gone so quickly.  Another walk but this time much shorter and we ended up at Giant Tortoise breeding centre.  Not quite as good as Darwin Research Station but nevertheless interesting, although I think Nilgun will only remember the wasps that she was convinced were trying to attack her.  A few hours chilling on the beach watching the Marine Iguanas returning from the sea to their sunbathing spot (on someone's garden) then off to the dock to catch a boat.  Our guide first took us to this fantastic island where we were able to see hundreds of Marine Iguanas, Sea Lions, Red Crabs, Penguins, Sharks, Octopuses.  We finished the day off with a snorkel in the shallow waters checking out Isabella's underwater marine life.