Cabo Rosa

To get to the convoluted and spectacular waterways pooled around the pillars and bridges of black vesicular rock, our boat driver had to time the powerful breakers and charge inshore between waves. The sharp black basaltic lava is now vegetated by cacti and occasional tufts of grass. Turtles cruised through the emerald green waters, Galapagos penguins stood on rock islands pecking out there moulting feathers and schools of surgeon fish clung to the watery shadows. It was absolutely beautiful. Dad discovered a very old miden of turtle bones and the largest most ancient cactus I have ever seen. We snorkelled after wandering around on the lava and explored a little a labyrinth of submerged arches over white sand. Planning home in the fiberglass panga we saw hundreds of green sea turtles on the surface in an annual breeding gathering and great flocks of Audbons shearwaters paddling and feeding on a tide line. A lady screeched as she saw a manta ray leap out of the water and we circled a rocky islet to take photos of masked and blue footed boobies.

Fate had it that at the little bar with the scraggy tree decorated in coloured bottles we met up again with Tim, the resident kiwi from San Christobal and he invited us to join his tour group up Cerra Negra the following day. Couldn’t have worked out better. Dad took us to dinner again and Buffy, the vet assistant joined us. She was able to give us the gossip on conflict between the National Park Service and the local Shire. One wants uncurbed development and wealth and the other wants to keep the island sacrosanct. Giant tortoises have been kidnapped over the issue! The vets had to leave the island because the Mayor had withdrawn their funding despite past events where wild dogs had killed hundred of marine iguanas. Sad.