Santa Cruz
The next day was spent motor sailing to Porto Ayora on Santa Cruz. The bay was open to the prevailing south easterly chop and the numerous tour boats were all anchored fore and aft. We found a little gap, dove on our anchors and taxied ashore for a delicious meal amongst the bustling souvenir shops and tour outlets.
In the morning Nick cleared in with the Port Capitan while Dad did some souvenir shopping. We flagged a taxi and visited the Darwin research station where a young American volunteer failed to answer most of our questions but was very kind in showing us around the tortoise and land iguana enclosures. From there we taxied to ‘El Rancho’, a fallow fruit orchard on the edge of the National Park where giant tortoises roam about eating the windfalls and other specially planted grasses. It’s the best way to see Galapagos tortoises – in the wild! On the same property there is a 600m long lava tunnel, big enough to drive a train through apart from one low constriction that required my emergency poncho (EP) to be laid out so that we didn’t get too muddy slithering through. I’m sure we surprised our taxi driver with our cleanliness; he was waiting at the other end with a bucket and rag. Another 1.2 km lava tunnel had been recommended in my Galapagos book and rather than miss out Dad and I sent Nick through to give us a vicarious account. He just about beat us to the other end, and we were riding in a cab. To finish our island tour we were driven up the smooth sealed roads to La Gemelos. These two deep craters are up in the moist Scalesia forest and are the result of surface layers of lava subsiding into a subsurface magma chamber, or as our taxi described it, a big bubble bursting. For Dads last night we dined in a lovely sidewalk restaurant where a gecko popped out from the folds in the table cloth to take our orders. The gecko then decided to join us for the remainder of the evening taking his place on my shoulder. Tim spied us and also joined us for a time as we quenched our thirsts with cold Brahma beer. We drank to Dad’s safe return to Australia.
It had been great having Dad join us for ten days in the Galapagos. The three of us took a scenic bus and boat ride to Baltra island. The old American WWII strip was busy with planes coming and going and Dad snuck through the gates at about 11 am after another quick skirt around the souvenir shops. Nick and I spent the night at Santa Cruz before returning to San Christobal. I slumped lazily about PC with no one to talk to for a couple of days - it was weird getting used to it being just Nick and I, and most the time it was only me because Nick was surfing three times a day. Eventually I forced myself to look at the boat list. For the next two weeks Nick and I sweated our butts off sanding and varnishing the doghouse, cleaning inside and catching up with business. We installed the new autopilot drive unit, George, who will help us get to the Marquesas in early March all things going to plan. At the moment Pina Colada, Nick and myself feel ready for the next adventure.
In the morning Nick cleared in with the Port Capitan while Dad did some souvenir shopping. We flagged a taxi and visited the Darwin research station where a young American volunteer failed to answer most of our questions but was very kind in showing us around the tortoise and land iguana enclosures. From there we taxied to ‘El Rancho’, a fallow fruit orchard on the edge of the National Park where giant tortoises roam about eating the windfalls and other specially planted grasses. It’s the best way to see Galapagos tortoises – in the wild! On the same property there is a 600m long lava tunnel, big enough to drive a train through apart from one low constriction that required my emergency poncho (EP) to be laid out so that we didn’t get too muddy slithering through. I’m sure we surprised our taxi driver with our cleanliness; he was waiting at the other end with a bucket and rag. Another 1.2 km lava tunnel had been recommended in my Galapagos book and rather than miss out Dad and I sent Nick through to give us a vicarious account. He just about beat us to the other end, and we were riding in a cab. To finish our island tour we were driven up the smooth sealed roads to La Gemelos. These two deep craters are up in the moist Scalesia forest and are the result of surface layers of lava subsiding into a subsurface magma chamber, or as our taxi described it, a big bubble bursting. For Dads last night we dined in a lovely sidewalk restaurant where a gecko popped out from the folds in the table cloth to take our orders. The gecko then decided to join us for the remainder of the evening taking his place on my shoulder. Tim spied us and also joined us for a time as we quenched our thirsts with cold Brahma beer. We drank to Dad’s safe return to Australia.
It had been great having Dad join us for ten days in the Galapagos. The three of us took a scenic bus and boat ride to Baltra island. The old American WWII strip was busy with planes coming and going and Dad snuck through the gates at about 11 am after another quick skirt around the souvenir shops. Nick and I spent the night at Santa Cruz before returning to San Christobal. I slumped lazily about PC with no one to talk to for a couple of days - it was weird getting used to it being just Nick and I, and most the time it was only me because Nick was surfing three times a day. Eventually I forced myself to look at the boat list. For the next two weeks Nick and I sweated our butts off sanding and varnishing the doghouse, cleaning inside and catching up with business. We installed the new autopilot drive unit, George, who will help us get to the Marquesas in early March all things going to plan. At the moment Pina Colada, Nick and myself feel ready for the next adventure.
posted by Nick and Blue at
11:39 pm
2 Comments:
Wow, the Galapagos sound amazing. It's a pity about the lack of conservation on the part of some locals.
Thanks for the update, it's great hearing about your travels.
By
Maja, at March 05, 2007
I thoroughly enjoyed this long posting, a lot to get through and great photos. I stand up like you do when surfing Blue, must be hereditary: ).
You sure make a cute tortoise!
Great pictures of Dad, wonderful to think of you all having fun together and relaxing, here's to the next adventure, news of which I will be eagerly awaiting. Good luck.
By
Anonymous, at March 08, 2007
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