Galapagos Adventure
DAY 3
It was early on the morning of February 7 when we stepped out of the
panga onto the island of South Plaza. We had to make
our way down the dock swiftly so that we didn’t infringe on any sea lion
territory. They tend to get a bit irked when pesky humans use the cement jetty
for unloading passengers, and cute as they are they can bite if they feel you
are invading their space. So we hurried past them to the giant Opuntia trees
where mobs of land iguanas basked in the sun. Apparently each opuntia cactus
belongs to a certain group of land iguanas who defend it as their territory.
They do this since the opuntia flowers and cladodes (paddles) are their main
source of food. Everywhere that you looked there were land iguanas, marine
iguanas, lava lizards, and sea lions. You had to be very careful of where you
stepped. After we snapped some photographs Pablo led us along a hiking path
marked with black and white cairns. He was great at keeping track of everyone
and making sure that they didn’t stray from the trail. Many animals would be
lying right in the middle of the trail, including iguanas and sea lions, and you
literally had to step over them to get where you were going. An absolute delight
to any naturalist and talk about wildlife photography! We made our way toward
the coastline of the island that consisted of a huge cliff. Our trail brought us
to the top of the cliff where we were eye level with several species of sea
birds. The view was very dramatic. The waves pounding into the beach several
feet below us as lava gulls, frigate birds and red-billed tropic birds soared
past us along the bluff. Completely breathtaking! We continued to skirt along
the edge of the cliff and then we started to descend back towards the dock just
as we passed a bachelor colony of sea lions. Only one large male was still
basking in the sun at the top of the cliff, and he looked as though he owned the
place.
The last leg of the
trail afforded the hiker with fabulous vistas. Sea purslane, a succulent
perennial herb that was a brilliant red color, dotted
the landscape along with tree-sized opuntia that broke the smooth horizon of the
blue ocean. I didn’t want to leave but we were soon back to the jetty where
Pablo had to clap his hands together in order to chase off the sea lions. We
climbed in the panga and headed back to the Andando to gear up for our next
adventure, snorkeling at North Plaza.
Pick, Danny, Joyce, and
I were the only experienced snorkelers of the group but Doc, Tamiko, Rick, Bill,
David and Kiyoshi caught on quickly and we were soon on our way to North Plaza after a little practice.
Linda and Irene (“the moms” as we affectionately called them) stayed on the
boat. As soon as we were in the water it was evident that the wealth of life on
land was equaled, if not surpassed,
by the life underwater. We swam with king angelfish, bumphead parrotfish,
blue-chin parrotfish, yellowtail surgeonfish, brown striped snapper, sardines,
sheepshead mickey, and the greatest of all, the sea lions. I can’t tell you how
awesome it is to swim with these astonishing animals. They make up for all their
awkwardness on land with their gracefulness in the water. They zip past you like
little torpedoes just begging you to dive with them. They love to hang upside
down from the surface of the water as they look into your
eyes. They have the biggest, roundest eyes that seem to just look right into
your soul. Whoever said that you can’t connect with animals has obviously never
experienced swimming with sea lions.
Our next land excursion
was on the southern end of Santa Cruz at the town of Puerto Ayora. From the
National Park dock we went to the Charles Darwin Research Station in order to
see the giant tortoises. An elevated boardwalk takes you past some enclosures
where young tortoises are numbered and reared for release into the wild.
Continuing on you come to an open compound that contains the giant adult
tortoises. Pablo led us down into the enclosure where you could come face to
face with lumbering giants. Definitely bring your camera loaded with lots of
film to this area. It is here where the most famous of all the giant tortoises
lives, Lonesome George. Unfortunately he was off living up to his name and we
were unable to actually get a glimpse of him. Lonesome George is so named
because he is the last of his species on Earth and is estimated to be anywhere
between 90 and 150 years old! His pen is closed to visitors so your only chance
of seeing him is from the boardwalk. After leaving the compound we walked around
the station and bought some souvenir t-shirts and some Coca-cola Light. We were
then free to walk the 2 miles back to town where we shopped and mailed postcards
while we waited for the panga at the main dock. We were back on the boat by
6:00pm and started sailing for our next island, Espanola.
