Current Position: Wreck Bay, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Isla San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands
Date: 2nd August, 2011
Greetings again. We continue at Wreck Bay, the repairs and cleaning proceed apace.
When we left off last time we were just about to arrive at Isla Isabela….the story continues:
Isla Isabela is the largest of the Galapagos Islands and has 5 complete calderas (all of the islands are volcanic in origin). We set off bright and early in the morning, aboard an open sided tour truck, to the trail head for Sierra Negra. We walked up through misty dense forest to the rim of Sierra Negra and looked out at ….cloud. As the morning progressed, the mist burnt off and we had a good view of the caldera floor. We crossed the vast lava field and proceeded down to Volcan Chico. There were plenty of places where folks could fall through the rocks, however the trail was well marked, and we followed our guide, the ever patient Wilson from the National Park. When we reached Volcan Chico the vaguely sulphurus smell reminded me of chemistry lab from school days. There was a glorious view over to Elizabeth Bay (the panarama….?Galaparama? photos will come later).
After soaking up the view we re-traced our steps to the rim of Sierra Negra and had an uninterrupted view of the caldera floor. The path became enveloped in mist again as we returned to our start point. Out and back our walk was 16miles/25km which wasn’t too shabby.
But wait! There’s more! The afternoon was as full on as the morning. After lunch, we climbed aboard a launcha (a local large hard dinghy) and observed Galapagos penguins (spelled pingüin in Spanish, and pronounced peengweens locally) (the northernmost range of penguins), and blue footed boobies (along with the giant land tortoises, these are icons of the local sourvenir Tshirt industry). A little further on we went over the side again for more snorkelling and once again were very fortunate to see sea turtles, several rays, and an immense variety of fish. We landed at the Tintoreras rock formation and followed the well marked trails to make our acquaintance with the Isabela marine iguanas and white tipped reef sharks (Las Tintoreras). All I can say is what a fabulous day it was.
Just around the corner from our hotel was a pond which was home to the local flamingo population. We observed them whilst they searched the pond floor for breakfast (following morning).
Back on the truck we were off to the ‘Wall of Tears.’ The US used some of the Galapagos Islands as military bases during WW2 as part of the shield for the Panama Canal. Isla Isabela had a radar post. At the completion of WW2, Isla Isabela housed a prison from 1946-1959. One prison commandant ordered the prisoners to build a wall using the local rock, with the motto, ‘The weak die and the strong cry.’ Given that the entire island could be construed as a prison, situated several hundred miles/kms away from the mainland and with no reliable fresh water, it was difficult to tell what side of the wall was In and what side was Out…or if it mattered if you happened to be building it.
Today, tortoises have free range on whatever side of the Wall they choose.
Here are some highlights from our time on Isla Isabela:
The view down into the caldera of Sierra Negra, morning before the mist has burnt off. The glowing at the base is a rainbow.
Moe at the rim of the caldera Sierra Negra, Isla Isabela: Just hold it right there, Buddy
Giant cactus flower
Trail side vegetation, Sierra Negra
Spewed out by the volcano during an eruption
Lava field landscape en route to Volcan Chico
A small lava tunnel, lava field, Isla Isabela
Lava field: stay on the trail and follow your guide!
Lava fall...stay on the trail!
Stay on the trail!
Got milk? No? Well then, chew on this: calcium released during eruption
Lava field landscape...stay on the trail...errh, wherever it is...
Lava lizard, female
Sulphur
Cactus pallet: finger painting not recommended
The trail back down through the forest
Galapagos Penguins: Spheniscus mendiculus
A blue footed booby and a Galapagos penguin studiously ignoring one another, just off Isla Isabela
3 local icons: a penguin, a marine iguana (well, its tail), and a blue footed booby share a rock, just off Isla Isabela
Blue footed boobies and a penguin, Isla Isabela
More blue footed boobies
Still more blue footed boobies...one practising moves for the next mating season
Hey, it's that sea turtle from Floreana!
Noduled Sea Cucumber: Stichopus fuscus These are considered good eating in some parts of the world
Look carefully and you can probably make out the Leopard Flounder: Bothus leopardinus
Balloonfish, aka puffer fish
Blue-Chin Parrotfish: Scarus ghobban
Diamond Stingray: Dasyatis brevis. Now you almost see it, now you don't
- Steve Irwin’s last words, ‘Crikey! Is that a ray down there?’ Marbled Ray: Taeniura meyeri
- Marine iguana welcoming committee, Las Tintoreras rock formation, Isla Isabela
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Marine iguana, Las Tintoreras rock formation, Isla Isabela
Great blue heron on the lookout for unwary juvenile marine iguanas
Look carefully and you can see two White-Tipped Reef Sharks (Tintorera in Spanish) Triaenodon obesus, from which the rock formation takes its name
Is it a love-in for the marine iguanas? A game of stacks on the mill that got out of hand? The marine iguanas pile up like this to share body heat
Galapagos Sea Lion: Zalophus wollebacki, demonstrating excellent trunk flexibility
Male lava lizzard, with part of his tail MIA
More marine iguanas, more stacks on the mill
And still more stacks on the mill
New uses for driftwood: light poles in Villamil, Isla Isabela
One legged flamingos, Isla Isabela
Flamingo taking a breather during morning search for breakfast, adopting the famous 'lawn ornament' pose.
Head down, tail partially up, the flamingo adopts this stance to search for breakfast in the shallow still waters of the pond
Flamingos feeding, morning, Isla Isabela
The Wall Of Tears, Isla Isabela
Current warden, Wall Of Tears, Isla Isabela
Next stop, Isla Santa Cruz
It was time to get back on board the Big Fish, our next stop Isla Santa Cruz.
Please stop by again for part three.
Margaret and Moe
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