Being on our own was great as we made buddies with some guys doing research at the Darwin center, and they showed us around and introduced us to the tortoises. The one guy Oscar works with the giant tortoises and they respond to him individually by name, heaving up their 250lb shell and sticking their necks up for the watermelon they apparently adore. I felt horrible we didn't have anything for him.
Tortoise "louie" asking for his watermelon at the Darwin center.
Spent the next morning swimming in Tortuga bay with the marine iguanas, lovely beach.
Then we went to another island, San Cristobel, in a small transit boat in super choppy oceans. We were packed like sardines even before the back deck people were soaked... after they joined us 20 passengers in the humid diesel and vomit fumes of the (labelled) 16-passenger room, it became a long three hours. I am moderately sea-sensitive and felt like crap. It was amazing to see Simon peacefully reading surrounded by locals violently retching. Glad that was over.
Miserable boat ride on the small transit boat... this was even before the back deck passengers joined us! Believe it or not, I felt worse than I looked
That convinced us that to see the islands we were going to join a cuise boat, and luck has it we found a good last minute deal on a four-day cruise leaving the next day! We enjoyed a quiet night although nearly kicked a sea-lion sleeping on our way to dinner.
Ah! Much better. Our fancy boat center back, the Millenium. Dive-bombing birds in front.
The cruise was super. We were on a lovely boat with a good group, and it was great to not think and just follow the itinerary. We had some great swims and snorkels and I was grateful for Simon - he has very keen eyes underwater and I saw much more stuff when he was around. While the fish, sharks and eels were cool, the penguin and sealions took the cake since they were actually playing with us for a long time, showing off how quickly they could zip past and around you. Amazing considering how awkward they are on land! Unfortunately no underwater camera, so only the boring above surface lazy stuff to see.
Lots of pics:
The cruise was super. We were on a lovely boat with a good group, and it was great to not think and just follow the itinerary. We had some great swims and snorkels and I was grateful for Simon - he has very keen eyes underwater and I saw much more stuff when he was around. While the fish, sharks and eels were cool, the penguin and sealions took the cake since they were actually playing with us for a long time, showing off how quickly they could zip past and around you. Amazing considering how awkward they are on land! Unfortunately no underwater camera, so only the boring above surface lazy stuff to see.
Lots of pics:
Morning
Cuddles
suckling
time out
Got to see hundreds of winged albatross on the island where they come to nest.
Swimming iguanas...
three wise men
almost there...
unimpressed
sunning
Back in Guyanquil, known for its crab, we enjoyed our banana soup, fresh salsa and smash-your-own crab. I had to ask for extra bibs. Happy Tessa.
Off to Cuenca tomorrow.
1 comment:
I don't know how you'll ever top that entry. Absolutely amazing!
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