We've been going to bed pretty early on this trip, and once again, I woke up well before my alarm clock, after a series of bizarre dreams, so I decided to get up anyway, check my email on the computer downstairs, and eat an early breakfast so I'd have plenty of time to finish packing up our luggage for our relocation to next hotel on our itinerary.
After everyone was up and had finished eating, we loaded ourselves on the bus, and went up the mountain to a farm that housed bunches of giant tortoises. Each island has its own endemic species of giant tortoise, though on some islands their species are instinct. We walked and learned lots of interesting facts about those giant creatures from our nature guide, Priscilla, who was required to be with us at every nature preserve we went to (virtually all of the Galapagos), and whenever we went snorkeling as well.
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| Yellow Warbler |
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| Tortoise poop |
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| My footwear for most of the trip- they were so comfortable! |
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| With tortoise bone |
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| Yarden as tortoise |
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| Mockingbird |
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| Lava lizard |
After the walk and a quick visit to the gift shop, we loaded ourselves back in the bus to go to the Charles Darwin Center, next door to our hotel. Here, they protected and incubated fertile tortoise eggs, with the purpose of reintroducing the baby tortoises back to their proper islands once they were a certain age. Since they only had babies born in 2011, I think it might be at one year of age, but I'm not sure.
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| Year-young tortoises |
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Baby tortoise on its back :(
We then saw Lonesome George, the last giant tortoise of the species on Pinta Island. He was in an enclosure with two females of another species, genetically and physically compatible to him, with the hope that he would fertilize their eggs, and that his particular species could continue on past his lifetime. Since he is only 100 years old, the people at the Darwin Center have another 100 years to figure it out!
We then visited enclosures housing land iguanas, which were a vivid yellow, and didn't move. The three were each in a separate enclosure because they were all males, who would get aggressive with each other if put together.
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| Land Iguana |
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| Lava Lizard doing pushups |
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| Land Iguana |
It was then time to head back to lunch at the hotel, so we started walking back down the path. I kept slowing down, wondering where Amit and Yarden were. I couldn't see them in front, nor we're they anywhere behind me in my line of sight. Finally, Ronn offered to go back and look for them, so I continued on to the hotel at a regular pace. Pretty soon, Yarden was back. However, Amit took much longer to return. I had time to get my photo taken with Mr. Darwin, go to the pharmacy, and get a seat at lunch before she got back.
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| Hanging with Charlie |
After lunch, plus Dramamine for the girls, it was time to relocate ourselves to another island, so we hopped a boat for a two-hour trip to Floreana Island, population 120. Naps, nausea and dolphin spotting ensued. The dolphins were everywhere, and stayed alongside our boat for 10-15 minutes, clearly enjoying the interaction.
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| Floreana |
Our lodging on Floreana was pretty bare bones, but charming. They were right in and facing the beach. Tiny little cabins with bunk beds and small bathrooms. The entire cabin could probably fit into Amit's room at home! In fact, Amit mentioned that she wished we had cabins like those for the family.
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| Our cabin |
We quickly changed into bathing suits, grabbed our wetsuits and snorkel gear, and took a 10 minute walk to where we'd be snorkeling. It was low tide, so the area where we were planning to enter was above water. We made some quick adjustments, and we're soon in the water for another fun day of snorkeling. Though I had seen sea turtles on Santa Cruz they were really plentiful in this little bay in Floreana, and didn't seem shy at all. Maxwell and I hung out with a few really big ones who let us pet them all the while swimming slowly with us. (You're not supposed to touch the wildlife, but we were really respectful of them). The sun soon started setting, and it was time to head back to shore.
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These girls decided to walk to visit sea lions instead of snorkeling
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At night we had dinner at a local restaurant where a local band came to play for us. They fold us that they had only been playing together for a few months and had learned how to play from the Internet as there were no music teachers on Floreana. While they still have a way to go, it was fun having them practice on us, and they got a standing ovation for their efforts and enthusiasm.
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