Galapagos: Day 9 - Lava Tunnels

Monday, April 8, 2013

After spending the morning working on the boat a bit and trying to untangle that friggin genneker (see: Panama to Galapagos: Day 3 - Genneker), Jan and I went for a quick tour of Los Tuneladas de Bella Vista (The Lava Tunnels of Bella Vista).

We weren't going to go, but these tunnels were labelled "do not miss" by Lonely Planet, so we figured we'd squeeze them in our schedule.

It was a pretty standard tunnel. Supposedly the second largest lava tunnel in South America (2.25 km long). There was a string of lights running through the tunnel, but only a few bulbs were working (about every 100m). So it was a really good thing I had my trusty sailing flashlight with me. They gave us a crappy flashlight that barely worked, but my light shines like the Eye of Sauron, you might as well be carrying the sun with you through the tunnel.

The entrance.

The middle.

The end.

I don't know what Lonely Planet was talking about, but I would put the tunnel last on your list of things to do if you visit Galapagos.

We did a quick provisioning run before heading back to the boat. Since you have to take water taxis to and from your anchored boat, we have to bring food and water back in small runs rather than one big run.

Galapagos: Day 8 - Back to Santa Cruz

Sunday, April 7, 2013

I had to take a really early water taxi back to Santa Cruz this morning (6:00am). Minnie decided to stay in Isabel for another night and just blitz for her plane Monday morning. I saw Veroníca at the docks, she is heading back home to Guayaquil on the mainland for another school semester. (The only airport in Galapagos is in Santa Cruz.)

We just did some much needed work around the boat today as Gary and I are looking to leave Wednesday (hopefully) for our big adventure across the Pacific!

Galapagos: Day 7 - Surfing

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Veroníca had a few surf boards at her house, so we took those to the local surf spot and I tried surfing for the first time. The locals got a good laugh at the gringo repeatedly falling off the surf board, But I WAS able to get up and stay up after an hour or so.

I went to see a free Ecuadorian movie at night with Veroníca, which was supposed to have english subtitles, but we couldn't get them to work. So I had no idea what was going on in the movie. I googled the name of the movie afterward and found out it was about two brothers who mysteriously went missing 20 years ago and this was their sister's documentary to bring light to the situation and possibly find some answers. They never found the bodies, but they were able to determine the boys were abducted by police officers, beaten and killed, and the bodies dumped in the river Jumba. The movie was called "With My Heart in Jumba", and was actually pretty good now that I understand it, haha.

Galapagos: Day 6 - Snokelling

A local chica brought me to a sort of hidden gem on the island. We rented bikes and went to a little laguna where we could swim and climb vines.

Even the walk there was surreal. The mangroves grew into each other and over the path, creating a tunnel effect.

We rode our bikes a little further to see the "Wall of Tears". Soldiers made the prisoners build the very wall that enclosed them, and many died doing so. Appropriately, they named it the Wall of Tears.

We booked a snorkelling tour for the afternoon, but supposedly it was a snorkelling AND hiking tour. The first half, we hiked around some small volcanic island. We were worried we got on the wrong bus at first.

We got to see the usual iguanas and seals.

We also got to finally see the famed Galapagos Blue-Footed Boobie bird. This picture sucks, but his feet are a really bright blue colour. Like everything else here, it is very unique.

The snorkelling was fantastic though. I got to see some ______ fish (can anyone help me identify them?)

a blue starfish,

a huge Stingray,

a friendly sea turtle,

the iconic sea lion,

some ugly-ass fish,

a spotted ray,

and some puffer fish.

As for tonight, it's the usual drinks at Casa Rosa (a bar that bleeds out onto the beach and has slacklining, hammocks and live music.) and then dancing at the Iguana bar at the end of the pier.

I love Galapagos.

Galapagos: Day 5 - Volcano Hike

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Sailing Across the Pacific Ocean 2013 (Part 10) - Exploring Isabela

Our next excursion took place early this morning. We had a quick breakfast at 7am, and then hopped on a bus for our 8km hike up the world's second largest volcano (in circumference I think) Volcán Sierra Negra.

It was breathtaking and had a good 8km diameter.

This was some 'holy tree'. I can't really remember what he said about it, but it used to be worshipped in Hawaii for some reason. Pretty neat looking though.

The lava wiped out all plant life when it erupted. Cacti and some ferns are all that has been able to grow there since.

We ate our lunch with a really nice view of the narrowest part of the island. That is the Pacific ocean on both sides.

Galapagos: Day 4 - Isla Isabella

We saw a sea lion sleeping on a bench on our way back to the boat last night. We took some fun photos with him.

Minnie and I took a water taxi over to Isla Isabel (Puerto Villamil) to stay there for a few nights. We got this package deal that includes transportation, lodging, food, and a bunch of excursions. There was even a guy waiting for us when we arrived with our names written on a little sign (like you see at the airport sometimes). I have never had that before. I felt really important.

The water taxi ride was a brutal two hour ride at over 30 knots, motoring directly into the waves.

It was totally worth it though, Isabel is marvellous.

Our first excursion took us to this brine pit where flamingos are commonly seen. There are usually a ton here, but there were only a few when we went.

Galapagos: Day 3 - Playa Tortuga

We ran out of water on the boat last night, and since we are at anchor, we cannot just fill up with a hose. So, we ran the watermaker for a few hours today and it worked great...at first. It stopped working a few hours in and we have yet to figure out why. Hopefully this doesn't delay us too much. It is not a convenience that I want to lose on our big passage a week from now.

Jan, Minnie and I walked to Playa Tortuga today (Turtle Beach?). It was the best beach I have been to yet. There was a nice 2.5 km walk to the beach.

It was an absolutely stunning white sand beach, the type of thing you'd see in a movie with only a handful of people on it.

It seems like all animals here have been 'touched by the volcanoes' in some way, even the seagulls.

We walked around and saw a ton of big, black marine iguanas that were strangely great swimmers.

You came to the wrong neighbourhood motherf$#&@$#...

There were a ton of black and red crabs crawling on the lava rocks everywhere.

There was a forest made entirely of cacti.

We rented some kayaks and paddled out to some great snorkelling spots which were rich with sea turtles, rays, sharks, sea lions. The whole gang was there.

It was one heck of a day. We met a guy from France who we are going to meet up with tonight for some drinks.

Tomorrow, we are going to start venturing to some of the other islands here. Looking forward to it!