Message in a Bottle

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Post Office Bay

The Galapagos islands are all formed from a volcanic hot spot underneath Isla Fernandino. As molten lava has flowed down the volcanoes, lava tubes or tunnels have formed and we visited one at Post Office Bay on Floreana.

Our guide is one of those that's either 100%!r(MISSING)ight or 100%!w(MISSING)rong. The problem is when to guess he's right and when to guess he's wrong. For the walk through the lava tunnel we had to wear our best walking shoes but when we got there, we found almost waist deep water! The lava tunnel was worth a visit but the explanation and loss of two of our members (until we alerted the guide) was a distraction.

Floreana had the first human settlement - Germans - great. There is a Post Box with lots of postcards that people have left to either have some else driver to them personally or to have someone else deliver to their friend.

I took one from South Australia.

We snorkelled around Cormorant Point, seeing sharks, rays sea lions and turtles. The water was pretty cold even with the wet suit on but the fish on display made it worthwhile. In the afternoon we also snorkelled around Devil's Crown, the site of an extinct volcano. The current here was very strong and a problem for most but we stil saw loads of fish, sharks, rays turtles and lions.

We were due to find flamingos at the lake behind Cormorant Point but alas no luck. We did find turtle tracks going upmthe beach tomnesting sites though - pretty cool.

Lonesome George
Puerto Ayero - Santa Cruz

Today we said good bye to Stephanie, who is German and inspiring, Katie and Swami, Jose and Agelino from Venezuala, the two Parisian boys and the two Israeli girls. Strangers thrown together quickly often make an interesting group. Remaining onboard are Angel and Esper from the Canary Islands and Steven and Vickky from Cape Town/Bermuda, all good people. Josh, a nice guy from New York, also leaves after the afternoon trip to the Highlands.

Ok, that's people out of the way, oh except our guide - another Angel. He's a twat. The more time we spend with him the more we realize he's not quite up to the same standard as the cruise we're on. He just gets so much wrong and provides either misinformation or no information. It's irritating. You just can't leave people behind on beaches and start cruising away!

The Charles Darwin Centre in Puerto Ayora was a place to avoid. It houses the oldest Giant Tortoise in the world 'Lonesome George', who is 150 years old and the last survivor of his particular species. There are other species from other islands surviving and these are now categorised as Vulnerable and we are told their status will improve further due to a successful breeding program and the eradication and management of the islands' introduced pests.

Poor George however spent around 50 years by himself, after all the others died, on Pinta Island and has probably lost the urge to mate. Attempts to cross breed have been unfruitful. Perhaps he's got to grumpy old man status and doesn't want anything to do with females. I know a few blokes like that!

The town of Puerto Ayora has nothing spectacular to report except a really nice, small fish market where the pelicans queue up for scraps - looks ridiculous!

Our main trip today was off into the highlands to see Giant Tortoises 'in the wild'. This meant on a reserve, but still they hae plenty of space to roam around in fields. It was like a scene from 'The Land That Time Forgot' with wrinkly creatures, looking much older than their 100 or so years, munching their way through the grass. These creatures have long stories to tell I imagine.

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