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Published: March 7th 2009
Jesus Christ Lizard
Popping up long enough for a photoI arrived in Cali, Colombia after journeying continuously from Quito in Ecuador: foolishly, when I looked at the map, I guessed the travel time to be about 6 hours, including the border crossing, but it turned out to be more like 20, including a solitary walk over the Colombian border in the dark.
It was early morning when I got to Cali, and after unpacking and a quick breakfast I set off from the hostel to find Aviatur, the travel agency who handle visits to Gorgona.
I had read about Gorgona in my guidebook a few weeks earlier - it's a small island off the pacific coast and was a prison colony for several decades before becoming a national park. The island is full of snakes and monkeys (and the surrounding coastline teeming with sharks( and the guidebook described the accommodation as basic.
So the image in my head was of a tiny desert island, full of palm trees and a single hut containing several bunkbeds. On the island would be a few determined but slightly crazy travellers and botanists, running around in circles trying to avoid being ambushed by the poisonous snakes or bitten by the monkeys.
Blue Lizard
Found only on Gorgona!
It´s tiny, so I was really lucky to see it What fun!
Aviatur, the travel agency, arrange a three night stay for me, leaving the following day. And they assure me that the accommodation has been improved somewhat from the description in my book. They show me a photo of a nice room with a fan. In the background, I can see carvings on the
walls and a hammock. I feel a twinge of disappointment.
But they tell me the snakes are still there, and rubber boots are necessary as they are all
poisonous. My spirits lift a little.
The following morning, I flew to Guapi, a town on the pacific coast and then transferred to a lancha for the two hour journey to the island. My fellow passengers were a young Colombian couple and I imagined we would be joining several dozen other people on the island. This turned out to be true, but not quite what I had in mind. More on this later!
The island comes into view, and turns out to be quite big - a few kilometres long, with steep hills covered in jungle. Dotted along the coast are some beaches flanked by tall palm trees. Paradise!!! We landed on the
Pair of Jesus Christ Lizards
I braved the risk of killer coconuts long enough to get this shot! beach and were met by some Aviatur staff, then taken along a path to the hotel. Passing the hotel restaurant, I see quite a lot of people sitting down for lunch. I asked how many guests are here and it turns out there are just six of us on the island, along with seventy-odd hotel staff, and these are the people I see having lunch.
My room is just like the picture they showed me the previous day, and after dumping my bags I set off to explore the hotel grounds as I have already seen one Jesus Christ lizard - the photo opportunities are going to be endless!!! The JC lizards are really cool - the male has a large crest on his head, the female a smaller one. They look amazing when they just sit there, but the best bit is when they run - on their hind legs and also over water (hence the Jesus bit).
Then the three of us are called into a small classroom-like building for a brief lecture on the island's wildlife, given by a guy from the National Parks department (at least I think that's what it is). He showed
More blue lizard
It was nearly impossible to photograph as there was very little light under the jungle canopy us several species of snake preserved in jars, all poisonous (you get 24 hours after being bitten), along with bits of coral and a stuffed iguana that looked pretty desperate for a funeral. He also told us about the elusive 'lagarto azul', the blue lizard that lives only on Gorgona - and I had just three days to find one!
I was also pretty excited about seeing the monkeys - several groups of cappuchins live on the island and most days you can see them in the hotel grounds (just as well, as it turns out you can't leave the hotel area without a guide). The first day was disappointing as I didn't see any, but at breakfast the next day a group of them could be see in trees nearby. I grabbed my camera and approached them cautiously, hoping to get some close-up shots. Things were going quite well until they spotted me, then a little group edged towards me baring their teeth. I backed away, and this just seemed to encourage them. Next thing I knew, panic had overcome me and I ran screaming across the lawns, flipflops abandoned, and the monkeys looking a little smug.
Toilet Iguana
A few of them live in the old latrines of the prison - the plumbing seems to make excellent housing After being advised by the hotel staff that the teeth-baring thing was just a little act, I followed the monkeys again as they made their way through the hotel grounds (a particularly bold one shot into the restaurant to tip all the chairs over). I caught up with them as they passed the last building in the grounds and shot up a tree, all screaming hysterically. Great, I thought, they are all in one tree and I should be able to get some decent shots before they all move on. The screaming grew more frenzied and then I stopped and froze. There, two metres in front of me was the reason for the hysteria - a big boa constrictor laid out across the path. My first thought was ohmygodohmygodohmygod. The second was - photos, photos, must get photos!!! I crept up to it and took a few pictures as it moved towards the base of the tree. These snakes eat monkeys and the monkeys were doing all they can to deter it by gathering fruit from the tree and chucking it at the poor snake. As I got closer to the snake, I got hit by fruit too and
Ancient bird carving
I think it´s over 3,000 years old wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for the monkeys or the snake.
That has to be the most exciting moment of the trip, seconded only by finally spotting the blue lizard during a walk around the island. It was so blue it didn't look real, but was terribly cute and tiny. I did my best to get some decent close-up shots of it, but the large trees overhead eliminated any chance of fast shutter speeds.
Aside from the wildlife, the other big attraction on Gorgona is the old prison. It closed in the 1980's and since then the jungle has eaten the complex, making it look like it was abandoned centuries ago rather than decades. Enormous tree roots now twist around the old window frames, and old sinks in what were the bathrooms contain tadpoles and rotting leaves. In the old cells the wooden bunkbeds remain, but the only guests there now are bats, who hang from the rotting bedframes. The wildlife of the island has moved in and made itself comfortable: groups of monkeys were perched on top of the prison walls, presumably enjoying a safe platform out of reach of the snakes. The most exciting find
Cappuchin Monkey
Looking a bit worried was spotting an iguana dropping down an old latrine - the old sewer system is a safe hiding place for them.
Many artefacts from the prison are now housed in a basic museum at the hotel: they were fascinating to look at, but there was virtually no written information so it was difficult to find out what life was really like being a prisoner on Gorgona.
The sea life surrounding the island is just as exciting as the land-based wildlife - several species of shark live there, and for several months of the year there are humpback whales too. During my brief snorkelling session, I saw some large fish but no sharks; however, I was told that a whale shark had been spotted at night from a naval boat moored near the island.
And so what of these killer coconuts? Well, if you get bitten by a snake, you pop (or crawl!) into the hotel's little clinic and someone will administer an antidote. But if you get hit by a falling coconut there is no instant cure. I did't really take the risk seriously at first, but I was warned not to stand under the many palm
Boa Constrictor
Heading swiftly to the base of a tree, which contains a whole tribe of angry monkeys trees in the area around the hotel. And then I heard two fall from a tree a few minutes apart near my room, and realised that it was best to just keep on walking if there were trees nearby.
Just as I was getting acquainted with the wildlife and it's many strange habits (iguanas like toilets, bats like bunkbeds and snakes like scaring monkeys), it was time to leave. I was looking forward to a pleasant return journey on the lancha, over a glass-like sea, but it turned out to be as choppy as hell, and I spend the entire journey back to Guapi hunched over the sea covered in tarpaulin, each bump over the waves like a road accident as the shock reverbated through my head and back. And every few minutes, a larger wave would appear, dumping water over the front passengers in the boat (and one of them would be me, of course)
My back is recovered now, and I have just happy memories and lots of photos of the wildlife and the island. I was curious, however, about why there were so few of us visiting the island and why it was being turned
Cappuchin Family
I think that´s dad giving the baby a wash into a luxury hotel complex. Turns out the island is controlled by Aviatur, who want to turn it into an upmarket holiday resort (and there are plans afoot to build a swimming pool!). For most Colombians, a trip to Gorgona is no longer affordable, and I really get the feeling the wildlife is being sidelined, with the focus purely on the hotel amenities.
Although given the numbers of paying guests on the island when I was there, I really don't know if they've done their sums properly. It was beyond budget for me, but I was desperate to go.
There may be unique species on the island, but Galapagos it ain't (at least there the wildlife is the star of the show and fiercely protected). But who knows, maybe one day the hotel will close, fall into ruin and the glass basins in the ensuites will be inhabited by the iguanas.
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Katravels
Katherine
Great photos
Really enjoyed reading your blog and you certainly got some great photos!