Galapagos Islands: Day 8

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Day 8. March 15, 2011: Kicker Rock and San Cristobal

Kicker Rock
We woke up at the "wonderful" hour of 6 AM to go see the view of Kicker Rock, which is 4 miles off of the coast of San Cristobal Island. Steve: I say this because this was supposed to be a vey-key-shuhn (noun. Meaning a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel). I rest my case. We could have been sleeping but as soon as we opened the door to our cabin and saw Kicker Rock- Well. It was worth sacrificing sleep over. Anne: Who cares what time it is? This place is awesome!!!!!

The rocks and the view were pretty impressive! What we are talking about (please see the picture for reference) are two very large rocks that are about a hundred feet tall. They have been weathered and eroded over time (maybe millions of years). There's a channel between the two rocks but we (the boat; not us) couldn't fit between them. In fact, Angel said "eess against da law". I think he was joking again but we could clearly see that the boat wouldn't fit anyways. So, we let it pass. You can snorkel here but we didn't.

The rocks have trees (resting places for birds), grass, and small shrubs (nesting material and places to lay eggs). The perfect place for birds. We saw Nazca boobies, lots of frigates with their red mating signal bladder thingies inflated, and they (the boat not the birds) took us around the rock twice as the sun rose. Although a birds eye view would have been awesome! We ate another fine breakfast and motored for about 1.5 hours arriving in the harbor of San Cristobal.

San Cristobal: Interpretation Center
It was all business coming in from the boat. We got off the panga's and immediately took a short bus ride from the docks to the Interpretation Center. This is basically a really warm and humid building without air conditioning. Anne didn't ever seem to mind the heat and humidity (as long as her mound of hair was in a braid). Towards the end of the trip at this point Steve started to get a little punchy and wasn't always happy to feel like he was always sweaty. What the building did have however was maps, history, pictures and exhibits that included the Galapagos Islands unique flora and fauna. In the open areas surrounding the Interpretation Center we saw candelabra cactus. It looked like a.......candlelabra. There were also trees used to produce incense. This incense has been (and still is to this day according to Williams) used as an insect repellent.

Williams was a fantastic guide during the entire trip. At the Interpretation Center, he told us about the different wind and ocean currents from the Northern and Southern hemispheres that are responsible for bringing such diversity to the Galapagos Islands. The Islands are in such a position in the ocean that they get both and when the two meet- you get the thermoclines that we encountered during our snorkeling trips and our scuba dives. Thermoclines are the odd mixing of cold and warm water that results in almost cloudy looking water. You can be swimming in warm water only to transition into really cold water and then moments later back into warm water. Really odd sensation...

Williams then explained the history of the Galapagos where it relates to geology and colonization. We have been visiting the older islands (the younger ones are to the west) that have more geological history. Then on to recent history……Ecuador annexed the Galapagos in 1832 and sent prisoners to occupy and work the settlement. There were many issues and incidents including really bad people that wound up abusing and taking advantage of the prisoners. Even to the point of murder, theft, etc. Lots of intrigue!

We had a little bit of time to shop after we got done with the Interpretation Center so we walked around the town.

San Cristobal: Port
There were mostly gaudy tourist shops, but Steve bought a tasteful blue footed booby shirt. The shops had a variety of stuff including shirts, fridge magnets, and figurines of various Galapagos animals. There were a bunch of shirts that we thought were borderline or more towards being offensive so we agreed to stay on the safe side. Anne bought a colorful wooden booby to add to her ocean themed bathroom at home.

There were some territorial Sea Lions back at the pier! Anne tried to sit next to one that was laying on a bench and the one underneath moved in for an attack. Anne gave in and moved away letting the Sea Lion win the contest of wills. We then went back to the boat for lunch.

Our captain, Angel, came down with all the laundry from the top deck. We thought maybe he was tidying up the boat since we were in port, but he said that it was starting to rain. Wow! The laundry ship strikes again! It was pretty funny sometimes to be coming back to the boat and see a bunch of laundry. It was also an easy way to tell our boat from everyone else's boat. Nobody was exactly sure what belonged to who. So, Sue went over and sorted it all out, including Fran and George’s skivvies (or is it knickers?).

San Cristobal: Sea Lion Beach
We had some time to relax before we left to snorkel at Sea Lion Beach. We saw lots of turtles and rays. There was an alpha male sea lion on one side barking, so we stayed away from him. Then the horseflies started biting, so we ended the day. Dinner was awesome, shrimp in a cream sauce and some wonderful beef medallions and glazed carrots.

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