In order to travel to more than one island we had to
buy a permit which cost $US200 and then the National Park fee for
another $US200 and then we were still only allowed to anchor in the
ports of the 5 inhabited islands. To
get to see anything you are supposed to hire one of the guides who are required to
be able to speak English and be knowledgeable about the islands. So far
our 'tours' have just been with Spanish speaking taxi drivers who may or
may not have interesting things to impart but our Spanish isn't up to
the task of finding out. This is a bit rough as we are not allowed to go
anywhere on our own. It seems as if the locals, under the guise of
protecting the park, have organised themselves a gold mine. |
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One of the things we wanted to see was Post office bay
where, in 1793 a barrel was placed so that passing ships could leave and
collect mail. Unfortunately it is now just a bit of tourist
nonsense with a particularly appropriate sticker on the barrel from the
London borough of Richmond! |
Post Office bay was where the whalers and any other ships put
in for water. It is a bit ironic that, of the inhabited islands, this
one has the least reliable water source now. |
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This is the main water supply high up on the island |
Up here, near the water source, was where a German family called Wittmer
came to live in the 1930s. They hollowed out the fairly soft rock
extending existing caves and made a complete house with sleeping platforms,
kitchen etc. Their descendants
own the only hotel on the island. |
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No, we didn't suddenly divert to Easter island. This
was the Wittmer dog's kennel which they carved in a quiet hour or so. |
Yet another tortoise sanctuary. Each Island has a
differently evolved version of most things. |
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Down on the coast again we went for a walk and a
snorkel. One of the startling things about this place is the quantity of
wildlife and the fact that it is more interested in us than afraid of
us. A green turtle came swimming up to investigate us! |
Yet more iguanas. Not quite so many as on San
Cristobal but more colourful. |
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Talking about colourful! |
These as well who were a bit too pre-occupied to mind the
photography |
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Of course some people go for the camouflage option |
Everything is green at the moment as this is the rainy
season but even so, the vegetation is spiny shrubs and cacti |
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It is a bit hard to get good pictures of birds however
as they don't tend to let you get very close This is a great blue heron. |
This is not the recommended way to get bird pictures.
This poor Nazca booby dived for the fishing lure that we were trailing
behind the boat, got hooked and drowned before we could rescue it. |
| Apart from this unfortunate
catch we aren't having a great deal of luck with our fishing. Several
times when we hauled in the line we found missing hooks and
uncomfortably large teeth marks in the lures. We also caught a nice tuna
head the other day when we were too slow hauling in and a predator made
off with the body. |
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The seas around here were like turtle soup there were
so many |
but of course it is hard to get decent photos of
diving turtles |
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A really relaxed sea lion |
The black volcanic sand mixing with the white shell
sand make these beautiful ripple effects
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ONWARDS TO SANTA CRUZ |
