April 17, 2023
Another excellent day in the Galapagos! After breakfast we loaded our bags, went through inspection, and the team loaded up our boat while we went to the beach for kayaking. I sat in the front of a double with Steve, who was paddling very aggressively, riding waves and getting ahead of the guide a lot. I didn’t have to work much and it was lovely, I love kayaking. We saw some sea lions (and raced with one!), a sea turtle, some frigate birds up close, and more, plus lots of the same cool lava rocks near where we had been two days before. We briefly jumped in the water back at the beach, walking up to a sea platform with sea lions to say hello, and back on the beach hung out with the sea lions and marine iguanas a little. We did a quick change in the bushes and onto the boat we went, via water taxi, to our next stop 2 hours away in Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz is the biggest tourist hub of the Galapagos, and we noticed a change in feeling right away, with significantly better road infrastructure and more modern shops that cater to tourists. We had some trouble getting a taxi from the pier so ended up walking our bags the 5 minutes to the hotel, the Red Booby (these are real birds!), with the roller suitcases balancing the red duffel bags on top. We quickly geared up for our afternoon excursion.
We drove out of town, past a little suburb, and onto a well-paved straight road for about a half hour before turning into a dirt road, which took us a long way down to Manzanilla Farm. We saw about 20 giant tortoises along the road on the way there, plus small Monarch butterflies, cattle, and lush vegetation. Tortoises are protected to roam free on this island, and they love going to this farm, where they stroll around, eat grass, meet up with friends, etc. We had a delicious lunch in a somewhat fancy hall, then put on gum boots to go explore through the grass to look at the tortoises. We didn’t have to walk much and we saw many huge ones! They mostly stood still, and we worked to maintain about 3 meters of distance between us so we didn’t scare them. We saw some in a pond with green algae, and then a big male start pursuing a female. She tried to run away in a tree with branches toward the ground, and they both got a bit stuck. She got out, and a few minutes later the male crunched through the branches to keep going. When she went in the water it was neutral territory and he gave up, for now. We learned a lot about them and it was nice seeing them so close!
Before we left, we went just up the road to a sugar cane and coffee farm and got a private demonstration from one of the owners (since 1968!) on how they made sugar cane juice, a liquor out of the cane, and coffee before there was electricity on the islands (not til 1975!!). We tasted lots of yummy samples. Andy and Steve volunteered to push around a big stick to help crush the cane into juice, and we walked through the beautiful cane fields. Some of the products were for sale back at the farm store, but today this spot focuses mostly on tourism. The owner saw Paulina’s shirt with her full name on it and it turns out he served with her grandfather in the military a long time ago! This was a fun excursion.
Back to the hotel for a little break, then we met up and headed out to dinner, a close walk to a very nice seaside restaurant that Paulina recommended, Bahia Mar, though it was dark. I had milanesa de pollo (like a fancy chicken parm!) and we drank wine and were very happy! It rained while we were there but it passed by the time we left. Getting back at 10pm this was our latest night out. Tomorrow is our last full day in the Galapagos. I am loving being isolated from the rest of the world (my world) and just completely immersed in this amazing, delicious place. I know there are things going on at home but I am compartmentalizing well. It just makes you feel so connected to the earth here, barely concerned that you haven’t had stable wifi for days. I was craving a disconnect, and this feels so, so good.
travels.of.tara 