We stopped at a little town to sample some of the local delights. This gentleman is using a trapiche, a traditional sugar cane press. We of course tried the local coffee (coffee is a sizable export from Galápagos -- yes Mom, I got you some) and the local moonshine, called aguardiente, or firewater. Um, wow. Powerful stuff. (Although, full disclosure -- I've had it before. They fed it to me in the Amazon last time.) We also had chocolate bread. It's like chocolate babka, in the sense of layers of bread and chocolate. Rich and tasty!
Yes, these are coffee beans. Hopefully you've seen them in posts of mine before, but in case not.... When they turn red, they are ripe and ready for picking.
Next, we continued up to El Chato, where we would have lunch. This is a tortoise reserve -- Santa Cruz has the second largest wild tortoise population in the islands. Actually, it's someone's farm. Really, it's both. The farm borders the reserve and both are traditional migratory lands of the tortoises. But first, a lava tunnel!
This is actually a lava tube, the inside of which has collapsed, forming a tunnel. It's not very long, about a quarter of a mile, but it's spectacular. Very low in parts, we walked close to all fours. Dark in parts we used our headlamps and small flashlights, whatever we remembered to pack and take with us. In some places we could stand six or seven abreast, it was that wide. This is another collapsed part, now revealing the sky above.
I wish I remembered more of my geology classes! These are mineral deposits from the lava. Since it's lava and not limestone, there aren't the same kinds of stalactites and stalagmites that you usually see in caves.
Lucky for us, the top of the lava tunnel is right next to the restaurant! And we were all hungry. Even so, there was way too much good food. And good fun, too.
This is Jason, our expedition leader, wearing the carapace of a giant tortoise that no longer needs it. He also took a great picture with the five teenagers from my group. While it's fabulous, I won't post it; like my employer, I'm sensitive to issues of kids and the web, and without the knowledge and permission of their parents/grandparents, it stays away. Behind him is a vigorous ping pong game, where the German-Australian lady dominated everyone.
We then took the buses over to the pit craters called Los Gemelos (the twins). These are two collapsed craters, about 650 m in size - they're huge! And incredibly beautiful.
Helpful park signs. These are endangered ecosystems.
One of the panoramas. You can really see the lava as well as the succession forest.
There are six species of orchids native to this region. We saw two by the craters. This is the only one that was blooming.
I'm not sure why, but I don't have good photos of the giant Scalesia, which are so big, they're like trees. The area is famous for them, but somehow.... I think I was too awed by the scenery, so have very few photos. This is about the only one, and I'm not even sure it's the Scalesia.
Panoramic 2. Isn't it stunning?!? We also saw finches and flycatchers. A short walk, but packed with beauty.
With Ruly, one of the three guides on our tour. He runs his own company and is a master diver. I credit him with my "success" in snorkeling this trip. All three of our guides were incredible. As a single, I was often the one assigned to make up group numbers, and as luck would have it, I spent more than half of the excursions with Ruly's group. He's just brilliant and I miss being able to listen to him everyday.
Then we had time to explore the reserve/farm. If I understood correctly, the couple that owns the farm moved there from the States back in the 60s. How fabulous.
Panoramic from the restaurant, looking out on the hills and mud pools. Prime giant tortoise habitat.
And we were in luck! There were numerous large males present this day. The males tend to stay in the highlands, and migrate down during mating season. The females do go up, but they build their nests in the lowlands. It takes tortoises years to grow big enough and build up enough stamina to makes this climb. Brian, the videographer, filmed a great segment with three of "my" kids, talking about what they'd been doing this day on the tour, while this tortoise ate his way through the entire small shrub, seemingly oblivious to the fifteen humans gathered around him.
Wow, it's so magnificent.
Pretty, huh? Not a hibiscus, but must be something similar.
And yes, some type of fern. I just liked the contrast with the surrounding terrain, and that all the spores were visible.
Then, just before we left, someone spied two barn owls in the, well, kind of a barn. It was too dark to take a photo of them without using flashes, which, of course, would not have been a good idea -- actually, Galápagos has a no-flash-with-wildlife rule, which is great -- but it was amazing to see them nevertheless. I know some of my colleagues don't like owls much, as they have connotations associated with death and the ancestors. But given my two very powerful owl experiences in Hawaii, both related to my grandmothers' deaths, I'm rather fond of them.
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