Mon, 25 Feb

Tortuga Bay and Decision


i had a plan to get up at 7am, get a real breakfast with WiFi; then re-visit the Travel Agencies at 9am; then go to Tortuga Bay.       but, no breakfast places were open until 8am.    while i waited, i sat in the 'park' and got out my computer ... guess what?   ....there's free WiFi here ....   :)     the restaurant opened at 8:45 and i ordered French Toast and Bacon .... woops, i forgot they do not have Maple Syrup here  :(      ....but the bacon was good   :)

finally started my Cruise 'chore' around 9:30 ..... but still did not find anything new ... i have my eye on one place that made a really good offer ... i need to make a decision today to reserve my spot.

returned to my room and 'rested' while i 'contemplated' my choices.   at 2pm i finally got organized to go to Tortuga Bay.    it was rather late in the day to tackle this expedition; but i got a taxi to take me part way there.    

i registed with the Natl Park Office at 2:25pm .... it's a LONG walk to Tortuga Bay .... with a nice stone walkway ....

saw these Lava Lizards ... with the beautiful red markings .....  for the Lava Lizards, the Females are the pretty ones ....   :) ..... 

they are so much more colorful than the ones on San Cristobal ... check her out !   ....

along the trail i learned more about the Opuntias Cactus .... they are the only cactus species in the world that grow like a tree and are able to hold large amounts of water and grow directly ON the volcanic rock.     an Opuntia Forest is also the habitat of the Cactus Finch which pollinates it's flowers, feeds on it's nectar and fruits and uses the cactus as a protection to build it's nest ....

it's a 45 min trail ... which i am sure i can do in less time .... NOT !    ....it is 30min to Tortuga Bay .... which is a bay with a HUGE beach ....

not for swimming because of the huge waves and currents ... although there were surfers out there    :)

then another 15min walk along the beach, which slows you down considerably because you can't walk fast in the sand ... even at the water's edge, you sink in  ....


but it's not a boring walk because along the way, on the right are mangroves and sand dunes that the Sea Turtles use to lay their eggs .... you can see their tracks .... it's amazing they can climb up those vertical dunes ...

and there are Marine Iguanas in the surf, attempting to get out to the sea ... only to be washed ashore by the waves .... i felt sorry for this one ... it wasn't making any progress ....

as you approached the quiet secluded 'swimming' bay; .... you were further delayed by the desire to observe the MANY MANY Marine Iguanas, everywhere .... ok ... so now i've seen a LOT of Marine Iguanas ...

i've never thought of them as 'cuddly creatures' ... but here they are 'cuddling' ....  i'm sure is another reason for this ... but they look like they are 'cuddling' ...

strange how they've 'flopped' down, with their legs weird, like a human's ...

and this guy with a Lava Lizard on it's back ... and his arm folded back .. weird ! ....

their faces are very prehistoric looking ....

these guys looked like they were dead ...

finally arriving at the nice calm quiet bay .... a beautiful swimming beach ... but snorkeling ?????????   ...... maybe around the edges by the mangroves  ?  ...

Andy said he snorkeled with Black Tipped Sharks here ..... so in i go to find them .....   but the water wasn't very clear and all i saw was a few little baby sharks ...

the next time i guess i need to rent a kayak and go out further to snorkel with the big boys ....

i walked around the area with the Optuntias  Cactus before leaving ...

then back through Marine Iguana territory ... this guy has been laying here so long, he's almost been covered up with drifting sand .... i almost stepped on him ...

on the walk back, i was passed by runners going to the beach, and then they passed me on the way back out   ... i should have gotten in better shape for this trip   :(    .... i also i heard 'American' English being spoken behind me .... 

i signed back out with the Natl Park Service ... i asked them how many visitors signed in today .... over 400 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!     ...and it's a Monday !!!!   ...the tourist business is good on the Galapagos !

i found those "American-English' people .... from Western New York ... a whole family.     we talked and they invited me to go on a day tour to Floreana Island with them on Wed ....

went to their Travel Agency and signed up ... ($5 cheaper than what i had found)

to dinner ... Asian ... curry chicken ... not only was it not curry ... it had NO flavor at all ....   disappointment since the last meal i had there was really good.  

to the park to use the internet ..... mosquitos drove me home ...

worked on blog, and at 12:30  .... power went off ...  i looked out the window .... there were no lights anywhere

thanks to the light of my laptop, i could find my headlamp