Bike Trip - Sat, 9 Mar - Part 1

Bike Trip - Part 1
Along the Sea and Up the Hill

i woke up before 7am and decided not to work on my blog this morning, but instead, rent a bike, and get an early start, before it got so warm/unbearable.    ... $2.50/hr, or $10 for 6hrs.   way more time than i needed, but i can always bring it back earlier.

at 7:45:    ...the road starts out right beside the beach .... it's along the same stretch of beach that i walked my first day here ....

then there was this cool 'tunnel' made with Mangroves that you road through ... welcome shade !   ...  even this early in the morning ....

and a sea-side Cemetary ... which always mystifies me ... the dead get the best seat in the house   ....   :)    ..... it was striking with the bright white set off with the green and dark blue sky, surrounded with black volcanic rock ....

biked a little further, .... making several stops, taking in a few boardwalks through the Mangroves that reminded me of the ones i've been to with Jan, Alex, and Mers on Pine Island ... good memories.


next stop was a turnout called 'Playita'  ... little beach ... but as i started down the path ... it was obvious i wasn't going any further ....  the Marine Iguanas here are monsterous compared to the ones in San Cristobal and Santa Cruz ..... and they claimed this area for now ...

....just let me rest my head here for a little longer ...

... then this guy said, 'we're not moving' .... check out those pecs !

... ok, i don't have anyone to talk to, so i'm having conversations with Marine Iguanas    :(


then a path to a rocky area, .... the sign said the sea was 'forming a new beach' by washing in broken shells and pencil urchin remains ... that would someday be like the beach in front of town .....   

there was an area that was roped off here as well, saying not to walk on the sand because the Marine Iguanas have nests here ....  

and here, i finally saw my first 'green' Marine Iguana ....  yeahhhhh ...

then a Tour Guide showed up with Kelly, Chuck, and Ed ... from Texas ... they had just climbed a mountain in Ecuador that i can't remember the name of, .... and stopped for a few days in the Galapagos before they headed home ....   they were very kind and invited me to join them ... the Guide was very good, and i was pleased to tag along.


on the next stop, i saw my first REAL Tortoise ... in the WILD .... right on our pathway ...

it's a different species, with a low shell; not like the ones that have the high shell so they can reach up into trees ....

we walked onto this beach and saw Blue Footed Boobies ....

lots of them ! ... to the right ....difficult to see, but those are all BFB's  ...

.... and to the left ....

and another huge Marine Iguana ... with a little bit of green and red ....

there were a few tidal pools there and the first Anemone that i've seen in the Galapagos .....   the guide said this species has to be able to live out of the water during low tide, as well as under the water in high tide .... it was tiny, but pretty ....

we also saw these Lava Tunnels, made from the volcano .... it was low tide so there wasn't much water in them ... but you can see the 'water mark' along the right side of the wall ...  not too impressive to look at, really, ...i guess you have to think about how it was formed ...

we rode a little further and walked down this path where we saw this very large Black Mangrove tree ... not many Black Mangrove Trees get this big .... only in the Galapagos   :) ....

and we walked through these Red Mangrove Trees ... Red Mangroves are characterized by the fact that their roots are above ground ....

then we came out at this pretty little beach of fresh water running through the Mangroves... if i had my suit on i would have gone for a swim ... but waded instead ... the water was cold/cool, crystal clear, and it felt good .... i'll have to come back again, better prepared ....

i talked about the Manzanillo (Poison Apple) Tree when i was at Hacienda ... the apples are a food source for these Tortoises ...

they eat the apples whole, because they don't have teeth, extract the pulp/flesh from the apple, then 'pass' the hard seed that is left ...   so .... this is Tortoise Poo  ....

i wasn't planning on going any further on my trip today; but i followed my group on a grueling climb up to Cerro Ochilla, (they were biking at a fast pace), ....and then up steps for this view  ....

this is another area where the USA had a base during WWII, to protect the Panama Canal ... and eventually became a penal colony ... (more on that another day).

then i thanked them, and explained that i was going to do this trip when i take my Cruise so wouldn't do it now .....   it was MORE uphill biking ... and unlike them, i was not in shape to go at their pace .... i thought of Mose ... it would have been just an 'ant hill' to him ....  but i was dying !!!!!!!!!  ...

on my way back down, i passed another 'real' tortoise eating by the side of the road ....

i road into town and got a Gatorade ....   ahhhhhhhhhhhhh  ...  got back to my room, hot, sweaty, and tired ... scrambled a couple eggs and ate a piece of toast ... and got back on my bike.

 Part 2 to follow ...