Category Archives: Galapagos, Ecuador

Meat Market for All

Discovering the History of Galapagos

We had Wayne for one more day and decided to learn a little more about the history of Galapagos.  In order to do that, we had to find the Centro de Intrepretacioin Ambiental.  The Interpretation Center walks you through the history of Galapagos islands.  You can also learn about the animals, flora, fauna, and the local population.  Five buildings share the origins of the islands, the Charles Darwin Foundation, and the hope for the future.

Interpretation Center

Interpretation Center

On our adventure, Matt happened to wear a “Freebirds” T-Shirt.  I only mention this because he never does cotton shirts.  He normally wears quick dry shirts because cotton is horrible in the heat.  But, on this day he wore it and we happened to come across a small eatery called “Freebirds.”  What are the odds?  Wayne admired Charles Darwin, I kicked up my heels with a blue footed boobie and took a nap on a sunbathing turtle.

Playing the Tourist

Playing the Tourist

After Wayne left, Matt and found the meat market.  To our surprise it was home to several begging sea wolves, seagulls, and marine iguanas.

Meat Market for All

Meat Market for All

The Galapagos have a strong recycling program in force.  In addition, they are diligent about keeping their islands clean.  One entrepreneurial local educate visitors and residents about the dangers of cigarette butts. He spent well over 25 years creating these displays out of cigarette butts – as if the habit is not disgusting enough…

Display of Cigarette butts

Display of Cigarette butts

Beautiful Tortoises

A Tree House, Crater, Beach & Tortoises

San Cristobal has so much to offer that we decided to do a land tour to try to see the highlights.  Most of the town can be seen on foot, but a few key tourist spots need to be accessed by car and preferably with a guide.  Our plan was to see a new tortoise breeding center, the town of El Progresso, Puerto Chino beach, active crater, and a look out.

EL PROGRESSO

The town of El Progresso started out as a hacienda owned by Manuel J. Cobos.  He had excessive power over the inhabitants and authorities.  He started a sugarcane factory but was killed in 1904 because of the exploitation he subjected to his workers.  This was the beginning of the population in the Galapagos.

El CEIBO – THE TREE HOUSE

It took the owners over 25 years to build El Ciebo, the tree house which can be accessed by a suspension bridge or fireman’s pole.  It has a sitting area, small refrigerator, bathroom, and upstairs sleeping area. You can rent.

The Tree House - El Ciebo

The Tree House – El Ciebo

Below the tree house is a beautiful glass sculpture using over 22,000 beer bottles to create their “welcome” sign.  There are lots of boating artifacts and even a submarine in a tree.  There is a “man cave” in the trunk of the tree about 8’x8’ with lighting , posters, and a wall where you can make a wish for good fortune by pressing coin into the trunk.

The Tree House Mancave

The Tree House Mancave

MIRADOR DE LA SOLEDAD

The lookout point or Mirador de la Soledad is a great place to see the bay, Kicker Rock, and Los Lobos Islet.  It also has a very old church which at first glance looked abandoned.  However, we shimmied around to the back and peeked down to find that the interior is in pristine condition for the monthly celebrations.

Mirador de la Soledad

Mirador de la Soledad

EL JUNCO LAKE – LAGOON

In the highlands of San Cristobal you will find El Junco Lake which is actually a huge crater.  It is the largest active permanent fresh water lagoon and is a refuge for frigate birds.  As many of you know, the frigate bird cannot bathe in saltwater, but they can bathe in fresh water.  It is usually very foggy making it difficult to see the other side, but you can still imagine its beauty.

El Junco Lagun

El Junco Lagun

The lake sits 700 meters above sea level, is 250 meters wide and 6 meters deep.

CENTRO DE CRIANZA DE TORTUGAS TERRESTRES DAVID RODRIGUES

Yes, we have visited a lot of breeding centers, but one can not get enough of these gentle giants.  This facility was a blend between the other two we have seen.  The tortoises do roam wild so you can see them up close and personal, but they also have enclosures as well.

Totally Timid Tortoises

Totally Timid Tortoises

La Galapaguera Breeding Center has about 100 Chatamentis tortoises which have no dome.  They are called intermediate saddle back.  Around most of these sanctuaries are lots of “poison apple tree” as the tortoises love them (people can’t eat them).

This breeding center also keeps the baby tortoises in cages, then moves them to enclosed areas until the mature.  They had lots and lots of babies.

Baby Tortoises

Baby Tortoises

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Tortoise can go 1 year without eating or drinking?
  • Females run from mating, males force themselves on them
  • Eggs must be carried in the same position as they were found; otherwise the embryo will die

PUERTO CHINO BEACH

On our way to Puerto Chino beach we had to stop at a road side stand to get the boys a beer.  The beach was stunning with crystal clear green water, lots of sea wolves and a beautiful path (35 kilometers) to and from the main road.

Puerto Chino

Puerto Chino

We ended the day with a late lunch at a local eatery where they served one meal – an Ecuadorian pulled pork plate of yumminess.

Red foot boobie

Red Foot Boobie, Punta Pitt

We had a mission to find the elusive red footed boobie.  Unfortunately, the only way to see them is to take a boat tour to Punta Pitt.  A 90-minute boat ride past Kicker Rock to the northeastern corner of San Cristobal.  Punta Pitt is a popular breeding ground for the blue foot, red foot, and Nazca boobies and the frigate birds.

Edison, our guide, took us on a wonderful walking tour (about 1 mile) exploring Punta Pitt island, climbing over rocks, and discovering the extinct birds nesting grounds.  The first stunning discovery was that the beach sparkles like millions of tiny diamonds.  Then you start to ascend the trail to get to the top where the birds nest.

Punta Pitt Adventure

Punta Pitt Adventure

Punta Pitt is the only site in the Galapagos Islands, where you can watch the three species of boobies and two species of frigates nesting in the same area. The reason that there are three species of boobies at Punta Pitt is due to the geographic location: there is enough food so there is no competition between them. The blue-footed boobies nest in the interior (rarely on the cliffs), red-footed boobies nest on bushes and masked boobies nest along the cliffs.

A Collection of Boobies

A Collection of Boobies

Punta Pitt Views

In addition to the beautiful and rare birds, there were gorgeous views of the bay.

Punta Pitt Views from top

Punta Pitt Views from top

After we left Punta Pitt, we headed a very short distance to a rick where we snorkeled Pitt Islet.  Honestly, it was really cold, cloudy water and not much to see so we scrambled back to the boat after 30 minutes.

Cerro Brujo

On the way back, we made a quick stop at Cerro Brujo or witchs hill.  The main attraction from the sea is a huge cave that when positioned just right you can see kicker rock.

Kicker Rock through Cerro Brujo

Kicker Rock through Cerro Brujo

Just around the corner, on the other side of Cerro Brujo, you will find “the devil’s pants” which is a magnificent rock formation that looks remarkably like a pair of legs.