Monthly Archives: January 2019

Los Tuneles

Los Tuneles & Finada

We embarked on a boat tour today to Los Tuneles and Finada.  We were fitted for shorties (the water is 22 Celsius), boarded our small boat apply named “Diana Cristina” and embarked on the 45 minute ride.

Diana Christina Boat Tours

Diana Christina Boat Tours

About half way to Los Tuneles, we came across a lava vent in the middle of the ocean.  Super remarkable to see this miniature island sprouting from the sea out of nowhere.  Of course, plenty of blue footed boobies, frigates and other wildlife had already claimed this rock as their own.

Lava Vent in the middle of the Pacific

Lava Vent in the middle of the Pacific

Los Tuneles, also known as Cabo Rosa, are a collective of geological, large lava formations.  Ancient eruptions sent lava underground and they formed earth tunnels.  They collapsed and gave rise to these arcs over the water where you can clearly see vegetation that comes out of the rocks. These formations range from majestic bridges, stately peaks, regal caverns, and cavernous paths.

It is absolutely one of the most breathtaking places I have ever seen.  It is so hard to describe and the photos just don’t do it justice (click here to see professional pictures).  The waters are pristine, sparkling blues and greens.  When you look under a bridge, the light shines just so that the water blends from blues to greens.

Los Tuneles

Los Tuneles

We asked how old these formations were and our guide, Alexis Flores, V from Tunel Ocean said they make an educated guess by aging the cactus.  The cactus grows a few centimeters a year making them between 1k-3,000 years old.  He places the formations for which the cactus grows on to be 8k-10k years old.

Our captain expertly drove us through the narrow passageways, in and around areas we would have never thought possible and this was during mid-tide.  He does this in low tide too.  It was inspiring, beautiful, and awesome in every sense of the word.

Los Tuneles Paradise

Los Tuneles Paradise

Blue Foot Boobies:

Lots of wildlife inhabit this area including the super cool blue footed boobies.  The older the boobie becomes, the bluer his/her feet get.  When the males want to mate they use their feet in an elaborate dance to attract the females.  The boobies are spectacular fisherman, they can dive from extreme heights, and plummet deep into the water to feed.  However, on shore, they are pretty clumsy which led the Spanish to name them “bobo” which means “clutz, clumsy, or dummy” thus their name “boobie.”

Blue Foot Boobies

Blue Foot Boobies

We went on a walk about across the formations to find a boobie up close and personal.  They are such strange yet beautiful birds.   They have very expressive eyes!  We also saw their cousin the Nazca boobie which is a brilliant white bird.

Alexis had to pull us away kicking and screaming as we did not want to leave this little piece of heaven.  We took a group photo and headed back to Diana Cristina.

FINADA

We found a sea sanctuary minutes away from Las Tuneles.  Alexis told we had the chance to see a variety of sea creatures, but we had no idea what was in store for us.  We put on our shorties, jumped in the water and set off on an incredible underwater adventure.  Most of the swimming was in 1 meter of water so it was not very deep.  The clarity was not spectacular, but since we were in such shallow water it did not matter.

Alexis expertly showed us the amazing wildlife roaming under the sea:

A regal 3.5-4” sea horse,

Regal Sea Horse

Regal Sea Horse

Dozens of enormous pacific green turtles

Pacific Green Sea Turtles

Pacific Green Sea Turtles

Half a dozen white tip sharks

White Tip Sharks

White Tip Sharks

Golden puffer fish, sea star, sea snake, and schools of other fish

Cool Treasures of the Sea

Cool Treasures of the Sea

Spotted eagle ray and a massive marble ray.

Marble Ray & Spotted Eagle Ray

Marble Ray & Spotted Eagle Ray

We also saw a penguin swimming in the water for a split second. It was the most impressive display of wildlife we had ever seen – all within a 45 minute swim.

On the way back to Isabela, we dropped a line in the water and caught two yellow fin tuna.  Our guides kept one and we made dinner with the other.

 

Tortoise or Tortuga

Tortoises and Birds: Galapagos

The Barkers arranged for a land tour on Isabella (via YachtGala Services).  Our first stop was the Centro de Crianza de Tortguas Terrestres “Arnaldo Tupiza Chamaidan.  This is a sanctuary and breeding center where their primary goal is preserving these beautiful creatures.  Each island has its own version of a tortoise sanctuary with many different breeds of tortoises.

At this particular breeding center, they have over 800 tortoises and 65  of those are breeding tortoises.  There are 5 species of tortoises in Isabella, but 2 only two of those species are currently breeding.  Most of these tortoises are endangered.

Not so easy for tortoises to breed

Not so easy for tortoises to breed

The scientists rescued the tortoises from the volcanic areas.  Most of the tortoises here are from the Sierra Negra Volcano.

The biggest threats to these gentle giants are rats and goats.  The majority of the eggs die in the natural habitat because of these threats.  So, the scientists collects the eggs, hatches them at the center, and then releases them into the wild once the tortoises are mature.

Once hatched, the babies are in cages until they are 2 years old.  Then they are divided by age, region, and population and moved into small, confined habitats until they become juveniles (4-5 years old).  Next, they are moved to the main population once they become teenagers.  They are considered mature at age 25 and will live to be over 150 years of age.

Tortoises or Tortugas

Tortoises or Tortugas

Concha de Perla:

We enjoyed a small walk to Concha de Perla, where I dutifully blew out another flip flop. Lucky for me it was soft gravel and I was able to walk barefoot.  This is a bird lovers paradise!

We saw flamingos, black neck steel birds, pintail ducks and gallenos.  There are only 350 flamingos in the Galapagos so it was a real treat to see these long legged beauties.

Concha de Perla Bird Paradise

Concha de Perla Bird Paradise

The pintail ducks have a beautiful, vibrant green strip on the inside of their wing which I happened to capture!.

After our big day, we stopped in to have lunch at the Iguana Crossing.  Leave it to Matt and Diana to find the most swankiest hotel on the island.  The hotel claimed to be booked, but lucky for us there were not many guests around.  We enjoyed a lovely lunch before heading back into town.

Right by the dock is a beach full of sea wolves.  We had a blast doing a small photo shoot.

Sea Wolves Take Over the Islands

Sea Wolves Take Over the Islands

Did you notice the marine iguana who left his imprint on the sidewalk?

What’s Next?

Don’t miss out on the next blog as we did a spectacular tour of La Tuneles with the most amazing snorkel adventure!

Santa Cruz, Galapagos

The Wild Part of Wildlife–Santa Cruz

The wildlife is everywhere!  After we reached shore, we traversed around lots of sea wolves and marine iguanas.

Matt and Diana arranged for a Santa Cruz land tour which is the quickest and easiest way to see the highlights.  This adventure would bring us to the 2nd largest active crater in the world, Tortuga Bay, and a Tortoise sanctuary.

13 YEARS

Matt and I were celebrating our 13 year anniversary, so did something we have never done before—we dressed alike.  I had purchased a bikini from Pelagic (on sale) a few months ago and the day before we left, they put the men’s swim trunks on sale.  Happy anniversary.

Matt and I Anniversary

Matt and I Anniversary

Sierra Negra Volcano:

Our first stop was the Sierra Negra volcano crater.  This is the 2nd largest active crater in the world and had just erupted 4 months ago.  When you step up to the ledge you cannot really tell if it is a crater or a giant sink hole, but either way it was impressive.  We did not have this impressive view from the ledge, but it does provide a great overview.

Sierra-Negra-2 Courtesy of Casa Natura Galapagos Lodge

Sierra-Negra-2 Courtesy of Casa Natura Galapagos Lodge

Tortuga Bay

Tortuga Bay is a national park located outside of Puerto Ayora.   Since it is a National Park, they prohibit drinking of any kind.  Of course, we did not know that as we loaded up the cooler with beer and rose.  Lucky for us the park was only staffed with one ranger. We set up camp, grabbed a cold beverage and hit the water.  When I say “hit the water” I mean up to our calves as it was COLD!

Santa Cruz Beach Day

Santa Cruz Beach Day

There is tons of wildlife in Tortuga Bay.  Lots of marine iguanas, sally light foot crabs and birds.  Alas, no tortugas.

Beach Day Santa Cruz

Beach Day Santa Cruz

EL CHATO RANCH

El Chato Ranch is an ecological, wildlife reserve where large tortoises roam freely in their natural habitat. This breed is called Galapagos Elephant Tortoises and they are the largest of the seven breeds that roam around the Galapagos islands. It was breathtaking to see these large creatures meandering across our path, eating, bathing, and hanging out.  We kept our distance as they are very afraid of humans and retreat into their shells if you get too close.

Within the sanctuary, there are lava tunnels.  These eerie formations offer a fascinating look into the volcanic belly of the island. The lava tubes were formed when surface lava cooled and solidified, while the underground hot lava continued to flow, eventually leaving an emptied cave

El Chato Rancho Santa Cruz

El Chato Rancho Santa Cruz

Yes, the plant in the center has egg shells on each stem – it is their version of an “egg plant.”

We took a few tourist shots near the Santa Cruz sign and giant iguana before heading back to the boat for some chill time.

Santa Cruz Tourist Pics

Santa Cruz Tourist Pics

Upcoming: Adventures in Isla Isabella