I got up, not feeling the greatest, around 7:30ish, got ready, ate some banana's and cinnamon bread, then waited for everyone else to get ready (Beth and Kaitlin went running this morning) to meet Alex's arranged ride for us to explore the island.
He met us at 9:00 a.m. and was gong to take us to three different locations for $45, $5 each. We met Jose, piled into the truck with our back packs and headed up towards the highlands, which we drove though yesterday on a bus. I remembered that it was a lot cooler and possibly foggy and/or rainy.
Our first location was the Los Gemelos Craters - Twin Craters. We walked to the west one first. We followed the path, read the sign to learn more about them. The clouds were very low and it was misty, which made it hard to get a good enough photo to see the geological landforms. I found a crack in the craters and decided to climb around in it.
We spent a good ten minutes or so admiring this location before walking through the jungle trail to the east crater on the other side of the road.
We spent a good ten minutes or so admiring this location before walking through the jungle trail to the east crater on the other side of the road.
We met up with Jose in the east crater's parking lot. He took us down the hill to Santa Rosa. In a few short miles we got to the El Chato 2 Ranch, a tortuga (turtle) crossing on a private reserve and lava caves all in one! It cost us $5 to see turtles up close and personal. We used the restrooms, got boots from the boot shack and started with the lava tubes first.
Kaitlin and I did all three, mom did two of them and Amy and Beth did part of the first one. Beth was afraid of caves for some reason.
From there, we walked around the trails for about an hour looking at the different turtles. We took a ton of pictures. Some of the turtles were quiet, some stared at you and others hissed, grunted, moved around, were eating grass and brush and many were hanging out in the giant mud turtle ponds.
We walked back to the boot shed and took our boots off and left them there to be cleaned so the next person could use them. We took a few pictures of us at the sign then got into Jose's truck to be dropped off at the Darwin's Research Station.
I had a raging headache so I had to bum some IB Profin off of someone because I didn't bring mine because mom said she had some in her bag when we left our Air BnB, nope!
I had a raging headache so I had to bum some IB Profin off of someone because I didn't bring mine because mom said she had some in her bag when we left our Air BnB, nope!
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."
We saw the iguanas, and took some pictures of them before we went inside. They scared Beth even though they were more afraid of you than you are of them. However no matter how close we got they really didn't move all that much. We went further inside and walked around learning all the research they've done to preserve predominately the turtles among other species that are endangered. From hatching to monitoring them through our their adult lives.
We even learned about Lonesome George, the last of the Pinto turtles, he died without reproducing in 2012.
We tried going into the visitor's center but it was closed for lunch from 12-2. Of course it would be while we were there. We looked for mom's iguanas and found that exhibit. Sadly, there was only one to ooh and awe at. We left Darwin's Research Station and walked down the main street along the shoreline.
We did a little bit of shopping. I really wanted to find a stuffed animal boobie bird and found one for $15. Totally worth it. I found a shirt I really liked as well. I knew we would be doing more shopping a little later on but I really needed some food. We were beyond ready for lunch and along our walk we found a outdoor restaurant called Ill Gardino.
I ordered a lemonade, even though I should be weary about the water and ice cubes, but this seemed like a classier place that would serve clean water from bottles rather than from their tap. I also ordered a turkey sandwich with bacon and fries. I was so excited for this food you don't even know. My head was hurting something fierce because I was starting to getting sick and I could tell it was going to suck tomorrow. I was not happy. When my food was brought to me I was a little happier. We saw a giant rat scurry under the stairs which didn't surprise me because we are in an outdoor restaurant. I used their free WiFi to check up on the NFL scores and to see how my fantasy team was doing. I did find out we were struggling with the 49ers because we need a new O-line. I did find out later on when we had internet access at our Air BnB that we just barely beat the 49ers 12-9.
I decided not to eat my whole sandwich so I could save the other half for dinner and save money by not having to go out again. We continued with our shopping. Mom found a postcard to send to Angela and her class and I bought my co-workers some turtle keychains since this area is known for their turtles.
We met up with the group again and took some pictures. I wanted to find a cache in Ecuador so Beth and I walked to the closest one, Darwin's Cache (GC32F1G). Turns out it was inside the gate of the hotel and no one was answering so we had to move on. I was so disappointed.
We tried for the next one, Winding It Up Again #7 (GC51XHF) but I couldn't pinpoint which shop it was so we asked a few people that spoke English. They said they knew Oscar, the owner of the shop, but said his shop wasn't open until 5 or 6. I was bummed. We took a few more pictures of town including some of the iguana's hanging out around the harbor and some of the local colorful art displayed all over town.
We walked to a grocery store looking for some more bananas and some sort of headache reducer, my head was hurting something fierce. We didn't find either. They only sell medications at pharmacies. I sat down while everyone else explored a church and got more ice cream. My head hurt so bad it was taking the fun out of being here.
We walked to a grocery store looking for some more bananas and some sort of headache reducer, my head was hurting something fierce. We didn't find either. They only sell medications at pharmacies. I sat down while everyone else explored a church and got more ice cream. My head hurt so bad it was taking the fun out of being here.
Beth and Amy went to find a pharmacy (which there were many around town), mom sat with me while Kaitlin negotiated to see if she could get us a boat tour around the bay for an hour. She ended up getting him down to $100, so $20 each for a boat ride, seems like a good deal. He said the captain was on his way and to get on the water taxi to be taken to the anchored boat. It cost us each a dollar for the taxi to take us to the boat. I brought the GoPro with me so I could film the boat ride.
Since we were the only ones on the boat, that could hold 15-20 people, we all got to sit up on the top for a better experience. It was a wild experience. He took us to hidden alcoves. I FINALLY got to see my blue-footed boobie and got to take a great picture of it. Trip accomplished! We saw the light house, other birds and animals and got to hit some big waves! The water was very choppy because the tide was coming in. He took us back to the port and the water taxi came back and got us. It cost another dollar a person. Once we were back to shore I was so ready for bed. This cold was getting worse. The plane rides were catching up to me and the lack of sleep. I really didn't want to feel terrible while I was in South America and it looks like I will have to tough it out. Ugghhh.
We went back to the shop to pick up Winding It Up Again #7 (GC51XHF) at Oscar's shop and to pick up my first Ecuador cache on the Galapagos Islands. I was super stoked! We asked if he had the geocache and he handed me a wooden box. He was very nice. I signed the logbook, took pictures, discovered a few trackables and left one of my pathtags for the next traveler/adventurer/geocacher to find. We thanked him and handed it back.
We walked back to the Air BnB and mom and I decided to stay. Amy, Beth and Kaitlin decided to go get ice cream again and walk around. At the house, we took cold showers and got ready for bed. I got the computer out and uploaded the pictures from today's adventures onto Facebook. I tried to get a hold of Ben but our internet connection was pretty poor again. So I messaged him instead of video chat. I ate the other half of my sandwich I bought earlier this afternoon.
About an hour later they came back and they all got settled down. Around 10 we all went to bed so we could get up, get ready and all packed and head back to mainland Ecuador. Jose was suppose to be there by 9:00 a.m. to take us back to the water taxi at the channel to the airport.
Next Adventure: Ecuador Day 5: Heading Back to Ecuador, Guayaquil and Sorting Supplies
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