Galapagos die 2nd - Island exploration

October 27, 2018

We met up with three of our dive buddies the night before. A couple from England and a Belgian. Together, we're going to explore the island by taxi. There's so much to see. We head inland along dusty roads. We make ourselves comfortable in the small cabin of the white pick-up truck. Windows open and tongues sticking out in the beautiful 30-degree weather. We can only spread out on the back of the truck after passing the police checkpoint.

Our first destination is the sinkholes on the island. They are several hundred square meters in size, hollowed out by lava and later collapsed, leaving behind huge pits.

Next stop, Rancho Primicias. A sanctuary and safety area for the resident Galapagos tortoises.

The giant tortoises are roaming freely here. They are only enclosed by small fences, which they often like to knock down in their quest for freedom. We have to be careful not to step on seemingly harmless rocks, which will then hiss at us to indicate their presence and then walk away. With simultaneous grace and clumsiness, they move across the grass. You can't look in any direction without spotting several of them.

Continuing along the path, there are dozens of artificial ponds. The giants can cool down and replenish their fluids here. By the way, the age of these tortoises is often estimated only based on their weight. Some specimens are said to weigh over 300 kg and be over 150 years old.

On our little road trip, we make a stop at one of the lava tunnels. The formation of the islands is omnipresent. The lava flows that moved across the island during volcanic activity solidified at the edges, while the glowing hot rest continued to advance through the resulting tube, eventually cooling in another location. The remaining tunnel systems can be found in several places on the island. Our tunnel is about half a kilometer long, about 5 m high at its highest points, and lit by sparse lights. Halfway through, the lights temporarily go out. We find ourselves in total darkness. We continue with the light of our mobile phones until the power is restored, fortunately, just in time before we reach the lowest point of the tunnel. Overweight people would have a hard time here and would likely have to turn back. We crawl through the 40 cm high opening on our bellies to reach the next section.

Finally, we drive to El Garrapatero Beach. An obscenely beautiful sandy beach. We lie in the now vertical sun and sweat.

Annika with Eilish and Owen

Unfortunately, snorkeling is not possible due to the almost fine dust-like sand. In the water, you can't even see your hand in front of your face due to the sediment. So it's better to explore the surroundings and the small coves.

As the tide rises, these coves merge into one common beach. Here, in the sheltered area, small fish and sand flies thrive, sucking blood from the skin with their bites. So we quickly head back.

In the evening, we sit down for dinner on the pub street of the town. The tables are set up right in the middle of the street. The freshly caught fish of the day is displayed on the sides, and you can catch your lobster directly from the ice buffet. We choose TJ's and the recommended tuna.

October 28, 2018

After breakfast, the crash comes. Carsten starts feeling sick and dizzy starting at noon. He spends the whole day in bed sleeping. Fortunately, the suspicion of food poisoning turns out to be false. After a brief consultation with the others, it turns out to be just him.

October 29, 2018

So it turns out to be dehydration after all. One shouldn't underestimate that. After the dives, long walks in the sun in hot temperatures, and clearly not enough water intake, it's not unusual for the body to stagnate.

That day, Carsten drinks about 6 liters of water and 2 liters of cola (on the recommendation of Owen and Eilish, who are doctors by the way). He lies in bed, extremely useless.

Annika spends her time at the beach.

In the evening, he's already feeling much better and we check out the local volleyball club and take a leisurely stroll.

October 30, 2018

We spend the day with Owen and Eilish at Tortuga Bay. We want to soak up the sun one last time and prepare for tomorrow's journey back to Guayaquil. From there, we're heading straight to Cuenca. The sun shines all day, just like it has most of the time. Galapagos has been good to us.

In the evening, we have dinner again on the pub street.

October 31, 2018

We use the whole day to get from the airport to Cuenca. Bus-boat-bus-plane-bus-taxi-there.