Ecuador 1/11/2019 - 2/2/2019

Wednesday, January 23, 2019 - Baltra / Santa Cruz, Los Gemelos, El Chato Ranch, Chocolapagos, Charles Darwin Research Station

We had the buffet breakfast at the hotel this morning and then headed off to the airport.

When the plane arrived from San Cristobal, Sisa's backpack was on it! Fabo retrieved it and when he handed it to her, she gave it a big hug. She was quite relieved to be reunited with her "ropa interior." We had managed to turn the missing bag experience into a big in-joke and the only "damage" from the incident was the two bucks I spent on a replacement toothbrush.

We took another 8-seater flight from Isabela to Baltra. Baltra (also known as South Seymour Island) was established as a U.S. Army Air Force base during World War II in order to protect the Panama Canal.

The airport in Baltra is a green airport (Aeropuerto Ecologico Galapagos), and even the covered walkway from the tarmac to the terminal is lined with solar panels. They recover rainwater and recycle gray water within the airport.

After landing and collecting our luggage, we took a bus to the ferry dock and crossed the Itabaca Channel to Santa Cruz island.

Our van driver met us in Santa Cruz and we embarked on the trans-island journey to Puerto Ayora in the south.

Our first stop was Los Gemelos (The Twins), twin collapsed lava tunnels. The road cuts right between these two sinkholes, which does not bode well for its future. There is a hiking trail here which affords views into the large sinkholes. It also passes through gorgeous scalesia forests. The fifteen varieties of scalesia trees are adorned with hanging moss. It feels like a primeval forest. Everything is so lush and green. We were reminded of our time on the South Island of New Zealand. Mukul enjoyed birdwatching here, and Fabo handed Sisa a small worm to hold in her hand.

Next we continued on to El Chato ranch. This is one of several farms on which tortoises roam free and wild. Visitors are able to walk on trails and observe the tortoises in their natural habitat. When we first arrived, we enjoyed cups of complimentary locally grown organic coffee (delicious!) before heading out to enjoy the grounds.

Our first stop was a lava tunnel. We descended into the cave and observed water filtering through the rock. Tubes like this form when lava cools at different temperatures. The lava cools at its edges, but the center remains molten. The cooled laca becomes the tunnel walls.

We could discern different layers of cooled lava which were indicative of different lava flows. Sisa has been in small caves in Peguche, but the scale of this one was unlike anything she had seen before. Fabo directed our attention to coralloid formations on the walls of the cave.

When we emerged from the lava tunnel, it had started to rain. It was really more like a mist, which is common in the highlands of Santa Cruz. There were many giant tortoises going about their business on the property, unconcerned by the day to day operations. One large tortoise was hanging out next to the parking lot, where groundskeepers were running weed whackers to keep the tall grasses under control.

As we walked around, we became aware that there were fire ants in the grass. They started to bite our feet and ankles. We toughed it out to get some photos of the tortoises, but afterwards washed our feet with an outdoor spigot to make sure we got all of the ants off.

After observing the tortoises, we went back inside. Sisa and I posed in tortoise shells...the fact that I can easily fit within a tortoise shell belies how big the creatures actually are. Then we enjoyed a delicious lunch.

Sisa and I had delicious local lemongrass iced tea, and Craig had a Reptilia Galapagos American Pale Ale. The appetizer was fresh cream of tomato soup served with fresh warm rolls and parmesan cheese. I had pesto pasta, and Craig and Sisa had tuna in mustard sauce over vegetables and fries. Sisa only ate half of hers so I was able to enjoy the rest. For dessert we had a delicious coconut flan. We bought some local coffee before heading back to the van.

As we drove from Rancho El Chato to Puerto Ayora, we saw a lone giant tortoise lumbering along the side of the road. You must drive with extreme caution here...it would be a tragedy to hit one of these majestic creatures that can live up to ~200 years, and there are stiff penalties if you do...up to $20,000 USD fine or 4 years in jail.

When we arrived in Puerto Ayora on the south side of the island, we checked in to Hotel Mainao. It has a very whimsical architectural style, made of adobe painted white, with a Spanish tile roof. It meanders with various staircases, and all of the accents, from the patio floors to the domed roofs, are decorated with colorful ceramic tile mosaics.

Our room was #9 (Genovesa) and we had to climb up three flights of stairs to get to it. It contained two California king sized beds, so we could really spread out! It was hot in the room and it took a while for the air conditioning to cool it down. Craig was feeling hot and fatigued, and wondered if he should sit out the afternoon's activities. But he rallied and joined us when we met Fabo at 2 o'clock for a suprise that he had planned.

We walked to town and stopped first at the mosaic garden. Wow, Santa Cruz really has a thing for mosaics, and they are lovely. This little garden art installation was created by a Swiss woman who passed away recently. Mukul knew of her from other works. It was absolutely charming, and we took some photos.

Just across the street was our surprise. Fabo took note of how much we like Ecuadorian chocolate (Pacari and Republica del Cacao), and he had arranged a "chocolate show" by Galapageño Juan Daniel, artisenal chocolatier and owner of Chocolapagos (Darwin's Favourites).

Juan Daniel, whose father is Galapageño and whose mother hails from Connecticut, is a chocolatier who tempers his chocolate and creates beautiful and delicious creations in the shapes of tortoises, sea horses, etc. It was delightfully chilly in his kitchen, and Craig, who had been contemplating skipping the afternoon's activities because he was overheated and overtired, was immediately rejuvenated.

Juan Daniel showed us how he heats the chocolate, stirs it on a granite countertop, coats a plastic mold, chills it even more in the refrigerator, adds filling (in this case salted dulce de leche), coats the top with chocolate, and then puts it back into the fridge to harden. Once he takes it out of the mold, the top has a beautiful colored sheen, a product of the tempering.

We each got to sample a chocolate tortoise (Craig had salted dulce de leche and I had chili pepper). It was absolutely delicious...made from Ecuadorian cacao. Juan Daniel is a very talented artisan, and we bought 2 boxes of chocolates to take home and share. He put them aside for us and told them we could pick them up on the way back to the hotel.

[On the ride home from the airport when we returned to Quito, Sisa was describing the chocolate-making process to her family in minute detail. We were very impressed by how much she paid close attention, especially since most of Juan Daniel's explanations were in English.]

It was raining, so we wore our rain jackets and I protected my camera and iPhone from the rain as we walked to the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Fabo pointed out (and hugged) an opuntia cactus, which is a variety of prickly pear. Only on Santa Cruz does this plant start out as a cactus, and then evolve into a tree as it matures. After so many years, segments of the cactus fuse together and develop bark. They lose their spines and the result is a tree stalk with paddle shaped spiny leaves growing out of the top. We shook our heads in wonder; only in the Galapagos would a cactus evolve into a tree! In response, certain tortoise morphotypes evolved with long necks and "saddlebacks" to reach up higher beyond the bark.

We saw various informational displays, one of which depicted the pink land iguana, a handsome endangered species which was only recently discovered around Wolf Volcano on Isabela. Their unique color is actually a result of translucent skin, which allows the blood and muscle tissue to be visible.

Next we walked past the various paddocks of tortoises. All of the tortoises at the center were quite lethargic this afternoon, possibly because of the drizzly rain. Babies, however, were more lively, most probably because they had just been fed some lettuce.

We saw Super Diego, a tortoise who was previously on loan to the San Diego Zoo who was brought back to Santa Cruz for breeding. He has since fathered over 1000 baby tortoises, single-handedly saving his species from extinction!

According to the Washington Post:

Fifty years ago, there were 14 members of Chelonoidis hoodensis, in Española, an island of the Galapagos Islands — 12 females and two males.

They did not even need the other guy. Since 1976, Diego has fathered more than 800 young — 2 of every 5 hooded tortoises in existence, according to genetic testing.

And I thought my grandfather (who fathered 15 children) was a prolific papa!

We were quite lucky because Super Diego happened to be laying down very close to the wall which separates the path from his enclosure. At over 100 years of age, Super Diego has a lot of character. His neck skin is scaly and droopy. As he breathes, his neck folds inflate like bellows or an accordion. We could also see the bottoms of his feet, which reminded us of elephant feet...good at distributing a lot of weight while allowing stealthy movement for such a ponderous animal.

When we had come in 2008, Lonesome George (the last Pinta Island giant tortoise) had still been alive, but he hadn't come out of his little shelter, and we had been unable to see him. He passed away in 2012, reaching greater than 100 years of age, without successfully mating.

His body has been preserved and is on display at the center. We were excited at the prospect of seeing him, but due to the fact that it was raining today, we were not allowed to. They were afraid that the moisture would adversely affect the preservation. This seems odd to us; it would seem more logical to keep his body in a temperature and humidity controlled glass chamber. It always seems to be raining in Puerto Ayora, so the opportunities to see him must be severely limited.

We saw some land iguanas as well. These are a yellow color, and in 1976 there were less than 100 in existence on Santa Cruz due to predation by introduced species, when there had once been tens of thousands.

We passed by a building labeled the "Insect Containment Facility" which sounds like the stuff of nightmares. Fabo explained a program called Galapagos Verde 2050, which aims to use water conservation technology to restore the plant species on the islands as well as fostering sustainable agricultural practices for the islands' human inhabitants.

We concluded our visit to the Research Station at the indoor exhbits. There were many skeletons on display, including a Bryde's whale, a bottlenose dolphin, and a blue-footed booby. We saw scientists from the Research Station (in collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences) assembling a dwarf sperm whale skeleton.

There was a nice gift shop where a variety of items were available for a "suggested donation." I bought a nice comfy hoodie.

We took the electric tram back to the entrance, and crossed the street. Fabo retrieved our boxes of chocolate from Juan Daniel (we appreciated that we didn't have to carry it with us to the Research Station in the rain).

Right next door to Chocolapagos, an Otavaleña named Luz Maria had a souvenir shop. We knew that Rosa would be happy if we patronized an Otavalan shop, so we bought a few items, including a T-shirt for Craig, a Christmas ornament, a bandana featuring a map of the islands, and a large stuffed blue-footed booby for Sisa.

As we walked back toward the hotel, we stopped in at the pier to watch the pelicans and other sea birds jockeying for leftovers from the fishmongers.

We stopped in to Angelique Art Gallery (a bright blue building with mirrored mosaics adorning the walls) and admired the whimsical colorful paintings and prints by Sarah Darling. Sarah introduced us to her elderly blind rescue dog (Nana Darling, named after the dog in Peter Pan). Nana was very sweet and I bought some postcards depicting sea lions, Galapagos penguins, and an angel cat (Did I mention that her work is whimsical?)

We walked back down the alley to the Hotel Mainao. We passed a house with a cat waiting outside. Sisa mentioned that she missed El Señor Chipikins. This was the first and only time she would mention missing home. We were really impressed by how well she handled the separation - she was having so much fun that she didn't have the time or energy to be homesick.

When we got back to the hotel, she hugged her new blue-footed booby stuffed animal and wrote in her travel journal. She was really taking the journal seriously, which made us proud. Documenting travels is obviously an important hobby to us, and it warmed our hearts that she was embracing and enjoying it as well. I went downstairs to the self0service drink area. I got a cup of coffee for Craig and a cup of tea for myself. I also refilled our water bottles.

Now that she had her stuffed booby, the time had come where we had to explain to her the meaning behind the English puns that are so ubiquitous in the islands. We explained what the word means in English, and she couldn't stop laughing and asking, "Do you like boobies?" Ah, ten year olds! (But from then on, we noticed that she no longer wore her reversible hat "I love boobies" side out).

Tonight was our farewell dinner with Fabo. He had made reservations at a nice restaurant. He had suggested that maybe Sisa would want to wear her traditional clothes to dinner. Now that she had her luggage back, this seemed feasible. When I mentioned it to her, she had no idea what I meant by "ropa tradicional." Of course she didn't; they aren't "traditional clothes" to her; they are just "clothes." I elaborated..."Your anako and fachalina..." Now she understood me, but shook her head no. With all of the elaborate cinching, gathering, and pleating necessary to properly wear the clothing, she was unable to dress herself without assistance. Rosa and Aida weren't here, and I certainly don't know how to properly assemble an anako (Rosa and Aida have to dress me when we have an occasion which warrants it). So we laughed and said that it looked like she'd be wearing pants and a sweatshirt instead.

We met Fabo in the courtyard and walked down the main street to Almar (formerly the Red Mangrove on our last trip). It is a hip restaurant on the bay, and we were led to an outdoor table which had nice views of the lights of town.

Craig had the "Isabela", char-grilled tuna steak with soy and lemon sauce, and I had "Gratin de Benenjenas", grilled eggplant in pomodoro sauce with mozzarella cheese, and a side of fries. Sisa had an enormous hamburger, and much to our surprise, she finished the entire thing! I had sangria and Craig had beer. For dessert we had blackberry mousse (blackberries are an invasive species wreaking havoc on the islands, so better to eat them...that'll show them!)

It was sad saying goodbye to Fabo. He was a wonderful guide and now a good friend! We are eternally grateful for how wonderful he has been with Sisa...she has been so comfortable and happy this entire trip! We will miss him tomorrow on our last day on Santa Cruz. He made sure that we had all of the information that we needed about our upcoming activities and transfers.

We walked back to the hotel. Sisa wrote in her travel journal, and she asked Craig and me to sing again. We knew she must mean "Bohemian Rhapsody," so we did so. She paid close attention and giggled.

Los Gemelos

El Chato Ranch

Puerto Ayora