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

Thursday, January 24, 2019 - Cerro Dragon, Snorkeling

We had breakfast at the hotel: coffee (hot chocolate for Sisa), fruit, scrambled eggs, cheese, patacones, and juice.

This morning we got a taxi transfer from the hotel to St. Francis church (which, by the way, contains an awesome stained glass window picturing a pelican). There we met Jorge, our naturalist for the day, as well as a nice couple from Scotland who would be joining us on our excursion to Cerro Dragon.

Our original itinerary had called for a trip to North Seymour today, but that island is currently closed to tourists because of eradication of feral cats which threaten the wildlife. We weren't sure what to expect from the replacement excursion, but we were confident that we would have a good time.

A bus drove us north across the entire island to the ferry terminal. There we boarded a Zodiac. We thought that this would be our boat for the day (for a hike to see land iguanas and a subsequent snorkel). Imagine our surprise when the Zodiac docked to a full-fledged yacht called the Sea Finch!

We cruised west in complete luxury, laying out in the sea breeze. It was so relaxing. I took Sisa upstairs to the wheelhouse (she joked about being drunk due to her sea legs), and we also perched on the bow for a photo op. We could see sea lions swimming alongside the boat, and some hanging out on buoys within the channel.

After a little over an hour, we arrived at Cerro Dragon, situated along the northwest coast of San Cristobal. We took the Zodiac ashore. The tide was quite low, which meant for some tricky manouevering of the Zodiac. But we were able to get close enough to step ashore on the jagged black lava rocks.

We stood there for a few minutes while Jorge directed our attention to blue footed boobies resting on the rocks, while others dove into the water along with pelicans. We could see a green sea turtle entering and exiting the bay. A marine iguana swam back toward shore and beached himself on a rock to warm up.

We had to watch our step on the rocks. Not only was the footing precarious, but marine iguanas and juvenile Sally lightfoot crabs are so well camouflaged (and have so little fear of humans) that you could easily stumble into them if you are not paying attention.

It had apparently rained here for the past few days, and the paths through the oceanside lagoons were quite muddy with iron-rich clay. It was very steamy and hot here, so we were fortunate that the sun stayed mostly hidden behind clouds.

As we walked around the Dragon Hill, we came across about 2 dozen yellow land iguanas. Unlike marine iguanas, who are more social and tend to hang out in small groups, these are more territorial, and each has its own burrow set apart from others.

As we hiked along, we would see a solitary iguana under a tree. Their yellow color is striking, and they are easy to spot against the background of orange clay.

Scientists wondered if land iguanas were capable of swimming. Experiments proved that they were not. We couldn't help but think of the panic that was induced in some land iguana which was minding its own business and suddenly got submerged in a water tank for science!

Since land iguanas can't swim, they can't regulate their body temperature in the same way that marine iguanas can. So they build burrows and tend to stay in the shade. Land iguanas have been known to mate with marine iguanas to produce hybrid offspring. These offspring are being studied, and it seems that they don't live as long as pure land iguanas (which can live 40-70 years).

Sisa was dragging a bit on the hike; it was hot and the terrain was a bit tricky close to the shore. But she did well.

On the hike we also observed various birds, as well as mating painted locusts.

We took the Zodiac back to the Sea Finch and had some small empanadas as a snack. Our busy schedule was starting to catch up with us, and I felt very lazy. I didn't feel like I really had the energy to snorkel. Sisa also was tired, and had us believing that she didn't want to snorkel either.

But when it came time to snorkel, she was enthusiastic. Craig wanted to snorkel too. And I overcame my inertia to join them. We got our gear, and got into the Zodiac. Jorge drove the Zodiac as a support vehicle, and we snorkeled with a diver from the boat. Mukul stayed on the Sea Finch to relax.

I had misunderstood and had thought that Jorge would be snorkeling with Sisa. But it turned out that Craig and I were actually on duty. We were glad that she had such good lessons with Fabo, because she was calm and competent when snorkeling with us.

Sisa had one arm around my shoulders and we snorkeled through the choppy water. However, the water was way too murky and churned up to see much of anything, so we went back to the Sea Finch. They brought the boat to a second location, and the diver scouted it out before getting all of us back in the water. It was a smart move because it was also too murky there.

Third time was a charm and he found some water which was more clear. They gave Sisa a life ring to hold on to and I towed her around. However, at a certain spot we reached a very strong current and I could no longer make any progress. I passed her off to Craig, and we all moved away from the strong current.

We saw many different creatures than we had seen on our previous snorkeling excusrions:

Blue sea star
Panamic sea star
Chocolate chip starfish
Giant damselfish
Moray eel (Craig)
Horn shark (Craig)
Sea cucumbers
Pencil urchins

I swam by a tubular structure and I saw something peeking out at me...perhaps a Galapagos shark. I was intrigued and lingered there a while trying to catch another glimpse, but the face had retreated further inside.

After our snorkel adventure, we got back onto the Sea Finch and washed ourselves down with freshwater hoses. We went inside and had lunch: rice and beans, swordfish, vegetables, naranjilla juice, and carrot cake. The crew was enchanted by Sisa and gave her an extra piece of carrot cake.

After lunch, we went back outside and laid down in the sun. Craig enjoyed a cup of coffee and chatted with Mukul. Sisa and I dozed...complete and utter relaxation.

We got back to the ferry dock and got a bus back to Puerto Ayora. The crew was on the bus as well, and the driver dropped them off in town. It was interesting to go down these roads to see the more residential and business sector...otherwise you just see the nature and tourist sector. This gave us a bit of insight into what this most populated of the islands is like for residents. We even saw a wholesale cheese shop (cue Monty Python reference here).

The bus dropped us in front of St. Francis church. We walked back toward the hotel along the waterfront. Sisa asked if we could stop in some souvenir shops to buy the remaining presents for her family. She was very particular in what she wanted to buy, tailoring the gifts to the interests and needs of the recipient. Craig and I tried to help, but our suggestions were not in line with her thinking, so we backed off and let her do the shopping. Craig did, however, convince her that a magnet for their fridge would be a nice addition.

As we made our way back to the hotel, we passed The Rock, where Craig and I had enjoyed a memorably delicious meal back in 2008. We decided to make a reservation for 7:30 p.m. Tomorrow we would be parting ways with Mukul, and we wanted to have a nice dinner to celebrate.

We went back to the hotel room to shower and pack to leave tomorrow morning.

We met Mukul at 7:15 p.m. and walked down to the restaurant. As we were seated, a man playing Andean music on a flute (and mic'ed way too loud) finished up his set. He made the rounds, soliciting tips from patrons. We certainly support live music (and Sisa's grandfather is a traditional Andean musician). We are not stingy with tips for buskers and entertainment in restaurants. But the way this guy hovered around our table to intimidate us into tipping him was off-putting. We had literally been in the establishment for about 30 seconds of his performance. I tried to be nice, giving him a tip and making conversation about Antonio's musicianship and introducing him to Sisa. He collected a few more tips and then packed up and left for the night. OK, that tip was wasted. But it was probably for the best, since we never would have been able to converse with one another at the volume he had been playing at.

Craig got a Rubia Iguana IPA followed by a Tortuga Pale Ale. I had a piña colada. We enjoyed a bruschetta appetizer. Craig and I ordered the latest incarnation of the meal we had eaten here 11 years ago: rare albacore tuna in three pepper tausi (fermented black bean) sauce and soy sauce with salad and fries. Sisa had a chicken salad wrap with fries, and she and I shared an unbelievably creamy tiramisu for dessert.

It was bittersweet to be saying goodbye to Mukul. Tomorrow he heads home to India and we take Sisa back to Morochos. We reminisced about the lovely trip. Mukul had enjoyed the major sights in Quito, had birdwatched in the Mindo cloudforest, had spent a few days in Morochos getting to know the family, and fulfilled a lifelong dream to visit the Galapagos.

It had been great to spend time with him, and to share the culture of our compadres with him. We all were delighted by Sisa's company on the trip. We can't overstate what a great traveler Sisa has been. We are so proud of her! This is her first time away from home. She never complained of homesickness and she has embraced every new experience with a smile! We love this little girl so much. She sure is mature for a 10-year-old, but she still retains childlike wonder at every new experience. She is an absolute joy.

We walked back to the hotel. Sisa wrote in her journal while Craig and I packed everything for the journey to the mainland tomorrow. All of a sudden, we heard Sisa burst into "Bohemian Rhapsody" completely unprompted. She sang the "Mamma Mia" part, followed by "For meeeeeeeee!" in a perfect falsetto. Then she threw the horns and sang the guitar solo! Our work here is done! We desperately wanted to show her the official video, but the wi-fi was acting up and it wouldn't play. We told her that we would show it to her when we got back to Morochos.