Galapagos Day 4: San Cristobal Island, Kicker Rock, & Isla de los Lobos

The day started with a trip to town and a visit to the Centro de Interpretacion where we learned about the history of the Galapagos. There was too much history to absorb it all but a couple of things stayed with me.

 

First, I hadn't realized that Norweigans were among the first to permanently settle in the Galapagos. After World War I, many Norweigans came here in search of a better future, enticed by advertisements displaying fertile soil and available land. From what the museum said, life was much more difficult than the Norweigans had been led to believe. I am not sure how many of them stayed or what sort of legacy they have left behind, but I didn't see pickled herring on any of the restaurant menus in town!

 

After my travels to the far reaches of the world, I wasn't at all surprised to learn that like Australia and Ushuaia, the Galapagos had once been a penal colony. While this is an amazing place for a vacation, I can only imagine how hard life was for the prisoners: the baking hot sun, a limited diet, the tropical downpours, bugs, the mental prison of being so far from home, and the police on the islands who were noted for their cruelty. In 1959, the government finally shut down the prison.

 

I was also impressed to see how much of the museum was dedicated to preserving the Galapagos's fragile ecosystem. There was a creative sculpture made out of plastic litter by local students, a series of quotes from locals of all ages about living in the Galapagos, and information about the problems facing the islands and how to help.

 

From the museum, it was a short walk to a snorkeling spot. Here we said goodbye to four of our passengers who had to leave and continue their travels without the group. The remaining six of us wasted no time and donned our snorkeling gear to escape the midmorning heat. What a treat snorkeling was! Just as I thought to myself, "I'd like to see a turtle," one swam right under me! I had my camera at the ready and followed him until he passed a second turtle! I was only starting to recover from the excitement of my first experience of swimming with turtles when a curious sea lion approached! He danced in circles around us, flipping and spinning to our delight. The morning continued like this, sea lions coming over from their shaded resting spot to investigate us and to show off. There was also a large sting ray that deserves to be mentioned!

 

Nearby there was a scenic lookout with a statue of Darwin as San Cristobal was the first island Darwin visited. Taking our cue from the lazy sea lions, we rested in the shade until walking to town for some much needed ice cream.

 

Orelio, the dinghy driver, was happy to indulge our picture taking and drove us to see the unused boats overrun with sea lions. He had a good time using our cameras to be the photographer directing a photo shoot!

 

Since the town is overrun with sea lions, the local government has tried to come up with solutions. One successful idea was to build small rafts in the harbor. Bachelor sea lions who are unlikely to ever become alpha males of a harem love to use the raft as a place to rest, so we nicknamed it Loser Island! Just a little sea lion humor. Even with several of these rafts, the sea lions still love to climb on benches in town and vacant boats to sleep.

 

We had lunch and waited anxiously to meet our new travel companions. Each of us guessed where they would be from and I wasn't too far off when I guessed they'd be two Dutch girls--they turned out to be one Dutch guy and one German guy.

 

It took about ninety minutes to reach our next stop: Kicker Rock. The seas weren't too friendly, so most of us curled up on the sun deck for fresh air but one of our new additions succumbed to the power of seasickness. It was something of a shock to wake up and see Kicker Rock. It completely dwarfs Colombia's El Penon (for those of you who have been following the blog!). It was spit out by an exploding volcano and settled here. Upon landing, it split into two pieces. Today the channel between the rocks is a popular scuba site. Kicker Rock is nicknamed leon dormido, as it resembles a sleeping lion from a distance.

 

From there it was off to Isla de los Lobos for a walk around the island. We spotted our first male frigates with their red pouches inflated.

 

Alfonso had suggested we go for a snorkel as the island would be a great place to swim with sea lions. Each time we go snorkeling, it only gets better! Immediately we saw several sting rays, each one bigger than the last. I spent most of my time (and most of my camera battery!) watching two sea lions practicing how to fish. They knew they had an audience, but paid no attention to us as they caught and released bits of seaweed. It was an absolute privilege to be so close to these creatures as they learned essential survival skills. I also got quite a fright as I was patrolling one last time for sea lions when I came upon a massive male sea lion sitting on the sea floor, just staring at me! I knew that there were some young pups around and that this sea lion colony had been known to be aggressive, so I didn't bother to take any photos of his impressive size and swam away as fast as I could!

 

Unfortunately, we had to return to the boat eventually, so we had a great dinner with our two new European friends and spent the night talking on the sun deck.

 

Today's animals:

Chatam mockingbird

Frigate with inflated red pouch

Plover

Chatam lava lizard

Sea lions

Sea turtles

Sting rays

Fish

Iguanas

Crabs