A very early start to our Galapagos adventures with breakfast at 03h45! Then we got on the bus to the airport. Our flight left at 06h30. The first step to getting to the Galapagos is a bag scan for organic items and the purchase of a $20 tourist card- as the $100 park entry fee is apparently not enough!
All forms of plastic are also discouraged on the islands – which is great for animals and clean environment!
The flight is from Quito to Guayaquil – in the south of the country, to the islands which are actually west of Ecuador. Apparently fuel is significantly cheaper in Guayaquil and hence our stop.
We land on Baltra Island, one of three airports are located here. Hereafter we grab a bus to the ferry, just a few quick minutes get us across the channel and then a 45-minute bus ride to the southern port of Puerto Ayora where our ship, Estrella del Mar (Star of the Sea) is waiting for us. In settling into the cabins we note the small quarters. The rooms have bunk beds and tiny bathrooms with little storage. I should mention that the ship is rather small- it only takes 16 passengers; and approximately 8 crew.
We have lunch on the ship and then head off to the island to visit the tortoise breeding sanctuary on Santa Cruz Island. Our guide gave us interesting insights into the mating rituals of tortoises. First of all, females will not mate every year- only once every two to three years, and even when they are on heat they will not make it easy for the males. Cooperation is apparently not a strength in this species. Mating takes 2-3 hours! The male gets on top of the female. It is important to note that he weighs up to four times as much as she does! As the male gets tired while penetrating he rests then tries again and rests. The female keeps spinning around or tries to walk through bushes to get him off of her!
GPS tracking has shown some interesting statistics on the mileage that tortoises cover. Male tortoises only cover 18 meters (60 feet) per day on a normal day; during mating season however they cover up to 3.2 km (2 miles)! Females move further and consistently whether it is mating season or not at 2.4 km or 1.5 miles. So it is clear to see what motivates the males!
We also see Diego the tortoise who has fathered more than 800 baby tortoises.
Female tortoises only lay their eggs where ground temperatures are between 28C and 29.5C. This means that some of them walk up to 40km to find suitable soil.
After the tortoise visit we were off to have some free time in Puerto Ayora; Santa Cruz. People did souvenir shopping (especially those that were only doing the 7-day trip.) Some of us also hooked by the bar and enjoy some local brews and mojitos. The afternoon rain came in and ruined our photo opportunities and set in for much of the night. We head off to our next destination after dinner.
2 replies on “Galapagos 2”
Co one jadly na filmiku?
I think bamboo?