WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018
TORTUGA BAY AND LA LOBERIA, SANTA CRUZ ISLAND.
We awoke at 6.30 after a fairly comfortable night and went one floor down to the Dining room of our hotel where breakfast was served from 7.00 am onwards. Liliana and other wait staff looked after us very well and started us off with fresh pineapple juice. Then followed a coupe of yogurt with fruit and cornflakes. Next followed a large platter with eggs, a slice of ham, a slice of cheese, two slices of bread and a cheese empanada. Coffee, tea, etc. was also available. Indeed it was a huge breakfast that provided superb fuel for the rest of our wandering that day.
At 7.40, our pick-up arrived for our tour of Tortuga Bay—or Tortoise Bay--which is not far from the main waterfront of Porta Ayora which we discovered to be a sweet island township with the typical shops, restaurants, etc. running down its main avenue that is named for Charles Darwin. In the mini-van, we were joined by four Mexican women who turned out to be delightful company and with whom we interacted very easily because they spoke fairly good English. We met our guide Ignacio who stayed with us for the entire morning. We climbed up about fifty stairs to the promontory of a hill where an office and a small museum were located. There Ignacio told us that we would be walking for about 20 minutes before we arrived at Tortuga Bay.
Tortuga Bay is a perfect curve of beach that is among the most beautiful and pristine in the region. It is composed of white sand that was soft as cotton. But before we arrived there, we had a very long walk along a brick path past amazing bird and plant life about which we learned so much. Ignacio told us about the giant cactuses that we could see all around us. They grow to an enormous height and can be seen only in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona in the US. They had round flat leaves with prickly spines and the insides resembled a network of fine white threads. We also saw prickly pear cactus that was in flower and in fruit—they are a favorite fruit of the bird and lizard life that teems in this area. We saw mockingbirds that were unafraid of us and came so close as to actually perch on our hands. They sang the sweetest song and fascinated us with their calls. We also saw a variety of finches—later we learned that they are named Darwin’s finches—we saw black, grey and yellow ones. We stopped often to rest on our long hike to the beach but eventually we did reach there.
Once within sound and sight of the crashing waves, we felt sorely tempted to take off our hiking boots and don our flip flops/sandals instead. Immediately, we were charmed by the silken feel of the white sand beneath our toes. The Mexican ladies who were worn out by their excursion of the previous day, immediately spread their towels out on the beach and decided to spend their time sun-bathing. Hence, it was just Blair, Chriselle, Llew and I that followed Ignacio along the gorgeous curve of the beach in search of marine iguanas. Meanwhile, before we got to the spot where they congregate, we saw lots of birds milling in the skies. About 15 minutes later, we saw and smelled our first marine iguanas—a whole colony of them. They were absolutely hideous to look at and they really did stink. We found them in various sizes from lean to fat, from big to small. Ignacio explained that the largest were the oldest. All about the beach scuttling everywhere were baby iguanas. The marine ones are usually pitch black so that they can be camouflaged against the black volcanic rocks that dot the shore line. We also saw a number of mangroves—red, black and white ones—that are the perfect nesting ground for the iguanas. We took many pictures of these odd creatures (that are native to these islands) and with them. Again, they are completely harmless because they too have no predators. Occasionally you can hear them spitting but this is not a show of aggression—it is simply their way of getting rid of excess salt that they have ingested with the sea water.
We had waded into the water when we first arrived at Tortuga Bay and were not inclined to swim as we found it much too cold. So, when Ignacio suggested that we walk past the sand dunes on to the other side of the beach in order to swim, if we chose to, we declined although we had carried our swim gear. When we reach the beach—a pretty lagoon really—we found an abundance of students had taken it over—most of them Americans. We stayed there for a while and then started the stroll back along Tortuga Bay to join the Mexican ladies who had been sun-bathing. We picked up our hiking boots and socks and wore them for the long trek back to base and to our van.
In the van, we discovered that we were missing Blair. Ignacio got worried and discovered that he had walked ahead of us, probably back to the hotel. At our hotel, we drew a blank and so Ignacio dropped us at the waterfront and went to look for him in his car. The three of us wandered around the waterfront and took in the sight of a dozen pelicans hounding a fish market stall and scavenging bits that were being tossed as waste. They were huge and very tame. We also saw our first sea-lions—a mother that was actually suckling her baby. It was a very interesting sight. Some more photographs later, we decided to get some lunch and found a nice seafront shack called Il Giardina where we ordered a salad and grilled swordfish that came with avocados and banana fritters and rice. Chriselle got two mojitos for the price of one, Llew got wine and I got a beer and with our very nice meal almost over, we saw Blair strolling towards the next meeting place for the second half of our tour.
Yacht Tour to La Loberia Island:
It was not long before we reached the spot where one of the Mexican ladies bowed out from fatigue leaving us with three others. We had a new guide who led us to the ferry pier for the second half of our day-long tour. Our ferry ride did not last more than twenty minutes but it was some of the most terrifying moments I have spent at sea. The sea was choppy to say the least and we were in a tiny craft, very low and close to the water. Every few seconds, we would lurch from one side to the other bringing salty waves and their spray wetting us throughout. I realized that I was not the only one suffering because the Mexican ladies admonished the captain and told him to lower his speed. In consultation with the guide, the two of them decided to change course and take us to another side of the island where the currents were less fierce. I was relieved when we disembarked and began our walking tour of it.
The island offered something for everyone. Our guide first led us to a collection of rocks where marine iguanas and vivid orange crabs called Sally Light Foot crabs could be seen in their hundreds. Having seen many marine iguanas in the morning, we did not want to risk stumbling over the rocks to get to the waves to see them.
Hence, we walked with our guide to another side of the island where he led us up a path towards a sheltered cove where we could spy a variety of sharks just below the greenish surface of the water. This was not a very impressive sight as they were very far from us and could barely be seen. In another cove, he told us to look for sting ray fish, but we could find none. This was also very disappointing.
The next part of our trek took us to an area that was well landscaped with rocks that rose up high in tiers. A few of the members of our group then put on snorkeling gear and decided to go into the water to try to find marine life. On the rocks, we could see seals and birds including blue-footed boobies. They returned from their snorkeling stint and said that they had seen large green sea turtles. Other than that, however, the sea did not yield many secrets.
Back on land again, the guide led us on a hike to a part of Loberia Island where a river had created a deep and rocky canyon called La Greitas. This spot is very popular with young students (mostly American) who had donned their swim gear and were plunging from the canyon walls into the river below. We could hear their shrieks and see them in the distance far below in the water as towering rocky promontories sprouted all around us.
By this point, as the hike was tiring, Chriselle and Blair decided to start the trek back to a bar shack past the natural salt pans that are called Las Salinas. Llew and I, on the other hand, decided to continue with the trek, along the canyon, to arrive at the top for what the guide termed “a panoramic view” of the islands. The hike took us up a further 15 minutes and rewarded us with many sightings of the colorful little bits of the islands. The panoramic view was not quite as spectacular as we had hoped and it was not long before we started our return trek to the base to join Blair and Chriselle. This took us a further 20 minutes. They had refreshed themselves with beer and were ready to rejoin our trek to the water taxi stand which was a further 15-minute walk away past a pretty beach with more American students enjoying the waves.
At the water-taxi stand, we boarded a ferry that took us across a channel back to Santa Cruz Island’s main pier at Porta Ayora from where we made our way to our hotel. By this time, we has mastered the route to and from our hotel by the shortest possible route. We took a bit of a rest and showers at our hotel before we decided to meet in the lobby at 7.00 pm for dinner. This time we chose ……restaurant which was simply heaving with people. Over a bottle of beer and some delicious local delicacies—mostly shrimp, as it is relatively inexpensive on the islands—we had a lovely meal.
Night had fallen over the islands as we walked to our hotel and did not lose much time climbing into bed and calling it a night.
Until manana, adios…
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