Ecuador-Day Eight

This morning we had our last breakfast on Isabella Island.  While we ate breakfast, four pink flamingos flew past the third story windows.  We had eggs, french toast, croissant, bananas, mangoes, pineapple and juice.  We took our boat to Santa Cruz.  We had a little less than a 3 hour boat ride.  We had time to check into the Grand Hotel.  Our room had a balcony overlooking the bay and a green marble bathroom.  We were given 15 minutes to get ready.  They keep us so busy on this trip.  We have no time to relax or get bored.  We took a bus to a location higher in the hills.  We toured a lava tube. The tube was about a mile long and I would guess it was 8 to 10 feet below the surface of the earth. See the photo of the lava tube?  Pablo made amazing noises imitating what it sounded like when the lava rushed through the tube and formed the rest of the island.  The tube was located on a private farm next to the National Park.  Galapagos tortoises liked to wander on this farm because the national park is overrun with small trees and they can get stuck between trees.  It's much easier for them to move around in the pasture. We saw tortoises walking through the pasture and bathing in the ponds.  They are gigantic creatures.  We counted 30 tortoises in the pasture in about 5 miles of road.  Cattle egrets stood on top of some tortoises.  At the farm they had coffee for sale and some craft items.  In one shaded section, they had an empty tortoise shell that people could crawl into.  The youngest and skinniest one on our tour got into the shell for a photo.  I thought that looked like fun.  I laid down on the stone floor and wiggled myself into that shell feet first, belly down.  People turned around and were amazed that I did that.  That was fun.  The shell is actually very comfortable and smooth inside.  My ankles and feet were out the back and only my head and arms were out the front.  We took the bus back to town.  This island is very different from Isabella.  It has more people, paved streets, more stores, and is more touristy.  We had lunch near the windmill in town which was about 8 blocks from the Grand Hotel.  The vegetarian lasagna was very good.  We were given 15 minutes to walk back to the hotel and change into swimwear.  We were going to Tortuga Bay.  Tortuga is Spanish for turtle.  I took a taxi to the park entrance.  From there Genevieve and I walked 2 kilometers to the beach on a cobble stone path that went on forever.  We didn't think we were ever going to get there.  The path was crowded with mangrove trees.  I saw Galapagos flycatchers in the woods.  Eventually we got to the beach.  We were headed for the second beach.  The first beach had high waves, treacherous currents and was about a mile along.  We both enjoyed walking in the water barefoot.  I was watching the sandpipers,  ruddy turnstones and lava gulls.  Genevieve saw a naked man in the surf.  I guess the difference in our ages is apparent in the wildlife we observe.  Eventually we got to the second beach.  We had to step carefully around the marine iguanas to get there.  We kayaked in the protected cove.  It felt good to use my arms.  We saw lava herons, great blue heron and a brown pelican very close as they perched in the mangrove branches.  The sun was very hot and beating down on us.  I kept reapplying sunscreen but I felt burned, red, hot, and itchy.  We walked back down the beach.  I fell behind the group on the 2 kilometer cobblestone path.  My left knee, still sore from the volcano, was very painful.  I tried leading off with my left foot on  stairs and that helped but it was hard to remember to do it. My knee did not hurt on level surfaces or going up hill, only going down hill.  By the time I got to the park entrance, I was in a lot of pain.  I got a taxi ride back to the hotel, swallowed more 12 hour pain reliever, and had just enough time to shower and change for dinner.  I had basil pesto spaghetti for dinner with ginger cake. I went to bed exhausted.