Wednesday. There was rain, but we seemed to be avoiding it. We awoke to humid, 79 degree weather causing my nice straight hair to immediately frizz. Off we went to the tortoise nature reserve. Everything on this ship is ah zodiac landing with some being dry and some being wet landings.this was art one. On the way, we passed old rowboats and fishing boats with seals in all sorts of states of recline on them. Once in town, we hopped a bus for a 45 minute ride to the reserve. You are correct. They are strict about who goes where on land. We tried to get in Javier's group and were sent back to our group. Strict counts are managed. You must stay with the group. Exceptions are granted for health reasons, but these folks are escorted. I really don't have a problem with their system. They do it nicely and without embarrassment.
Tortoises (as opposed to sea turtles) are not really incredibly interesting. They don't do too much. There are about 3000 tortoises on San Cristobal. The breeding center raises them and the tortoises enjoy three regular meals peer week, 100% survival and a pretty good life before being reintroduced to the wild to live out their 100-175 years. Upon close examination, they really do look prehistoric and very reptilian. Their necks extend very long distances giving them a creepy snake like image. You get to see babies, which look like pet shop turtles. It was truly buggy and, even though I slathered up with bug spray, I found about 6 bites. We were instructed to not touch certain noxious plants, epically the poison apple, which infuses necrotic elements into your skin which are disfiguring. Not great for humans, but fine for tortoises. They eat these apples but, checking their feces, these apples appear totally intact. Hmmm....
Some folks took the island bus tour and found it rather interesting. No negative comments.
Once back in town, we wandered a bit, in and out of overpriced souvenir shops with hats and shirts that say "I love boobies." There were a fair number of purchases, but I easily controlled myself. Sea lions, marine iguanas and crabs were everywhere.
Many folks have found themselves under the weather. Some have colds, others have queasy stomachs or worse. I seem to have been stung by some creature on the back of my legs. I thought it was just sunburn, but interesting designs in the shape of a sea creature are now forming.
It is really prudent to cover up. This afternoon is a power Rambo walk...more walking, less talking tour... Or a snorkeling trip. Well, we've anchored ...it's about 3:30 and we are off for snorkeling.
I understand the power walk was very good. It began with a very steep incline and lots of Mosquitos. However, I was told the views made it all worthwhile.
Just back from snorkeling and out from the shower. What a fun afternoon. Today was another beach snorkel. We were met on the beach by a sea lion family...a mum and dad and two little pups. After some photo ops we began snorkeling. There were the typical fish...giant parrot fish, angel fish and very murky water. However, the sea lions decided to swim with us. They darted around and came right up nose to nose with us. At the end a tiny little pup came ashore with us looking for its family and was bitten for its efforts. Off he went into the ocean bleeping looking for his family.
