Nothing better than a morning hike. We arrived at the island of Santa Cruz and explored the natural beauty -- giant tortoises in their natural habitat. We walked around to see wild Galapagos tortoises doing their thing.
Some were mating, some were playing, and I stood their observing in awe. Everything about them is slow, yet they quickly fascinate all those near. For those of you who have seen my mom drive, they made her look like she is speeding. Hehehe.
These tortoises are the longest living land animals and can live around 150 years. That is, after the fight for survival.The tortoises lay their eggs in holes above sea level. They then cover them with a certain scent to mark their territory. X usually marks the spot, well in their case ... pee marks the spot. They are not gender specific, so the eggs towards the top (receiving the most sunlight) are females. However, that also means they come out first and the predators are most likely to kill them. This is the reason that there are many more male than female tortoises.
I watched as the turtles gently made their way from one place to another, and it seemed to have taken ages. Their arms and legs were huge in perspective to their neck and head, and they were extremely wrinkly. If I got too close and startled them, they would quickly tuck their head in their shell. These creatures seemed prehistoric and dinosaur like from such a close distance.
After walking through their home, we walked around town and familiarized ourselves. The island looked just like some other Ecuadorian town. Nothing was extremely well built and it was all pretty dirty. However, they had some cool Galapagos souvenirs (since they mainly factor off tourism). Plus, we also got Wi-Fi for the first time in a few days, so everything worked out for the better.
The adventure didn't end there. We then hiked through a lava tube. It is an underground tunnel from inactive volcano through which lava used to flow through. My mom and sister backed out after hiking for about 10 minutes, but my dad and I hiked the entire thing. It was incredible. The walls were all rock-like but very sharp. The ceiling was dome shaped and the height varied depending upon where we were in the tunnel.
There were well lit lanterns in some areas but there was barely any light in others -- but we were able to find our way through.
I have seen many things this trip, but the tortoises and lava tube are definitely some of the most fascinating. You don't see something like that everyday ... or in the Galapagos, do you?
No comments:
Post a Comment