May 2, 2007
Isla San Cristobal Galapagos, EcuadorIn Land Tour of Isla San Cristobal with Vincente, taxi driver #44, cost $10/pp
1. El Junco
El Junco is located about 20 km from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno where s/v Encanto is anchored. In a taxi truck with cab, the five of us drove through the south side of the island along paved and gravel roads, rising to the village called El Progreso. Once at the gate to El Junco, you hike twenty minutes up to the crater of the volcano on wooden planks set to protect the endemic plant material on the slopes of the volcano. At the 1,000’(200m) above sea level, we walked through a damp, ethereal fog where stunted trees draped in wispy epiphytes grow. Even the orange trees are shrouded in the epiphytes/air plants. The tree forms are mostly of the Scalesia pedunculata, an umbrella shaped canopy with spindly and multi-branched skeleton. The air plants use the trees as a host for perching and are not parasitic.On our approach up the slope we walked through stands of the Miconia plants, endemic to this island, commonly called cacotillo (Miconia robinsoniana). The miconia leaves are oval with very pronounced veins. Hybrid varieties of this plant are commonly used in the landscapes of neighborhoods in Southern California, but with much smaller oval leaves. Purple flowers were occasionally seen although it seems that we had missed the peak of the floral display and season. The plants are usually a sign that you have moved above the tree line, usually around 3,000’ (1,000m), where the landscape changes from a small dense forest to open shrub land with a dense carpet of ferns and miconias. The micronias are only found on Isla San Cristobal and Santa Cruz Islands.
The highlight was at the top when the view opened to this emerald green oasis, a body of fresh water about the size of a small lake, surrounded by the Miconias. Hiking the rim was wonderful as we watched the frigatebirds soar. There are both the great frigatebirds and the magnificent frigatebirds on the Galapagos Islands. Sometimes these two co-mingle in a single colony. We have been with frigatebirds throughout our journey. They are known as the seabirds that can’t swim and who will drown if they do touch water. And they have a reputation of snatching and stealing food from other birds in flight. They are also the pesty ones who loved to sit at the top of our mast and leave us guano packets that dried to cement blobs on our deck when we were at Puerto Lucia Yacht Club. So obviously, we were not fond of them. However, to watch them over El Junco was a wonder. These birds black with long and slender pointed wings with scissor-like tails soared in aerial mastery and precise flight patterns. They have a wingspan of about 7’(2m) so the grace of movement was quite impressive as they were within 10’/3m overhead.
To our astonishment, the frigatebird’s of El Junco LANDED on the fresh water. We saw them with our naked eyes and our powerful binoculars. We couldn’t believe our eyes. They dove for the trout in the water and landed on the water in the crater. “Do you think? Is it possible? Is this evolution in the works?” (Note at the writing of this…. Anya and Gaby are giggling abundantly as it seems that some of us have “evolution fever” and every new observation MUST be “evolution”. So please, join them in “lol-lots of laughter” and hysterics.)
According to our reference books, these birds do not land on water. However, perhaps, due to El Junco being a rare fresh water source, perhaps the birds have adapted and eliminated their need for the tiny uropygial gland (located at the base of their tail), which usually supplies them with oil that they smear on their feathers to render them waterproof?
More commonly, we sighted the “macho” frigates, proudly showing their bright red gular throat sacs, readily signaling or some might say, advertising, their breeding readiness and male fitness.
From El Junco the views of the Pacific Ocean and distant Cerro Brujo were gorgeous, but nothing as stunning as the sight of the crater as the fog mists rose, fell and drifted in and around us. We really felt that we were in a magical place.
2. La Galapaguera (Tortoise Reserve)
Visited the site of one of many tortoise farms for repopulating the species. The facility was a combination Interpretive Center and Species Reservation. We walked along a well designed garden of native plants where we were often surprised by tortoise lumbering to a pond or feeding under the shrubs. According to what we learned at the Interpretive Center there are fourteen known species: only eleven species remaining on the Galapagos Islands and three extinct subspecies. Sami reminds us that the land species most often seen are the Dome-shelled giant tortoise and the Saddleback tortoise. At this reserve and farm, we observed 100 year olds, twenty-five year old, two year olds and one month old tortoises.What were you doing in 1907? This 100-year-old tortoise, all five hundred pounds of him, was determined to get to the watering hole; he was not going to put up with any obstacle, including Anya who was shooting a video of his progress and who soon found herself stumbling on the stone path to get out of his way. In addition, these giant saddleback tortoises have tremendously long necks (had to be at least 8 inches in length when extended over the pond as he drank on and on (slurp-slurp)) and very long legs (no wonder he won the race with the Hare!). The saddleback tortoises are usually found in the low, arid ecosystems, where stands of Opuntia cacti with their abundant paddles sit like a bouquet on a narrow trunk, in and amongst other scrub trees (like the poison apple (Hippomane mancinella), both provide food for the tortoise and the aviary life. We must stay clear of the Hippomane mancinella as it is toxic to humans, even its bark. Also, we learned of the treachery of the hidden thorns of the cat’s claw plant, where true to its name, the thorns hide beneath attractive green leaves of the Zanthoxylum fagara tree.
Among the scrub, we sighted our first small black finches hopping from the liverworts and epiphytes on and under the shrub trees. We may have seen more types of finches but we are still novices at identifying the finch beck types and corollary habitats. Our reference book lists thirteen finches, with surely many more subspecies. The finches were really cute. And, to think Charles Darwin collected these finches, literally throwing them in a bag, unsorted or tagged, thinking they were just ordinary birds of no significance and yet these finches would be the foundation of his theories of Natural Selection and Evolutionary Adaptation.
Currently, I am reading, the Pulitzer Prize winning, The Beak of the Finch by Jonathon Weiner. I am learning a lot and able to share much with the crew and Captain although, my abundant enthusiasm sometimes becomes a bit humorous by itself. The book is an easily accessible non-fiction account of the research that has lead to the importance of this species to our understanding of evolution.
In addition, we had a chance to hear the singing of the Chatham Mockingbird (Nesomimus melanotis) as it sat in a tree. Quite amazingly, we stood watching the bird, only 4’above us. The Chatham mockingbird is yet another bird endemic to Isla San Cristobal. There are four Galapagos species of mockingbirds, so we are looking forward to seeing the three other species, as they differ in plumage, eye color and vocalization. Interestingly enough, the four species do not mix on the same islands. We observed that the mockingbirds make short flights, not long flights, tending to prefer to hop rather than fly between the tops of the cactus and the trees. Are they reluctant to fly? We have to wonder if this habit of movement is what confines them to specific islands and eludes them from cross-colony habitation? Is this evolution in progress again, like the Galapagos flightless cormorants that no longer fly as their Ecuadorian fellow cormorants on the mainland do?
We think we spotted the huge black Galapagos carpenter bee (Xylocopa darwini) that performs the function like the hummingbird to pollinate plant species of bromeliads and scalesia.
3. Finca de Fruta y Café
We then drove to an orchard of fruit trees, coffee shrubs and giant bamboo where we watched a DVD on the Galapagos Islands. We enjoyed refreshing cups of organically grown coffee (raves from the Captain) and tropical fruit bowls with delicious vanilla ice cream on top. Also, purchased a papaya the size of two footballs ($1) and a dozen sweet grapefruits (6/$1).4. Tropic Bird Restaurant
Of course, in true Amberchan style, we ate dessert first and then we arrived back in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno where we enjoyed a delicious local lunch meal. At Tropic Bird Restaurant we were served hot chicken coriander yuca soup, a chicken and potato salad, rice, plantain watermelon and a glass of fresh orange juice. (cost: $2/pp).5. La Loberia
Our final stop was to the shoreline of Loberia, southern shoreline, where we drove pass a construction quarry and then walked into a Shoreline Reserve with a white sandy beach and black lava rock shoreline, to spot a Marine Iguana standing in strut position like the proudest of beings. Most of the Marine Iguanas feed on algae in the cold ocean waters in the morning and then sunbathing in the afternoon to regulate themselves. Vicente (taxi driver) followed the tail trails of the iguanas to where two huge black prehistoric creatures slumbering beneath the scrubs. Above the iguanas, the finches hopped in the scrubs and twittered about the beach shoreline. We were expecting to see hundreds of the iguanas but we must have been there too late in the day. The only disappointment of the day, perhaps we will see more at the next island or on our tour tomorrow.Lastly, we have to mention the shoreline was filled with sleeping sea lions. They were tame and nonchalant about our strolling up to them and photographing them. They are everywhere and we find them fun to watch and sometimes annoying when we have to “shoo” them off the boat (but that’s another story).
Ah, this five-hour tour was a very satisfying tour of the Isla San Cristobal, ending with refreshments at the local café for pina coladas, mochas, fresh guanabana juice and mora juice, before we took the water taxi back to s/v Encanto and watched a beautiful full moon rise over the dark waters of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (aka Wreck Bay).