Tuff to Beat: Isla San Cristobal
Galapagos Islands, San Cristobal
This was our very last full day on our cruise, and our last day to spend indulging and exploring these rare islands. We hiked Punta Pitt in the morning, and sailed around on a speed boat to see the immense cliff sides that are named the Cathedral. It was magnificent, and we saw many purple urchins and sea snails. It was interesting to see how sea urchins and barnacles were what Darwin would eventually study and formally classify into what they are known today. Everywhere we walked, boated to, and swam in had an incredible trace of history to it, a rareness of extreme magnitude, and a link to elements that make this world we live in a beautiful place to be.
In the afternoon, before our champagne toast in the evening, we walked along another pristine beach where sea turtles nest. While none were within our sight, the sea turtles left their fin-print in the sand leading from the water to inland. Sea lions, marine iguanas, and blue footed boobies scattered the lava rocks along the beach, giving us a proper farewell from a remote and wild shore. One almost wanted to escape inland, to find shelter and stay for months and years - and yet, you couldn’t, just as you would not dare disrupt the canvass of a beautiful Monet.
Best Moment: San Cristobal Island was not only our last full day on the islands, it was the only island that had more of a focus on the landscape than on the animals. It happened to be the perfect landscape for us to see nesting red-footed boobies, and the view was breath-taking. We climbed the Tuff landscape to see dramatic views of the water and the hills of browns, reds, and occasional greens. The wind whipped past us so fiercely that with just a larger shirt, one felt like they could sail off like a flying squirrel. Seeing the female red-footed boobies resting on the branch as the male would peck around looking for material to build a nest was so unique, that you stood amazed, listening to him squawk and peck about. “Red carpet” succulents lined the edges of the cliffs, and boobies and frigate birds soared around us. It is amazing how much the landscapes change from island to island, and this one was as unique as the rest. Watching the sun set by Kicker Rock, a rock formation just off the coast where hammer heads swarm, was a beautiful ending to a beautiful journey.
Worst Moment: Or should we say, “funniest moment”. After our hike over Punta Pitt, we jumped on flimsy paddle boards to row ourselves out to see what we can in the nooks and crannies around the island’s coast. It took us about 5 minutes for both Nina and Dominique, our two friends from the boat, to belly flop off their boards, and about 10 minutes for all of us to get swept away in the persistent current. Jamie fought against it, and successfully for a while, while Nina and I gave up, laying on the paddle board as it drifted us further and further from the island. We were rescued by our cruise’s speed boat, which picked a tired and exhausted Jamie on its way back to shore.
Lesson Learned: Tuff landscape is a geological term for “mud”. The hills of Punta Pitt that we walked on were made of layers of ash mixed with water. This muddy landscape was firm enough to walk on, but fragile enough to break off and crumble in one’s hands. It takes root for many different trees and succulents, and is a prime location for nesting boobies. Fur seals sat along the coast, another rare species related to the sea lion, that were poached for their thick fur. It is home to many animals, which makes the effects of El Nino most threatening. With El Nino comes uncharacteristically warm water, which gets absorbed quicker in the tuff landscape. When this happens, the mud becomes too heavy and breaks down into the water.
Cultural Insight: Charles Darwin was invited on a two-year voyage, which turned into 5 years, on the Beagle, as a novice naturalist. During his visit to the islands, Darwin noted that the unique creatures were similar from island to island, but perfectly adapted to their environments which led him to link the origin of the islands' inhabitants to his already formed ideas of evolution. Among those that Darwin noticed so greatly were the finches that are now named in his honor. Darwin would later base some of his theories around the idea that these finches were all descendent of the same lineage. Years later in 1859, Darwin finally consolidated all of his observations into his book, “On The Origin of Species”, of which he was hesitant to publish due to the backlash of religious mentality.
“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” - Charles Darwin
