Sitting here at the Red Mangrove Thursday 6^th March - we have a companion asleep on the next couch…………

 

 

Snoring…………and snorting………………..

 

 

Weeing……..and pooing…………… (Sorry Mum!)

 

We were hoping to set sail yesterday but found quite a severe oil leak in the gear box – we only need a little oil seal which would normally cost a few dollars -  but no spares here so we have resorted to  buying a whole kit which has been flown from the mainland for 140 US Dollars…….oooch! If it arrives today we will fit the offending item and hopefully be off tomorrow.  Only 10 yachts left (most with problems of some sort or another) so once again we will be bringing up the rear!

 

Last Sunday morning we woke at 7.00am shopped and stowed, sent and received some emails, packed off the laundry and packed up our bags for our trip to Isla Isabela.  We had a great chicken fajita at the Red Mangrove before we boarded our fast boat (unfortunately named Desperados!) with around 16 other people and enjoyed a fast passage to our destination – still three hours though.  The approach to Isla Isabela was completely different to Santa Cruz, only three yachts at anchor and a much sleepier affair altogether.  Most of the fishing boats had seals asleep aboard. 

 

 

 

 

 

Seal aboard!

 

We dropped our bags off at the hotel – a really pretty place with a courtyard full of shrubs and flowers – before setting off to see more tortoises (a different species to those on our island, although you would need to be an expert to notice)

 

 

Baby tortoise eating crab apples……

 

and a wonderful walk at sunset along the windswept white sandy beach to the salt flats where the pink flamingos gleamed pink in that particular soft light you get at that time in the evening.

 

 

Flamingos at dusk……

 

Up at 7.00am for breakfast and departure for our day’s riding at 8.00am.  Hard to explain the difference between the islands but certainly Santa Cruz has more sophisticated restaurants and hotels and many more shops but they both enjoy extremely green, lush countryside.  We reached our horses at 9.00am – they are not stabled but live in a huge field and are saddled up and walked to the foot of the volcano once a day where they meet their riders.

 

 

Getting saddled up

 

 

Paul feeling safe as his legs nearly reach the ground………

 

 

Boys on horseback…….. 

 

We had such a laugh as everyone was of a different standard and some (not mentioning any names) couldn’t make their horses ‘ride on’ whilst others kept walking into bushes and barbed wire fences!!!  Becky, the most experienced of all of us ended up on a mule!  Anyhow we ambled along for hours, which was marvellous, until we reached the edge of the volcano and peered over into the crater.  Not having seen a volcano from that angle before I am not sure what I was expecting – certainly not a circumference of 30 miles with the diameter 10 miles across!  It was quite the most amazing experience to be perched on a single track no more than eight inches wide, high up a mountain, on a horse, looking down into a gargantuan black steaming hole!  Apparently it takes hikers four days to circumnavigate the rim…..

 

 

Rim of the crater

 

We alighted from our trusty steeds to give them a rest, and walked for about an hour over molten lava from the last eruption in 1979 to look at some smaller lava tubes and craters – the colours were incredible – yellows, oranges and reds and purples – seemingly every colour in the spectrum spewed up from earth’s centre……….. and the views – just incredible!

 

 

Small lava tube……

 

 

 

Paul on top of the world…….

 

 

Amazing colours……

 

 

Lava swirls from 1979 (only!!)

 

 

Crater with a view

 

 

Crossing the lunar landscape………

 

 

Nearly at the top………

 

 

 

The walk back was a little more challenging (!) and our packed lunch very welcome.  Back on our horses for another two hours we were inwardly begging that the torture of our sore behinds would end, inexperienced in the saddle that we were, (especially after our day on the hard narrow enduro motorbike saddle!)

 

 

Being towed home by a mule!

 

No sooner had we got back to ‘the ranch’ than we were collected and taken by boat to the penguin and iguana nesting bay for a snorkel with the sea lions.  We slept very well in our pits that night – and up at 5.30am for the 6.00am boat back……. The most amazing trip of a lifetime!