Galapagos - San Cristobal
Mystic
Archie Massey and Jo Wood-Hill
Wed 2 May 2012 22:59
We've had an awesome few days on San Cristobal, where we are anchored in the bay. It's a fairly quiet island, and organising tours to other islands, as well as finding fuel and water has been a bit of a challenge. Everything is very restricted and you need a permit to do anything which has been a bit frustrating, but we have to keep reminding ourselves that the restrictions are what continue to make the Galapagos such a special place.
There is quite a bit to see on this island, and on Saturday we swam with sea lions and turtles in a couple of different bays, on Sunday we went on a land tour of a tortoise breeding centre, a remote beach and a lake at the top of an old volcanic crater, and on Monday we went diving to a place called Kicker Rock, where we saw sharks, a massive 3m Eagle ray and lots of fish. The famous hammerhead sharks are still evading us though! Here are some pictures...
Our first Dolphinfish caught on the way here (Dorado)
Sea lions are everywhere here - on land and in the water (and love sleeping in our dinghy or on the back of the boat!)
Jo with some strange bearded folk she picked up on the crossing from Panama
Wreck Bay - Mystic is anchored bottom right
Archie tormenting the sea lions
Amazing giant turtle who was unfazed by us being 2 feet away
Pretending to fit in
Jamie at the tortoise centre - we'll see them in the wild on Santa Cruz
Enormous!
Just you're average looking beach - Puerto Chino beach
Playful sea lions swim right up to you and blow bubbles in your face!
Geoff - certified PADI diver on his 61st birthday!!
We've had a couple of "boat work" days in port and tomorrow we are off diving again to another island called Espanola, and then off on a 5 day tour of two other islands Isabela and Santa Cruz where we'll see more wildlife and some volcanoes.
Right, better go. Will write again when we're back from our tour - next Tues/Weds.