Day 41 – Exploring the coast

Damn that cockerel, I’m going to have him for dinner tomorrow if he wakes me up early again. After breakfast we mounted the fun bus, a pick-up with seating on the back, for a bump ride to the Wall of Tears. The wall, built in an old penal colony, was constructed by prisoners from lava rock they carried for 1 kilometre and serves no purpose.

Just down the road from the wall we stopped to climb to a viewing point that provided superb views of the bay. From there we headed to the shore where lava had once flowed into the sea. The cooling effect of the water hardened the outer lava, creating a lava tunnel. We were able to climb inside and see where the lava had once flowed. On top of the lava tube we some of the largest marine iguanas I’ve seen, some were well over a meter in length. As the tide came in I watched as one swam between rocks as it fed.

On the way back we stopped off at the tortoise breeding center. The center breeds all five types of giant tortoise that are endemic to the island, including the rare flat shelled tortoise. In the section where there rear the hatchings I got to hold a baby giant tortoise.

After a run and some lunch we headed to the the Mangrove area near the port. Taking a path that cut its way trough the dense roots we emerged at a little platform on the waters edge. Lying on it was a sea lion that got upset when we wanted to get past and into the water. Spent half and hour in the water exploring the reef and the edge of the mangroves. Managed to see large ray but still no sea turtles.

After dinner we headed to a beach front bar and got started on the cocktails. Later in the night we were joined by some some other Brits who volunteers at the tortoise center. They all complained that they’d been ripped off by a gap year company and spent most of there time cleaning up tortoise muck. It was good to talk to some new people and hear some more stories. After several more cocktails we, including the guide, partook in the Thursday night tradition of skinny dipping.