Day 45 – Into the void

Today would be the last day we visit giant tortoise! Its not that bad but once you’ve seen a few you’ve kind of seen them all and there’s so much else to see in these islands. So off we set to the highlands of Santa Cruz to visit a private ranch where the wee beasties could be seen in the wild. It was actually one of the better places to see them, despite the rain, as there were no fences or concrete walls penning them in. Highlight was seeing one group of them bathing in a large pond whilst another wallowed in the mud.

From the farm we headed underground via some giant lava tubes. Like the ones we saw on Isabella but much bigger, second largest in the world apparently, and much longer. They got to be so big through several tubes, following the same route, collapsing into one another. In the dim light we could see the colourful walls, rich in mineral deposits, and small, plant like, constructions made out of pressurised minerals. Moving on we continued down the tube for a few hundred meters until the ceiling height changed abruptly from 30 to 2 feet. Crawling through we continued our journey back to the surface.

In other news; Tom’s had a funny tummy for a few days, following a shrimp dish we think, and its not been getting any better. So on return from the lava tubes our guide took him to see the doctors. It turns out that he may be allergic to the tablets he’s been taking for the upset stomach – thus continuing the upset stomach! Whist Mike and I had a fish lunch Tom got treated to a nice saline drip.

Leaving Tom to rest in the hotel Mike and I went with Jover to Tortuga Bay. A stunning beach at the end of a long path through the arid zone. Unfortunately the surf was too big to go for a swim I took a few pictures of the beach and customary marine iguana before leaving. Wish I had had my running gear as it would have been perfect for a sunset jog. Instead I went for a run through town after returning to the hotel. On my route I visited a beach in near the Darwin center and a natural lagoon.

Had a fairly quite evening as we’re up early tomorrow. Dinner was surprisingly tasty, tuna in a coconut sauce. Following that I took a walk around the port, stopping to watch a pelican hunt from the pier.