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| A Lava Lizard on a Marine Iguana |
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| The potential route |
The planned hike had two Options:
Wilson was prepared to take a group the full distance up the trail to the Wall of Tears. He said that this would be a reasonably arduous and fast hike up hill with little shade.
Well, that sounded appealing!
The second option was to take a more leisurely stroll on the lower part of the trail (in an area called Complejo de Humedales) with Emma where we would take time to learn about and observe nature.
Of course, my decision was easy. I was lugging heavy cameras and wanted a chance to leisurely photograph wildlife. Scott, who was still feeling iffy, wanted the easier route. And, then, everyone else selected the nature route. Wilson would either have to run to the Wall of Tears by himself or stroll along with us slackers!
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| Wilson went with us (joyfully) |
A Fun Sighting
Before we reached our trailhead we made a quick stop at a small lagoon that had two American Flamingos in it.
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| Cool! |
Yep, actual Flamingos! In the wild! Seeing these two was a surprise because, although I had expected to see Flamingos, this was not where I thought they’d be.
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| Classic pose |
I thought we were going to drive on by, but, our driver graciously backed up and let us out to take some photos.
These were not my first Flamingos. I had briefly seen some Lesser Flamingos in Africa when we were in a van hurtling down the highway toward Johannesburg and they were in a distant pond down a hill.
These were my first American Flamingos, which are closely related to the Greater Flamingo and Chilean Flamingo native to the Neotropics. The American Flamingo is the only subspecies that naturally inhabits North America.
We had hoped to see some mating behaviors, such as synchronized head bobbing, but these guys were just eating, preening and posing.
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| But, posing is good! |
The lagoon also had a couple of other birds – not Lifers, but still good to spot.
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| A Black-necked Stilt and a White-cheeked Pintail Duck |
We didn’t stay long; just enough time to snap a couple of pictures before getting on the bus to continue on to the trailhead.
Wall of Tears
Even though we didn’t go to the Wall of Tears, it is worth discussing, especially since Emma spent a significant amount of time on our walk (when we were standing in a shady spot next to cool inlet) to tell the story and explain her family’s direct connection to it.
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| The Wall of Tears; Photo: Galawiki |
Although Ecuador had taken possession of Galápagos in 1830, the population – and thus the country’s claim to it – had remained low.
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| President José María Velasco Ibarra |
In the mid-20th century, the Ecuadorian government under President José María Velasco Ibarra decided that they could strengthen their claim (and solve some other issues) by sending prisoners to the Islands
Despite the fact that there was no actual prison building, the government sent some pretty nasty prisoners and some (perhaps even nastier) prison guards to establish a penal colony.
The prisoners were first forced to renovate some basic facilities, using remnants from the U.S. Army base, for themselves. But, then, the prison administration felt they could keep the prisoners better in line if they had a long-term project. And, they decided to make it as cruel and difficult as possible. The prisoners were forced to begin building a wall, ostensibly the first in what would eventually become a permanent prison building.
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| Stairs to the Wall of Tears; Photo: Galawiki |
The forced laborers had to chisel heavy, irregular pieces of volcanic rock from a quarry site a long walk away and lug the sharp stones uphill to the build site on their backs. In the hot, humid, shade-less climate this was truly torture and many prisoners paid the ultimate price: dying from accidents, dehydration and/or illness.
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| A plaque honoring the victims; Photo: Clio |
Built between 1945 and 1959, the wall is 65 feet tall and runs over 300 feet in length. And, it served absolutely no purpose except for the perverse pleasure of the guards.
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| The top of the wild; Photo: Intercutural Outreach Initiative |
What was Emma’s connection? Her grandfather was one of the original guards for a short time. But, he fell in love with a local woman and was told by the warden that he would have to choose between his love or his job. He didn’t like the job (who would?), so he quit, got married and became a farmer. He had been popular with prisoners, some of whom actually volunteered to help him build his home. When he died recently, he was the last living person who had experienced that ugly period of Galápagos’ history.
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| We passed the graveyard where Emma's grandparents are buried |
The Hike
Our hike was pretty steamy, so I am glad we didn’t opt to sprint to the top of the hill. Instead we wandered through desert …
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| This Opuntia cactus is a giant prickly pear |
… rocky shore …
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| Fairly rough surf |
… beach …
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| Playa del Amor (Love Beach); Photo: Scott Stevens |
… mangrove forest …
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| Jenny and Don in front of a natural tunnel (machetes may have played a role) |
… and we even passed a manchineel tree …
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| Emma standing under a scary tree |
A favorite food of Galápagos Giant Tortoises, the manchineel tree is a species of flowering plant native to tropical southern North America (I have seen them in the Everglades and in the Virgin Islands) to northern South America. The plant’s name means "little apple" because its small green fruit and leaves resemble those of an apple tree.
A more accurate name it is now given is "manzanilla de la muerte," or "little apple of death," because everything about it is toxic: sap, bark, leaves and fruit. It can cause anything from skin irritation to death. Even standing under one in the rain can cause skin blistering. Yikes!
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| Poison fruit |
The manchineel is found on coastal beaches and in brackish swamps, often growing among mangroves. It is not all evil: it is an excellent natural windbreak and its roots stabilize sand, thus reducing beach erosion. And, as I said, Giant Tortoises, which are immune to the poison, love it.
A little bit of history: Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León (the Fountain of Youth guy) died shortly after being struck by a Calusa arrow tipped with manchineel sap.
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| Well, he didn't get old; Art: History Obsessed |
Along our walk, I was able to add two more Lifers: a Galápagos Mockingbird (the Isabela subspecies) and a Galápagos Flycatcher …
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| The nature walk produces nature! |
Plus, I got some nice some photos of Medium Ground-Finches …
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| This is one of many Darwin's Finches |
… and Common Cactus-Finches …
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| In their natural habitat |
And, we saw lots and lots of Marine Iguanas.
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| The numbers are staggering |
Some were seeking shade …
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| Heaven forbid a human would want to sit on a bench! |
… and being groomed by Isabela Lava Lizards …
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| A symbiotic relationship |
… which eat flies and ticks that bother the Iguanas
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| They haven't found this fly yet |
Some were cooling themselves by the water on Playa del Amor …
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| Cool water, warm sun |
Of course, not all the Lava Lizards were tending Iguanas; some were just sunning themselves …
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| A particularly pretty Lava Lizard (females have red "lipstick") |
And, the Sally Lightfoots were just having fun …
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| Lots of these guys, too |
A little later (and in a shadier spot), we saw our first Galápagos Giant Tortoise sleeping by an inlet. This was a Cerro Azul subspecies, named for one of Isabela’s volcanos. (I'll talk much more about Giant Tortoises later).
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| This one wasn't very exciting (I assume it was alive) |
Moments after we saw the Tortoise, we saw some Green Sea Turtles swimming up to the bridge we were standing on.
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| A nice close-up |
It was a pretty good wildlife walk.
Although the animals in Galapagos seem unperturbed by people, they can be curious. And, when big scary animals with big scary claws are curious it can be big scary! Jenny was looking at a big ol’ male and turned away to talk to Don. The Iguana started advancing on her pretty quickly.
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| Jenny and her boyfriend |
She was able to back away after we warned her.
We made our way back to the trailhead and cruised through town on our way back to the Lodge.
Treats
We made an “emergency: stop where Wilson hopped out of the bus and returned with a bag of fresh empanadas (Latin American turnovers).
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| Yum! |
He handed them out randomly and I got a yummy chicken one. I heard the beef were also good, but the cheese were a little light on filling.
After we scarfed those down (too quickly to even get a picture), he then handed out some cinnamon rolls.
And, we were heading back for dinner!
A Rough Night
After dinner, we retired to our cabins, tired from a day of hiking, snorkeling and hiking some more. Scott was still not feeling well and suffering from being up all night the previous night.
Around 10:00 p.m., we heard what sounded like an announcer and then some loud music coming from what seemed like a nearby tent-cabin.
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| Was someone nearby having a party? |
At first, I thought it was a radio. Then, maybe a wedding or event at the Lodge (which seemed odd because we had seen only another Gate 1 tour; perhaps they were loud?). We couldn’t figure it out because it seemed so close, but it was raucous Latin music with every song sounding like the previous and absolutely no down time between songs.
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| A long way away |
The next morning, we found out that the music did not originate at the Lodge, rather the sound was coming all the way from town where they were holding a festival. It must have been ear-splitting there.
The Scalesia manager, Gabriella, was appalled and apologetic (a little tired, too, because she didn’t get any sleep, either).
Life in the tropics!
But, even without sleep, we had a busy day planned.
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| More fun coming up |
Trip date: March 7 - 19, 2023
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