Galapagos Day 2 cont'd: A Date with Charlie D

Back on dry land at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, we checked in with the locals once again:

The alpha male of the harem was more on seaward bound intent:

Then it was time for an educational journey. In the afternoon, we walked about a kilometre out of town, to the north side of the bay, to the wonderful, modern, Interpretation Centre and read all the fascinating information regarding the biology, geology, ecology and human history of the Galapagos. We were all silently engrossed as we read our way around the well-presented exhibits.

Here's a brief summary of what we learned.
 
There are 13 major islands forming the volcanic Galapagos archipelago, plus six small islands and many islets, only a few of which are named. An island can have a Spanish name, an English name, and an official name, so it can get a little confusing! The Galapagos are moving south-east over a stationary hot spot, so the oldest of the islands visible today is Espanola in the south-east, and it was formed by underwater volcanoes about 4-5 million years ago. The region is still highly volcanically active, with the most recent eruption occurring on Isabela, one of the younger islands, in 2008 (Oswaldo is from Isabela and he said it was no big deal, just a bit of lava and ash that was mostly spewed during the night, unbeknownst to the slumbering locals). 

It is fascinating to think that every plant and animal species arrived in the Galapagos from elsewhere, after travelling several hundred to thousands of kilometres via air and sea currents. While most arrived from South America and the Caribbean, I love that a population of penguins followed the cool Humboldt Current up from Antarctica to settle in the Galapagos as the most northerly penguin colony in the world, and the only species that lives in the tropics. 

The islands were discovered by accident in 1535 by the first Bishop of Panama, Tomas de Berlanga, who drifted off-course while sailing from Panama to Peru. In reporting his discovery to King Charles V of Spain, de Berlanga mentioned the giant tortoises, and described the birds as "so silly that they didn't know how to flee and many were caught by hand" - thus inspiring the use of the defamatory term bobo from which the common name, "booby", was derived. I find it rather sad that a lack of fear of humans by birds was interpreted as "silly". 

For more than 300 years, the islands were a base for buccaneers, sealers and whalers. In addition to providing sheltered anchorages, timber and fresh water, the Galapagos tortoises were (cruelly) stacked alive in ships' hold. As they could survive this way for a year or more, they provided a ready and abundant source of fresh meat for sailors. It's estimated that more than 100,000 tortoises were taken between 1811 and 1844. In addition, thousands of fur seals were slaughtered for their pelts. The Galapagos were officially claimed by Ecuador in 1832, but, much like Australia, the islands were then used as penal colonies - right up until 1959.

Thankfully, since 1959, approximately 97% of the total land mass of the Galapagos has been protected as a national park: the remaining 3% comprises pre-existing urban areas and farms. The Ecuadorian government is doing its best to cap tourism, prevent high-rise developments, limit population growth (the current population size is >30,000, surprisingly!), and protect the environment. If you fall in love with island life, you can't just decide to up and move to the Galapagos: you have to also fall in love with - and marry - a local. 

It's not all rosy, unfortunately. More than 50% of flora and fauna species are endangered or threatened (although, thankfully, more than 95% of species inhabiting the islands before human contact still exist, and only 1% are extinct). Introduced invasive species are a big problem: it took 127 years to eliminate the feral pig population, but goats, rats, cattle, cats, dogs, donkeys and frogs threaten the local wildlife. As for overfishing - well, being on holidays and all, I tried to turn a blind ear, but I couldn't help but quiz Oswaldo on this one. Naturally, it's a nightmare. No size limits, no quotas, illegal fishing activities - but at least sport fishing is now banned. Socially, there is a bit of a tourism versus agriculture bunfight: some islanders see the national park as a barrier to making a living in agriculture and argue that more locally grown food means less importing so a cheaper cost of living.

It was heartening, though, that the final exhibit in the Interpretation Centre was a photo collage of Galapagos residents, each individual being accompanied by a quote about what they felt was the most pressing issue facing the islands. It became obvious that environmental awareness was incredibly high, and the people's love for and desire to protect their islands was strongly evident.

Educationally sated, and with a greater sense of appreciation of these incredible islands, we proceeded up a well-developed walking track leading up from the Interpretation Centre to various lookouts. 

Looking back to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno:

We saw another lava lizard!

We joined onto a loop track that headed up Tijeretas Hill, or Cerro Tijeretas. 

This is a male Yellow Warbler:

Group photo time!

Yet another lava lizard:

We were also fortunate enough to spot nesting Magnificant Frigatebirds:

And of course, Kicker Rock, which looked even more dramatic in the late afternoon sun:

And then the highlight: the Main Man for the student of evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin. The statue sits atop a cliff and is so large, we had seen it from the boat this morning. 

Of course, Charles Darwin, rechristened by Simon as "our mate, Charlie D.", was the most famous Galapagos visitor. He arrived in 1835 on the Beagle and stayed for five weeks, of course collecting the specimens that would later provide the evidence for his theory of evolution (although he made the critical error of not labelling the finches by island of origin!), but also studying geology and botany. He also spent much time observing - and eating - tortoises. 

Now, we got to have pictures with Charlie D himself, with Kicker Rock resplendent in the background.

It was time for a Team Photo. Thank you, timer delay shutter!

The light was just fabulous for photos. 

Female Yellow Warbler:

We even saw a rainbow. Well, one could argue that the Galapagos are the pot of gold for nature lovers:

As we returned from our date with Charlie D., we met a high-profile local: the previous mayor of San Cristobal. Oswaldo explained to us that his own ultimate goal is to become mayor of his island of Isabela, so that he can make a difference environmentally and socially. 

We walked back down and along into town along Mann Beach, or Playa Mann, where we again mingled closely with the sea lions:

Simon was so enchanted with photographing the charismatic pinnipeds at such close range, that he almost lost a thong (that's a flip-flop for you U.S. folk - NOT underwear!) in the surf, but managed to rescue it in the end. But it would have been a worthy sacrifice (albeit not a very environmentally friendly one) for the quality of the photos we were getting:

Here's the view from Mann Beach looking back to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.

Walking back into town along the beach, we saw the new, large, salmon coloured Galapagos Academic Institute, a university lab that hosts international students and marine ecology and volunteer programs. While it's all in a good cause, Oswaldo was vehement in his dislike of the building because of its lack of sympathetic architecture. I didn't take a photo, but I have to say, I agreed with him.

All the boating, snorkelling, education and walking had made me VERY HUNGRY.

We went to an upstairs restaurant along the beach front for dinner, on the recommendation of Oswaldo.  

We shared the beautiful sunset with a heron:

Food-wise, I shared an awesome seafood paella with Sean, who, bizarrely, wasn't especially hungry, so I ate most of it. Hurrah!

Sean was, however, thirsty. This night became infamous in that it started a tradition of Cervasa – GRANDE! When asked what size beer the boys preferred, Sean didn't need to think about it. He made an Executive Decision on behalf of all. From EVERY night from then on the boys had Cervasa Grande!

And thus the Cervasa Club was formed.

On the way back to the hostel, we admired the mail box by the mural-adorned ark.