Galapagos Day 3 (morning): Santa Cruz Island

Diane: After a short panga ride to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, we visited a tortoise “ranch”. There was lots of vegetation as well as water holes and muddy areas for them. They are quite large and just as slow moving as their reputations would have you believe.






These tortoises were also quite timid and withdrew their heads inside their shell, when anyone got too close.






Although they do fight, they are not very aggressive. Our guide, Maria del Carmen, gave us the details. First, they stick their heads out. Then they extend their necks all the way. Then they open their mouths wide. And that’s about it. Maria’s humorous imitation reminded me of the lion pose in yoga. I don’t know how they determine who wins.

On our way back to Puerto Ayora, we stopped at a giant lava tube. It was rocky under foot, and although lit artificially, it was dim throughout and quite dark in places. Thus our guides advised that there would be no walking through the tube, just a chance to view the entrance.

These lava tubes were formed while lava was still flowing. The upper layers, having been exposed to the cooling effect of the air above, would cool and harden first. The lava underneath would continue to flow. Sometimes the molten lava would flow out leaving a hollow tube. This explanation didn’t quite work for me, but I didn’t have time to ask more questions, because I wanted to explore the lava tube before we had to depart. Tom and I walked into its wet and muddy depths.






The lava tube was a couple of stories high inside and about a mile long. With only 15 minutes, we didn’t have time to traverse the entire length of the tube, but we did get to feel like bold adventurers.

I’ve been in one other lava tube - in Hawaii, with my wonderful friend Elizabeth. A friend of hers led us off the beaten path (literally) to the rather hidden entrance of a much smaller lava tube. It was pitch black inside and quite long. After maybe half a mile, he pointed out a wee ledge on the wall from which a small whitish plant was growing. A plant with virtually no light! I kept a keen lookout for any plant life in the Santa Cruz lava tube, but I did not spot anything.

Once back aboard ship, I asked our guide, Maria del Carmen, to have lunch with us. She offered to tell us more about Ecuadorian history. She had been a history teacher at one time, so of course, we jumped at the opportunity.






At our request, she spoke in Spanish so that Tom, TM, and I could practice our listening skills. I loved listening to her, because she had such strong opinions and no hesitation in voicing them.

For instance, “the Incas were really no big deal” (my words, not hers). Culturally, they were weak as their total focus was on domination and control. There was virtually no music. As an example, they had simple whistles, but no panpipes or similar musical instruments like those we see today. Quichua, their language, lacked the vocabulary and richness, and thus the expressiveness, found in most other languages. As an example, they used the same word for fire as for light. Although much is made of their mathematical and statistical abilities, their math was based on a simple counting system, similar to an abacus. Although Maria did not say this, I suppose that a society, which treats almost everybody like slaves, doesn’t leave much room for inventiveness, creativity, or progress of any kind. According to Maria, when the Spanish came, many of the people welcomed them with open arms. They saw a people who had music, literature, and an interesting culture. It had to be better than the Incas. Famous last words.

Maria also talked about societal feelings toward indigenous and white people. The indigenous people have been exploited and discriminated against for centuries. This tradition is dying a long, slow death, which only started in the 1960’s with the coming of the Peace Corps!! The United States strong-armed Ecuador into accepting Peace Corps volunteers. Once here, the young idealistic volunteers did their best to help poor Ecuadorians, who were primarily indigenous folks. These downtrodden indigenous had never been treated as worthy of any respect. And here were these white “gods”, eating with them, taking an interest in their culture and their economic futures. Maria feels that this helped the indigenous people see themselves as more worthy and ultimately propelled their political revolution and demands upon the government a couple of decades later. I have trouble accepting that the early Peace Corps activities was responsible for such large-scale societal change.

With so many alternative perspectives bandied about at lunch, I don’t have any desire to write them all down. These two will have to suffice.