The hike began with "wet" landing from the panga boat onto a beautiful red sand beach. The color of the sand is from the lava rock that created it.
A "wet" landing meant that the panga got you close to the shore, but then you had to wade to the beach and then put your shoes back on. This was accomplished with no problems except for the difficulty of getting the wet sand off your feet before you could put your shoes and socks back on. Rob and I elected to wear our new Keen water shoes, so no socks were involved. Our hike was a loop trail that continued on past a lagoon and then along the beach. We were met at the beach by a surprise: two playful sea lions who looked like they wanted to make friends! They just stayed relaxed on the beach as the waves tossed them around. They were the "common" sea lion.
We saw a variety of land and some sea life on our hike. We again saw the yellow warbler (bright yellow male) and then the Galapagos common mockingbird. This bird was very friendly and came right up to our guide, Mari's, foot.
We saw Galapagos doves, which are endemic to the islands. We also saw the small ground finch (would see this many times on the cruise). There are eleven finches on Rabida, which are also called "Darwin's finches."
There were many types of plant life to see and admire. Many of the trees here are black mangroves. Last night we saw red mangroves. Mari told us that there are four types of mangroves in the Galapagos. This tree is called black, since that is what the color of the bark looks like when it is wet. The low lying vegetation on the island is called salt bush. There is also the Palo Santo tree here with fungi growing on it. The prickly pear tree is also prevalent, some of which are types that are endemic.
For flowering plants we saw the "common" morning glory, which was blooming. Later on we were told we might see two other kinds of morning glory: "bead" and "lava." Only the lava morning glory is endemic to the Galapagos.
I saw another pretty plant with bright red stems that is a low lying shrub. Mari identified it as the Desert Plum.
Rabida Island is named for the monastery in Spain where Christopher Columbus resided prior to meeting King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. All of the Galapagos Island have been given names that have come connection to the early explorers of the New World. Mari finds this an unusual choice, since none of these early explorers actually came to the Galapagos Islands ... oh well! The lagoon on the island is considered brackish and is connected to the ocean under the land. There were flamingos living here until 1994, when the El Nino phenomenon changed the conditions. The Flamingos then relocated to nearby Santiago Island (this is the island where Darwin camped for eleven days).
On our hike, we saw several lava lizards. The female is smaller than the male and has a red neck and a somewhat greenish color.
The male is larger and has dark spots. He performs "push-ups" which is a type of "sexual aggressive behavior." There are also spiders, of which there are twelve types -- many are nocturnal and not easily seen. We do see a Zig Zag spider in his web.
Other animal life that we enjoyed seeing included the Sally Lightfoot crab, which was a lovely blue color (would see many more of these on other walks), a lone marine iguana, black, sunning himself on a rock (would see innumerably more of these, also!), birds flying in the distance including the frigate bird and the blue footed boobie. Mari also pointed out to sea where she saw a fish "shadow," likely a school of mullets -- her eyes were constantly on the lookout! Finally, we saw a colorful locust -- pretty large for a locust, I'd say.
Other interesting facts that we learned from Mari on this hike: (1) sea lions have a twelve month gestation period and can be pregnant again only four weeks after having given birth, and (2) the Galapagos Islands have three predators: the hawk, the snake (four types, not poisonous, they squeeze their victims), and the owl (not endemic).
Here is a pretty view from our hike.
At the lagoon and then the beach, we enjoyed seeing three more types of water fowl. In the lagoon, a Galapagos pintail duck was found swimming, and the semi palmated plover was wading. This is Mari's favorite bird. Next to the lagoon, a bird called the American oyster catcher was sitting on a nest. When we made our way to the beach, we found his or her partner walking on the sand (both males and females of the species tend the nest). The American oyster catcher can be found in many places in the Americas, but that doesn't make them any less interesting!
Our kayaking adventure was not too long -- and entirely into the wind it seemed! We were with the family of four and occupied three two man kayaks. Everyone had a good time. We saw sea lions, a pelican, and a bright orange crab (probably another Sally Lightfoot). Then the panga brought us back to the ship. We took quick showers and ate too much for lunch (strawberry sorbet ... mmm!). The early afternoon was spent lounging on the sun deck up top.
Our afternoon activity was a hike on Santiago Island. This would involve another "wet" landing on the beach. The landing was exciting as we were given a great view of the blue footed boobies, standing on a rock where their feet were quite visible! Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo as I mistakenly left my phone on the boat! Rats!
This beach was very scenic as it had as a backdrop a striated "wall" that is compressed volcanic ash and other materials that have been eroding away. This is called "tuff." Also present are many, many orange Sally Lightfoot crabs. Mari, our guide again for this hike, also pointed out a ghost crab, much smaller (and shyer). We also saw the remains of a moral eel that had been left here by sea lions. Sea lions will have brought the eel here to "play" with it, not eat it, but then just leave it to die -- not very nice! We were able to see sea lions farther down along the beach, near a picturesque natural arch. We were told to avoid them and also avoid the arch. It could collapse at any time. Then, a marine iguana swam by -- lots happening here and we haven't even started our hike!
Interestingly, there are a few man-made structures at this place. For a time a salt mine operation existed here. However, it did not last as the island did not have a good source for drinking water. The miners did however leave another impact: wild goats. They were brought here, and some escaped. Unfortunately, then they had to be hunted and exterminated.
As we began our hike, we admired a geologic feature that resembles a large, rounded hill. It is called Pan de Sucre or "Sugar Loaf."
It is not a volcano, but a cinder cone. A volcano last erupted nearby in 1897, and the lava bed is still visible.
The weather today was fantastic and Mari commented that in her opinion this was the nicest weather she has experienced here so far in 2017 -- weren't we lucky!
Our hike began inland (away from the shore), and there were many plants and birds to admire, not so much animal life. The climate is very dry. Even though the rainy season ended only one month ago, the plant life has all pretty much "browned up." That is because in this part of the islands, there really isn't that much rain to begin with -- still relatively dry even when it is "rainy." We came across a park monument and were told that every island has one.
On this first part of the hike, we took note of the following:
- A gray, matted plant called Tequilia. It is a good example of Galapagos adaptation.
- A croton tree, smaller than the Palo Santo, but similar. It has not yet lost all of its foliage.
- Looking toward the water, we saw a Great Blue Heron on the shore and a Galapagos hawk flying high.
- A lovely yellow flowering tree is called by Mari's attention by Susan. It is a Yellow Corda tree. It is not endemic to Galapagos, but can also be found on the South American mainland. The flowers can be smashed to make glue or hair gel, an old native tradition.
- A thorn bush.
- A beach morning glory with one pink flower!
- A monarch butterfly. There are three types in the world; one lives on the Galapagos and does not migrate.
- Many lava lizards, including a male with no tail (it will grow back). We also learned that if the male lava lizard appears reddish, that means he is sexually available.
Our walk then took us toward a large black lava formation next to the beach. We soon saw nine fur sea lions resting in various nooks and crannies in the lava. The are beautiful with big eyes (in order to see at night) and brown fur -- so cute! They are endemic to the Galapagos Islands and are primarily nocturnal. They love these rockery type areas. One was swimming in a sheltered lava made cove.
As we proceeded down the beach, walking on lava, we got a closer look at the Blue Heron that we had previously seen from a distance. We also saw a "lava" heron, much smaller, from a distance.
We saw many, many marine iguanas sunning themselves on the lava -- at least three dozen. They sun themselves to heat themselves up, so that they can swim in the cold water. They live about fifty years and eat algae (seaweed) and small fish. The larger crest on the back indicates a male. When we got close to them, they sneezed! This is (1) we were making them nervous and (2) they needed to expel the salt from their system.
We returned to the boat (others chose to stay and do a little snorkeling) and relaxed before dinner. There was another lovely buffet with asian style beef with rice, pesto pasta, as well as fish and other choices. Dessert was an unusual preparation of an apple "pie." More like a cake, I'd say. We were asleep before 9:30 PM.
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