San Cristobal
08 May 2017 | San Cristobal, Galapagos
Jill
The easternmost of the Galapagos Islands, San Cristobal is comprised of a number of extinct volcanoes and is the oldest formation in this very special Archipelago. The official port of entry, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, has a very laid back feel to it despite being the capital and the administrative hub for the Galapagos. The waterfront main street boasts a number of small restaurants/bars and family run hostels along with a small art gallery and several souvenir outlets. Most local people (population approximately 6000) are employed either by government agencies, as fishermen or in the hospitality/tourism industry. There is a small airport which hosts daily flights to and from Ecuador and the harbour is visited daily by both small cruise ships and smaller boutique tourist vessels.
Named for St Christopher, the patron saint of sailors, it was the first location visited by Darwin in the region when he arrived on The Beagle in 1835 and has been dubbed "Isla de Darwin" in his honour. Settled initially in 1858, Manuel Cobos and Jose Monroy of the Orchillera Company of Ecuador began harvesting orchilla moss and soon established a thriving agricultural industry inland at "El Progreso", making the most of the lush and fertile soil to grow sugar cane, run cattle and other livestock plus develop citrus and other fruit orchards. The Ecuadorian government set up a penal colony on the island in 1880 - this was also run by Cobos who employed the prisoners as convict/slave labour. Cobos was strict and authoritarian and disliked by the prisoners, so much so that in 1904 he was murdered by a gang of convicts who subsequently escaped in a fishing vessel.
San Cristobal is 558Km2 and at its highest point is 730M above sea level. It boasts the only permanent fresh water in the Galapagos at Laguna del Junco, a lake created from an extinct crater and home to a proliferation of birdlife.
After visiting the Turisto Office in town, we engaged local taxi driver Moses to take us on a tour of the highlands. Our first stop was the very impressive La Galapaguera Seminatural; this giant tortoise sanctuary is a project run by the National Parks Authority to restock the island with giant saddleback tortoise. During the breeding season, the rangers harvest the eggs and then raise the hatchlings in cages for 4 years. The young tortoise are then managed in large external holding pens until released out into the sanctuary proper at age 5. This process ensures the tortoise are kept safe from both the native Galapagos Hawk and introduced feral pigs, dogs, cats and rats. We spent most of the morning wandering around the sanctuary and taking many, many photos. Paul was a little disappointed that unlike the Rodriguez facility in the Indian Ocean, he was unable to feed the tortoise fresh limes - the National Parks team here are very strict in regards to the tortoise fending for themselves once released into the park proper.
Our next stop was Puerto Chino Beach, a popular swimming beach located on the south eastern side of the island. There is a pleasant walk of around 1km through the "dry land" - arid, volcanic rock punctuated by large cacti, native flora and sadly, invasive introduced lantana. There were plenty of small iguanas along the track, as well as the Galapagos Mocking Bird, the bright yellow Maria Canary and the almost tame Darwin Finch. The beach is powdery, white sand over ancient black lava flow and as almost everywhere aquatic on this island, is home to sea lions and marine iguana.
Our final highlands stop was the very impressive Laguna del Junco - a hike of around 2km up a graduated pathway took us to the top of the crater where the broad panorama of the lake was mostly visible through a gathering mist. Unfortunately, the conditions were not suited to any birdwatching - shame, as we had been hoping to spot dark-rumped petrels. Moses then returned us downtown, passing through citrus, papaya and banana plantations, where we enjoyed a delicious local seafood lunch before returning to our own Elevation wildlife sanctuary - we have been hosting a few juvenile sea lions on our transom since our arrival although we do shoo off the adults! Am hoping to spy the unique Blue Footed Booby soon ... if not here, then perhaps at Isabela.