Upon arrival at our hostal last evening, Kent got right on planning day trips for each of our 3 days here. The first day's agenda: rising early to be ready to leave at 7am for a 4 hour volcano hike. After all, as our guide pointed out, this island is simply a collection of volcanoes, which over time ran into each other forming this land mass. We went eagerly, wondering what the day would hold.
The first part of the adventure was our ride, in a passenger truck fashioned from the chassis and cab of a panel truck, with five wooden benches in the back to carry a load of tourists. The driver insisted that Joann sit in the front cab, and I joined her. We circled through town, picking up a few more passengers before heading out and eventually up, to the foot of the Volcan Negro.
I've recorded some highlights of our hike:
Kent -- I enjoyed the fact the all four of us were able to do the strenuous 16 km hike, after having been sick for weeks. I also enjoyed seeing the many formations of lava: shapes of balls, waves, flat areas; sizes ranging from large rocks to small glittering gravel; and colors from orange to black, depending on minerals and sun exposure.
Magdalena -- I like seeing the way the environment changed as we hiked along. At the beginning were lots of trees, including many invasive guava trees, and undergrowth. Further along there were only lower bushes and ferns. Later when the trail was on lava rock only the tall candelabra cactus, as old as 700 years, survived the eruptions. At the furthest and highest point of our hike, no plants grew expect for the occasional fern growing in a lava hole/tunnel.
Luisa -- My favorite part was stopping for lunch, because I don't like thinking of "highlights"!
John -- I was thrilled when the mist cleared and we could see the bottom of the crater. Joann and I stay there for about an hour, and there I saw the thin leafed Darwin bush, an endemic plant (meaning only found in the Galapagos). We also saw the moon flower, of the morning glory family, which is native but not endemic. If you look inside the flower you see a pale green five-pointed star which starts in the throat of the flower and continues to the edge (about 6 inches). There were many invasive plants along the grated road we followed for the first part of the hike. Later, when we were waiting for the group to return I took another foot path and had a beautiful view of the lowlands out to the ocean. Also along this path I found the endemic Galapagos tree fern which grows over 10 ft tall with a spray of fronds at the top of the trunk.
Joann -- I enjoyed watching the birds: the Vermillion Flycatcher; the Galapagos mockingbird; and various kinds of Darwin finches (which I attempted to identify). The birds were friendly; the mockingbirds explored John's fanny pack, and others came very close.
Teresa -- once we reached the furthest and highest point of the trip, at Volcan Chico, the view was incredible! In the distance we could see: the layers of lava sloping down to the green lowlands; the shape of the rest of Isabela to the north, including a few more volcanoes; two other islands, Santiago and Fernandina; and of course, the vast ocean. Also at this point, we spotted a small lava lizard (5-8 in), which are commonplace all over the islands. But, we wondered: how could this lizard possibly survive in a seemingly "dead area" surrounded only by hardened lava? Our guide explained that various insects (like flies and grasshoppers) ultimately arrive at this point, carried on the wind from the green areas above, and make a good feast for this little guy. We left the lizard to his terrific survival instincts, and headed back to civilization.
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