Santa Cruz is the money island, land of big houses, bigger boats and tourist prices. Our hotel gave us a suite room so we had a large terrace and kitchen for the group to share, used primarily for pre- and post-dinner drinks and conversations. The view over the marina and aqua blue water was gorgeous and you’d never believe you were in such an environmentalist’s haven like the Galapagos, considering the typical nature images in documentaries.
While I forget the name, I know there is a street closed to traffic at night a few blocks from where we stayed. This is so the restaurants lining the street can put out extra tables and people eat in the street. We went for the Pablo-recommended William’s seafood. We had a choice of lobster, fish or shrimp. All came with a mountain of rice and in a coconut sauce. I had fish for about $9 and half a bottle of wine for about $18.50. Lobster was only $16. Moral is, eat locally sourced food and just drink rum, it was only $11 for a whole bottle.
In the morning we went underground. An ancient lava tube with not so ancient concrete steps each end made an interesting diversion. Slippery, growing moss and centipedes, featuring a commando crawl-only section and massive ceilings, it was beautiful. It was discovered by a farmer who kept losing cows, who kept falling into the collapsed holes. Thankfully we didn’t see any ancient cow skeletons. ATM caves remain the only caves in which I’ve seen skeletons.
We continued on to a reserve to spot giant tortoises in the wild. We could get up close behind them for some great photos highlighting the size comparison without much trouble – they don’t run fast. One used their defence mechanism as we were leaving him – a loud hydraulic hiss as he pulled his head back deep into his shell and his front legs in close. The hiss is the air escaping. He had a big head to hide.
We saw several tortoises, roaming the vegetation, along with several clambering tourists roaming around trying to spot them. We finished with photos of us inside a shell. It’s the most ungraceful of moves, wriggling backwards, feet first into the shell. It’s very heavy and I could probably have fit entirely inside if I could fold in three. Getting out was not my most dignified moment either.
Lunch was amazing at our hotel which also doubled as a deli and served homemade bread, salads, pizza and juice and excellent, free refill coffee. If you’re ever in Santa Cruz, get along there.
We spent our afternoon with a walk of about an hour out of town through cactus groves finishing on the most amazing white sand beach. Avoiding the dangerous currents of the surf we headed into Tortuga Bay, completely calm, featuring the occasional turtle or fish in the water, along with several locals and tourists. Was special to see a turtle nest with the sand riddled with the tiny footprints – or perhaps flipper prints – and shuffling of hatchlings who had left the nest. Sublime way to spend our last afternoon in paradise.
