As I said in the first post about Isla Isabela, it is one of our favorite places we’ve visited so far.  The abundant wildlife, the beautiful scenery and the sleepy little town all make it someplace special.  But tempis is always busy fugiting and our six month extended visas were awaiting us in French Polynesia.

Biking in Paradise

One of our long debated topics pre-departure was the question of bikes.  Some cruisers have them, others report that folding bikes are one of the first things to get sold off after the first year from lack of use.  We decided with four of us and the space on board for no more than two bikes that we’d do without, as we could rent from time to time when we wanted to.  Which is what we decided to do one day; the island has lots of smooth packed sand and dirt roads and mountain bikes are readily available.  After our ride of a couple of hours I can highly recommend it as a means to take in some of the island!  We were able to cover a lot of ground at our own pace and we saw some very interesting animals and scenery.

Nature Biking

Leaving the town by bike, the road passes along the beach with gorgeous scenery along the sandy road.  To the right are a series of lagoons and pools with an assortment of aquatic birds, the left the beach.  And watch out for iguanas in the road!  Along the path are several turnouts for viewing some of these interesting beaches, pools and views.  Also along the path is a hill with a tower at the top that provides a panoramic view of the surrounding land.

The Wall of Tears

One of the “unnatural” attractions on Isabela is the El Muro de las Lágrimas or the Wall of Tears.  Several of the many ill-fated attempts to colonize the Galápagos involved prisoners, establishing penal colonies on this remote and desolate landscape.  Right after World War Two Ecuador established a new penal colony on Isabela that operated for thirteen dark years.  In that time prisoners were put to work building this wall, cutting and carrying the rock by hand to assemble the wall.

The prison conditions were brutal, with insufficient food and medicine for men put to work in the scorching sun and forced to do pointless, back-breaking labor.  The death toll was high before the prison was finally closed in 1959.

The wall remains as a brutal reminder of the penal colony era.

Wild Tortoises

After several visits to breeding centers on the islands we became somewhat discouraged about the prospects of seeing a tortoise in the wild.  We’d learned that many of the wild populations were pretty much gone or in such remote areas that they weren’t easily accessible.  Few or the tortoises can breed successfully in the wild any more and are not often seen.

It’s not that one hopes for a fleeting glimpse of a wild tortoise – it’s not like they are particularly fast, elusive or stealthy.  Though you can easily mistake one for a boulder through the under brush.  But there is something fundamentally different and cooler about seeing a wild animal in its natural environment versus in a pen in a breeding center even if it is a nice replication of the natural environment.

Which is why we were thrilled to see TWO wild tortoises on our bike ride on Isabela.  The first one was cleverly concealed on the side of the road and we almost went zipping past him.  Fortunately a group of French bicyclists has stopped and were taking pictures which helped us spot him in the deep camouflage.  He was quite patient with all the fuss and very accommodating to photos.

The second tortoise we didn’t have to share with anyone.   When we reached the Wall of Tears we parked the bikes to walk to the wall and take the short loop trail around the wall and some of the old quarries.  Right off the edge of one of the trails we spotted the second tortoise, resting in the shade by the edge of what looked like a shallow concrete pond.  No mad dash for cover by this one either, in fact he started to stretch and preen for me as I closed in with the camera!

More Lava Tubes

These things are just everywhere.  This one was one of the pull off stops off the bike path.  This one runs down into the water and is flooded, but does provide a neat perspective on how they really are tubes before they collapse or get buried by topsoil and surface material.

The Booby Trap

We can’t leave Isabela Island without telling you of one of our favorite stops there – the Booby Trap Cafe.  The Booby Trap sits on the edge of town, the last stop on your right.  Run by American Jim Hinkle and his wife Ecuadorian wife Marlene, they’ve created a lovely and comfortable spot with great food and a welcoming atmosphere.

It’s just Jim and Marlene running the place – they have baked goods, drinks, lunches and with reservations you can come for dinner.  It is well worth the trouble to make the reservation, just give him some warning so they have a chance shop for you!  We had our last dinner in Isabela there and it was delightful.

We were frequent visitors there in our stay; Jim keeps the beer cold and makes a good milkshake for the kids. More than once we made there for an end of the day cool down; his internet connection is decent too which is always a plus for bandwidth starved cruisers!  The location on the edge of town across from the beach distinguishes them from the in-town restaurants on one crucial point – the Booby Trap gets a nice cooling breeze off the water.  This is big.

Jim is also a helpful source of information about the island.  With our poor Spanish it was really nice to hold a conversation in English with someone with good local knowledge (Jim was a guide in the area for years) that is eager to talk about his home.  When I asked about a farm to provision with fresh fruit and vegetables, Jim even called the farm for me and made arrangements for our visit the next day.

Its a new place and I hope they make it work.  Being outside of town and not on the “al meurzo” dirt cheap lunch program like the downtown restaurants may be a small disadvantage, but they’ve got a lot more to offer as well.  It already sounds like it is rapidly becoming a word of mouth favorite for visiting cruisers and I’d love to go there again some day!

A Sad Departure

It was indeed with heavy hearts that we finally pulled up our anchor in Isabela.  We took a final dinghy tour of the harbor to say goodbye to the sea lions, blue footed boobies, penguins and iguanas.  We’d love to come back again some day; as of this writing this is definitely The Coolest Place That We’ve Been So Far.

Although I think where we are now in the Tuamotus will give Isabela a run for it’s money…but that’s a post for another day!