Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Open it iguana...

The Galapagos Islands are known for iguanas. Our first experience with a Galapagos iguana was one afternoon on the beach in San Cristobal. Walking along the path Mark noticed all these trenches in the sand where it looked like someone had been dragging a garden hose. It was an iguana track, and large on at that. We found the big kahuna hiding in the shade of a tree. The afternoon sun was punishing so as we got closer he crawled slowly further into the bushes. We decided afternoon was not the time to see these creatures so the next morning armed with coffee and my camera we hit the beach again for a morning walk with the iguanas. They are absolutely fascinating and we spent about two hours getting up close and personal while they posed for photos as the ocean sprayed them with each new wave. On to the next island we encountered another beach not friendly for swimming or even surfing but an iguana mecca. They lay in piles along the whole beach. Only glancing up occasionally if you come to far into their personal space. Also the iguanas spit at passersby to say hello or more likely as a warning but it´s not so daunting as they usually cannot be bothered to move. These guys are swimmers and after several attempts to coax into the water it took me in the water first to finally see one swim. Our third iguana beach, here on Santa Cruz is beautiful white sugar sand. We pitched out umbrella next to a salty lagoon. As I stepped slowly into the cold water the iguana got right up to the water and jumped in right next to me. Putting his little legs back and cruising around like a snake with his sturdy tail. Really cool.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That is so cool! Say "hello" to Agador Sparticus if you see him. He was so pleasant. I am sure he would tell you to "F--- off."