We had done the snorkelling trips, hiked the trails to the beaches and now it was time to take a tour inland. Shaking off the agent offers of setting up a tour for us ($50 pp and no guarantee that the guide would be able to speak English) we hired a local taxi driver (Lewis) and paid $70 for a cab full. Ok it was just the two of us but still worked out cheaper, we were getting a personalised experience and he spoke excellent English.
First stop, an extinct volcano named El Junco. As we climbed higher into the hills, fog descended rendering visibility at around 10%. It was eerie being in the countryside with this mist and reminded me of the Yorkshire Dales back home. The hike to the crater was a great 15 minute work out on the leg muscles as we ascended purpose built wooden stairs (nice to see where our National Park fee is going!) to the top. We were the first people up there and the silence was shocking. So used now to the constant swish swish of the waves lapping against the hull, we were greeted with a place totally devoid of sound apart from our own heavy breathing (from the walking of course). We could have been in Wales. The area was covered in bracken, an endless expanse of green and from what we could see through the fog, occasional ramshackle houses marking the boundaries. Keen to see if the fog would lift we decided to walk around the edge of the crater which was home to a big lake where frigate birds were using it as a very large bath.
Next stop, the Tortoise Conservation Centre and the place I was looking forward to the most. As we entered through the gate we were greeted by a giant tortoise having a lovely time munching on his favourite tree. Apparently these guys were getting too fat and as such the keepers cut back to feeding them only 3 times a week and the rest of the time they have to forage for themselves if they get the munchies.
As we continued down the path another giant tortoise 'raced' in front of us having just given himself a mud treatment in the nearby pond. They are just massive and I swear he was posing for the camera as I snapped away. I probably could have stayed there all afternoon if it wasn't for the guide's insistence we walked on as we were yet to go through the entrance!
The centre leads you on a trail through natural habitat where you have to look under the shrubbery and through the branches for the tortoises. We spent ages by a pond where all the big males seemed to congregate and have the odd scuffle. Well their version of one anyway. They each stretch their necks and whoever has the longest…wins and has to back down. The equivalent of dropping their trousers and admiring the competition. The disagreement is normally over territory and who gets to sit closer to the water source. Continuing on the trail it takes you to a building that houses all the babies. They are incubated for 2 months to mimic being buried in the sand and then after that time, are put into pens and a number tippexed onto their backs. They are so small and it is hard to imagine that in 50 years time they will grow into the beasts that we have been walking past.
Lunch was had in the middle of nowhere and was wonderful. The owner lives in a very small building with a lean to shack outside that houses the restaurant. Choice is 'chicken or fish' and the rest of the meal is a surprise. Bananas are plentiful and we were urged to eat as many as we wanted whilst we waited and surveyed the surrounding gardens where a dozen hens were pecking the dirt, being molested by the resident rooster. Fish soup to start, chicken for main and watermelon sorbet for dessert all washed down with homemade papaya juice. Mmmmm.
En route back to the port, our guide took us via an old tree. Not really feeling the need to go and stare at a tree we reluctantly got out of the taxi and were glad we did! This isn't any 300 year old tree, its a kids dream! In the branches lies a tree house only accessible by a rickety bridge. The house is on two levels complete with plumbed in toilet and balcony and if you so wish, a fireman's pole that takes you all the way to the bottom.
We thought that was pretty cool but when heading back to our guide we were called over by the owner of the property and she gestured towards the trunk. No idea what she was going on about we followed and saw her point to a hole in the base of the tree. Making Dylan go first I watched as he disappeared into the heart of the tree...and didn't come back. Ok so this really was like the Faraway Tree and any minute now I was going to be greeted by Saucepan Man. I followed him down a ladder, guided by a light and ended up underground, in another room made for their kids and again with a plumbed in toilet!! Awesome.
We think the Faraway Tree inhabitants must have been out on a picnic at the time but maybe they will be seen by the next visitors.
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