Thumbing through Tahiti – A Day of Island Explorations

I had been in Tahiti for over three weeks, without seeing anything of the island - the capital Pape’ete aside - when my friend Rachel from SV Namaste and I made plans to “hitchhike Tahiti”, one evening during happy hour. It would be a girls’ day out and it would happen on the national holiday of Thursday, May 8^th. We figured that if the whole country had the day off (again!), we might as well join the ranks and forget about the usual household chores and boat errands and go on a little exploration ourselves. Since the buses don’t run on holidays and since we all had good experiences hitching rides in and around Pape’ete before, sticking our thumbs out would only enhance the sense of adventure.

Before we hit the main road, which runs in front of Marina Taina in Punaauia, Rachel and I had a look at the map, singling out which sites seemed interesting, and practicing their pronunciations. Our first stop was marae Arahurahu, reconstructed ruins of old stone platforms, at PK 22.5. The setting was pretty and peaceful, well taken care of, and informative with signs in French, Tahitian, and English (which had never been the case on the outer islands). There were even a few other tourists strolling around. Yes, this is Tahiti and tourism does exist here! Our driver-turned-guide Koko kept us company, since in all his years of living in Tahiti, had never set foot on this site. He was even nice enough to bring us to the next place of interest: the Mara’a caves and Paroa cliffs.

Right along the coastal road, at PK 28.5, people stop their cars to fill water bottles. Faucets spew incredibly clear and fresh water from the mountains and three caves are set back in the cliffs. The most impressive one, Grotte Mata Va’a goes pretty deep and sports a clear pool of water, while the green foliage droops and drips overhead. It was very inviting to go for a refreshing swim, but we didn’t think our future drivers would appreciate wet car seats, so we refrained. Grotte Teanateatea was less spectacular, but the different ponds with lotus flowers made up for it. The third cave stayed hidden.

An expat from France picked us up and dropped us off at km 39, where we expected to find marae Maha’iatea. Instead of more ruins, we found a hill covered with shrub, hiding the ancient rubble underneath. We contemplated a walk over a black sand beach to reach a popular surf spot, but time was starting to run out already, so we walked back to the main road instead, picked up lunch at a grocery store and stuck our thumbs out again.

A Tahitian father and son took us along and deposited us at the Vaipahi water garden at PK 49, between the Mataiea and Papeari districts. The site of these botanical gardens (not to be confused with the Paul Gauguin museum and gardens) is definitely worth a stop. Our friends Leo and Gesina from SV Seluna recommended this place to me and I am glad they did. It is organized very well (I am still impressed with the Tahitian tourist facilities) with labelled plants, a few ponds (better when the flowers are in bloom, however), a beautiful waterfall, charming and modern toilet facilities and a few hikes. Before we explored this area, Rachel and I crossed the road to have lunch in a park along the water. To our surprise, we found picnic benches and a great view over Tahiti Iti, the island-like peninsula SE of Tahiti Nui, Tahiti’s main part.

After finishing a whole baguette, a chunk of cheese and a packet of smoked salmon (with the help of a young stray dog), we set out into the hills, following one of the hiking trails. After climbing for about an hour, we took the “river path” back. As its name indicates, we followed a muddy trail along the river, crossing it several times and taking in the multiple waterfalls along the way. Once our shoes were cleaned off enough, we decided to head back to the marina. We didn’t think we had made it that far yet and it was “only” 3:30pm, but when realizing we had to travel over 40 km to get back home, we quickly used those thumbs again. 

A friendly young couple from Bora Bora and Tahiti picked us up and – after a brief stop at his grandparents’ house – drove us all the way to Marina Taina, where we arrived just after happy hour (5pm) started. That evening, Rachel and I didn’t mind repeating the adventure in a different direction the following week. Unfortunately, more explorations were not meant to be.

Information about marae Arahurahu in three languages

 

With Koko in front of the "first" marae (Photo by Rachel Bianco)

Lotus flower in a pond near the caves

Tahiti Iti seen from our picnic bench across the botanical gardens

River walk on the way back down

One of the waterfalls along the river walk

And a smaller one

The heart of Tahiti (Photo by Rachel Bianco)

One of the many river crossings along the hike (Photo by Rachel Bianco)

Time to get back home; the sunny skies turned grey (Photo by Rachel Bianco)

Isabela´s Wild Side

A while ago, on our third day in the Galapagos, Mark and I visited the Interpretation Center in San Cristobal and studied a 3D-model of the island group. The west coast of Isabela (the biggest island of the archipelago, and created by five connected volcanoes), with the small island of Fernandina settled in its bay-like western shore drew our attention. This area was supposed to offer some wild looking scenery and an abundance of sea life. If we would ever do a tour in the Galapagos, this was the one we wouldn´t mind spending money on! A few weeks ago, some cruisers here in Isabela must have had a similar thought. They inquired about a “West Coast Tour” and, upon finding none, appointed one of the local dive companies to create a custom built boat tour. The friendly, helpful and English speaking Paco was in charge of the new venture and the “West Coast Tour” was born.

Cruisers that had been on this tour, were blown away, utterly amazed; they recommended the tour full-heartedly. It was so worth the $120 per person. It included snacks, drinks, lunch, snorkeling, wild life viewing, and with a maximum of ten people, the long ride up the coast was comfortable enough. We heard stories about swimming with penguins, heaps of giant marine turtles, marine iguanas, sharks, and manta rays. We listened to reports of dancing Blue-footed boobies, an amazing and invigorating boat ride through lava gorges (The Tuneles, a tour arranged by itself for $80 per person) and sightings of orcas. We were sold! All we had to do was put a group of ten people together and reserve a day on Paco´s busy schedule. That day was eight days out. Ten people were found within the first hour. The price had gone up to $130.

The big day of our West Coast Tour arrived. Like the other passengers, Mark and I waited on deck to be picked up by Captain Julio and his crew. We saw the tour boat stop at different sailboats and … leave! Was this a joke? Luckily, our friends Birgit and Christian from SV Pitufa, who we organized the tour with, were on board, and a bit later, the motor boat turned around and stopped at Irie. Not such a funny start of the day. The fact that we counted 13 people in the boat (including us), plus three crew, was a surprise as well. Everybody settled in, basically on the lap of a neighbor, and the long ride started. We heard that the tour boat had crashed into one of the cruising boats while picking the owners up and had left a big gash on the side. The whole scene, unfortunately, set the mood for the day.

The ride along the south coast of Isabela, around the corner and a bit up the east coast took about three hours. We watched out for wildlife, but only saw a few manta rays. One of them made some spectacular jumps in the distance; the others just showed the white and black tips of their wings along the surface. It gave us a good idea about their massive size.  We slowed down along the solidified lava flanks of Volcan Cerro Azul, where one of the crew – unsuccessfully – tried to catch lunch. Usually, a tuna gets caught within minutes and the day can go on as planned. Today was different. During the fishing efforts, we all enjoyed the barren lava landscape on shore, the crashing waves on the rocks and the empty fishing line. After 20 minutes of anticipation, we moved to the first snorkel sight. Little penguins and flightless cormorants were posing on the rocks. Once in the water, the visibility was awful. Sea lions would swim within three feet of us and we would not see them through our masks. We all resorted to swimming towards the animals and then observe them above the water surface. It proved to be a good tactic and Mark and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the amazing creatures up close. Less used to people than their peers in harbors, these penguins and sea lions were a bit shyer, but nevertheless tolerated us in their habitat.

Some more fishing without results slowed us down and had us caught in a rain storm. Being wet already from swimming, we continued to the next snorkel spot along the way back. Here, we saw tons of turtle heads poke out of the water. Because of the crappy weather, the cold and cloudy sea water and the hungry stomachs, nobody felt like jumping in and joining the sea turtles. We had an apple, one piece of chocolate and a drink. Only four cups were available, so we all needed to share. People were not very happy; the hopes were set on food and the main attraction: Los Tuneles. In the drizzle, we slowly followed the coast line back, while the lure on the fishing line was changed. Excitement arrived when a yellow fin tuna was hooked. With no back-up plan for lunch, this was great news. We all watched when the 15 pound “beast” was reeled in. The guys were not satisfied with one catch, so the fishing continued until we collected three similarly sized yellow fins. The spirits lifted. We could smell lunch!

The Tuneles are reached by driving in between breaking waves. It is a tricky endeavor during which tourists have broken arms and backs and which only a handful of captains are capable of doing. Julio is one of the experienced fellows, but… when the swell runs too high and all that is to be seen are white caps and foaming waves, even he has to bail. Many times, there is a substantial swell here in Isabela and today was, regrettably, no different. We had to skip the Tuneles and another wave of disappointment followed. Paco had been talking about an alternative bay, behind the waves, where it would be calm enough to make a lunch ceviche from the fish and where we could snorkel. Instead, we kept going and he started talking about dividing up the three fish, so we could all take some home. It was 16:00 already What about lunch? What about that last stop?

We convinced the crew to give it a go and soon after, we meandered through the waves and arrived in a very calm bay.  A little bit more effort from the captain, avoiding shallows and maneuvering along exposed rocks – it was low tide- and we anchored on the opposite side of Los Tuneles. Reputedly less spectacular, the area still offered some interesting scenery of funky looking lava rocks. Some of us went back into the water with our wetsuits and snorkeled through narrow channels and past caves, while the crew made ceviche and the seabirds stood by. Our little sea bound group spotted two white tip reef sharks and a couple of marine turtles, one of which was humongous; the biggest one I´d ever seen.  Back on the boat and dried off, we had a small bowl of raw fish “cooked” in lime juice. The ceviche was very tasty, but not quite enough for our hungry stomachs. It was a 6pm lunch. The sun was going down, creating a pretty spectacular sunset with a volcano backdrop. What followed was a 45 minute boat ride in the dark and the rain, our shivering and shaking bodies trying to stay warm. When we arrived on Irie at 19:00, all we could think was “Home sweet home!” With a last effort, Mark turned one of the freshly caught tunas into two giant fillets, promising four scrummy dinners for Pitufa and us. Too bad we missed out on collecting the only rain in weeks…

Crowded boat

 Flightless cormorants

Galapagos penguins

Cutting the tuna for ceviche

 In between snorkels

Small volcano on the flank of a big one, Cerro Azul

Painted toe nails to join the Blue-footed boobies

Magnificent sea turtle

Isabela´s Desolate Highlands

The Galapagos islands are expensive to visit. That is nothing new. Not only does it cost a lot of money to “just be here” on a cruising boat, but the sightseeing can also set you back hundreds of dollars. While in San Cristobal and Santa Cruz, we could get a good feeling of what there is to see by exploring the area ourselves, in Isabela those options are limited.  There are only a few places where you are allowed to go without a guide and those we visited the first days of our stay here. We enjoyed every bit of it, but Isabela has more to offer than the Wall of Tears walk, the Concha y Perla snorkel lagoon and the turtle hatchery.

A trip to the volcano Sierra Negra costs $35-$45 if arranged with a tour agency. A small group of us managed to cut out the middle man and booked it for $25 a person, box lunch included. Even though this sounds like a good deal, you need to know that everything that is really needed for this excursion, is transportation (a 45 minute bumpy ride) to the well-marked trail. By taxi, that would cost $40 return for up to 7 people. But, as with many places in the Galapagos, a guide is required to babysit you along the way. If you´re lucky, the guide speaks English, you can follow his or her pace, and you can learn a lot. Our group counted 18 people and walked at a comfortable speed. The trail was 8 km each way, so quite a distance had to be covered.

From the trailhead, the climb towards the massive crater, at an altitude of 1124m took about a half an hour. Volcan Sierra Negra reputedly has the second largest caldera in the world, and last erupted in 2005.  When staring into the giant collapsed crater, you can see where the most recent lava destroyed the vegetation and which area remained lush and untouched. The walk followed the crater wall for many kilometers and offered free pickings of ripe fruits from the introduced guava tree. After a while, we descended towards another volcano: Volcan Chico, where we hiked up and down for 2 km and scrambled over black volcanic rock. 

The landscape was very desolate and beautiful in its own way. We were surrounded by residue lava in many different shapes and colors; the area representing a moonscape full of bizarrely formed rock formations.

At the highest point, with a view to behold, we all had lunch: a plastic bag full of surprises. We found a ham & cheese sandwich, a juice box in the form of a race car, a small bag of chips, a chocolate cookie, a banana, and a bottle of water. The hike back was a reverse repetition of the first part, but with a full belly and tired muscles. The semi-permanent cloud surrounding Sierra Negra let go of some of its contents, making the trip back refreshing. After moving for 16 km in shoes, our feet – only used to flip-flops – were happy to get rid of their burden. Blisters were found and soles had come loose. The tropics are harsh for glued things and white bodies, but we were all happy to see the sun again, after the metal benched “vehicle” dropped us off in town. Shaken but not stirred.

 
Volcano expedition with Birgit and Christian from SV Pitufa and Kate from SV Iolea

Lava tunnel near Volcan Chico

View from the top of Chico volcano - our lunch break

Once in a while something green pops up: slow-growing cacti

The ride back to town was as bouncy and as painful as the first one