Galapagos Giant Tortoises in the Wild
Posted: Saturday, April 03, 2010
by Chuck Clayton
http://www.inexpensive-vacation-ideas.com
The Giant Galapagos Tortoise is large, majestic, and slow moving. In the wild it is a amazing creature to see. During a trip to the Galapagos Islands our experience and schooling about the Galapagos Giant Tortoise was fantastic. Let me explain.
Giant Galapagos Tortoise
A friend Ron, and I asked Jack Nelson (the owner of the Hotel Galapagos where we stayed) to rent us a taxi and tour guide to take us to the high country on Santa Cruz Island where many of the Galapagos tortoises live.
Our adventure started early the next morning around seven AM. Russ, another adventurous soul who has a fascination with tortoises (and owns several small ones) joined us on our trek. The trip into the high country through muddy bumpy back roads took a bit less than an hour.
Within twenty-five minutes we crossed into a swampy area that was green and plush. It bared little resemblance to much of the rest of the rocky terrain of the Galapagos Islands .
Green and Plush Swampy Area
Climbing over a high brush pile we disturbed a nest of a hundred or so black wasps. Within a few seconds we were all getting stung. We rapidly departed! Adventure doesn't need to be painful-but sometimes it is!
After another ten minutes or so we came upon the first Giant Galapagos Tortoises wallowing in the mud. It had a three-foot diameter shell with skin and face that was course, aged and looked prehistoric.
As we moved closer its protective instincts kicked in and its head and legs retracted as far as they could into the protection of its shell. Tortoises are able to hide in their shells by releasing air through its nostrils-which makes a loud hissing sound as air escapes.
Galapagos Tortoise Retracted
As we traveled further into the thick brush we saw several more tortoises in their natural habitat. Some eating, others were resting, and some wallowing in the mud paths that had been made for traveling back and forth from the low to high country by hundreds of other tortoises.
Although the Galapagos Giant Tortoise is a docile and slow moving creature, it is large and majestic. These creatures are incredible to see in their natural surroundings.
Our trip to see these magnificent creatures only lasted a day, but the memories from that day will last a lifetime.
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Copyright © 2010 Chuck Clayton
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