From Maya to Inca: Tortuga bay

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Tortuga bay

Today, I got up really early and went to Tortuga bay. I love this beach at 7 in the morning when it is completely empty. It's walking distance from Puerto Ayora but once you get to the entrance, you have to walk 2.5 kilometers along a stone path through vast vegetation filled with Galapagos giant cacti (opuntia), other interesting plants, and the odd finch. You arrive at the largest of two beaches where people go to surf and turtles nest. Further down, this beach teems with marine iguanas and you can always find the odd one swimming in the small lagoon at the end of the beach. Today I found a shark though. I'd rather have found an iguana. Then you turn the corner and come across the most tranquil and beautiful beach you have ever seen (in my opinion and early in the morning before it becomes swamped with tourists). There is often a lone ray swimming about and blue-footed boobies and pelicans share this spot too. A friend of mine, Sandro, rents kayaks at the end of this beach to explore the area around the mangroves and rocks on the other side. I took one out today, and besides burning myself to a crisp, saw some turtles and some huge sharks (well at least two metres long I'm sure). I was glad to be in my kayak and not the guy snorkelling out to the middle...

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Interesting facts

Another slightly subjective fact. Peruvian mountain roads are among the most dangerous in the world.
Kuelap is a Chachapoya fortress in Northern Peru built before Machu Picchu.
Peruvian men are the most persistent men on the planet.
Blue zones are called blue zones simply because Dan Buettner and his research team (who first identified the blue zones) used blue ink to circle the areas on a map with the highest life expectancy. Nothing more, nothing less.
The Inca civilisation arose from the highlands of Peru sometime during the early 13th century.
Contrary to popular belief, Panama hats are not made in Panama but in Ecuador.
Ten of the volcanoes along the Avenue of Volcanoes are higher than 5000 metres.
Rafael Correa has introduced the "pico y placa" system in Quito, following the Colombian example, "pico" meaning "peak" and "placa" meaning "plate". Cars are restricted from circulating in Quito on certain days during morning and evening rush hours according to the last number of their registration plate, in order to ease traffic congestion.
Quito is 72 kms long and 10 kms wide.
Quito is the oldest capital in South America and lies 2800 metres above sea level.
The sex of the tortoises bred in the breeding centre in Puerto Ayora on the Galapagos islands depends on the temperature of the incubators. The eggs kept in incubators at 29.5 degrees celsius become females and those kept in incubators at 28 degrees celsius become males.
The giant cacti of the Galapagos islands are the only species of opuntia cactus in the world that grows like a tree.
Legend has it that the Incas discovered the Galapagos islands in the fifteenth century but no solid evidence has been found to prove this.
Slightly subjective. Playa del Carmen sells the most expensive ice cream in the world. But it tastes pretty good.
The piece of lime in the top of a bottle of beer was originally not for the taste. It was used to wipe the rust off the rim.
Mayan mothers used to wrap planks of wood around their children's foreheads to flatten them.
The dazzling blue ocean along the Mayan riviera is due to the fact that there are no rivers feeding into it. And because of the lack of nutrients flowing into the sea, there is also less animal life along this part of the ocean.