The idea was to go to the science centre to see the giant tortoises before those of us who were leaving had to rush off to the airport. Having not managed to get any decent shots of turtles I was pleased to get the opportunity to photograph tortoises instead.We got to the centre using pickup truck taxis and I experienced riding in the back of one for the first time.
At the centre we saw lot of giant tortoises but only managed to see the most famous one, Lonesome George, from a distance. He was found alone on an island and was brought to the centre for breeding purposes being the last of a particular subspecies of tortoise in the world. His subspecies will probably go extinct, however, as he basically refuses to get it on with any other tortoises. Apparently when the females are in heat you can watch them chase George around his enclosure. That must be a chase scene on par with watching sea lions chase each other on land.
As you can clearly tell by the look in his eyes, this guy is the complete opposite of George. He does the chasing.Visitors to the centre are allowed to get very close to some of the tortoises, and as a result they have become so used to humans they actually pose for photographs.
After having a look around five of us set off to the airport to fly back to Quito. At the airport, which is a very small affair, we met another woman who had been travelling on the Flamingo and she was amazed at how calm we all were in the boarding time as we were quite happily sitting in the cafe eating apple pie. This is the first time I've ever had a last call for boarding a plane. Of course boarding it did consist of walking around the corner. This trip has had a lot of firsts.
All these photos of awesome places and people make life seem rather humdrum. Is it entirely possible for you to take a picture of something banal? For instance, a pint of milk? Or something without a sunset in the background?
ReplyDeleteOn a more positive note, 10 awesome points on the trip.