Fernandina

Of all the islands, this one is one of the best at showing the volcanic nature of the archipelago, and the way the islands, once formed, become habitable. Fernandina is right over the hot spot. You can kind of see the volcano in the background here.

You can easily see that the ground is entirely made up of lava. We were carefully instructed to walk only on the flat plates as above, or the ropy flows which are called Pahoihoi. The chunky stuff below, called ah ah, is too unstable and can drop you into a chasm. Since the nearest hospital is in Ecuador, this could be a problem.

This island spent about 30,000 years growing to it’s current size. It is only recently that plants and animals have made inroads on it.

Yes, these people are petting the cactus. So long as you only rub it the right way, it feels much like a boar hair brush – a bit stiff and bristly but not painful. Cactus are one of the few plants that can handle life in such a desolate landscape. They get their moisture from the air, and don’t necessarily need deep roots.

The only other plants we saw there were mangrove, which has special roots that let it purify salt water, and sedge, which clings to the insides of crevices.

It seems animals actually have an easier time of it. At least the aquatic kind do. Sea iguana like to nest here along the sandy beaches. The come in droves and bask on the hot rock. You can see one swimming to shore in the picture below. In the middle. Yeah, it looks like a tadpole.

The green sea turtles have particular coves they frequent as a haven from sharks. As our tour guide said, to a shark, a turtle is a cookie.