Santa Cristobal Island
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LIFE IN SAN CRISTOBAL
Two months have passed now since I arrived on the Islands of San Cristobal and I can honestly say that in all my travels, I have never quite experience anything like the life I’ve had here. As I relaxed into the rhythm of daily routine, I was completely unaware of the spell that would be cast upon me, trapping me helplessly unable to leave. Within weeks of being here, I’d heard countless stories of others who’d visited before and were due to return to the magical Island, unable to resist its pull.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this is a concept that’s well demonstrated in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. As I look from the windows of my home, a skyline of rusting corrugated rooves and party built buildings with steel rods protruding from cement meet the eye. Half parched palm trees sway in the breeze and the surrounding hills sprawls across the skyline in a vast mound of grays and browns.
Telegraph poles boast jungles of cables that stretch in every direction, indiscreetly bringing energy to the half constructed houses. Most of the beaches here are cluttered with sharp, black volcanic rock and snorkelling jaunts involve the acquisition of good dodging skills in order to avoid the big boulders live in such a beautiful and special place.
Beauty here is found in many forms. There’s the obvious that can be witnessed every day, such as the stretching sunsets that splay across the bays behind long cotton clouds, the sand covered sea-lion clubs suckling from their mums or the huge turtles that poke their heads above the turquoise waters as waves wash gently upon the shores.
There’s the sweet hibiscus flowers found all around that brighten the drabness of cement construction or the tiny Darwin birds that feed on the fruits that hang from the trees in the highlands. Then there’s the kind of beauty that’s found in the souls of the locals: the warmth that exudes from the residents who welcome you freely info their community, the laughs from the children you teach who hug you with all their hearts, and the teenagers who greet you politely as you walk down the streets. The innocence of the business owners making ends meet but still taking time for genuine conversation of the tough looking guys who drive around on scooters, their cuddly pet dogs as passengers.
I love the cuteness of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. In how many places can you arrange to meet your friends by the giant model tortoise or the pink flamingoes. I love that houses have names and not numbers and that everyone knows the “house of Mercedes” or “La Casa de Marco”. I love that I can’t walk five minutes out of my house without being met by a barrage of “Holas” and kisses. Of course, there have been times when familiarity feels like a foe and the urge to escape into obscurity is overwhelming but as small as it is, there is always a walk you can do with no one around or there’s nothing that a weekend Island hop won’t solve.
Finding something to do here is not that hard and I never tire of the walks I take to the various nearby beaches.
The visits I make to the pier to be entertained by the marine life or the fantastic snokelling at Tijeretas or Corolla.
More recently though, I’ve discovered the delights of escaping to the highlands, a marvelous experience in Galapagos.
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