The rich farmer

From the lava tunnel it is only a short drive to a nearby farm where we go to visit. The farm is up in the high lands and the owner used to be a poor farmer. He had a lot of trouble with the local wildlife. He continuously had to rebuild the fences around his farm trying to keep the wildlife out – but the giant tortoises just kept on using their big frames to smash the fence and eat the crops. Finally he just gave up – took down the fences and let the tortoises in – and now he charge the tourist 3 dollars to see the tortoises up close. From being a poor farmer he is now one of the richest farmers in the highlands apparently making up to 300 dollars a day in entry fees.

We pay the entry fee and walk into the farm to spot tortoises. They are pretty easy to spot – they are big – and even if you don’t walk fast you still looking like an Olympic sprinter compared to these slow giants. We walk around for a while taking photos of random tortoises – there are many of them so it is easy to find a few making a pose for you. After a bit I start looking more at other wildlife than the tortoises – there is a few birds flying around the area many of which I have never seen before – they might be endemic to the islands.

Out in the back part of the farm is a mud pool which attracts the tortoises to get a quick roll in the mud. After they been down in the mud you can see how they are walking around with a lot of mud on the top of their shield.

You can have something to eat or drink at the farm but after looking at the tortoises for a while we decide just to go back to the city and see what there is to find in the major town of the island instead of this small farm.