Our second day at the Juan Fernández archipelago was all about zodiac cruising. There are few landing spots anywhere in the islands. We began to the north of Cumberland Bay. It was still early in the morning. Not at all cold but the orange sun was still low in the sky.
There is a cave visible here that, apparently, was where Alexander Selkirk spent the first few weeks after he was marooned. Later, he moved further inland because the density of fur seals on the beach made the ocean completely inaccessible. He mostly lived on goats rather than fish. The goats had been left on the islands much earlier by the very first European explorers. It was common practise, back then, to leave goats, sheep, chickens or similar in remote places. The hope was that they would survive and be of benefit to ship wrecked sailors. This clearly worked well on Robinson Crusoe Island but only up to a point. Although the introduced animals did well, it was to the detriment of the overall island ecology.
Back on the ship I photographed a giant petrel and a masked booby. After lunch, the ship moved down to Santa Clara Island. Meanwhile, I discovered that Selkirk was not the first person to be marooned on Robinson Crusoe Island. 24 years earlier, a Miskito pirate from Mosquitia (now Honduras) called Will was happily hunting goats on the island. He had been landed off an English vessel to gather supplies. He did not notice the Spanish ships approaching and was probably quite surprised when he saw his own ship scarpering over the horizon to escape the Spaniards.
He survived on the island for three years. At times he needed to hide from the Spanish who came ashore for goats and water. Eventually, in 1684, he was rescued by the English. Later, possibly, his story was the inspiration for Man Friday in Defoe’s famous novel.
The zodiacs were back in the water at Santa Clara. The island is uninhabited. There is no permanent fresh water supply. Many birds nest there including several endangered species. The whole area is internationally recognised as an important bird area. Much of the coastline is steep, treacherous looking cliffs. Despite the uninviting aspect, there are many seals here. More Juan Fernández fur seals. In places, we could spot some deep, inaccessible caves. Possibly a handful of seals hid deep in these cavities to evade the hunters. Now they are back out, breeding well and happily frolicking in the surf.
Santa Clara is a volcanic island. The whole Juan Fernández Archipelago was erupted from a hot spot under the Pacific floor. Tectonic movement has advanced the islands beyond the hot spot now. The volcanoes are all dead but much interesting geology still remains. Santa Clara is clearly built from layer upon layer of ash and lava deposits. On one particular cliff face, these layers are cut through by dykes. Formed when magma forces its way through vertical fractures, dykes often solidify underground and appear as narrow, wall-like ridges after erosion. This particular cliff was cut by a myriad of dykes that, from a distance, look like tree roots.
After an hour of looking at seals we were done. The zodiacs were hauled back onboard. Most people settled down for lunch. The skipper meanwhile set a course for Easter Island, four days of steaming through open ocean away.
