Nope, Galápagos tortoise shells don't work for hide-and-seek! (see more photos)

 

There aren't many empty tortoise shells laying around.  (The  Galápagos giants can live over 150 years.)  But a normal-sized person can sort of fit inside them, they are that big!  My granddaughters gave it a try: Liliana (13) in this picture, and Miriam (12) in the next one. 

Of course,  the shells weren't created to accommodate young ladies. They were custom-built to provide the creatures with a hard structure that protects them,  armor that encloses the vital organs and allows the legs and head to retreat into their own personal "bunker".

          I asked the guide which animals prey on                        tortoises.  His answer?                                                "People".                                                                                 *********************

As we walked around the grassy (and muddy!) fields where tortoises ambled slowly, unfazed by the drizzle, the 80-year-old guide shared fascinating information about these enormous creatures, and told me he had worked with some of the early conservation programs for the tortoises on the various islands of the archipelago, starting decades ago.  No wonder he knew so much about them! 

Each island has its own species of tortoise...which makes sense, considering they have no way to travel from island to island and socialize! 

                **************

These tortoises had their own spa!  (Next photo.)

            

Protection. Refuge.  They can withdraw to a place of safety.

 

We need protection, too. Where is OUR refuge?  OUR place of safety? We aren't born with built-in "shells" into which we can retreat! 

It can be looked for in many places....other people or philosophies, "religions"...but what emotional and spiritual safety might be found there doesn't last.  

True lasting protection is not in a "where", but in a "Who",  the one Person to whom we can run for refuge, strength and healing and who will never let us down.  

             ********************

                                                                                                                                            The giant to the right has its head, neck and legs splayed out on the ground, a position taken when resting, totally relaxed.  It knows itself safe.

We, too, can know ourselves safe when we accept the offer of protection God our Father tenders.  Millennia-old words are just as relevant today.

"Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings."  (Psalm 17:8)

"You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."  (Psalm 32:7)

"The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10)

By the way, here's another thing the tortoises are protected from...the rain! Their "umbrellas" go with them wherever they roam! 

 We didn't mind the drizzle, but - like my husband Germán - we all had to wear gum boots.  

The tortoises also have a continuous buffet.  They are surrounded by their food sources.  

The tortoises eat mainly grasses and leaves. They also take advantage of fallen fruits - like the big guy at the right, who is munching on a...hmm, WE call it a "guayaba", but in the U.S. and other countries, for some reason it is called a "guava". (Here, guava is another fruit completely!)

When the guide told us they also eat cactus, I asked him what they do about the big, spiky spines? They actually knock the "paddles" to the ground and then paw at them over and over, causing the spines to fall off.  Pretty cool!

              *********************

God provides abundantly for the tortoises.  How much more for his children?

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness."    (II Peter 1:3)

                                        **********************

                      "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;                                                          my God is my rock, in Whom I take refuge,                                                                     my shield and the horn of my salvation,                                                                                           my stronghold."     (Psalm 18:2)

                                                          ******

Inside a lava tunnel - in the Galapagos...(and in Life)

🎵

"And they all go marching down, to the ground, to get out of the rain."  

 That wasn't our goal, (although it was, in fact, raining at the time!).  My husband Germán, daughter Debbie, son-in-law Steve, and granddaughters Liliana (13) and Miriam (12) and I descended into the "bowels of the earth" to admire a lava tunnel on the Galapagos Islands.  (Actually, lava tunnels are usually only a few meters underground.)

Due to the total lack of sunlight,  there were electric lights positioned  strategically, but just enough to allow one to avoid losing one's heading and smashing into iron-hard, rough walls or banging one's legs on sharp volcanic rocks!  (The lights went out for just a few seconds...we could see absolutely nothing!)

The photo to the right looks back on the stairs we had just carefully walked down.  Due to my fibromyalgia, I have a bit of vertigo, so my dear husband stayed back with me so he could catch me if I slipped!

Thankfully, I remember from my childhood how to clamber down steep and sometimes slippery places safely.  (When walking in to our house in the jungle -for hours at a time- there were many ups and downs, creeks to cross, stones and boulders,  etc.)

I let Germán get a ways ahead of me so I could take this picture. It's amazing that this whole tunnel, and others like it, were not formed by miners searching for ore, or workmen trying to open a passageway.  This one is quite spacious, with a high ceiling.  Can you imagine how incredibly enormous the river of red-hot lava that forged this tunnel was?

This one, with Steve, is a little blurry, but shows the irregular ceiling and "floor", with rock debris scattered around.

This tunnel is only one of many in volcanic areas around the world, and I'm sure tons of people know a lot more about them than I do. (A LOT more!)  But it's fascinating to read about how these tubes are formed.  Basically, a lava flow starts cooling and solidifying on the surface and outer edges, while the steaming steam of lava inside continues on its merry way!  See a couple of quotes by the next photo.

"Lava streams that flow steadily in a confined channel for many hours or days may develop a solid crust or roof and, thus change gradually into streams within lava tubes."  ("Lava Tube" on "Science Direct", emphasis mine)

"When the supply of lava stops at the end of an eruption or lava is diverted elsewhere, lava in the tube system drains downslope and leaves practically empty conduits below the ground."   ("Lava Tube" on "Science Direct", emphasis mine)

Of course, "empty" is relative, as volcanic rocks, both loose and in irregular formations, are left behind. It's really quite interesting!

For the amusement of the tunnel explorer, the lava stream left this tiny, just-barely-squeeze-under-able passageway. (So we could play "limbo"?)  

The two boards placed there helped us not get too muddy...which was nice, as we were headed to the airport after this for our flight home!

The next picture gives you a better idea of how low this really is!

Germán folded himself up to try to get through without ripping the knees of his jeans...

...then, once he was through, reached down to take my Kindle so I had my hands free to...um...sort of squiggle under...but I managed it with only a couple of mud streaks on my slacks.  We made it!

(My Kindle was a must, as I use it for taking pictures.)

Then, there it was!   The light at the end of the tunnel...literally.  Not the artificial lamps inside, but a glimpse of the outer world, beckoning us into its fresh, open brilliance.

Closer...see the contrast in the lights? Inside the darkness of the tube, the artificial ones SEEMED  bright, especially in comparison to the utter darkness.  But Nature's own glow outshines them by far!

I wonder if this helps illustrate what happens when we die? We go through the "tunnel" of Life,  and there are lights to show us the way, to make sure we don't smash toes, cut ourselves, blunder into hard walls, or get stuck under "limbo" passages! 

Sometimes the light is dim, there are shadows, Life has irregular "ceilings", and  we walk on irregular "floors"...yet trust our Shepherd's lead.

 But when we get to the End...oh my! Up the heavenly Stairs and out into the radiant, open Son-shine and into the presence of our Father!                                                                                   *********************                

A little over nine years ago, my father (Bruce) was escorted up, to forever enjoy basking in that Light.  Almost a year later, my mother (Joyce) climbed the Stairs to join him.  Those of us who are secure in our Hope of Eternity look forward to this journey,  knowing that the "lava tunnel of Life", with its sharpness and shadows, will be forever behind us, as we gain the Place where...

                "The sun will no more be your light by day,                                                           nor will the brightness of the moon shone on you,                                                                 for the Lord will be your everlasting light,                                                                                  and your God will be your glory."       (Isaiah 60:19 NIV)

                                               *************