Day 4
The wake-up call came at 5:30 am so luggage could be put in the hall for Galapagos inspection….then it was off to the airport after a quick breakfast.
We boarded the Silver Sea ship in Baltra. It holds a max of 100 passengers; on our expedition cruise there are 68 passengers. The first day was low key.
Once on board we spotted this ship next to us and wondered if Eclipse had branched out in the adventure tourism market J
After some orientation of the ship and necessary evacuation drills, we relaxed and met some people.
Dinner, this evening, was at the Grill. Todd enjoyed Prawns and I enjoyed the Filet Mignon !
We met a lot of people (the majority are from the US, others are from England, Australia, New Zealand – we are the only Canadians). We were even treated to a full moon on our first night.
Day 5
Up bright and early, and ready for the first excursion. We took the zodiac to Bahia Darwin on Genovesa Island for a wet landing and then a walk around the shore area. We saw many Red Footed Boobies. They are the smallest of the boobies in the Galapagos.
Mating pairs remain together for several seasons. They lay only 1 egg which is incubated by both adults for approximately 45 days.
Showing the 2 adult colours a White Morph and a Brown Morph
We also saw numerous sea lions.
It is amazing how close you can get to these creatures!!! They respected rule is to stay back 2 metres, but some come even closer (apparently they don’t follow the 2 metre rule). They are totally unintimidated by humans.
The highlight was seeing a young pup nurse.
After a brief rest, it was time to do some snorkeling. We went for the shallow water outing (instead of the deep sea outing) because this was a first for both of us. LOVED IT! Totally hooked! We saw fish in multiple colours, stingrays, and even swam beside some sea lions! Did we mention – We’re hooked! So much fun! (Unfortunately, no pics, because we didn’t use the underwater camera – figured we should just get used to snorkeling first.)
In the afternoon, we went to Prince Phillip Steps on Genovesa Island to explore. We were greeted by the Galapagos Fur Owl.
We saw numerous Nazca Boobies (No not NASCAR boobies!). A couple of young ones were playing with an old dried out head of a dead bird.
Along the walk we observed some adult Nazca Boobies feeding their young.
Great Frigate birds share the island with the Nazca Boobies. Here is a mother and her chick.
The inflated red sac on the male Frigate is a sign he is preparing to mate.
Further along on the walk, we spotted another Fur Owl – a real treat.
This was truly an amazing start to our week in the Galapagos. The wildlife is unbelievable – up close and personal…incredible.
Day 6
We slept like babies last night – fresh air, walking, climbing, and snorkeling did the trick. By 8am we were up and ready for our next excursion on the island of North Seymour. The 3km walk was AMAZING – yes, using that word a lot….
Here is a Lava lizard in a shrub
Sea lions just hang out on the rocks by the shore.
Magnificent Frigates are everywhere. The Magnificent Frigate is the largest of the two frigate bird species. Looks like this guy found a mate !
Males, with the inflated gular pouch, brightly display themselves for a female mate and beat their pouch with their beak as one flies by. Once they mate, the pouch deflates.
Males and females take turns sitting on the egg at the nest and going for food. Look close and you will see the chick.
Young ones patiently wait for food.
Also sharing the land on the island are Blue Footed Boobies. When the male is courting the female, he struts around the female slowly, lifting on bright blue foot at a time, prominently displaying them.
Nine species of Lava Lizards are found all over the Galapagos Islands.
We also encountered a number of Galapagos Land Iguanas. The Land Iguanas live in the dry arid areas of the islands. They grow to over 1 metre in length and are very stocky.
The Prickly Pear Cactus is a food source for the Land Iguanas. They hang out and wait for the fruit to drop if they can’t reach it
In the afternoon, we visited Manzanillo Ecological Reserve on Santa Cruz Island – home of the Giant Galapagos Tortoises – AMAZING! The Galapagos Tortoises are found nowhere else in the world.
We were “up close and personal” with multiple tortoises of various sizes.
We could easily walk up to them within a couple of metres and they were oblivious to us.
The Giant Tortoises are plentiful in this area where they have an abundant food supply. They are herbivories and eat the grasses in the area.
They enjoy cooling off in the mud. (their version of a spa treatment).
The Red Lagoon provides another spot for cooling off and is a favourite of Pintail ducks.
We had a fabulous afternoon visiting with the Galapagos Tortoises. At the reserve, we purchased a couple of pounds of coffee grown in the area.
