Galapagos Photo Album

Galapagos Photo Album is available on Google Photos:


https://goo.gl/photos/f1WQoyT9Mh2JPR8p8

Enjoy!

Galapagos 2016, Back to Baltra and Home

Overnight, the boat relocated to Baltra.  Bright and early, we Zodiak'd ashore, turned in our life vests for the last time, and bussed back over to the aerodrome.  This marked the beginning of the 30-hour odyssey home, which included an eight hour stop in Guayaquil, clearing Customs in Miami, on to Chicago, and the limo ride home.  Nice to be home, but it was a great trip that we'd recommend to anyone who's not afraid of Zodiaks and likes wildlife.

Watch this site for a link to the photo album that we're working on.  We've got to finish going through the several hundred pictures we took and keep the best, so we don't bore people completely to death.

In closing, we'd like to point out that life in the Galapagos is much different.  Most people have a dog on the front porch.

Galapagos 2016, Day 6

In the morning, we arrived at Los Gemelos, on Santa Cruz Island.  We took a bus to view the two sinkholes at Los Gemelos ("the twins"), a very interesting and unique geological formation.  However, due to the fog, we were unable to get any worthwhile pictures.  We proceded to the Tortoise Ecological Reserve, where the giant tortoises roam free.  First, we had to don knee-length rubber boots to protect us from the fire ants.  Then, it was off to see the tortoises.  Amazing.  Look!  Pati spotted one!

Gordon, too!

Tortoises love mud baths.

The only introduced bird, the Ani, was brought by early settlers.  Ani's job was to pick bugs off the cattle.

They say that the Ani's have lost their taste for cattle bugs these days.

In the afternoon, we traveled up to El Trapiche to visit an old sugar cane mill where we were shown how to make artisinal spirits (OK, moonshine).  We sampled.  It was moonshine, alright.  We walked around town afterwards, and saw the Presidents of three countries, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Colombia.  Needless to say, security was high and it was a mob scene, so we retreated to the boat on the first available Zodiak for some liquid refreshment.

Galapagos 2016, Day 5

After a Zodiak ride ashore, we took a 45 minute bus ride to the tortoise breeding center at Galapaguera Cerro Colorado.  Galapagos tortoises are endemic to the islands and are the iconic species of the archipeligo.  In fact, the name of the islands has come from these animals.  It was the saddleback shape of the shell that reminded the early Spaniards of a type of riding saddle known as a "galapago".  The tortoises' size and their ability to survive made them good hunting for sailors in search of fresh meat.  Thus, they were hunted almost into extinction.  Today, breeding and release efforts by the Charles Darwin Research Station are helping to maintain the remaining populations.

This was a very interesting tour, and here are just a few of the highlight pictures:

In the afternoon, we sailed for Cerro Brujo, passing Kicker Rock along the way:

While some kayaked, we relaxed.  We were treated to a fantastic sunset near Kicker Rock.

Another late departure, and we were headed for Isla Santa Cruz.

Galapagos 2016, Day 4

Floreana Island is home to Post Office Bay.  Here, in the early 18th century, in an attempt to stay in touch with their loved ones back home, sailors developed a "non-fee" mailing system at one of the popular landing beaches in Floreana.  The key element of the system was a makeshift postbox constructed from a wooden barrel.  The idea was that any whaler or sailor visiting the area would leave letters in the postbox (barrel) and before vessels left the Galapagos Islands to head home, they would stop by this bay to restock supplies and sort through the mail in the barrel.  Any mail addressed to anyplace close to the sailor's hometown was taken with them to deliver upon their return.

Some intriguing characters settled on Floreana in the 1930's.  Many were Germans, escaping from the turmoil in their country.  One group, a woman who claimed to be a Baroness and her two boyfriends, were at the center of a lot of controversy, along with a Dr. Ritter.  The good doctor and his girlfriend left their respective mates in Germany and ran off together to Floreana.  It's an interesting story and wound up as an unsolved murder mystery:  The Baroness and one of her boyfriends mysteriously disappeared.  Other settlers thought boyfriend number two murdered them with the help of Dr. Ritter, but the case has never been solved.

We took some time off in the morning and hung out at the boat, rather than go ashore to snorkel and see the mailbox.  This was a busy day for the crew.  We anchored three times, each time loading and unloading the people, the Zodiaks, and the kayaks.

A short trip around to the other side of the island and we went ashore for a nature walk at Punta Cormorant.  This is the home of the Galapagos Pink Flamingos, which had decided to feed on the other side of the bay rather than come over to greet us.  We do have some pictures, but they look like pink dots on the shoreline!  We did see plenty of other wildlife, though.

A wet landing (that is, drop off the Zodiak and wade ashore) caused people to change shoes under Sea Lion supervision, before hiking.  Our apologies to Mrs. Cohen, who happened to be at the right place at the right time:

Along the shore, near the turtle breeding grounds:

Driftwood along the bay:

And a baby Nazca Boobie:

We left late, at almost midnight, headed for Isla San Cristobal.

Galapagos 2016, Day 3

Morning at Caleta Tagus took us hiking.  Uphill, of course, for some beautiful landscapes.  This is the crater of an extinct volcano, now filled with water and called (wait for it) Darwin Lake.  Notice our boat anchored offshore.

During lunch, we cruised to Bahia Elizabeth, on Isla Isabela.  In the afternoon, we were treated to a Zodiak tour of the black and red mangroves.  The ride in was extremely rough, but once there it was clear and shallow, allowing us to see all the wildlife in the water.  We shut down the outboard and our guides paddled.

This was really one of the highlights of the trip, even though we don't have a lot of photographs.  It's a breeding area for the sea turtles and there were plenty of turtles, rays, and sea lions present.  The mangroves:

And finally, you can tell that this is a turtle.  They don't duck as quickly when the engine's off:

We departed at 7:00 p.m. for Floreana Island.

Galapagos 2016, Day 2

Overnight we relocated to Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island, crossing the Equator twice enroute, northbound and southbound.

In the morning, we took a guided Zodiak tour of the shoreline.  Plenty of wildlife on the rocks.  The bird that everyone's heard of when if comes to the Galapagos is the Boobie.  The Boobies put on quite a show when they're feeding.  With eyes in front of their heads, they size up the location of a fish underwater, dive straight in after it, eat it underwater, and take off to find another one.  How they miss each other and the Zodiaks is a wonder.  Here's one breed, the Nazca Boobie:

 
And the one everyone wants to see, the infamous Blue Footed Boobie:

We also saw Sea Lions, Pacific Green Sea Turtles, Galapagos Fur Seals, and Sally Lightfoot Crabs, but none of these are easy to photograph in the water, so we'll see them later.  Marine Iguanas, however, do not move quickly.  So here they are, sunning on the rocks:

A short trip brought us to Punta Espinoza, on Isla Fernandina.  We disembarked for a walk on the lava flows.

Here's some of the interesting volcanic geography:

The lava flows:

There were animals everywhere!!  You had to be careful not to step on the Marine Iguanas:

As you can see, they weren't very concerned about the humans as we navigated through the herd.  They like to pose for pictures.

A rare sighting, up close, of a Galapagos Hawk.

Our guide explained the local nomenclature for the flora and fauna.  Everything is named either Galapagos, Darwin, or Lava.  Hence, Galapagos Penguin, Darwin Finch, or Lava Lizard.  Whatever it is, it has one of those names attached to it.  Except, of course, the Pacific Green Sea Turtle.  These guys are almost impossible to photograph...they never come out of the water and only stick their head up quickly to breathe:

Two baby Galapagos Flightless Cormorants (mom is nearby, off to the left).  We really were this close.  The critters could care less about humans.

Sally Lightfoot, really colorful but very fast-moving, finally held still for a moment.

And, the Galapagos Mockingbird.  There are four species of endemic mockingbirds in the Galapagos, all related but each is slightly different.  Many historians believe that the mockingbird, more than any other organism (even the finches), had the greatest influence on Darwin's initial development of the concept of natural selection.

We left at 5 p.m. but didn't go far...just back across the way to Isla Isabela.

Galapagos 2016, Day 1

Overnight, we cruised to Bartolome Island.  In the morning, we boarded our trusty Zodiak and headed ashore for an exhausting climb up to the lighthouse, led by one of the naturalists.  The views were spectacular.  An interesting point:  Everyone (and we do mean everyone) who works in the Galapagos is required by law to be Ecuadorian.  That means the entire ship's crew and the guides. The guides and naturalists on our trip were all from the Galapagos and really knew their stuff.

Pinnacle Rock:

As for wildlife, there were more tired humans than anything else.  We did see plenty of Lava Lizards, which are found all around the islands.  As happens with several species, some of these lizards are endemic to a single island in particular.

Everybody back on the ship, we headed for Caleta Bucanero (Buccaneer's Cove) on Isla Santiago, about 1 1/2 hour boat ride away.

After arriving at Buccaneer's Cove, we had some time off to wander the decks.  We spotted porpoises and a number of sea birds playing near the ship.

While taking pictures, the wind popped Pati's hat right off and into the drink.  Seeing us waving goodbye to the hat, Zodiak driver and local hero Jorge performed an at-sea hat rescue and saved the planet from environmental contamination.  And Pati got her wet hat back.

An afternoon Zodiak tour of the cove challenged us to our first attempts at photographing wildlife other than Lava Lizards.  We did get some shots, but the critters were moving and so was the Zodiak.  Here, anyway, is the lovely rock they call "The Monk".

More wine, and dinner.  We were treated to local specialties every morning at breakfast, even at the hotel in Quito.  Tamales (called humitas) for breakfast!  Dinners aboard ship also had an Ecuadorian flair.

Galapagos 2016, Arrival

We've been wanting to go to the Galapagos Islands for years but just seemed to never get around to it. We finally made up our minds to go this year and spent a great deal of time and effort researching the best way to get there and see stuff.  We finally settled on Silversea Expeditions, an all-inclusive cruise that filled the bill.  We'd do it again!  And we'd recommend Silversea to anybody considering making the trip.  The boat was nice, the crew was friendly, the food was excellent, and the guides and naturalists were outstanding.

So, here we go.

First, a late arrival in Quito, made later by the aircraft being rerouted around the storm in the gulf. We finally arrived at the airport at about midnight, and were greeted by the Silversea greeters, who whisked us off to the hotel poste haste (probably because they wanted to go home).  At the hotel, at almost 1:00 a.m., we were presented with roses and water.  The hotel was making pretty certain that its guests did not drink the local water.  We spent the next day in Quito, taking a hop-on, hop-off tour of the city.  And drinking local beer.  Not local water.  Not much to see in Quito, but here's a couple of shots:

There were more roses in the hotel room.  About the roses: do you know where most of the roses at the florists here come from?  Ecuador!  The hotel had roses everywhere, and when flying over the city, one can see lots and lots of greenhouses.

The following day, we were off to the Islands via LATAM airlines.  It's a real airline.   First stop, Isla Baltra, which is your basic desert island.  Flat, with a runway.  And it's a blast into the past as you land, turn around on the runway (we don't need no stinking taxiways), and taxi back to the terminal which has no air conditioning.  That's the only terminal we've ever been in where the wind inside is stronger than the wind outside.  Here's the location:

Next we boarded a bus for a short trip to the pier, where we were issued life preservers, boarded a Zodiak, and headed off to the Silver Galapagos.  There are a few municipal piers in the Galapagos, but none will accomodate a ship of any size.  Therefore, everything that goes onto a larger boat arrives via smaller boat.  Everything that goes onto the Silver Galapagos (people, food, luggage, booze, etc.) arrives by Zodiak.

We settled in, drank some wine, and got ready for the adventure.