On Tuesday afternoon, we headed back to Santa Cruz Island (our first excursion) but this time to the Highlands to see the giant tortoises. Most of the giant tortoises had begun their journey towards the ocean to mate, but we did get see some that were still lingering in the highlands.
{ 0 comments }
Last Tuesday was our last full day in the Galapagos. In the morning, we visited North Seymour Island known for its concentration of frigate birds and blue footed boobies – we saw hundreds of birds and even got to see the mating dance of the blue footed boobies (video to come after we get home). We also got a chance to go snorkeling again next to North Seymour where we saw an Eagle Ray and Jeff saw 7 to 8 foot shark!
These are actually seagulls…
Blue footed boobies – this one is getting ready to do his mating dance which involves sticking his tail up, lifting his feet up and down, and then making a sound kind of like a whistle (video to come later…)
This boobie is watching over his mate….
Frigate Bird – when ready to mate, the male frigate inflates a large red pouch beneath its beak….
A closer view of the frigate’s red pouch…
The male frigate with the largest pouch wins the female’s attention – I think this guy wins.
A view of Daphne Major from North Seymour Island – the finches on Daphne Major were studied for over 20 years by husband and wife evolutionary scientists, Peter and Rosemary Grant – it was here, starting in the 1970′s, that they documented evolution occurring among the finches.
{ 1 comment }
We crossed the equator 4 times during our cruise in the Galapagos – here’s what we saw during our last crossing….
Views of Isabella Island…
Dolphins swimming along our cruise ship…
And the sunset…
{ 0 comments }
On Monday afternoon, our ship made its way to Isabella Island where we snorkeled off the zodiac. We also toured the coast of Isabella in the zodiac.
For our deep water snorkeling, Jeff and I had to wear wet suits (the water was surprisingly cold). The water was a bit murky and since it was also cloudy, visibility wasn’t great……but this didn’t stop up from being thrilled to swim with the giant sea turtles! I really wish we had thought to bring a waterproof camera! These giant creatures swam right up to us and we would often turn our head to see one only a few feet away. One even surfaced for air about 2 feet in front of Jeff’s face! This was definitely a highlight of our trip so far. We also saw many different brightly colored fish and a shark – honestly, knowing that there was a shark (even a small one) lurking in the water with me was a bit unsettling.
During our zodiac tour, we were in awe of the beauty and scale of the cliffs of Isabella. We also saw our first blue footed boobie and had our one and only sighting of a Galapagos penguin.
Mist coming down on cliffs of Isabella.
The cliffs towered over our cruise ship (which isn’t exactly small).
Our zodiac went inside this cave which magnified the sound of the waves crashing against its walls.
The first of many blue footed boobies – they really do have blue feet!
And the illusive Galapagos penguin…
{ 0 comments }
Monday morning’s excursion was to Fernandina Island, which was absolutely beautiful. It’s amazing how each of the Galapagos Islands differs in its fauna, flora, and landscape. On Fernandina, we saw hundreds of marine iguanas – we even saw groups of them making their way into the ocean for a swim – it was definitely strange to see an iguana swimming along next to our zodiac!
Baby sea lions wait on the shore for their mothers to return with food…this one just woke up from a nap.
These bright red crabs can be found on most of the islands – their color is not a problem since their hard shells deter predators.
While we saw hundreds of marine iguanas, this was a unique sight….a lava lizard crawled up onto the head of one of the iguanas!
This is my dad watching a marine iguana swim next to our zodiac as we left the island.
{ 0 comments }
On Sunday afternoon, we made our way to Santiago Island where we walked on lava rocks along the shore. Here we had our first experience with marine iguanas – Darwin called these creatures “imps of darkness” as he’d never seen anything quite like them before. We also saw a few sea lions taking a nap in the afternoon sun.
{ 0 comments }