Feb 10, 2013 - Swimming with turtles, sea lions and iguanas

Feb. 10 It's a rainy day in paradise so after breakfast, we decided to go snorkelling first since one gets wet anyway. We paddled around watching the sea lions play, seeing lots of pretty fish and stingrays. Everyone else was back on the boat and I was dawdling as it was just so nice. Suddenly a turtle swam in front of me so I bolted after it and swam with it for a while and got some great video and pictures. Back at the boat I discovered many had been watching the turtle and I and were surprised at how fast I could swim. Lol. I didn't want...

Apr 19, 2012 - South Plazas & Santa Fe Island

Dotted by huge prickly pear cactus trees, South Plaza and Sante Fe Islands are two small islands that were formed as a result of geological uplifting which took place over a million years ago. Home to the famed endemic Galapagos Land Iguana, some populations have been nearly wiped out by ferrel dogs in the past; however, a hugely successful captive breeding program has allowed these endangered populations to recover. We were privileged to see these magnificent reptiles as part of a healthy population in the wild.

Mar 2, 2011 - Sante Fe

Santa Fe Sante Fe 26 Feb 2011 – 2200 in Galapagos This is just a place marker until I can get the proper update written. For a précis of what we did between 26th Feb and 3rd Mar, including today, please read the entry titled CATCH UP. Until the next update, Happy Trails! Ray

May 31, 2010 - N. Seymour and Santa Fe Is

See Pics Land & Sea Life Seen:) N.Seymour...great walk on shore *All Critters marked like this indicates first time observed! bluefooted booby, sm yellow tree finch*, great frigatebird (red pouch), magnificent frigatebird*, swallow-tailed gull* (night fishing-followed our boat most nights), brn pelican, Galapagos sealion*, land iguana*, marine iguana, yellowtailed grunts*. Yellow Tree Finch +++ Magnificent Frigatebird Swallowtailed Gull Swallowtail Gull Gala Sea Lion Gala Land Iguana Yellow Tailed Grunt Info All Marine Fish I.D....

Mar 7, 2010 - a day in the past

Galapagos Blog # 8 Thurs Mar 4, 2010…we think! This morning’s hike was on the island of Isabela, the largest in the Galapagos. It was formed by five volcanoes. We hiked on the shore line where the sea floor had been uplifted above the water line only 50 years ago. We saw penguins, pelicans and lot’s of crab activity. There was evidence of sea turtle nesting higher up the black sand dunes, so we had to be very careful where we walked. We suddenly came across sea lions basking on the beach and they were not at all interested in us. One opened...

Mar 7, 2010 - time running out

Galapagos Blog # 9 Tues Mar 2, 2010 Santa Cruz Island Somehow we forgot this day. That’s no surprise since we have no idea what day it is and we have been kept so busy, so here goes. We anchored in Academy Bay, off the town of Puerto Ayora. The first civilization since leaving Guayaquil! Buses took us to the Galapagos Park Service where they have the Giant Tortoise conservation center and the Charles Darwin Research Center. Here we had our first encounter with the Giant Tortoises. We were first shown the nursery where the babies were quite...

Mar 4, 2010 - here we go again

Galapagos Blog # 7 Weds Mar 3, 2010 After yet another delicious lunch, we set ashore to Fernandina Island for another hike. Fernandina is the youngest of the islands with regular eruptions still. Jason prepared us by saying we would have a “dry landing”… Well it certainly was a dry landing onto a small concrete jetty amongst tall mangroves. The group ahead of us wouldn’t move forward for our arrival. However, it was soon discovered that a traffic jam had been caused by hundreds of marine iguanas piled up on top of one another right in the...

Nov 24, 2009 - Bay Tour and more...

Ok so enroute back from the Darwin Centre we headed into some of the tour "shops" to see about getting a cheap last minute tour. We were successfull, paying $20 for a 3 hour tour of the Island Bay on the Sunday morning. The rest of the night followed the same routine as any other night, so there is little worth writing about. On the sunday however we awoke early to grey skies, heading down to join the bay tour at 9. The entire tour was fantastic. We headed out to one of the smaller Islands first, the name of which I cannot remember. Off...

Jun 26, 2009 - Las Plazas & Santa Fe - Friday

OMG!!! You could freeze meat in my cubicle of a cabin. I started last night in long pajamas, inside my silk sleeping bag, with a sheet & blanket over me. One by one I put socks on, robbed the blanket from the other bunk, and put on my fleece zipped all the way to my neck. When that still didn't help, I hooked my cabin door to the hall open with the prayer that some of the conditioned air pouring in would find its way on out. I know I dozed some, but mostly remember being AWAKE. I'm really tired today. The daily routine begins with breakfast...

Apr 12, 2008 - Galapagos 4

Saturday April 12th – Sailed to Santa Fe island. Hiked around the island observing sea lions, iguanas, nocturnal gulls (the swallow tailed gull) including one with nest of small stones/pebbles on the path. Also saw where the loser (that is those bulls who had lost a fight for a harem) sea lions hung out. Then we went to Plaza Sur where the beach was littered with families of sea lions. A dominant male every 50 metres or so. Loads of land iguanas again, including a couple of quite young ones. Rest of the day taken up with snorkelling and...