Tag: Blue Footed Boobies

Galapagos: Day 3

April 29. Wakeup call is 7:20am with breakfast at 7:40. I’m getting quite used to the fresh fruit for breakfast: watermelon, pineapple and papaya, not to mention a variety of other selections including pancakes, rolls, yogurt, granola, eggs and sausage.

At 8:30 we climb into the pangas for a ride to the beach. We’re going to the Post Office. This is not your ordinary post office. In 1793 James Colnett, a British sea captain put up a barrel. The idea was that lonely sailors could deposit mail here and passersby would pick up mail they could deliver at their convenience. No postage required.

We dropped off three postcards and picked up three postcards we could deliver. One card with an address in Benicia caught my attention. I have a good friend in Benicia, and I thought this would be a good excuse to get together. So, once we’re back home I send my friend Dan an email saying I have a piece of mail from the Galapagos Post Office to deliver to somebody in Benica. Dan writes back and asks if it is addressed to Jane. Sure enough! Jane is his granddaughter and Dan had deposited the card on a recent trip to the Galapagos. What a funny coincidence.

Our panga ride included traveling along the shoreline to watch for wildlife.

Pelicans, sea lions, crabs, blue footed boobies and iguanas. I was also intrigued by the cactus which looked half Saguaro and half prickly pear, the Galapagos prickly pear.

At 10:30 we were back in the water snorkeling. We were hoping to find turtles, but we did not have much luck.

After lunch the ship weighed anchor and we made way for Isla Isabela. More photos for the day are available in an online gallery.

Galapagos: Day 2

April 28. We awake to find that we are anchored just off the north end of Isla Floreana at Punta Cormorant. After a hearty breakfast we board the pangas for a short ride to a beach. This is a wet landing, meaning your feet get wet when you step out of the panga onto the beach. Once on the beach we have our first encounter with Blue Footed Boobies. It just seems so odd to see birds with blue feet, to watch their antics as they prance around, and sky point as they carry out their mating rituals. We’re able to get quite close, but Rafa, our guide cautions us be aware of sea turtle nests that are also on the upper reaches of the beach. Then it’s off to a short walk to a lagoon to see Flamingos. The flamingos are a fair distance from the viewing area so I’m happy I have my big Nikon D850 and a 200-500mm lens.

While we’re walking along the beach Rafa is alerted to a sea turtle nest. The giveaway is the Frigate birds that are wheeling around overhead. The birds are attracted to the turtles as they emerge from the sand. You can see Rafa in the photo pointing to a baby sea turtle just emerging from the nest. Walking along the beach and the rocks we see a number of brightly colored Sally Lightfoot Crabs.

We’re back on board by mid-morning and at 10:30 we’re in the water with mask and snorkel swimming with a multitude of brightly colored fish.

After our adventure with the fish, it’s lunch time. Lunch is served on the upper deck with a panoramic view of the azure waters and islands in the distance. After lunch we weigh anchor and move to the west side of the Floreana. We go ashore at Puerto Velazco Ibarra where we climb on an open-air bus for a bumpy ride up the mountain to a tortoise breeding preserve.

We see a number of tortoises on the preserve and then we hike up the mountain a short distance to explore some caves carved by early visitors to the islands. The bus returns us to the small town of Puerto Velazco Ibarra where be buy popsicles before climbing back in the pangas for the ride back to our ship. Back onboard we have lovely dinner and view of the sunset.

After dinner Rafa shifts into story telling mode regaling us with the mystery of Floreana. More photos of our adventures for the day are available in an online gallery.