- Start of trip and Quito
- Flight to Baltra and underway — our Galapagos adventure begins!
- Española Island, Galapagos Islands
- Floreana Island, Galápagos Islands
- Isabela Island, Galápagos Islands
- South Plaza Island, Galápagos Islands
- Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Islands
- A quick stop in Lima, Peru
- Ollantaytambo, Peru
- Machu Picchu — we finally got here!
- Back to Cusco, Peru
- Back to Lima and end of trip
Greetings from Española, the southernmost and one of the oldest of the Galápagos Islands. As appears to be the daily program, there are generally three activities during the day, in two different locations. Today we made two stops: Gardner Bay, a nearly mile long sandy beach and Punta Suarez, a very rocky trail along the coastline. In the former location, we did our first “wet” landing. What is cool about their boats is that the bow can actually lower a ramp that lets you get off and onto the shore with a minimum of effort. Anyway, we hiked along the beach and enjoyed what is one the most important sea lion colonies in the islands. Sea lions are considered the mascot of the Galápagos Islands; they turn up everywhere — on land and in the sea. While they were a bit curious of us, they certainly were not intimidated. We also got our first look at marine iguanas. On Española, the marine iguanas don’t get very big, but they do have some color besides “basic black.” In this case the reds and greens are from the algae they eat and, not surprisingly, they are called Christmas iguanas. After the walk, we did a snorkeling expedition out to a small island a few hundred yards off the beach. This was probably ill-advised in that there was quite a swell (especially on the seaward side of the island) and many inexperienced snorkelers struggled both to get out and back, as well as navigating through the surge. We did see a variety of fish and our first white tipped shark, but the water was pretty cloudy from all the wave action.
In the afternoon, we made it over to Punta Suarez in a different part of the island. Here we did a “dry” landing where you actually walk up some steps and then step (or jump) onto the rocks. The trail in Punta Suarez was a real ankle breaker, but we were rewarded with a wide variety of birds (including Blue Footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies, Galapagos Dives, and even a Galapagos Hawk) and more sea lions, marine iguanas, and lava lizards. The nesting area for the Nazca Boobies was absolutely huge and there were a lot of new juveniles there. Of course, a Galapagos Hawk made a couple of passes overhead, looking for easy pickings. I never could catch him on my camera. The highlight of the day was the Blue Footed Boobie mating dance. He whistles and lifts his feet to show off his cool blue; if she likes him, she grunts and follows suit. While they spend some time “dating,” they ultimately mate for life. We were really lucky to see this! Tomorrow we are off to Floreana Island!
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
