Galapagos: Isabela and Fernandina

The island of Isabela was our first stop the next day. During the ride to shore, we saw more dolphins swimming around than we saw the entire rest of the trip, which was very cool.



The shore was very rocky and the sand was black (i.e., not very fine and not very comfortable to walk on), but the rest of the walk around the island was fairly easy.



Isabela was also our first opportunity to see land tortoises. These were actually small compared to the ones we would see later, but they were still pretty big and very cool to see.







My ongoing quest to get decent bird photos continued. I don't believe we saw any birds we hadn't seen before that morning, but I was still able to get some decent shots.







There were a number of land iguanas hiding in the bushes on our walk, so this was a fairly typical scene:



We spent some time walking around in the rocks/tide pools at the end of the walk. Crabs were particularly abundant.





Our afternoon stop, Fernandina, was fascinating simply for the sheer abundance of wildlife, particularly marine iguanas. They hang out in the part of the island we visited in the hundreds. It's hard to believe until you see it. There were other things to see, too.

Sea lion:



Iguanas are pretty lazy creatures. Their favorite activity seems to be basking in the sun.





They frequently pile on top of each other in order to add to the warmth.



And I'm really not kidding when I say that they were everywhere.









Again, I never did figure out what these guys were, but their eyes are great.



It took a lot of effort, but I finally got a decent photo of this dragonfly I saw flying around.



The flightless cormorant, a very unusual looking bird.



Sea lions.



Lava cactus is pretty unusual looking, and true to its name, it grows right on top of hardened lava.



A whale died on the beach. In order to keep its skeleton from washing away, some naturalists moved it further up the shore and reassembled it. It was bleached brilliant white by the sun.




Be sure to check out my other Ecuador/Galapagos entries if you haven't already.

The skies over Ecuador

I always enjoy taking photos from the air. Our flight to the Galapagos Islands was particularly fortuitous because it offered some great views of the Andes and of some of the islands. We were on the right side of the plane for taking photos, too, which meant that photos of the volcanoes that had proved elusive the day before were now possible.

Cotopaxi volcano


Cotopaxi and Chimborazo volcanoes


Cotopaxi and Chimborazo volcanoes


Chimborazo












The coast of one of the Galapagos Islands.


Be sure to check out my previous Ecuador/Galapagos entries if you haven't already.

Galapagos: Santa Cruz and San Salvador

Our next day in the islands consisted of stops on Santa Cruz and San Salvador islands. I really liked the terrain on Santa Cruz. It was open and more like what I would expect from a pretty desert island. I'm sure that the fact the sun came out helped matters, too. Most of our time here was spent walking along the beach, and it was a great day for it.

See the crab?



Wreckage from a WWII barge.



Great Frigate bird in flight.



Pelican in flight.



Tide pools in the islands are frequently full of small fish, crabs and other forms of life.



Our only stop not on the beach was a brackish pond. Fortunately, we found one example of what we were looking for. This would be the only flamingo we saw the entire trip. Pretty interesting to watch.







Santa Cruz has its own, less colorful variety of marine iguanas. I caught this guy in the middle of finishing his breakfast.



My favorite crab shot of the trip.



This heron was fishing in the surf.



Views from the beach.







Our visit to San Salvador in the afternoon was more about a hike and views of the island than it was about wildlife, and this made it different from most of the other excursions we went on. It was a warm and sunny day, and the hike was fairly short and not too strenuous, except in certain parts where a lot of stairs had to be climbed. The terrain we covered was once described by a U.S. astronaut as being more like the surface of the moon than any other place on earth he'd been. I can see that.







Excellent views from the top of the trail.



The round depression in the front is an old caldera.



We went cruising near that caldera when we got back to the Zodiac, and were rewarded with our second and final opportunity to see a lone Galapagos penguin, this time hanging out on the rocks.