Galapagos: Floreana Island

Our day on Floreana started out well. I went out on deck early and was able to see a group of dolphins swimming close to shore, which was very cool, as I hadn't seen that before.



We went ashore in two different places, and as had been the case with the other islands we visited, the terrain was different than the islands before. Floreana was dry, but not as dry as North Seymour had been. There was more vegetation than either of the other islands, but there was also less wildlife in that vegetation. It may have just been the time of year. When we booked our cruise more than a year ago, we were actually given a list of what we might see depending on which month we chose to come. Everything in the island depends on the mating season, migration patterns, etc. That would work to our benefit in some places, and hurt us in others.

Typical Floreana terrain:





Darwin finch:



The first sea turtle we saw. She had just finished laying her eggs:







They're very slow creatures, and it takes them a lot of effort to get from the shore to their nests, which they dig out with their flippers. Here's this one's path from the shore:



Many of the animals in the islands have amazing camouflage. Juvenile crabs look very much like the rocks they spend most of their time on:



Sea lions are cute, so even though they're everywhere and one of the most abundant animals in the islands, it's hard to stop taking pictures of them.



We had been advised not to wear bright colored clothes on Florena. These paper wasps were the reason why. They're attracted to bright colors, but interestingly enough, I found them to be more attracted to my white camera lens than anything else.



Seashell on the beach:



Baby booby:



I'm not much for snorkeling, but Becca decided to take advantage a few times during our trip. This was the first:



More Floreana terrain:





We took a Zodiac ride in a different location on the island that afternoon. Here are some of the photos we saw on that part of the excursion.

Mother sea lion with a pup:



My best blue-footed booby shot of the trip:



We saw a white-tipped reef shark swimming around, but I wasn't able to get a picture of him. I was able to get a picture of this guy, however:



It's a Galapagos penguin. Our Zodiac was the only one to see a penguin that day, and we would only see one more the entire trip.

The animals we saw on Floreana were very cool, but for me, the most memorable thing about Floreana was what we saw that night, and it wasn't really on the island. We were told that the next place we were sailing to would have clearer skies, and that some of the wildlife might swim up to the ship. This turned out to be true. We saw sea lions, pelicans and other wildlife swimming around, which was very cool. The best part of the evening, however, was the clear skies. For the first and only time in my life, I could actually see the Milky Way. One of the naturalists came out on deck with a laser pointer and pointed out various constellations (they're much different in that part of the world) and the brightest "star" in the sky, which was actually Jupiter. I've always liked astronomy and have wanted to get into it more, so seeing that was very special.

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

Galapagos: Kicker Rock and Espanola Island

This day started out harmlessly enough. We woke up early to take a Zodiac ride around Kicker Rock. The sunrise was decent and so was the boat ride. We saw some sea lions and birds on and around the rock, and overall, it was pleasant.

Kicker Rock:



Sea lions:



Kicker Rock in brighter light (note the Zodiac going between the two rocks to get a perspective on their size):




Our next stop sounded lame and touristy, so we opted to stay on the ship and hang out and rest. We never heard anything great about that stop, so I think that was a good idea.

We set sail for Espanola, an island in the southeast, shortly before lunch. This is when things got rough...REALLY rough. The Xpedition is a small ship, as far as cruise ships go--only 92 guests--so we felt every wave in the choppy waters we experienced on our way to Espanola. Despite laying down most of the afternoon, I threw up twice. Becca threw up twice as well. It was a miserable afternoon and the worst sea sickness I have ever experienced (never had any on our previous two cruises, actually). The pain and suffering turned out to be well worth it, though. Espanola was my favorite island, filled with animals and birds, pretty landscapes and wonders of every kind. Again, I'll let the photos do the talking.

Marine iguanas (yes, there are that many of them and they do pile up like that to keep each other warm):







Baby sea lions fighting/playing:



Lava lizard (they're everywhere, but much smaller than iguanas):



Heron:



Blue-footed booby:



Swimming marine iguana (very cool to watch, I might add):







I forget what these little guys are called:



Galapagos hawk:



Yellow warbler:



Baby albatross:



The cliffs of Espanola:





Nazca boobies:



Blowhole:





Albatross thinking about flying:



Albatrosses doing a mating dance:





Blue-footed boobies fighting over an egg:





Blue-footed booby taking care of a baby:



Nazca booby:



I never found out what this guy was, but check out that red eye:



This little guy somehow got a bunch of sand in his eyes:



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

Galapagos: North Seymour

We took an early flight to the Galapagos Islands on Sunday. I took some cool photos from the plane of the Cotopaxi and Chimborazo volcanoes, so I'll have to post those sometime. Anyway, the flight would have been much shorter if we hadn't had to land in Guayaquil first, but at least we didn't have to change planes.

The Galapagos airport is on a small island called Baltra. The airport was originally built by the US military to protect the Panama Canal during WWII. The military handed it over to the Ecuadorean government after the war, and it's served as the Galapagos airport ever since. In any case, this was the most ghetto airport we've ever been in by far. The conditions weren't terrible, but it was very small and all of the buildings were open-air. Kind of weird.

We were driven to a nearby dock and then taken to the ship via Zodiac inflatable boat. This would be our transportation to and from land for the next week. After we dropped off our stuff in our room, we had a buffet lunch and then hung out for a while. After a short drill, we were off to our first stop, North Seymour island. North Seymour was very dry, with a fair amount of brush and cactus. It was here that we discovered that most of the trails that we'd be on would be clearly marked, and that we would not be permitted to stray much from those trails. I loved this vacation and there are few things about it that I would change, but this was one of them. I like to wander around and do my own thing, and this is not allowed in the Galapagos Islands. You have to stay on trails and you have to be accompanied by a registered guide. Bummer.

We quickly discovered that what people say about the animals in the islands is true: they're abundant and they don't fear people. You can walk up to or next to them, and for the most part they won't flinch, won't run away, won't attack you. It's very unusual and unlike anything I've seen anywhere else in the world.

The vast majority of our stops included "long" and "short" hikes; we always opted for the "long" hikes, and I'm glad we did. I felt like we saw more, spent more time on land, and the hikes were anything but strenuous, except for one hike up to the top of a hill to catch the view below (more on that later).

I'll let the animals and the scenery do the rest of the talking for me.

Typical North Seymour terrain:



Sea Lions:



Frigate bird:



Yellow warbler:



Our first marine iguana:



Our first land iguana:



Another land iguana (we would quickly discover they were everywhere in the islands, and each island pretty much has its own varieties, with different colors and sizes):



Blue-footed booby:



Baby blue-footed booby:



Another sea lion:



Blue-footed booby:



Great frigate (fascinating how they puff up those red sacs like that):



Blue-footed boobies mating:



Galapagos dove:



Our ship, the Celebrity Xpedition:



Sunset that evening: