Galapagos Land Tortoises

Today, Thursday, on our way to the Galapagos airport we stopped and visited the large land tortoises. The one animal we have always associated the most with the Galapagos. We had to walk up to them quietly or they will retract their heads into their shell. We flew from the Galapagos back to Guayaquil where we stay the night before our early morning flight home.

I'm not sure what we were expecting in the Galapagos. Lots of tiny wild islands full of creatures we had never seen before? In many ways it was similar to other island cruises we've taken, such as Fiji, Tahiti, and the Caribbean. Each day the ship arrives at some island where we go ashore and visit. More similar to Fiji in that the islands are devoid of any sign of civilization. We were also surprised by the frequency of water activities, we had the opportunity to snorkel most every day and on days we didn't snorkel we took zodiac rides. Sometimes we did both. The water was surprisingly warm, unusual for this time of year and apparently caused by the El Nino in the Pacific.

The islands of the Galapagos that we visited were much more desolate than we were expecting. It is an arid environment, not lush and tropical like Hawaii or the Caribbean. Many more marine creatures than land creatures. We're glad we saw both the Galapagos and Machupicchu and are ready to go home.

Lava Rocks

This afternoon, Wednesday, we snorkeled and saw many tortoises and a
starfish. We also saw an octopus but he was small and quickly
disappeared in the rocks.

Then later we walked the lava flows. Very difficult walking and very
hot. Fortunately a strong wind was blowing the entire hike which kept us
cool. When we returned to the coast we saw an amazing display of iguanas
and some penguins.

Today is our last day on the ship. Tomorrow we will be taken by bus
across one of the islands where hopefully we will see land tortoises.
We've only seen marine tortoises so far. Then we board the plane to take
us back to Guayaquil.

On our last blog entry tomorrow we will reflect on our experiences in
Galapagos.

Mangroves in Elizabeth Bay

This morning, Wednesday, we took a zodiac ride through the mangroves in
Elizabeth Bay on Isabela Island. As we approached the mangroves we
passed lava flows with herons, blue-footed boobies, and Galapagos
penguins both in the water and on the lava outcroppings. A sea lion came
by to check us out.

Flamingos and Rays

This afternoon, Tuesday, we walked around Floreana Island and saw a
brackish lagoon with flamingos. Then walked on to a beach famous for the
sting rays that are always there. The rays were in the surf so were easy
to see.

Swimming with Tortoises

On this Tuesday we enjoyed our last day on the water. This afternoon and
the next two days are on land. First we took a zodiac ride and saw a
lone flamingo, a great heron, and a blue footed boobie.

After going ashore we visited the post office where sailors left letters
to be picked up by others heading home. They keep up the tradition today
and tourists leave post cards to be picked up by subsequent tourists.
When we got to the post office we all looked thru the post cards left by
previous visitors and we were encouraged to take any addressed to places
close to where we live to hand deliver them. They emphasized they should
be hand delivered. We were very surprised when someone called out they
had a post card for Del Mar and it turned out to be addressed to people
we know! So we will be hand delivering a post card to them when we get
back. What a coincidence.

Then we went snorkeling and saw many tortoises. Most were at the bottom
in murky water so hard to get a good picture, but then one came to the
surface to breathe so I got a good shot.

The beach on Cerro Brujo

This afternoon, Monday, we were given a tour by zodiac of beautiful
cliffs and then walked a great beach with soft white sand and lots of
sea lions. Back on board we sailed out watching the sun set over sea
lion rock.

Kayaking around San Cristobal Island

Today, Monday, we slept late while the more adventurous did a power hike
to the top of San Cristobal Island. After breakfast we kayaked along
the coast of the island. A sea lion seemed curious about us and swam
around our kayak and underneath.

We did a little swimming off the beach after kayaking. The water is
surprisingly warm, we were able to swim for 15 minutes without wet suits
and we very comfortable. The guide says the el nino effect is driving
warmer waters to this area.

Snorkeling off Santa Fe Island

This afternoon, Sunday, we cruised to Santa Fe Island where we snorkeled
in a cove. We had hoped to be swimming with sharks but none were seen.
The water was surprisingly warm and since we were wearing wet suits we
were quite comfortable. It was nice to be in the water but the
underwater scenery was poor. The water was a bit murky and there few
fish. Did see some turtles.