Tales from the Galapagos: Genovesa Island - Darwin's Bay

This first stop on Genovesa Island was a walk along Darwin's Bay. A beautiful mangrove area with sooo many birds!

We saw this male frigate bird shortly after getting out of the panga and I snapped it to make sure I had at least one photo (we hadn't seen any males with the red pouch inflated yet). Little did I know that we were about to see so many more!

A lava gull pair and a sense of the terrain - very different than the other islands.

And, of course, a roly poly sea lion.

Here's a better photo of the male frigate bird. They inflate this red pouch to attract females during mating season. It can take them up to 20 minutes to inflate the pouch and then it stays inflated for days - we even saw a few flying with pouch inflated.

This gives you an idea of how many birds there were on this island. Clearly a favorite spot!

A yellow crowned night heron perched near a prickly pear cactus.

And the beautiful red-footed booby. The blue-footed get all the press because of their feet color but just look at the gorgeous bill and soft-looking downy feathers on these guys. I so wanted to reach out and feel that head to see if it was as soft as it looked.

The prickly pear are much taller here and of course a lot older too.

A Nasca booby pair discussing their nest.

Tucked up in the mangrove branches was this adorable little chick. We even got to see momma feeding it. They regurgitate food for the little ones.

A view of the bay and our pangas coming back from the ship to collect us.

Tales from the Galapagos: Bartolome Island

Up and out the door before breakfast to beat the heat on this uphill climb to one of the most photographed lookout points in the Galapagos, Bartolome Island.

A pretty barren place - the grey bits are shrubs that can lie dormant during the dry season. They're so equally spaces because they are territorial plants to ensure each plant gets enough nutrients to thrive.

This cactus is believed to be the first to populate the island. The seeds most likely carried in by a bird poop and able to sprout in the that tiny bit of 'soil'. Just amazing.

Luckily, the park service installed this trail a few years ago to make the trek safer and minimize erosion. It was up and up but gradual enough and with four rest areas so not too bad.

And because we left so early, we avoided the heat and got to see the sunrise.

At the summit, you get this stunning view of the islands.

The crater in the middle is the original point of the volcano that created this island and has since begun to sink back down into the ocean.

Tales from the Galapagos: Eden Islet

This day's adventure was a panga (Zodiac) boat ride along the shore of the Eden Islet looking for marine iguanas and other critters.

This photo gives you an idea of the coastline and terrain of the islet. Volcanic layers and layers and prickly pear cactus on top.

A great blue heron keeping an eye out for some breakfast.

A blue-footed booby gazing inland.

And a lava heron, which are supposedly a bit rare and harder to spot.

And, of course, the marine iguanas.

You can get an idea here of how clear the water was. In fact, we were able to see some rays and a couple of baby hammerhead sharks! Unfortunately, they were impossible to photograph so you'll have to take our word for it.

A beautiful sunny day and just look at the color of that water.

Tales from the Galapagos: Santa Cruz Island Highlands

Up til now, we'd only seen the giant tortoises in captivity. This afternoon was our chance to see them in the wild on Santa Cruz island.

Yep, that's a real tortoise shell and yep, that's Brian inside it . . .

Tales from the Galapagos: Puerto Ayora & the Darwin Research Station

This day's adventure included a visit to the Darwin Research Station and the town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island. While open to visitors, the station is an active research center for the Galapagos islands and a large breeding center for tortoises.

Tortoise shells vary by species and are said to have evolved based on the type of vegetation available on their island of residence. The photo above is a dome shell and the one below is called a saddle back.

This tortoise would have come from an island where the vegetation was up high which is why his neck is so long and accounts for the saddle back shell shape.

All of the tortoises in this area were once 'pets' for locals around Ecuador. Before the islands were established as a national park, having a pet tortoise was cool and handed down through generations (tortoises can live to well over 100 years). This project is working to identify which islands these belong, rehabilitate them to live in the wild and then release them.

We then had some free time in town. Not much to see - mostly tourist shops selling t-shirts, but there was the occasional lovely view.

And then there was the fish market in the center of town. Note the sea lion waiting for handouts and the pelicans waiting for the sea lion to get full! Since all the animals are protected here, the locals just put up with them.

Tales from the Galapagos: Espanola Island

Although it's difficult to choose a favorite, Espanola island might be #1 for me. The hike wasn't too hard, the weather was warm, but not stifling and we saw so many interesting animals.

A two for one in this photo. In the foreground is the Christmas marine iguana. Named such because the males turn bright red and green during mating season. We were a bit late so the red and green aren't so pronounced, but you can still see how they got their name. Behind him is a cute little lava lizard.

I'm not sure what this bird was, but the photo gives you a good idea of how unafraid of people the animals are in the Galapagos. They didn't seem to have the same rules of 'don't touch' that we did!

Baby sea lion nursing. Sea lion females are practically continuously pregnant once they reach maturity. This mama is suckling a 1-2 year old while pregnant. Babies nurse for their first two years before they're on their own. And again, neither of them could have cared less that 14 people were standing in front of them snapping photos!

 Lava lizard posing for the camera.

 And the star of this island, the Galapagos Albatross. This species is only found in the Galapagos. They nest on the ground and mate for life.

Can you spot the marine iguana swimming in the natural pool?

Iguanas get cold in the ocean so pile upon one another on the rocks to soak up the sun. Trivia: a group of iguanas is called a mess!

Another view of our handsome Christmas marine iguana.

One of the very interesting things about the Albatross is their 'dancing' - a form of communication for sure and also part of the mating ritual. I caught a bit of video of these two dancing and it's just amazing. YouTube it or ask me next time I'm around.

And last is the Galapagos hawk who sits on top of the food chain out here. There are really no predators for most of these animals except this hawk who does not scavenge but hunts live food. Watch out little lizards and baby birds!