San Cristobal

We started early today with a 5 a.m. wake up call! Our flight to the Galapagos was leaving at 8:20 and we needed time to repack and eat. After another efficient check in, we were off on the 90 minute flight. Other than some turbulence when we were flying through the clouds, the flight was great. The only odd thing happened when the flight attendants sprayed all of our hand luggage with some kind of insecticide, apparently not toxic to humans! They are very, very fussy about the rules for visiting the Galapagos! 

Within 10 minutes of exiting the airport on San Cristobal, we saw our first wildlife. The harbour at Baquerizo Moreno, capital of the islands, was full of seals. They pretty much do whatever they want and are found lounging not only by the water but on walkways, roads and even stairs near the waterfront. 

We then boarded the zodiacs and headed out to the ship. Transfer to the ship was a bit of an adventure as you can see. No one fell in but there was a sweater overboard. 

Currently we're sailing towards a beach where we'll have our first wet landing which means you jump off the zodiac while it's still in a couple of feet of water. We'll get to explore the beach and at site called Cerro Brujo which means Wizard Hill. 

Wow! Our first contact with the land, water and creatures of the Galapagos was incredible! Nothing on paper or a dvd can prepare you for what you see in real life. As soon as we were on the beach, we started seeing sea lions, iguanas, crabs and many different birds. No matter which way you turned, there was something new. 

This is what one of our wet landings looked like. The crew steady the Zodiac against the beach and you swing your legs over and jump out. Sometimes the water is deeper but it's warm!

This is one of the swallow tailed gulls with its cool red eyeliner. 

This was one of the first sea lions we saw after landing on the beach. You can tell it's a sea lion and not a seal by the external ear flaps and by its ability to stand on its front flippers. 

This is a Sally Lightfoot crab. They are apparently named after a dancer that old mariners saw on some island. We heard a few variations on the story. 

Most of the sea lions we saw during the day were doing something like this!

We had this taken after a brief but intense rain shower. That's our ship in the distance. 

These are tracks from a sea turtle going to nest.

Everyone was going a bit crazy when we saw our first iguanas but you quickly got used to them. 

The landscapes were beautiful no matter which way you turned. 

We returned to the ship just in time to see our first equatorial sunset. Unlike at home, the sun just drops in a straight line to the horizon. It was a day beyond our expectations with much more to come tomorrow.