Red Footed Boobie perched in a bush.
This is the white variation of the Red Footed Boobie.
We were fortunate to be here when the chicks were a little larger.
This is another example of how close you get to the birds. That's a Nazca Boobie.
These are the famous Frigate Birds. The males expand their pouches and make a lot of noise to attract females.
Sometimes they even fly with their pouch inflated which messes with aerodynamics!
On the beach we saw a very young sea lion trying to feed from a female who wasn't interested. There were numerous pairs of nesting gulls as well. We spent a couple of hours with our guide and the National Geographic photographers getting all kinds of great shots of the birds. As much as I see it every day here, it's still amazing to be able to approach the wildlife to almost within touching distance everywhere you go. And each day you think it can't get better, but it does!
A section of the beach was made of broken pieces of coral so it wasn't a good idea to go barefoot.
It was another quick turnaround after the beach as our final snorkel outing was right after lunch. As we were riding to the drop off location, we saw a number of bottle nosed dolphins and they started breaching around the Zodiac. We hoped that they would follow us to the drop off place and hang out, but they didn't. Since we were inside a volcano, the sides were very steep and rugged. We snorkelled along the rock walls looking at the fish and sea lions. At one point we saw a couple of sharks and then a sea lion started zooming around us. Once again today I felt as if I was in a giant aquarium surrounded by tropical fish.
After lunch, we headed out on our very last exploration. For this one, we climbed a very steep set of stairs carved into the wall of the volcanic caldera. Once on top, we walked through an area of stunted looking incense trees where red footed boobies were nesting.
It wasn't an easy set of stairs.
Once we left the trees, we walked on a lava covered stretch of the sea shore and saw many more mating frigate birds. The land was again very desolate with only a few plants managing to grow. The highlight of our last hike was finding two short eared owls in the rocks. These are quite hard to find so it seemed a fitting end to our adventure.
Here's Marilyn showing again how close we were to some of the wildlife. The Nazca boobies, like this one, would walk across the path or just stand in the middle and you would go around or wait until they moved.
These are the short eared owls that we saw. This first one has lost an eye, probably due to a fight with another bird.
We both think that this was our best trip to date for a number of reasons. First, it was a real adventure and ranked up there with our Route 66 drive and the 14 000 km drive to Alaska and the northern states. Second, we got to experience a part of the world that is truly amazing on so many levels that it gives you something new every single day. And, third, we once again have met some great new people who we hope to stay connected with over time. We were lucky enough to meet and become friends with three more Australians, a lovely family from Michigan, and couple from New York who helped us navigate JFK on our way home. It's great to know that you can travel to other parts of the world on new voyages and reconnect with friends you've already made.
Being in these islands changes you I think. You see nature from a different perspective and realize that it is at times both resilient and vulnerable. The people who work and live in the islands are very committed to preserving them for everyone to experience at some point in their lives. We both agree that it would be totally worthwhile for anyone to consider a trip to the Galapagos Islands. Just remember to bring your hiking boots and more sunscreen than you think you'll ever need!
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