The baby sea lion is beyond cute Fidget. I’m glad you told us that mum came back to find him otherwise his cries would have been haunting me all day.
Sorry to hear about your fellow travellers for the second part of your trip. Some people really do think that having more money equates to more entitlement. You have to wonder why some of them are doing this trip - is it simply so they can say they’ve been? If they want to sunbathe on the beach that’s fine - but they can do that on a thousand other beaches.
You, on the other hand, seem to have made the most of your time there.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
We were scheduled for a hike and snorkeling, but OH seems to have had a reaction to last nights prawns, so we have a lazy day on ship. When he sees the doctor, she writes down what he has had on a list. I suspect he is not the only one who has seen the doctor. She suggests antibiotics, we have some with us. I got a private prescription for them last year when we went to North Sulawesi, and we were two and a half hours drive from the nearest large town. We didn't need to use them then, but they certainly sorted the problem out pretty quick this time.
While he was resting back in the cabin, I went upstairs for a coffee. I took it onto what is termed the smoking area, there are four double sunbeds. I settle on one, talking to the man on the next bed, while his wife is sat at a table, reading. The other two beds each have a couple on. A woman came out, looked at me, and asked me to move on to the bed next to the man so she could have the bed I was on. I did point out that while my husband wouldn't object, being somewhat incapacitated, I thought the wife of the man on the next bed might. We weren't even on first name terms. She huffed and had to settle for a chair in the sun.
We miss the trip to Rabida, where apparently dolphins were seen. It had quite a red sand beach.
The Butler, Danny, runs back and forth with cups of tea and toast. OH recovers enough to have a baked potato for dinner.
The next day I went in, there were four beds each occupied by one person. When a couple walked in behind me, one of them moved over.."We've been saving you a bed"
San Cristobal tortoise breeding centre near Cerro Colorado.
This centre was built to increase the population of the San Cristobal giant
tortoises, Geochelone Chatamensis, under conditions that are similar to
the natural habitat of this species.
These are saddlebacked tortoises, with longer necks than the dome shaped tortoises of Santa Cruz. They take the eggs from the nests, hatch them in incubators and grow them on in what look like cold frames with a pig mesh top, before moving on to a larger enclosure. As they get bigger they are less likely to be predated on and so get released.
The tortoises on Santa Cruz prefer grazing on grass on cattle ranches, these prefer being in a tree covered area. There is a fight between some males before the winner claims his prize, the chance to mate with a smallish female.
A walk over the mountain. If I had realised at the start that we were going to the top of that, I would have stayed on the beach with the sealions. There was supposed to be lots of birds but apart from seeing a mating dance from a pair of blue footed boobies, I think all the birds were hiding from the heat. It just killed my knees.
Tonight we have a special taster menu dinner for the four of us who did the two weeks , on the back deck. First course was a fish ceviche. I don’t do raw fish. sorry. rest was OK, and the pudding wine was delicious.
What an amazing experience and wonderful photos, I can see all the latest ones. Sounds as though some of the other people should have gone to the Spanish Costas! You know so much about the birds and animals.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I wanted to strangle an american woman who kept calling the giant tortoises , turtles.
I don't understand anyone going there if they don't know something about the animals. Haven't they watched David Attenborough, for crying out loud. Even if they hadn't, there was a talk every evening if they would only put their iphones down for an hour.
I think it's just so they can boast to their friends, "Oh yes, we visited the Galapagos". They're probably not even sure where they are! Love the tortoises - that face ! Reminds me of "One foot in the Grave". There are so many people on this planet now who have no idea of the beauty around them, because they're glued to a tiny screen.
Snorkelling from the beach out to a small island, some fish to see, but more to see on the beach. There are turtle nesting sites on one side, and a whale skeleton on the other side.
Yes, I know it's not straight.
In the middle are lots of lazing sealions, some of whom were happy to play in the surf, one in particular wanted someone to play with. Anyone in a black wetsuit could be suitable.
The boys from Chile are making sandcastles. Well what else is there to do?
One of the Italians has lost a diamond earring in the sand, and has the crew sifting sand looking for it. They don’t find it.
Afternoon walk Punta Suarez , Española
Short nature walk (one and a half hours.) My trainers are taped up again. So far this holiday I have ruined a pair of Nike Trainers, sole detaching from upper, ripped a pair of trousers on the zodiac, and my wetsuit has delaminated so is destined for the bin.
A walk over flat but rough terrain. Walking pole is needed.
On the jetty is a baby sealion that looks starved. A mother nearby is nursing a two year old. The guide thinks the two year old is the mothers older baby and the new baby is being ignored as the previous one is pushing it out. Either that or the mother has been killed at sea, and the sealions do not adopt orphans, they will only feed their own. The first beach we come to is a nursery area, lots of shallow water and the babies frolicking in the surf.
Over rough terrain, to a Nazca booby colony. Some have chicks a few days old, others are as large as the parents but resemble balls of fluff. A rainbow in the distance reminds us that it is rainy season. A rare Galapagos hawk perches on a rock, but then quickly flies off before anyone gets photos.
The Marine Iguanas on this island look quite different. Green and red rather than the black ones on Isabella. The first ones we saw last week were all black. Another lot were black and grey. Different subspecies on different islands.
A Lava lizard in breeding colours. They catch flies attracted to the sealions.
The zodiacs wait for us, with juvenile sealions frolicking in the shallows.
There are seven species of marine Iguana, three of mocking birds, and 14 but soon to be 17 species of Finches. Evolution in progress.
Cocktail of the day. Mai Tai.
Tomorrow we have a choice for the morning. The Darwin centre and Lonesome George, or the centre we went to last week with the Lava tube and Tortoises ranging free, or the coffee farm(with tortoises roaming free). We did the first two last week so opt for the coffee farm trip. Again people who were not listening ask silly questions, like how can they do all of them. Erm, come back again and do the other week? For some reason the coffee trip looks to be oversubscribed.I don't understand why. Why would you not want to see the Darwin centre and the research it does?
Beautiful beach @fidgetbones, and those iguanas are fascinating. I didn't know they came in colours like that. Shame about the diamond earring (!), let's hope it doesn't cause any harm to the wildlife. Those people who don't listen and are glued to their phones..... what would they do if the boat sank? "We told you what to do in the event of an emergency, unfortunately you didn't listen. Good luck". Thanks again for posting all this
Posts
Sorry to hear about your fellow travellers for the second part of your trip. Some people really do think that having more money equates to more entitlement. You have to wonder why some of them are doing this trip - is it simply so they can say they’ve been? If they want to sunbathe on the beach that’s fine - but they can do that on a thousand other beaches.
You, on the other hand, seem to have made the most of your time there.
This centre was built to increase the population of the San Cristobal giant tortoises, Geochelone Chatamensis, under conditions that are similar to the natural habitat of this species.There are so many people on this planet now who have no idea of the beauty around them, because they're glued to a tiny screen.
Bahia Gardner, Española
One of the Italians has lost a diamond earring in the sand, and has the crew sifting sand looking for it. They don’t find it.
Afternoon walk
Punta Suarez , Española
Short nature walk (one and a half hours.)
My trainers are taped up again. So far this holiday I have ruined a pair of Nike Trainers, sole detaching from upper, ripped a pair of trousers on the zodiac, and my wetsuit has delaminated so is destined for the bin.
A walk over flat but rough terrain. Walking pole is needed.
On the jetty is a baby sealion that looks starved. A mother nearby is nursing a two year old. The guide thinks the two year old is the mothers older baby and the new baby is being ignored as the previous one is pushing it out. Either that or the mother has been killed at sea, and the sealions do not adopt orphans, they will only feed their own. The first beach we come to is a nursery area, lots of shallow water and the babies frolicking in the surf.
Over rough terrain, to a Nazca booby colony. Some have chicks a few days old, others are as large as the parents but resemble balls of fluff. A rainbow in the distance reminds us that it is rainy season.
A rare Galapagos hawk perches on a rock, but then quickly flies off before anyone gets photos.
The Marine Iguanas on this island look quite different. Green and red rather than the black ones on Isabella. The first ones we saw last week were all black. Another lot were black and grey. Different subspecies on different islands.
There are seven species of marine Iguana, three of mocking birds, and 14 but soon to be 17 species of Finches. Evolution in progress.
Thanks again for posting all this