Everyday started around dawn (6 o'clock in the tropics) and included a hike, a snorkel, and a paddle at least. The wildlife was every bit as amazing as everyone told us and every bit as approachable. Here are a pair of Magnificent Frigatebirds in the middle of a courtship ritual - male on the right with the huge red pouch, female on the left with the blue ring round her eye - that apparently is how you tell the Magnificent Frigatebird from the merely Great (and much more common) Frigatebird. Well you learned something new every few minutes in Galapagos, especially with Juan, our extremely patient and knowledgeable Naturalist Guide.
Just to prove how good we were at getting up in the mornings here is another dawn shot, this time on our last morning. This is the famous, and quite spectacular Kicker Rock.
Back to the animals now. Galapagos sealions were everywhere and we have loads of pictures but we thought we'd show you the much less common Galapagos Fur Seal, which despite the name is actually a sealion as well, and related to the New Zealand fur seal.
One of the really special moments of the trip came when one of the crew spotted a pod of orcas during a passage between islands. We were able to get close enough to get a fantastic view of them feeding on a school of fish while blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds, noddies, and pelicans swarmed around hoovering up their leavings. Thanks Miguel! Even in Galapagos these sightings are special.
We could go on - we have around a thousand pictures between us - but we can't fit it all on a blog. Watch out for Galapagos 2.
2 comments:
Sounds absolutely fantastic.
Wow and Wow!! Talk about awesome - you must be really gobsmacked by now! What an adventure you are having - the blogs are brilliant - don't know how you find the time to do them Tom when your time is so packed with activity. Phenomenal stuff. I wonder has it seemed long or short to you? Can't believe it's nearly April!
cheers from Liz
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