Galapagos Expedition | Day 8

Fernandina Island



For our early morning hike, the panga driver dropped us off on a shore covered in black lava rock. When these rocks are wet with sea water, as they were on this morning, they’re as slippery as a bar of soap, making walking on them very treacherous. You really don’t want to fall here. The rocks are very sharp. Good balance is important as we gingerly creep along, stepping on the rougher, jagged points of the rocks to gain a bit of traction.

Along with good balance, good eyesight is just as important. Marine iguanas, who’s color matches perfectly with the dark rocks, cover the surfaces. These camouflaged creatures can easily go unnoticed. Sometimes what alerts you first is a sneezing sound they make as they blow the saltwater from their nostrils. These guys do not get out of your way. This is their island and they have no intention of accommodating two legged visitors. As is the case with all animals throughout the Galapagos, the marine iguanas have no fear of humans even though they most likely get their tails stepped on occasionally.



A lava lizard...



I have a confession to make...

after seven days of a fast paced schedule, I took the afternoon off, stayed on the Daphne, reading and napping, and I skipped the afternoon hike.

Ahhhhhhhh!

Galapagos Expedition | Day 7

Santiago, Bartolomé, Sullivan Bay

Bartolome Island is a volcanic islet in the Galapagos Islands group. It is a volcanic islet just off the east coast of Santiago Island. It is one of the younger islands in the Galapagos archipelago. This island, and Sullivan Bay on Santiago island, are named after naturalist and life-long friend of Charles Darwin, Sir Bartholomew James Sullivan, who was a Lieutenant aboard HMS Beagle.

The island consists of an extinct volcano and a variety of red, orange, green, and glistening black volcanic formations.

An early morning hike on Santiago Island allowed us the pleasure of meeting fur seals, a sea turtle, and a few thousand marine iguanas.

Interesting place to catch a few z’s isn’t it?





Buenos días



Let’s go snorkeling!

This deep water snorkeling, in relatively cold water, was all new to me. The water here is around 65 degrees in August (also known as the dry season in the Galapagos), so a wet suit is essential if you plan on being in the water for any length of time.









Yep, that’s me, I’m swimming with a sea turtle! This was most definitely a huge highlight of the trip for me. This sweetie pie swam with me for about five minutes. He’d pop his head out of the water every once in a while, and when he did, I followed suit. I even held his fin for a bit as we swam along... I am TOTALLY 100% in love!



During the months of June through November, the Humboldt Current makes it way up to the Galapagos from southern South America. Cooler weather and colder water come with this current. Some days the water was too murky to see much, but this day the water was crystal clear.

We also saw sea lions, starfish and lots of fish. And penguins up close and personal on the shore near Pinnacle Rock. Our guide thought the water was “demasiado fría para pingüinos” (too cold for penguins).

Bartolomé

After our afternoon snorkeling fun, we quickly showered off the salt water, jumped into the panga, and headed over to Bartolomé Island where we hiked up 365 steps to the summit for an incredible view. Because we hadn’t had enough exercise for the day.

If you look carefully, you can see where the panga driver let us off and we began the ascent.

They call this 365 steps, but I lost count after about 50 steps, and then it was unclear whether they meant steps or stairs. Either way, it was a long trek uphill.

Galapagos Expedition | Day 6

Genovesa Island: El Barranco – Darwin Bay

Welcome to bird island.

Genovesa, also known as Tower Island (though I’ll always remember it as Bird Island), is quite small but geologically and biologically very interesting. The chemistry of its lavas is identical to lavas that erupt at mid-ocean ridges (a magma type called MORB, or mid-ocean-ridge-basalt) and quite different from most oceanic island lavas.

There are birds everywhere you look here... masked boobies, red-footed boobies, Galapagos owls, frigates, swallow-tailed gulls, lava herons, and the rare lava gulls. Some are in trees on nests, some on the ground. Sometimes there’s a baby sitting all alone on a nest waiting for mom to return with food.





a frigate bird...



I’ll share a funny story about these frigate birds a little later.

Here’s a baby frigate...



and a baby Nazca booby...



This bird is trying out for the part of the villain in a Disney movie...



I think he’ll be perfect.



After a swim in Darwin Bay, we returned to the Daphne. Our guide Charlie told us to change into our best T-shirts for a group photo on the top deck.

When we arrived, the crew was there dressed in their finest...



Luis was preparing to serve champagne...



One of our fellow cruise members was acting a bit giddy, another was dressed in a black dress carrying a book...





It looks to me like John and Kendra are getting married...





And the capitán married them...



and the Mother of the Bride wore orange...



Surprise weddings are the best!

Champagne was served. Inside, dancing and more champagne...





This is the night we learned about what an amazing dancer Luis is!

We also learned how it feels to sleep on a moving boat after too much champagne.

I almost forgot to tell you the frigate bird story. Whenever the Daphne was traveling, these birds followed us, hovering just above the boat. One afternoon a bunch of people were sitting on the top deck chatting and laughing. You’ve probably already figured out where this is going. See the guy above who was the groom in the surprise wedding? Yep, right in his open, laughing mouth! Blech! He said it was really bitter.

Galapagos Expedition | Day 5

Santa Cruz Island: Charles Darwin Station, Puerto Ayora, and Santa Cruz Highlands

It’s Giant Tortoise Day.

First stop, the famous Charles Darwin Research Station. The research center helps the National Park Service in their efforts to save Galapagos wildlife. They have a facility that works exclusively to raise tortoises to increase their depleted population.

Their tortoise egg incubator is highly technical...



Behind this door is a very small closet like space housing tortoise eggs. On the outside door is an explanation of how it all works:

“Tortoise embryos are very sensitive to abrupt changes in temperature. The hair dryer heats the incubator while a small fan and barn thermostat keep the temperature constant throughout the double boxes, which serve as insulators. The light bulbs are backup heat sources. In the early years of the program, it could take over a month to get a new hair dryer sent from the mainland.”

A Boy or a Girl? Scientists discovered that the temperature within the incubator determines the sex of the hatchlings. If the temperature is over 30°C the young tend to be female while temperatures below 30°C tend to produce males.



It seems to be working.





We spent a few hours shopping and site seeing in the island town of Puerto Ayora...







After lunch, we traveled by bus into the highlands to visit the Tortoise Reserve where we searched for giant tortoises in their natural surroundings.

Found one...





and another...



There were so many tortoises here that each member of our group of 16 had their very own tortoise to hang out with.



Galapagos giant tortoises lead a very uncomplicated life, grazing on grass, leaves, and cactus, basking in the sun, and napping nearly 16 hours per day. A slow metabolism and large internal stores of water mean they can survive up to a year without eating or drinking. They generally live to be 100+ years old. The oldest on record lived to be 152.

The tortoises on this reserve are not held captive. They come and go as they please.



So much history here. If only they could talk. He looks like he’s trying to tell me something.

It’s so much fun to anthropomorphize here.

Next: we visit Isla Genovesa, or as I call it, Bird Island.

Galapagos Expedition | Day 4

Floreana Island: Post Office Bay and Point Cormorant

Floreana is a quiet island dotted with several extinct volcanic cones and a lot of scrubby vegetation. On the Daphne I read about the history of the island in Margaret Wittmer’s book, Floreana: A Woman's Pilgrimage to the Galapagos. This is a story by and about one of the first settlers to the island who traveled from her native land of Germany with her husband. They raised their children on Floreana and lived the rest of their lives here. She describes some bizarre characters who lived on Floreana at times making the Wittmer’s pioneer lives even more challenging and interesting.

This is the view from my little reading spot on the Daphne...



Hiking on Floreana...



Post Office Bay

This is one of the few sites in the Galapagos that is visited for its human history. There’s a very primitive post office here like no other post office I’ve ever seen. It’s old mail swap tradition goes all the way back to whaling days.

Whaling Captain James Colnett established the wooden post barrel in 1793. At the time whaling was a big industry, ships were typically gone for 2 years at a time. The Galapagos Islands were a frequent stop for these ships. Outbound ships would drop off letters after rounding the cape and the ships returning home would mail them.

Over the years thousands of ships have stopped to send and receive mail at Post Office Bay. Many have posted a sign of driftwood or other materials memorializing their visit. This is the only area in the Galapagos where graffiti is okay.

To carry on the tradition, letters are brought home with travelers and then mailed or hand delivered to the addressee. You can also leave letters here to see if they get delivered.





At the post barrel, our guide pulled out a handful of letters and passed them around. I found one that was addressed to a neighbor of one of the couples in our group in Germantown, Maryland. What are the chances? They were planning to hand deliver that one. Not many people from our area had been to Post Office Bay lately. We found just one addressed to nearby Corvallis, so we brought that home with us to mail.



Iz found a postcard that looked like it had been here awhile...



I think our busy schedule was catching up with our teen. She looks very sleepy here doesn’t she?



Point Cormorant

This is a beautiful brown sand beach on Floreana Island.



Iz found this shell. Unfortunately, you’re not allowed to keep anything from the islands. Bummer!



What are these people doing?



Standing in line to be baptized?



Cooling off from the heat of the 70 degree day?



None of the above.

We’re waiting for the sting rays to swim over our feet.



We planted our feet firmly into the sand (to avoid stepping on any rays) and waited for them to swim in with the current. It was an amazing sensation having these soft creatures brush across my feet. You don’t want to step on one... ouch! They sting!