A slight change of plans, as we didn’t have to walk at all in the morning, but instead took a ‘dhingy’ (the small boat that shuttles us around) ride around Eden islet. Everyone was in full wet suits, as the clouds were smothering the skies and rains were starting. Heck, I didn’t even bring my camera! But, the Galapagos has its way of surprising everyone, and by the time we got out near the islet, the rain stopped and a bit of sunshine came out. It just so happens, these picturesque scenes of blue-footed boobys were chilling on a picturesque rock, with iguanas and crabs (all endemic to the Galapagos) just serving as a backdrop!! AAHHHHH!
After the dhingy ride, we went for a snorkel around the island. There weren’t enough equipment to go around for everyone, but everyone played nice and shared. Sometimes it’s strange as you would find it somewhat gross to drink something from the cup of a stranger, but it’s totally permissible to take offer your snorkel to someone else, and the other person would be happy to suck on the snorkel you’ve been sucking on for the past 20mins?!?! Anyways, we had some pretty amazing swimming with some inquisitive sea lions, saw several sharks, schools of fish, and just perfect snorkeling you can imagine for about 1.5hrs.
After a couple hours lazing on the ship and watching fellow travelers do some crazy jumps off the top of our boat, we took a nap and were awaken by the bell which was to call for all passengers to get ready! We were doing a nice hike around Cerro Dragon, or Dragon Hill where it is famous for spotting land iguanas. It was a nice walk, and saw some pretty awesome land iguanas (which are TOTALLY different from the marine iguanas) in all their golden yellow glory. They have different colours, different diets and totally different behaviours compared to their black marine iguana cousins. We also found a nice colony of blue-footed boobys standing close to the dock as we were about to leave, giving us a final chance to snap some pictures of these awesome birds.
It was snorkel time again, but we were weary of jumping into the water and took a break instead, ending our snorkel streak with the high note of this morning’s awesome swim. Dinner, conversation and several beers later, we were up on the deck just gazing at the amazing stars that blanketed the skies thanks to no light pollution. And not used to being in the southern hemisphere, the stars were actually in a different alignment than we’re so accustomed to with the dippers being close to the horizon and Orion’s belt being much higher than we’re used to. Ha ha…. science is awesome.
We also saw a sea snake off the side of the boat (someone had a really strong flashlight), then out of nowhere a sea lion comes out and eats it! Wooo, crazy. The sea lion proceeded to do some strange poses next to our boat, showing off her cute feet and tail….. well, an awesome way to end the trip! One last excursion tomorrow and we’re back on the flight out to the mainland….
Galapagos Rocks!
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- too many islands to name
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- cool bird
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- flamingos after an argument..
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- chillin in the bushes
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- lunch time
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- yacht in the Galapagos
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- looking back
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- BOOBYS!!!
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- lonely guy
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- columns of light
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- dusk in Galapagos
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- dusk in Galapagos
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- cool
Join us as we set sail around South America 
Hello! Cool pics, I have a lot of similar ones from Galapagos and Quito! It’s really awesome to see it. It’s too bad you couldn’t meet Lonesome George, but you got to hear about the 2 males and 14 females that repopulated the other island. One of the males is called Happy Diego, for obvious reasons. When we were there he was in his pen with a bunch of females, and he would chase the closest female until she got far enough away that another one was now the closest, at which point he would focus his attention on her and do the same thing. It was priceless.
I got your card yesterday, but it was post-marked Feb 14 so I thought I would comment on this post. Thanks a lot for getting me the I ❤ Boobies shirt! They are really cool, with their funny walk and all. If I can get it from you by June 11 I'll wear it to the FAC, otherwise I'll look forward to it when I get back.
I was in Whistler skiing 2 weeks ago, which was really awesome, and this Saturday I'm leaving for a cruise. Not quite as exotic as your travels, but still a break will be nice. Hope all is well in Argentina, see you when you're back.
Tom