Stop 24: The Galapagos Islands (We love Boobies.. The Blue Footed Variety that is!)

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We had high hopes for this trip, we have many friends who've been and loved it, meaning that we had built it up to be one of the highlights of our grand adventure. It didn't disappoint. The Galapagos are amazing.

Every island is different, with it's own variety of flora and fauna. On one island you see thousands of different types of birds, on another it's Iguana, on another it's seals, on another it's cacti, and on all of them it's sealions! They are everywhere! On the first day on getting very exciting at seeing a mother and baby Sealion our guide said 'don't bother with them, tomorrow you'll be tripping over them!', and he was right! But we loved them, even if they do smell, and believe us they do!

Our trip here has been so fantastic that it's hard to pick a highlight. If pressed though it would probably be the snorkelling. When we first discovered we'd be snorkelling twice a day we were both slightly sceptical: Ellie is a self-confessed scaredy cat and Steve doesn't like swimming in the sea. We don't exactly fit the profile of keen snorkelers, but we both loved it! There were so many amazing fish, it was like a scene from 'The Little Mermaid!' (without the mermaid). By the end we had swum with sealions, (who actually come to find you and press their faces into yours!), a family of 6 sea turtles and even a shark or two, (only reef sharks, but a sharks nonetheless!). The first one we saw was a bit of a shock, however it was distinctly less daunting after we watched it being chased off by 3 sealions! It was brilliant! 

Also deserving of a mention are the famous blue footed boobies, who we watched fish. They dive like torpedoes 2 metres into the water to catch their prey, it's natural engineering at it's best, and it was fascinating. Sadly we didn't get a photo of this as we were to scared to get our (expensive, non-waterproof) camera out on a dinghy so you'll just have to trust us! 

So after 5 amazing days at sea we returned to terra firma. The only downside was to discover land-sickness. Hopefully our world will stop rocking soon!

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Photos

The Galapagos
The Postcard Shot!

Blue Footed Booby
We love boobies!

Crab!
Well we can´t remember the name of every species!

Mother and Baby
Boobies come in all shapes and sizes!

Pelican
A wonderful thing is the Pelican...!

Comments

[roopa]

wow!
this is amazing guys, the pictures are incredible! so glad u did snorkeling! once in a lifetime experience going there, so happy for u, looks just wonderful! xx

[Dad C]

... its beak can hold more than its belly can!
Amazzzzzzzing as Craig Revel-Horwood might say - lovely photos - lovely experiences. Not sure what to say about the boobies. They look like their feet have been dipped in emulsion paint. Sounds like the sealions are really friendly - "pushing their faces against ours" - do they play? Dad C