Galápagos Islands - Day 7 (Astrid)

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Today started unexpectedly early, which is something we really should be expecting, given the past week. We were woken by The Voice of Paula telling us there were dolphins at the prow. Stumbling into appropriate public wear, I stopped by the kids’ room to rouse them for the experience and was greeted by their less than enthusiastic grunts and groans. Leaving Paul to deal with them, I ran up to the deck and was thrilled to see dolphins frolicking within spitting distance. There were dozens of them, breaching and racing along with the boat. You could hear them squealing, like Flipper. Having never been accused of being a morning person, I felt very smug realizing that I was the only animal lover willing to brave the early air to appreciate these dolphins but when I paused to ask myself why the boat might be going backwards I realized that someone had mischievously switched the prow with the stern of the ship. Heading forward I found all the rest of our shipmates, including an eye-rolling Paul, hanging over the rails exclaiming at the dolphins. Whatever. It was early.

After breakfast of coffee, a well-known antidote for proprioceptive challenges, we climbed onto zodiacs to circle a small island lousy with birdlife and fur seals. We saw, for the first time, the red footed booby, differentiated from his cousin by the colour of his feet and the fact that he had prehensile toes so was able to nest in trees as opposed to cliff faces. Afterward we headed to a beach on Punta Pitt riddled with fearless sea lions going about their sea lion business, including nursing pups and yelling for no apparent reason. They were lovely.

The usual lunch, then we were back on the Zodiacs going to Leon Dormido, a black rocky island where we were told there was good diving. We fell off the sides of the boat into warm smooth waters with nothing amiss until we went under. Sharks. Gazillions. Maybe bajillions. Everywhere. Galapagos sharks and hammerheads. If we wanted to we could have touched them. They weren’t interested in us, though. Nor were the giant sea turtles swimming around us. Hopefully Josh or Paul got a good picture of these guys. It was awesome. The sharks were a lot less sinister than they appear on tv, perhaps due to the lack of a soundtrack. Our guide told us there are fewer than 100 shark attacks in a year worldwide and that sharks are much maligned, mostly by Hollywood. Maybe he was right. They were thrilling. It was the best dive of the week.

The day ended with a cocktail party on the prow, which this time was located conveniently at the front of the ship. There was a lot of warmth, both environmentally and between the well-oiled guests on the ship, and we all swore to be email friends forever and ever.

Tomorrow starts early, go figure, with a pre-dawn breakfast and preparations to get to the airport where we’ll return to the Hilton in Guayaquil and hopefully get our landlegs back and will maybe even be able to get a satellite phone to check in with Avery, who has been constantly missed. The sharks would have loved her; she’s the most succulent of all of us.

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Photos

Dolphins
One of the dozens of dolphins which joined our boat in the early morning hours.

Bay
A view of the bay from high up on the volcano.

Swiming with Sea Lions
A juvenile sea lion plays in the waves with members of our group.

Nazca Booby
One of the three boobies to be seen in the Galapaogs.

Sea Lion (Mom and Pup)
A sea lion basks in the son while nursing her pup.

Red Footed Booby
A red footed booby collecting nesting material.