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Published: December 11th 2006
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Sea Lion Cubs...
We spent a morning on a beach with these guys. They are incredibly cute and curious! In the background you can see a male sea lion patrolling the beach to make sure none of ´hís´ females make a quick escape! All,
We are back from a quick 8 day trip to the Galapagos (on a nice yacht... if you exclude the odd bout of seasickness on Naera´s part) ... it really is true what they say about the islands. A seriously cool place and one that has some seriously odd looking wildlife...
We started by booking a last minute trip which was more difficult than we thought (fewer options available) but we decided to go for a bigger boat (over a 100 foot for 16 passages and about 6 crew). We went out two days later and were away for 8 days / 7 nights. At the beginning we didn't realise how much time you spend on the boat sailing between the Islands.... so it pays to check out the boat before hand.
The boat was a "sailing" yacht although that term should be used very loosely.. unlike the trip we took in Turkey some years ago - the sails were actually put up but mostly we motored from bay to bay and island to island. Through Jem´s limited verbal discussions and detailed sign language with the captain he worked out with the sails up it added approx
Look carefully.... Sting Rays are about
This was taken looking down - they were being washed up over our feet. You can see three rays easily but look carefully and you´ll see tails, eyes and bodies of more than that! 1.5 to 2 extra knots, sails up we were hitting 8 knots.
We saw amazing things... and right from the start! We were milling around the jetty and there were several sea lions and iguanas who came to greet us! Not to mention the pelican who swooped in for a quick hello as well!
Our days settled into a routine (although it was very out of the ordinary)... breakfast at 7, morning activities: (usually a walk around an island), followed by another activity (usually snorkeling - we saw turtles, sharks, lots and lots of fish's, sting rays and so the list could go on), lunch at 12, free time (usually a couple of hours to let lunch digest!), afternoon activity (usually another walk - at a different location to the morning), back on board and a few free hours before the briefing for the next day and then dinner.
The sea life was incredible and it was the first time we been some where that rivaled the Great Barrier reef for colour and quantity of fish. We saw white tipped sharks (grateful that they weren't longer than us in length), endless turtles, stingrays, curious sea lions and
Giant Tortoise
These guys are huge but aren´t the most agile of creatures! Great fun to watch when they do decided to get up and go walk-about. of course plenty of fish! After each afternoon activity back on the boat we were nearly always greeted by the chef (white chef's hat & pinie included) with some type of snacks. These were fantastic and were different every day... hot chicken wings, small yaka (like potato) and cheese breads, shortbread covered in lemon icing, almond and coconut biscuits... the chef was truly superb and these were just the beginning!
Well attach some photos so you can all see the weird and wonder creatures of the Galapagos Islands!
The highlights have to be:
- Sting rays being washed up against our feet by the surf while we were ankle deep in water looking for turtles who were coming into mate. It was one of the strangest feelings...mobile jelly. We found it incredibly hard to resit the natural reaction of trying to jump out the way.
- Giant Tortoises... they really are huge
- Spotted Eagle Rays swimming in formation as we floated (in a dinghy big enough for 18) around the Mangroves
- Blue Footed Boobies... they are birds, they have blue feet... they do a mating dance which involves them showing off the feet to potential mates... very
Spotted Eagle Rays
This group of eagle rays were swimming around the mangroves as we drifted about. They were truely incredible to watch. So graceful, powerful and mostly - scary! funny to watch... they dive spectacularly for fish from a great height.
- Sea Lions cubs "playing" with Iguana (they later of which was trying their best to discourage the playing activities by spitting salty water all over them)
- and so the list could go on... the only way to truly understand this environment is to experience it!
The islands are very pro-conversation which is really excellent... as an example we were watered down after each walk so that we didn't inadvertently trek different things from one island to another.
We finished the trip with a birthday cake (made by the chef) for Jem. Naera had been sworn to silence so we were both surprised to see it waiting for us on the dinner table on the 5th (we left the boat in the morning of the 6th so hence why the cake was prepared the day before Jem´s birthday). The discussion around the dinner table focused on whether we should sing happy birthday in English or Spanish. In the end we went for English and about 20 (crew included) out of tune voices sung...
We hope you enjoy these photos as much as we enjoyed
Blue Footed Boobies
I promise we didn´t change any shading for this photo - their feet really are that blue! taking them!
Take care,
Naera and Jeremy
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