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A Pair of Boobies!
Sorry, Paul made me do it! How many booby jokes can two lads squeeze into one week? Paul and Dave had a fair attempt at breaking the world record! The journey from Fiji to South America was absolutely gruelling;
Fiji - Sydney - Auckland - Santiago - Lima - Quito! Three days,
five flights, and weird knee death to contend with!! We finally
arrived in Quito in a state of near stupor to meet with Katherine.
Two days later we headed off to the Galapagos Islands, the main
reason we´d come to Ecuador.
A visit to the Galapagos Islands is supposed to be one of the best
wildlife experiences possible. The wildlife there is so untouched
by human influence that it is incredibly tame, add to that the fact
that you see species of animals and birds not found anywhere else on
the planet (including the infamous Blue Footed Booby) and you´re
looking at a pretty amazing experience. We´re not really wildlife
lovers, but this trip blew us away!
For seven nights we cruised around the Galapagos Islands on MV
Darwin with 13 other passengers and a crew of seven. Each day we
were woken ridiculously early for breakfast, followed by either a
dry landing (landing without getting your feet wet), a wet landing
(landing where you had to jump out of the dingy into the sea)
Marine Iguana
With the boat that would be our home for the week in the background or a
snorkel stop (where the chilly water took your breath away). Each day we did two or three ´landings´ and came face to
face with some amazing creatures.
Our trip started at Santa Cruz on Bachas Beach where we were suprised
to find a beautiful tropical beach surrounded by (chilly!) torquoise
water. This was our first taste of the wildlife we would encounter
during this trip and we managed to tick a few things off the list
including Marine Igauanas, which if you get too close cover you in
snot - sneezing being their method of removing unwanted salt from
their bodies, Flamingos and Sally Lightfoot Crabs.
During the following three days we visited a number of islands
south-east of Santa Cruz including Santa Fe. Our first snorkel stop
of the trip off Santa Fe was rather a stressful one as our Guide
warned us to stay in a tight group because there had been shark
attacks in the past. This made for a very unpleasent 30 minute
snorkel with people panicing and kicking you. Our second stop,
shortly afterwards however was much more rewarding. We jumped from
the boat into murky knee-high water to be greated
by white tip reef
sharks and schools of golden rays. I was trying to put on a brave
face for Katherine who´d never encountered sharks before, but it was
a fairly difficult task because they were way too close for comfort!
We also saw sealions underwater for the first time and it was just
too amazing for words.
Santa Fe itself was again a beautiful white sandy beach totally
covered with sealions lazing around. When we landed they didn´t
even bat an eyelid, one or two of the curious youngsters approached
to give you a quick sniff (their way of identifying each other),
whilst the dominate male strutted his stuff up and down the beach
making a real racket!
By day three we were beginning to wonder how the Galapagos Islands
would continue to impress as each day had provided a more
breathtaking experience than the previous one. However Espanola
pulled out all the stops! We had two snorkel stops off the island
and encountered more white tip reef sharks, but at a much more
comfortable distance and a huge turtle. However a definite
contender for highlight of the trip came at the second stop where we
swam
Underwater Sealion
These guys are just as friendly underwater as they are on land, and much more graceful. If the water hadn't been so cold we'd have been in the water for hours! with about 30 playful sealions - it was absolutely amazing,
they just don't leave you alone when you are in the water, swimming
around you and performing crazy acrobatics (one even tugged at
Paul´s fin!) - possibly pips swimming with dolphins! Had the water
not been a chilly 18 degrees we would have stayed in there all day.
Our dry landing was also far from disappointing as we finally came
face to face with the Blue Footed Booby!
To go through all of the islands and all of the sights that wowwed us during the remainder of out trip would make this blog about as long as Charles Darwin's 'Origin of Species'. Needless to say, each island we visited presented us with something spectacular (although we were beginning to get iguana fatigue by the end of the trip!) The islands we visited included Floreana, Santa Cruz, Rabida, Santiago, Bartholome, Sombrero Chino and North Seymour. As we moved from west to east the islands became younger, and it became much easier to see the evidence of their volcanic birth. Coastlines became rugged, landscapes became barren lava-scapes, and the beaches we landed on were no longer white, but red and black.
Another Booby
This picture gives you some idea of just how tame the wildlife is on the Galapagos Islands But as ever, it was the Galapagos wildlife that stole the show and made the memories. The highlights came thick and fast, but special mention must go to the huge Galapagos Tortoises (Andi comfortably fit inside one's shell - when it wasn't using it of course!) We couldn't believe how close you could get to these pnderous monsters, both in captivity and in the wild. They certainly aren't pretty, but there is something very dignified about them (despite the fact that they eat like toothless grandads!) Other memorable wildlife moments included having Stingrays swim over out feet in the shallow waters of Floreana, swimming in clear water as Blue Footed Boodies dived into the water right past us (from a great height!) to catch fish, seeing the distant silhouette of a hammerhead shark below us in the water, standing in touching distance of huge Albatrosses, and seeing frigate birds inflate their large, red posing pouches (it's a mating ritual thing!)
All in all the Galapagos proved to be as amazing as everyone always said. Despite blowing a hole the size of a giant tortoise in our budget, the experience was definitely worth it. Even dodgy photographers like Andi
Sally Lightfoot Crab
Yes, the most ridiculous name in the world! and I, using a less than fancy camera, managed to get some really great photos (hope you agree from this blog!) but it was just being there that was the real treat. A great start to our South American adventure...
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Sharon Tomasi
non-member comment
Holy Cow!
Holy cow! You have just added a "place to visit" on my list! It looked fantastic, especially the shot with Andi on the beach with the seal - cute!!! Don't worry about the Inca Trail - take your time, take in the scenery, and you'll love it! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you for clear skies when you reach it on that last day. By the way, just got out of school, so now I am in to use my apple computer to get our two new iPods up and working!!! Beats a regular Monday!