Galapagos

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We flew into Quito, Ecuador last week and encountered some rough weather which was a shock to the system and was a sentimental reminder of England! Despite a weather induced brief flight delay to the Galapagos we had the most amazing week in the Galapagos in glorious sunshine. It is a truly unique place and almost impossible to describe our fantastic experiences there. In terms of wildlife we saw so many beautiful, unusual and unique animals it was spectacular. The animals let you come to within inches of them (no touching allowed obviously, but they were so close you could). We saw giant tortoise, iguanas, lava lizards, sea lions, fur seals, dolphins, penguins, turtles, hammer head and reef sharks, sea snakes.... We even swam with the penguins, sharks and playful sealions. Snorkelling was fantastic and Penny had 4 great dives with large schools of sharks and rays. We seemed to act as an aphrodisiac since we saw turtles, penguins and giant tortoises mating. Underwater we saw birds, turtles and iguanas diving and feeding.

The birds were amazing too - blue footed boobies, red footed and black footed Nazca boobies, hawks, cormorants - which dont fly. We even saw the blue footed boobies nesting and sitting on their eggs right in the middle of the path! We saw their mating ritual - a bizarre dance with spread wings where the male presented the female with sticks (boobie equivalent to large diamond rings, apparently).

Our boat, The Lammer Law, was a beautiful trimaran with 8 cabins but there were only 11 of us on board. The other passengers were lovely and we all got on really well which is always a relief! The boat was luxurious (definitely much nicer than most hostels we have been staying in since leaving the UK!) and the crew were really friendly and helpful. Our guide, Jorge, was born and bred in the Galapagos and his genuine enthusiasm for the islands and wildlife was truly infectious! We are sure he is the King of guides and his knowledge was amazing! It was an active cruise with long island walks, snorkelling and kayaking so we saw lots of the different islands too. We covered 500 miles in all on the boat. Needless to say we never had a lie in past 6 am, but did see some beautiful sun rises!

We are now back in Quito and are pleased to report the sun is still shining!

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Photos

Marine Iguana
Punta Suarez, Isla Espaniola

Sea Lions
Isla Espaniola

Blue Footed Boobie
Sitting on her eggs. Punta Suarez

Penguins
Isla Fernandina

Giant Tortoises Mating
Isla Santa Cruz

Comments

[sarah reid]

So pleased you had a great time in the Galapagos- your photos bring back lots of lovely memories of out time there. Will have to share stories when you get back! Sarah x

[Francesca]

Wow!
Following this trip is just so amazing, what an experience! I am green with envy but also in awe of how you put this all together. You have just achieved my dream, of seeing giant tortoises mating - sick I know! It's good to see how fit Dazza is becoming - he will need it to manage all the work Partha is generating for him! Look forward to next installment!

[tracy cranston]

from Tracy Cranston
Hi - Iain forwarded your blog to me at home. It looks amazing - you must be having the time of you lives. No great news this end except iain's office in the Diabetes centre flooded a few weeks ago with sewage from the tiolet opposite...he was not pleased!! He and Mike seem head to head at the moment for who is going to by the next meal - when football season finishes. Keep having a great time.Tracy

[tom walton]

reptilian porn
Hi guys -thanks for the card- loved the mating tortoises- the facial expression very reminiscent of the night I burst in on gareth in a similarly comprimising position with some slapper he'd bought back from the Regal palace- not a pretty sight! How are you going to top this holiday when you come back?

[Katravels]

Great photos! Thanks for sharing.