The last and best day

Day 7: Genovesa Island; The Cliff, Darwin's Bay

When I got up on the morning of the last proper day of our time in the Galapagos I found most of my shipmates, including Ben, peering intently over the stern.  Clutching my coffee I joined them to find out what was going on.

There were three sharks circling under the yacht; one big Galapagos shark and two smaller white tipped reef sharks.  In between passes I looked around at the harbour we'd sailed into; another collapsed crater, filled with so many seabirds flying to and fro, some more sea lions on the beach . . . where else in the world could you wake up to this?

Blue footed booby living near the yacht

The panga ride across the bay drew us closer to the cliffs that plunged straight into the sea.  The landing steps had a fur sea lion sleeping on them; he did not look particularly impressed to lose his comfortable spot  in the sun.

Once off the panga we climbed a short section of stairs to the top of the cliffs.  On the wide, flat cliff top nesting seabirds abounded.  There were frigate birds and Red footed boobies nesting in the trees and Nazca boobies nesting on the ground, storm petrels and night herons.

Nazca booby and chick

To everyone's delight a Short eared Owl was spotted just off the path.  Being nocturnal he didn't look at his most alert . . .

Red footed booby and chick

This centipede was very large, approximately 30cm.

Then a little further on - another owl.

It was a fabulous landing, the abundance of birds was phenomenal.

Fabricio had mentioned that we might be able to see hammerhead sharks during the snorkel, but unfortunately the swell was going the wrong way and we had to snorkel on the opposite side of the bay.  This time there was a fur sea lion lounging in the water; he allowed me to swim up very close, but could not be enticed to play.

The landing at Darwin's Bay was the last of the trip and we were not disappointed.  On the beach there were  six sea lions, from pups to a large male.

Frigate birds soaring

Swallow tailed gulls

Red footed booby

Female and male frigate birds

Night heron bathing

We had time for a swim and  then some relaxing on the beach.  Due to the weather it was going to be a long and bumpy crossing back to Baltra Island and the airport in the morning, so we savoured our last moments of calm.

The Galapagos Islands are truly extraordinary; like nowhere else on earth.

Hawks and Flamingos

Day 6: Rabida Island, Santiago Island; Sullivan Bay

Beautiful still water surrounded the yatch when we awoke.  The delicate little storm petrels were busy fishing around us.  My nickname for them was 'Tip-toe birds' as they gracefully hover just above  the water, reaching down with their claws to pick out food.

Rabida Island has very red sand, thanks to the iron content.  The walk took us down the beach, then slightly inland to a lagoon.

Two Galapagos hawks flew close to us, one we could see very well; he circled over us then swooped to make a kill in the trees on the far side of the lagoon.

Beautiful and somewhat reclusive flamingos.  They originally migrated from the Carribean, but now live only on the islands.

The whole group

Night heron

The snorkelling in the bay was lovely, with many of the schools of little fish, but by this time we were a little blase about mere fish and sea turtles.  As we swum back to the yatch what should appear out of the deep blue but a good size Galapagos shark.  He swum up to us, checked us out, then disappeared again.  We hung in the water and were rewarded for our patience by seeing him a few more times.

The landing at Sullivan Bay was onto more lava, but this time there was very little living in such a harsh place.  Eventually it will weather more and there will be somewhere for more things to live.

The lava has Hawaiian names: pahoehoe - meaning smooth, unbroken lava, and a'a - meaning stoney rough lava.

That evening it was time to relax and enjoy the sunset, knowing that we had a long and bumpy crossing ahead of us.

Lava tubes and amazing snorkeling

Day 5 - Santiago Island; Puerto Egas, Espumilla Beach

The night's passage had been quite rough so we were all a little tired for the first disembarkation at Puerto Egas.  It was a coastal stroll with more marine iguanas, a little more red coloured this time  as the algae is red as well as green here.  There was a fleeting visit from a Galapagos Hawk.

Beautiful Galapagos hawk

Levitating yellow bird

More marine iguanas and crabs

Oyster catchers

Some kind of heron

Fur sealion

Tourist bird: khaki coloured body, blue eyes and red legs

A little way along the beach there were the most beautiful lava tunnel rock pools.  The water was a divine colour with the white sand on the bottom.  Hiding in amongst these rocks were fur sealions, looking shaggier but similar to their sleeker cousins.  They are nocturnal hunters, so rest up during the day.

Lava tube complete with marine iguanas: snorkeling

The interior of the island

The snorkel after this walk was one of the best on the trip.  We had been in the water about ten minutes, admiring the abundance of colourful fish, when along came some playful sealions.  One youngster in particular was very intrigued by us and swum in amongst us, doing lovely acrobatics for us.  It was very special to be so close and really see them in their element.


A white tipped reef shark was spotted, but we didn't see it, though we did spot the small manta ray.


All of us were a little heat dazzled and tired for the second landing at Espumilla Beach.  A beautiful beach, inhabited by ghost crabs, awaited us.  Ghost crabs get the name from their habit of scuttling quickly away and disappearing down their holes,  a habit that kept us all amused for some minutes.  The freshwater lagoon behind the button mangroves had dried up, so wildlife was scarce.  Back on the beach the boobies put on a skillful diving demonstration, sometimes in formations of three or five at a time.  The pelicans joined in, but were considerably less graceful.

Galapagos mockingbird, these were very common and very interested in what we were doing.

 

Ben taking photos of the ghost crabs

The elusive crabs themselves

The second snorkel of the day I spotted a white tipped reef shark sleeping on the bottom, plus some skeptical sealions that didn't want to play. The fish were particularly impressive and abundant here, large schools of little blue and orange fish, quite unconcerned by us.