Galapagos Islands June 15 2016
June 16, 2016 at 1:42 AM
Arrival Galapagos Islands - Blog Entry June 15th, 2016
Early this morning we flew from Quito to San Cristobal in the Galapagos Islands. San Cristobal is one of only a few populated locations in the Galapagos and after meeting out guide we took a short motor coach ride to the port and transferred via zodiac shuttles to our ship. We had a chance to settle into our cabins, have lunch then went back to the port for a ride into the highlands to visit a Tortoise hatchery.
The preservation and population of the tortoise is very important and this location plays an important role in helping to restore the population to the islands. It was great to see the process and to enjoy the nature reserve nestled in the cool highlands of San Cristobal. Later in the afternoon we returned to our ship for dinner, then to set sail for an overnight cruise to our first island Santa Fe. Below is a selection of images from today.
Our flight arrives in Galapagos. It is a one and a half hour flight from the mainland.
Laura coming down the back steps of our aircraft.
After lunch and settling in we returned to port for our trip into the highlands. Judy, Konrad, Steve and our mystery zodiac pilot.
The second zodiac leaving our ship as we headed back to port.
Our naturalist guide Renny, Laura and Bryan waving, Charlene and the masked man Dave looking on.
Galapagos welcoming committee.
A tired guide giving directions to the port.
It looks like these sea lions have junior in a play pen.
Close-up of a tortoise at the hatchery, amazing creatures.
Nature hike through the nature reserve, Laura and Judy taking up the rear.
Yellow Warbler looking down as we hiked past on the trail.
Another shot of this colourful bird.
As we returned to the port we came across a fire, which we are told is very rare. It was pretty close to this gas station.
You can see the heavy smoke in the air as we reached the port.
This heron was enjoying the evening sun as we got ready to head back to our ship.
Always have time for a bike shot, this one’s for you CV.
You can see the heavy smoke as we took our zodiac back to the ship. Those spots are not sensor dust but ash blowing in the air.
This sea lion welcomed us from the back deck of our ship as we returned.
Our home away from home for the next 7 days as we prepare to set sail.
As they say we sailed into the sunset with the Ecuador flag flying in the wind. Next stop an early morning visit to the island of Santa Fe.
That’s it for todays Galapagos post, more tomorrow from the island of Santa Fe, goodnight.