Galapagos Islands Blog Day Two
June 18, 2015 at 11:54 PM
We were treated to a beautiful sunrise as we arrived at the island of Santa Fe. As with most of the islands they have several names and this one is also called Barrington Island after the British Admiral Samuel Barrington. We arrived onto the beach at 7:00 am on what we call a wet landing, which means we had to get out of our zodiacs into the water close to shore. The water was up to our knees.
As we arrived on the beach there were a large number of sea lions scattered over the landing area. Mostly asleep I might add. After a considerable amount of time photographing on the beach we took a small sandy trail inland in search of the land iguanas, birds and the prickly pear cactus. It was a successful morning of photography.
Later in the morning we returned to our ship for snacks and a morning swim off the back deck of our boat. After lunch our ship repositioned to the other side of Santa Fe where we took the zodiacs into Black Turtle Cove. This inlet is surrounded by mangroves and is only accessible by small boats. This shallow cove is a haven for young marine life. As the sun started to set the group was rewarded with many photo opportunities. This evening we sail through the night for Santiago Island. Enjoy todays selection of images.
The map shows our first nights sailing, all our long sailings are at night
Galapagos sunrise
The first group landing on Santa Fe at 7:00 this morning
Everyone is still asleep!!!
Christine has an opportunity to get up close to this little guy
No lack of photography on the beach
Oyster Catcher walking up the beach
Kim photographing the sea lions
You would not think this would be comfortable
Morning kiss
It’s been an hour and we are still on the beach
Not the best shot but gives you an idea of how the Blue Footed Booby bird dives for fish
I’m still sleepy but the trail is that way ...
Prickly pear cactus
Bill photographing a baby sea lion and ... how did it get up there?
Land Iguana feeding on the brush
Another Land Iguana warming up in the early morning sun
Male lizard, the males have a red tummy
Mocking bird with its morning catch head back to its cactus nest
Close-up of a Prickly Pear Cactus, they flower right after a rain
Morning ....
Bruce cooling off with a morning swim
Karen’s turn, the water was between 23C and 25C
Sabrina, Nancy and Omar taking a selfie under our ship’s back deck
Omar diving off the top deck, inset just before hitting the water
Rob diving off the second deck ... the judges gave it a 7 - 8 and 8.9!
Frigate birds following our ship as we repositioned to Turtle Cove
Sabrina and a Frigate bird also called by the locals a Pirate Bird as they steal fish
Another Frigate up-close
Part of the group heading into Black Turtle Cove this afternoon
Ever had a stare down with a pelican?
Mangrove trees full of White Egrets
Egrets in flight, it was amazing to see
You had to be quick as the tortoise only pop their heads up for a moment
Some places in the cove are pretty tight
It was amazing to see the size of these guys as they came to the surface
Here’s another
Another beautiful sunset as we left Black Turtle Cove
Back to our ship for supper, briefing and bed. 6:30 comes early
That’s it for this todays Galapagos adventure, more tomorrow as tonight we sail for the island of Santiago. Good night from all the Trekkers in the south pacific.