Boog's Blog

Wednesday

Wake up call at 05:30 for punta fernosa, dry landing, piles of marine iguanas to observe early morning behavior. Cactus forest, penguins, cormorants, explore areas with lots to see. Fantastic island.

Molting crab, male and female hawks, iguana carcass, whale skeleton, crab with squid, largest snake in the Galapagos

Then cruise to another snorkeling location and then immediate zodiac ride inside a cave then back to boat to cross the equator.

Best snorkeling. Many penguins, cormorants, turtles, on and on. Nodi,boobies,pelicans,frigates, etc. On the sheer walls.

Fernandina is the youngest island, rounding it towards the north has a crossing the equator drink and toast on the bridge. Got to steer the boost a bit.

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Tuesday April 21

6:30 wake up call, iguanas do not get up early. Wet landing in urbino bay, was under water as late as 1950. Galapagos cuckoo. Large land iguanas, giant tortoises.

Sea turtle egg shell on the beach, rather soft shell. Large tortoises wandering around among the large land iguanas. Penguins at the shore. A lava gull kept buzzing a penguin in the water, essentially two young birds sort of playing with each other. Finches fake fur to rain and adjunctive of ground seeds.

On the way to targus manta ray's jumping out of the sea. Impressive.

Tagus cove, only stop off the beagle, we follow the footsteps.

Snorkeling with sea stars, flightless cormorants and penguins and more.

Dry landing to rim of Darwin's lake and a nice walk with views, cuckoo bird on the way as well as many on the national geographic boat, 98 of them.

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Monday

6:20/wake up, dry landing, lava fields, walk on jagged lava, zodiac ride to penguins, flightless cormorant (pictured), eagle rays. Lava cactus, grows on the lava, flamingos in the lagoons, moorhens.

In sight were cerro azul cerro negro and four other active volcanoes. Labs walking was as challenging as it gets.

Snorkeling on west side of island with penguins, sea turtles and many fish types.

Then to Elizabeth bay followers by paddling in the zodiac among the mangroves filled with rays, several tours, turtles, cormorants, and penguins, videos taken off the second smallest penguin specie.

Lunch: a new fruit, babaco. More research required.

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Sunday

Highlands farm areas. Artificial lagoon with flamingos and other watering birds. Beach ride to town. Then westward to punto Morena to see marine mammals.

From the zodiac we saw four flying flamingos, impressive and some penguins on the way to the farm for birding.

Fausto pointed out a plant that became a drug: Look up birm as an immune system enhancer. Gentle readers may report back.

Naranjilla fruit, pictured. Had several times for breakfast as a juice, just don't touch the spiny fruit.

Vermilion fly catcher, beautiful colored plumage and a bit less common to see, we saw several.

Flamingos another 5 per cent of the population seen feeding in a lagoon

Woodpecker finches, yellow warblers, rays in the water,Wading birds, pluvers,sanderlings, ruddy turnstones.

Another botanical is: Datura as halucigen and scopolmine.

Rickety bus along flooded beach. Hibiscus, no bugs to write of.

Long boat ride to see pelagic birds and sea mammals. Cloudy and not so many of them.

Dinner conversation: shell collectors, fanatics. This is in addition to their birding mania. Thousands of shells, many. Glass insulator collector, and a beer bottle cap collector.

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Saturday

Loaded the second group late Friday and on our way to the a southern and more Western islands , Friday evening.

Olivine beach, green on the lava eroded surface. Boobies looking ridiculous as they courted and waddled, and fished.

Flamingos,10 per cent of the population of the Galapagos, 30 plus including a juvenile in one. trio

Baby sea turtle running to the water. About a 50 meter dash out in the open, very dangerous and very unusual in daylight. Short video attempted.

Sting rays along the waters edge.

Possible penguin spotting, mostly heads, better sighting later.

Snorkeling in post office bay, dropping point for whalers mail, next ship takes those in their direction. Outstanding though with a tough current. Starfish, white tipped reef shark, penguin flying just below my feet!!!
Water temperature varied. Upwellings of cold water in areas of very warm seas.

Zodiac rice frolicking with the sea lions as s prelude to posting a post card at the postbox. Fausto reviewed the somewhat checkered history of Floriana, the barroness, the German Robinson Crusoe nudist who was posed when another German family came to the island.

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Friday, end of first trip after morning zodiac ride in red mangrove forest. Teaming with wildlife. No surprise.

Boat cleaned while the next group arrived. We are the only ones staying for the northern voyage section.

Fausto arranged bike rentals. On the way to the beach and flamingos, downhill, a 300 meter drop, barely functioning brakes a pedal fell off the bike. Not repairable. The taxi driver suggested I continue with one pedal. Sharon have up her bike so I could ride.

Walked the final 500 metes to the beach on a surprisingly good road. Camping allowed there.

Fine ceviche lunch in town. A town day while the new group visits the giant tortoises.

Final provisioning before e get back on the boat and into internet silence.

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Thursday

In caldera, dock in lagoon in the center of the caldera,red footed boobies, frigates with tomato pouched, shrub sized cacti with hair.

Snorkeling in the caldera with hammer head sharks. Prince Phillips steps later, with red billed tropic birds. Short rated own exactly the color of the lava, petals.

Inside the caldera. Morning, very early, before the crack of dawn,walk among the red footed boobies, hundreds of them walking about, making nests, perching on branches. Frigates in large numbers doing their morning calisthenics. Bobbie chicks and boobies underfoot. One trying to steal twigs from a frigate's nest.

Red footed boobies come in two morphs, a point mutation determines if white or brown.. Does not affect mating.

Dry mangrove forest with a large dread pod they cross and pieces the ground and geminates. Main nesting area for the red footed ones. Males go out for nesting twigs and midair the frigates steal the twigs.

Tomato pouched frigates displaying, courting and mating.

A good example of the larger beaked ground finch that is, of course, a taniger.

Zodiac ride around the interior of the caldera. Galapagos fur seals, heads look like bears a bit.

Hike up Prince Phillip steps, they were built for him when he visited, to see petrols, and many red billed tropic birds- cliff dwelling. Not so many tropic birds bit a few to predator short rated owls, one eating a petrol. Once again many nazca and red footed boobies

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Wednesday

Chinaman's hat and Sullivan bay. Snorkeling with penguins (no underwater camera) lava fields.

First up was penguin fishing, noddi tracking the penguin to get the missed bits, red billed oyster catcher, and blue heron. One highlight was watching the penguin swim directly under our raft.

Second up a wet landing onto new lava fields, 400 or so years old, cruncy walking along the coral and driftwood bits, many heavily holed by tube worms And other critters at sea.

In a very small bay we found about 15 very young, month or three, sea lion pups. They played with our walking sticks and one even tested out tasted my ankle. Fellow travelers sat in the water and let them play with sticks or hats or body parts. Unique. Went on for quite a while.

Snorkeled while QB did all the laundry and loafed. Fishes of course but the highlight was another Galapagos penguin sitting on a lava rock at waters edge.

Skipped second snorkeling expedition for a lovely nap – somos pingüinos

Afternoon walk on spectacular lava rocks. Basalt lava of the flowing type, there are two, the other being explosive. Formations much more varied than the pictures. Fausto hiding in a tube caused by a flow.

Unique lava cactus. Acid system in roots to get it's little nutrients.

Evening lecture on oceanic currents.

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Tuesday

Viewing of subsided craters, daisy trees evolved from daisies, ranch, giant tortoises, short city visit

First minor injury, an arm, sent off with the person to be xrayed. She is now wearing a cast.

Visit to the South Eastern part of Santa Cruz and it's highland habitat.

Tortoise all the way down. About 5000 of them wild on the island.

Local coffee at the ranch- they did not have the brand we have been waiting to try: lava java.

This is good local town Puerto ayora. Coffee and a quick internet stop. Not silicon valley.

Daisy, as evolved, pictured. Would never have guessed, a classic and one of the best examples of adaptive radiation. Bushes on other islands, many variations.

Lecture, second evolution one. This on the finches and natural selection criteria. Previous on hawks and mocking birds cooperative behavior and how helpers matter, never altruistic.

Interesting dinner discussion on beekeeping.

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Monday

Beach time with the sea lions, snorkeling, and then a long difficult walk to see the albatrosses.

Hood, small uninhabited island which has been discovered a long time ago by many many sea lions. A walk among them with a warning that if you piss one off run quickly

This has turned into a very active trip. Days are designed for walks, swimming, wildlife, hikes on varied surfaces. As each is excellent to spectacular hard to cut any out but the design is such you can do them all but one needs a lot of stamina, a lot.

Excellent swimming on the beach as well as a fine walk among the sea lions. Mocking birds, finches And cute sandpipers. Whale bone pictured as well as a full throated tomato pouched frigate bird.

Albatross cliff walk with making albatrosses and mating colonies of nazca boobies. Cliffs full of pairs and observers

Hard very rocky path with big rocks to scramble over, the route to the cliffs.

Many sea lions on the path blocking the path and at the landing needing to be encouraged to move.

Española marine iguanas everywhere, very different here.

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