Hello readers - thanks for viewing my blog. Especially welcome are my beautiful wife Cyndi, our two wonderful children Tom and Lisa, and my siblings Jeff, Mary and Suzy. I posted often from America Samoa while I was there a few years ago. I also post from our past and later travels. Keep checking in, and please leave a comment!
They may not be readers, but our dogs Monte and Zoey have a special page with their own photos. They are involved in many of our trips, and all of our lives.
Click on photos and videos to enlarge and (usually) see them better.
In my previous post I described in very abbreviated way our yacht, the trip and the Galapagos in general. These islands are so unique and special, no words can do them justice. here instead are a collection of photographs and videos taken from around the islands. My next post will show the underwater side of the Galapagos. These are in no discernible order, befitting the awesome jumble of impressions given by this absolutely unique paradise.
Sea Lion
Heron, Kicker Rock in the distance
Sea lions doing what they do best
The sea lions were so cool. They were totally fearless of people, and they went wherever they pleased. The pups especially were basically sea-going dogs. Their appearance and behavior resembled that of our trusty animal companions. Actually, the early Spanish explorers referred to them as lobos, their word for wolves.
Cactus tree
Here's a video panorama of one nesting area:
Lisa and Ross on a day hike
Booby nesting
Inlet with sheer cliffs too tall to get in the photo
Through a stone arch, Kicker Rock out there.
On the Galapagos,and nowhere else, you will find both land and marine iguanas. The marine iguanas have adapted to feeding in the ocean because on their island (just a couple such here) there was no land food for them. So they turned to the ocean, learned to swim, and now feed on the kelp and algae. Of course, they do spend time on land as well.here is a video of one I encountered:
Marine iguanas
Wrestling for a rock
Uncountable numbers of birds nest around these cliffs.
Tom and Deb, cooling off.
Sea lion
Sea lion colony on the beach.
Blue footed boobies
On Santa Cruz - tortoise
I just had to do this.
So did Lisa and Ross
And Tom & Deb.
Big tortoise at Darwin Center
Baby tortoises in their pen.
Gaby hugging a tree.
Statute of Lonesome George in Puerto Ayora
Cool ocean currents carry some animals far from their home territory. These penguins are a sub-species unique to the Galapagos, noticeably smaller than their Antarctic forebears:
Penguins on the lava rocks.
Small lava island called Chinese Hat.
Colorful crabs scuttle over rocks at the shore.
Sea lion pups
They come right up and lick your toes!
Lisa in a lava tube.
Another lava tube.
Iguana hunting a crab dinner.
At Bartolome on Santiago Island we climbed an old volcano cone for a wide panorama view of the area. If you saw the Master and Commander movie, this is where Steven caught view of the evil French frigate.
Bartolome
Lava island, too new for much vegetation.
Cactus on lava!
View of lava fields over to Chinese Hat.
The view at Bartolome.
Add caption
Finally a panoramic video of the view from up on top:
Land iguana. Looks like a dragon!
Female frigate bird.
The male frigate birds have this red air sac a their throats. In mating season they inflate it like an enormous red balloon to attract female companionship. Hard to resist, ladies? And to think, these birds soar so gracefully for enormous distances over water!
The blue-footed booby is our favorite. They dive straight into the ocean for fish, just like an aerodynamic bomb. But on land they waddle and are so awkward! The male dances to impress the female; she chooses the with the most impressive presentation. Not too different from us?
Lisa getting a memory.
The next posting will cover undersea life at the Galapagos.
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