Galapagos III

It is Wed afternoon and I am going to fill in some details from yesterday's hike and relate this mornings activities. After Phil left us yesterday, we continued along the the edge of the cliff (not quite as dangerous as it sounds). It reminded me a bit like Iceland with the cliffs and birds. The views were beautiful. We saw the "blow hole" caused by waves rushing into a cave and water forced through an opening. Hope my pictures turn out. We also saw more of the Blue Footed Boobies and acuatic iguanas. These iguanas are black and red (could be Georgia mascots!) The highlite of this island were the Wave Albatross. These are magnificent birds that mate for life and have a 7 foot wing span. They are also hatching chicks at this time of year. Unlike the Boobies, the Albatross chicks have to be able to fly in 6 months. They migrate to Peru and Chile when it gets to warm for them here. Unfortunately, they are not protected in Peru and are now on the endangered list. An interesting piece of history about the island Espanola - it is inhabited and the people brought in goats. The goats ate the vegetation that supported the giant tortoises. The National Park people worked with the locals and after removing the goats and giving the land time to regenerate, they have reintroduced about 1,400 of the tortoises. A great success story. This morning we were on the island Floreana. We had an easy walk and saw some interesting plants, including Palo Verdes- a favorite of ours from California. A brackish water pond usually hosts some Flamingos. However, with the draught their food supply of shrimp was low and they were were on another island. You could see the pink color from the algae the shrimp eat, in the water. After our hike, we all loaded up in the pangas to see some dolphins. The dolphins were gone before we got there, but I enjoyed the ride. Bruce P.knows how much I like panga rides. Thankfully, there have been no close calls with gasoline and the need to swim to the boat or shore! We were able to snorkel again, from the shore. I didn't have my " dive buddy" but managed a solo swim. This was a much better site. I found a good sized puffer, many reef fish, including the King Angel. Pacific Green Turtles, sting rays, a spotted eagle ray -a pretty good day of snorkeling! The water was cold, so I was ready to get back to shore after 35-40 minutes. The food and service have been excellent on this ship. We have been very impressed with the Naturalists on board. They are very knowledgeable and dedicated to preserving the islands and animals. I feel the need for a siesta and therefor will sign off for now. Hasta luego. Becky