Galapagos Islands
8 days cruising round the Galapagos Islands off the west coast of Ecuador with my dad. Apologies for the size of the gallery; the pictures tell the story of our trip and I just couldn't make it any smaller!
A majestic pose with his shaggy trousers.
Searching the beach for scraps.
A far flung gaze.
Arguing over the fishy.
Very tasty, but a little on the large size.
Proof that we really were in Ecuador.
Next on the agenda was South Plaza, which, despite it's small size, is home to large numbers of land iguanas, and lots of sea birds nesting atop its sheer cliffs.
The tropicbird formation.
Wonderful flyers enjoying the updrafts at the cliff's edge.
South Plaza is well known for its colourful flora as well.
A red-billed tropicbird nesting.
This marine iguana was battling the rough sea to cling to the rock whilst snacking on the algae.
Dad managed to capture this picture of a swallow-tailed gull that appears to be peddling across the sky.
HDR3: Looking back across South Plaza at the boat anchored in the small channel between it and Santa Cruz.
On the edge.
North Seymour was the next stop, host to one of the largest populations of frigatebirds. The males inflate their gular pouches and keep an eye out for passing females. Inflating the pouch takes a male several hours, and sometimes they do fight and pop each others pouches with their sharp beaks, which takes them out of action for several weeks whilst the wound heals.
This male has already found himself a mate, but will continue to react to other females passing, perhaps as insurance in case she decides he's a bit smelly.
The frigatebird chick grows so slowly that the duration of parental care is the longest of any bird.
As a female flies overhead, the male throws back his head, bounces his gular pouch, extends and lightly flaps his wings, and makes a kind of creaking noise that is amplified by the pouch. Quite a display!
Angry gulls shouting at the fur seal who paid no attention whatsoever.
Arctocephalus galapagoensisCreagrus furcatusGalapagos Fur SealSwallowtailed Gull
Good effort, unfortunately without result.
The last place I expected to see penguins, this was at Bartholomew Island.
The penguins can survive due to the cooling Cromwell Current that keeps the sea temperature between 15 and 28 degrees. They have adapted to deal with the sun by extending their wings and bending over to shade their feet, through which a lot of heat is dispersed, and by panting.
HDR4: I love the synergy of the bare landscape leading into the ominously dramatic horizon.
HDR5: Bartholomew is a very well formed extinct volcano with a walking trail to the top with dramatic panoramic views, including the famous Pinnacle Rock (at the mouth of the bay on the right).
En route back to the boat moored near Pinnacle Rock.
Our penultimate stop, Sombrero Chino, means Chinese Hat, and the low-lying, circular formation was remarkably similar to its namesake.
The beautiful colours of the sally lightfoot crab. They were everywhere, and make up a significant portion of many of the resident species' diet. Outside of the Galapagos, they are enjoyed on many a dining table as well.
Such a long trek ahead.
The rocks were literally crawling with these delightfully colourful little creatures.
Just as we were arriving at our final stop, Cerro Dragon, the dolphins came close enough for a decent photo opportunity.
There was a pod of 5 swimming alongside the bow of the boat for about 10 minutes.
It was evening, and the whimbrel was busily probing through the mud for tiny invertebrates.
An appropriately melancholy picture on which to say goodbye to our amazing adventure around the Galapagos.
