Tuesday 18 February 2014

First impressions of the Galapagos

As there was limited internet connection in and around the Galapagos Islands it is only now that I am able to share a few photos with you.

We flew from Quito in Ecuador to Baltra airport in the Galapagos and were then transported, first by bus then dinghy to the boat where we would be living for the next 8 days.



As soon as we stepped off the bus the wildlife was in evidence. This is a marine iguana that had crawled out of the water to greet us.


 The first island we visited was Mosquera, a small sandy island where we would be able to view the sea lions up close. This was the only island we visited where we did not have to remain on the clearly marked pathways. We could wander around as long as we followed the 2 most important rules of the island - no touching the wildlife and always remain 2 metres away.

Easier said than done as the sea lions were quite inquisitive.






 We were able to just stand and watch such intimate moments such as this cub suckling his mother.















This young one was just having a nap in the sunshine.


                                                                Playing in the sea.







The rocks were covered by the 'Sally Lightfoot' crabs.















We stayed to watch the sun set before returning by dinghy to the boat for the night.


14 comments:

  1. I have lots of pictures of iguanas and crabs. I found the sea lions almost overwhelming in their natural scent. :-)

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  2. I've been waiting for your photos! How exciting to be so close to wildlife in its own habitat. Can't wait to see more.

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  3. Looks like an amazing trip! The pictures are wonderful. Love the red crabs.

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  4. The sealions are so endearing (I can see them from the beach with my zoomlens at a rock where they always hang out) and love the bright crabs - thanks for taking us with you on your trip!

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  5. This is one place I would love to visit. When I retired I didn't do a bucket list, but I am living something equally as interesting. Come on over and see. - Margy

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  6. What a wonderful experience ... those pretty Sally Lightfoot crabs are delightful and of course finishing the day off with that magical sunset must have been a real treat.

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  7. As others have said, the red crabs are cool. The iguana looks to be best viewed from a distance.

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  8. What an epic trip. This is bucket list material.

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  9. Wow what an adventure. The seals look so cute and the crabs so red. We were asked to go there and South America with friends but TOH said he didn't want to go and it was a bit expensive so I will enjoy it through your blog.

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  10. So neat! I doubt I will ever visit there so thank you for sharing your experience.

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  11. These are great pictures, what a journey!

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  12. I just caught up on your blog, I missed that you went on holidays ! What a beautiful and interesting place it must be ! And yes, you choose the right time to fly away ! While you enjoyed the sunshine, a beautiful landscape and cute animals, we were sitting in storm and rain !

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  13. Amazing crabs... it is interesting the way they maintain the naturalness of the islands while still allowing tourists (by keeping you on paths and not allowing food). That's great. I forgot to say contrats on Post #500 on the post above -- I'm catching up reading backwards. Looking forward to more of your fabulous trip.

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