Galapagos Day 7
No sunrise this morning. Overcast. Kind of a bummer. But the day holds wonderful things. Our Pangas take us to a totally new adventure! Red Sand Beaches filled with wildlife!
We are greeted by a rookery of Sea Lions prancing about on the blood red sands! Random birds and lizards abound as we navigate our way through all the wildlife. Sea Lions pronounce their displeasure at our presence and go about their day, Cows chastising Pups, Bulls creating order and all of them crowing and making their presence known!
Blue Footed Boobies fly and dive for random meals, the surf comes and goes in its own way. Hermit crabs make their tracks in the sand.
We take a hike inland where the sand doesn’t change color. Vibrant reds and greens saturate our vision as we navigate our way around the island. Cactus grows everywhere, telling us about the desert nature of these otherwise pristine locals. Why is this place so vibrant red? Iron ore and millennia of volcanic activity have created this amazing oasis of eye candy!
A fun Kiwi Lady with us takes a ‘lean’ on a prickly native plant!
Back to the shore and the Sea Lions, we get our Mantra on as we watch, enraptured, as the Sea Lions play and survive on their unique shore!
But it’s time (again!) to suit up for a new snorkel adventure! This red sand island promises to have unique underwater sights! It was even fun to watch the tiny fish play in only inches of water as nature created tiny sand dunes in the surf!
Back on board for lunch, I finally brought a camera into the dining room and can show you a shot of the food serving vessels. But enough about the boring aspects of the trip (Not!)
Watching as we pass by the “Stepping Stone” islands, our Pangas take us to a White Sand Island, quite the contrast from this mornings red sand, and we step ashore on another pristine paradise!
Sea Lions, Oyster Catchers, Lizards, Pelicans, Sally Lightfoot Crabs invade our senses and eyes as we walk along the shore! The sky and shore invade our vision as we take in as much as our senses allow! The ground cover alone is an amazing set of eye candy!
We pass by the remains of a Sea Lion that has met it’s demise. But we don’t touch a thing, so that nature can take care of itself!
But our excitement level has just begun as we get back on board the Alya to suit up and get ready for our afternoon snorkel adventure! Amazing colors and sights await us!
After an amazing swim, a Sea Lion comes to play with me again! Such characters! But alas, the Panga Motor Revs up and tells me it’s time to get back on board! Oh please! Give me a few more minutes! Please???
Ok, I get it. The day is done. But maybe not for a photographer…. We enjoy dinner and party with our shipmates into the evening. Somewhere around midnight (or maybe even later) I look out and see another parked ship. So can I take one of my trademark time exposures of it? Let’s see, we’ll give it a try!
Goodnight all, see you in a few hours!
Around the World in 80 Trips (Or Less) 