"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."
Charles Darwin
The time we spent there was amazing. We saw so much wildlife on land, in the air and in the sea. Our days included two walks and two snorkels on various different islands of the Galapagos. Each island was very different; the sand could be red, white, black or even green; the landscapes varied from volcanic to desert like to colourful and full of life; there was new animals to be found on each island.
We took LOTS of pictures - until tom fell into the sea with the camera in search of the perfect turtle picture!!! But its ok the heat of the engine room brought it back to life - lucky for him!!! Heres the best of the best!!!
The Sea Lions - you could get very close to them on land and there were hundreds of them! But they were definitely best under water when the pups would come to play with you!!
The Iguanas & Lizards - they came in a multitude of colours and were very slow moving and lazy. They were mostly found on the rocks pointing their heads towards the sun to dry off or warm up! They nodded their heads to defend their territory and spat to get rid of the excess salt in their bodies.
The Birds - there were loads of different types of birds which you would never see at home! By far the best was the Blue Footed Booby but the Frigates were pretty cool on the last day when we saw them with their red sacks inflated to attract the females!! The baby Albatross (middle left) was pretty cute too and the tropic bird (bottom left) was very elegant with its long feathered tail but hard to get a good picture of.
The Crabs - we are sure there was more than two types but we only remember the Sally Light Footed Crab and the Ghost Crab heading towards his hole in the sand.
The Tortoises - there were two types of Tortoises in the Galapagos, the Saddle Backed Tortoise and the Domed Tortoise. Lonesome George is the famous Saddle Back. He is the only surviving member of his sub species so they have been trying to get him to breed for 35yrs. He lives with 2 female "friends" but isnt interested in either!!!
The Tortoises - there were two types of Tortoises in the Galapagos, the Saddle Backed Tortoise and the Domed Tortoise. Lonesome George is the famous Saddle Back. He is the only surviving member of his sub species so they have been trying to get him to breed for 35yrs. He lives with 2 female "friends" but isnt interested in either!!!
Under Water - The Snorkeling was amazing!! An absolute pain in the ass to get the wet suits on but worth it once you were in the water!! We were swimming with Sea Lions, Penguins, Turtles, Sting Ray, Sharks, Marine Iguanas and lots of different fish!! We dont have a huge amount of pics but our trusty under water photographers, Hans-Christian and Brett are going to send us some on. Here are a few we've borrowed from Bretts facebook!!
The Lava Tunnels - these tunnels were formed when lava erupted from the volcanoes, the outer layer solidified when it met the cold air and the inner lava continued to flow leaving an empty tunnel when it reached the sea. Some of the tunnels were huge and Tom went swimming in a pool in one of them. When the tunnel opening was close to the shore it made blow holes. The sea would crash into the tunnel and be forced out in big waves!! I stood in front of one and got soaked!!!!
The People
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| The Crew - Jimmi the Bar Man, Andreas the Engineer, Alex the Dingy driver, Captain William and our guide Super Diego |
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| Salsa dancing with Andreas and Sarah is dancing with Diego in the background!! |
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| Me and Tom on the beach... |
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| Hans-Christian being attacked by the Sea Lion Pup - well actually he was just playing!! |
Galapagos Post - On the second last day of our Galapagos adventure we visited Post Office Bay. It is a small post box on one of the islands that was used by the sailors on the Whaling Ships back in the day!! When the sailors were finished their session at sea they would stop by the post box and bring home any letters that were addressed close to where they lived so now the tourists do the same. I sent a postcard to Keeva and Tom sent one to his mum so hopefully they will arrive some day and we picked up a postcard for James OKane from Derry - Angela any relations up that end of the country??!!! Hopefully we will deliver it when we get home - it was the closest address to Downpatrick or Doneraile!!
The final evening of the trip was fantastic. When we were out walking on one of the Islands, Emma the Aussy spotted what she thought was a Whale in the distance. The guides didnt really believe her but finally gave in and had a look through their binoculars!! It was a whale!!!! So we got back on the boat and the captain kept an eye out for them and eventually caught sight of them!! Apparently it was really rare to see Orca's - Killer Whales in those waters but we managed to get really close!! There was two of them fishing for food and they were amazing!!
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