Wow! We were been so busy hiking, snorkeling, learning,
making friends, and out on the water that I barely had time to
write! I just returned from a 7 days in the Galapagos islands with Lindblad Expeditions, aboard the National Geographic Endeavor. Although I wasn't able to keep in touch from the ship, this trip is too special not to share so I am publishing some of my notes, and also including links to the Daily Expedition Reports written by our Lindblad Expeditions Naturalist Guides. This is a fantastic resource for Lindblad travelers and also for family & friends to follow along!
Each day we
have visited a new island of the Galapagos oceanic archipelago off the coast of Ecuador. We
started in San Cristobol where we met the ship. Our first sight
stepping off the plane was this sea lion taking a rest from his busy day
of tanning in the sun. It was the perfect welcome to this place where
the animals live so naturally among humans. They just hang out so close
you could pet them. This would be the theme of the week and what makes the Galapagos such a unique place!
Days 2: Espanola This is a small and uninhabited island. Here we did our first hikes and a beach hangout with tons of sea lions. There were lots of sea lion pups around this time of year, playing with their friends and nursing.
Day 3: Floreana is one of the few islands where
human communities do live. About 3% of the land of the Galapagos is
inhabited and the other 97% is National Park and dedicated to preserving
the natural habitats and ecosystems of the wildlife. This morning I saw my first flamingo - my favorite animal! - in its natural habitat. It is unclear how the flamingos made their way to the Galapagos since they cannot fly such long distances from South America... it is thought that they were blown by a storm and a small group of flamingos have inhabited a few of the islands ever since. This afternoon we visited the Post Office that has been used since the explorers' days. Visitors drop their postcards and pick up any they can hand deliver... the food old fashioned way!
Day 4: Santa Cruz is the home of the Darwin center and the Galapagos National Park headquarters. Today we visited the giant tortoise breeding center where Lonesome George spent his final years, and then did some hiking through the cloudforest for giant tortoises in the wild. To get there we took an uphill bike ride in the pouring rain... probably not the highlight of the trip but definitely an experience!
Day 5: Cerro Dragon, Eden, & Daphne More flamingos today! This time closer for better photos... although they rarely stop eating long enough to take their head out of the water for a good shot. This afternoon we did our second snorkel outing along a beautiful sea wall with stunning fish and sea lions swimming along!
Day 7: Genovesa Today was a sad day to leave but still very exciting wildlife viewing! We had our morning hike with one of our favorite naturalists, Greg, and hung out with a sunbathing sea lion in a lagoon, who was blowing bubbles and showing off. We also saw some of our favorite birds: the frigates showing off their red puffers, and the red-footed boobies (which I prefer over the blue!). This afternoon we took a hike on another side of the island... the landscape was so scrubby it felt like Mars. Here we saw the Galapagos owl: 4 sightings, and two while hunting and eating! The one-eyed owl we saw was one of our favorite sightings of the week.
We truly had amazing naturalist guides. On Lindblad,
the guides do not have a separate dining room; they eat breakfast,
lunch, and dinner with us and are encouraged to mingle with the guests
throughout the week. We have become fast friends with some of them and
this makes them so much more accessible for asking questions and getting to
know them and their relationship to the destination.
