Sunday bird blogging

 

I'm in the mood for some bright colors today and the bill and eye ring of this oystercatcher on San Cristobal in the Galapagos from 2013 makes me smile.

If travel ever becomes a possibility, if getting on a plane or a ship is ever reasonably safe again, the Galapagos would be top of the list of places I'd love to revisit.

Sunday bird blogging

This is a sanderling, a common shore bird just about anywhere in the world. This particular bird was enjoying the unique ambience of San Cristobal in the Galapagos.

Sunday bird blogging

A lava gull, at Cerro Brujo. They're another vulnerable species; they only exist in the Galapagos and there are only a few hundred of them.

I like the footprints in the sand behind the bird.

Kicker

There were odd clouds sitting like a helmet over the top of the sky, so all of my pictures of these rocks off the coast of San Cristobal came out a little odd. But maybe that just fits in with the general otherworldliness of this place.

Too cute to resist

More sea lions.

We're not allowed to talk to the animals or make noises to get their attention, but more than once I caught myself babbling baby talk to the pups. Because they are just so cute.

Photography

This is one of my better pictures from the beach: a sea lion basking on the rocks between the waves and a tide pool.

But this is a photography tour; there are several photo instructors, and one National Geographic photographer, Rich Reid, with the group, providing advice and instruction.

Rich took many pictures of this same sea lion, but he crawled across the lava rocks on his stomach to get them. I stood on the sand, zoomed in, and got several shots I was happy with.

I was so blissful being on that beautiful beach that taking pictures wasn't as important as I expected it to be. So maybe I'm not as avid a photographer as I always tell people I am. I want the pictures, but I don't want to miss the experience.

Cerro brujo

This is the "witch's hill" that gives Cerro Brujo its name (that's our ship in the background). There was definitely something witchy about the leafless trees sprouting like stubble from the rock.

Poking around

The bright bills of the oystercatchers complements the colors of the sally lightfoots perfectly.

Sally lightfoots

Sally lightfoot crabs aren't unique to the Galapagos, but they definitely fit into the oddness of the landscapes.

They remind me of the cheap toys you could buy in 5 & 10 cent stores when I was a kid: bright enamel on die-cut pieces of metal joined together with slats and tabs that I cut my fingers on many times.

Likes long walks along the beach

White sand, turquoise water, black rock. And sea lions, dozens and dozens of sea lions. Most of them were asleep, recuperating from their last hunt; it's not easy to catch fish with your teeth. They sprawled out on the sand in long oblivious rows, or curled into piles of fur. Some of them had track marks where other sea lions had just waddled over them.

It wasn't always that easy to stay six feet away. They were curious about us and our cameras, and more than once I backed away from a sea lion I'd gotten too close to only to almost step on another who'd come up behind me.

Wet landings

After lunch and a lifeboat drill on the ship, we got a mandatory briefing on the very strict park rules.

You must be accompanied by a licensed naturalist at all times, and each naturalist can have a maximum of 16 people in the group. Stay at least six feet away from the animals. Walk only on designated paths. No smoking, no eating, no flash photography. Oh, and no bathrooms.

Then we lined up for the zodiacs and rode out to Cerro Brujo for our first wet landing. The naturalists and zodiac drivers bring the boats as close to land as they can, then you swing your legs over the side of the zodiac and wade ashore. I tried to time the waves so I'd step into ankle deep water but I ended up in over my knees.

You don't expect to find water that brisk, that bracing, that cold at the equator.

Galapagos

We're here. I do have a little internet connectivity, so I'll post a few pictures when I can, but most of them will have to wait until I'm back next week.

I'll write more about our arrival then as well. We flew to San Cristobal early this morning, and this afternoon had our first trip ashore, at Cerro Brujo, where tradition has it that Darwin first set foot in the Galapagos in 1835. He was not impressed. This is the quote from The Voyage of the Beagle that you find in every guidebook:

In the morning (17th) we landed on Chatham Island, which, like the others, rises with a tame and rounded outline, broken here and there by scattered hillocks, the remains of former craters. Nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance. A broken field of black basaltic lava, thrown into the most rugged waves, and crossed by great fissures, is everywhere covered by stunted, sun-burnt brushwood, which shows little signs of life.

Which just goes to show that even a genius can be an idiot sometimes. Because what I see here is pretty close to Paradise.