Some Galapagos Birds

Dear Family and Friends,

Today's post is about Galapagos birds.  Most of these pictures were taken in Elizabeth Bay on Isabela Island.  Some were made on other islands.

We took some of our tours on water only.  We were able to get up close to the shoreline in our zodiac boats.

We went in close to the Mangrove forest in Elizabeth bay.  It was teaming with birds and Iguanas.  We saw many sea turtles swimming under the water.

This is a Great Blue Heron.

This is a Flightless Cormorant.  They only live in the Galapagos.  Their wings are stubby and they swim and fish a lot like penguins.

The most popular bird of the Galapagos is the Blue Footed Boobie. They are adorable and as you can see their feet are bright blue.  The brighter the blue the healthier the bird.

This is the best shot I could get of the Galapagos Penguins.  It really seems odd to see penguins on the equator.  Since the Galapagos Islands are located on the equator, the northern and southern currents of the Pacific ocean converge there. This is the reason that you can see Flamingos and Penguins living in the same place.

I am not positive, but I think this is a female Frigate bird.

These two birds are Lava Gulls.  These gulls are endemic to the Galapagos Islands and are the rarest gulls in the world.

This cute bird is a Yellow Warbler.  They live in the Galapagos and also other places in the Americas.

This is the Magnificent Frigatebird.  They are also a very popular bird of the Galapagos.  The male has a striking red gular sac which he inflates to attract a mate. Other than the Galapagos, these birds can be found in tropical and subtropical waters off of the Americas between Mexico and Ecuador.

This is the Swallow Tailed Gull. It's plumage and the red ring around the eye show that it is in breeding condition.  Although these gulls are found elsewhere, their main breeding area is the Galapagos.

This is an American Oyster Catcher.  They obviously eat other sea life because there are no oysters in the Galapagos.  Besides the Galapagos they live along costs of both the Americas.

Geology pictures to share in my next post.

Love,
Nancy

Galapagos Wonders

Dear Family and Friends,

In order to get to the islands from the ship we had to take a zodiac boat.  Some landings were dry...which mean you stepped on sand or a rock, and some landings were wet..which means you jump out of the boat into very shallow water.

The tours went out in groups of 16 people or less.  Here is a group loading on the zodiac to start their adventure.

Sometimes the water was calm but most of the time it was a very bumpy ride.

When we made our first landing it was quite cloudy.  But as the morning progressed the clouds started breaking up.

Our tour group.

A small sample of the wonderful things we saw on Isla Bartolome.

These birds are Galapagos doves.  They are endemic to the islands and if you want to see them you have to go visit them.

The wild life was so very abundant.  They showed no fear of humans and would not run away and hide.  Some of the time they approached you.

We were asked to stay at least 8 feet away from the wildlife.  Sometimes that was almost impossible.

A sea lion, iguana and crabs are all peacefully sharing the same rock.  We humans could learn a lot from God's other creations.

There were crabs everywhere.  These are Sally Lightfoot crabs.  They range in color from dark red (almost blend in with the rocks) when they are young to a brilliant orange red as they age.

More sharing of the rocks.

This sea lion is about to take the plunge.  Probably time for a snack.

These are two types of iguanas in the Galapagos.  Marine iguanas who live only on the Galapagos islands. They live on land but are the only lizard that feeds underwater.  The other type of iguana is the land iguana.  They only live and feed on land.

This big daddy is a land iguana.

Here is a pelican and a bunch of crabs enjoying the sun when it peeked out.

Here is a fur seal posing on the rocks.  Despite his name he is actually a sea lion. There are no seals in the Galapagos.

Besides their fur, another difference in them and the other sea lion species in that they have ears and in my opinion are very cute.

Next post more photos of the wildlife.

Love,
Nancy

Island Hopping in the Galapagos

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck and I returned from California about three weeks ago.  We were home for a couple of weeks and then flew to the Galapagos for a week of cruising some of the islands.

We returned last weekend.  Since then I have spent days trying to put together a slideshow and share it in this post.  I did get a wonderful slideshow made, but I am not able to add it here.  So I am finally relenting and will share the pictures that are in the slide show.

We flew to the island of Baltra, where the airport is located.

We cruised the islands on the Celebrity Xpedition.  It is a small cruise ship because big cruise ships are not allowed in the Galapagos.  Our cruise ship was as large as is allowed and held 100 passengers.

We were treated like royalty on this all inclusive cruise.  They provided binoculars, snorkeling gear, all the alcoholic drinks you wanted and charged no excursion fees.  

We were met at the airport and we waited in a private lounge for all passengers to arrive on their flights.

From the time we arrived at the airport until we departed back to Ecuador, the cruise line handled all our luggage.  Everything was taken care off.  

We boarded a bus and were taken a short distance to a dock, where we were met by zodiac boats and transported to the ship. As soon as we were aboard we had the mandatory muster drill.

The food was very good and, as I said earlier, the drinks were free flowing. 

As we started our cruise we watched the birds and the scenery.

In my next post I will start sharing all the cool animals, birds and plants we saw.

Love,

Nancy

Halloween Treat

Dear Family and Friends,

I have had the pleasure of staying with my eleven year old grandson for the past few weeks while his mother is out of town.

Yesterday, at his elementary school, all the kids came dressed in their halloween costume and paraded around the school ground.

This was an extra special treat for me because.... (1) I was able to participate with Bryce and (2) I haven't been in the U.S. for Halloween for 9 years.  The bar has definitely been raised for halloween costumes since I was a kid.  Check out these pictures I took.

Bryce seems to have found Waldo...

I lot of the characters I did not recognize.  I am definitely out of the loop.

I did, however, recognize Hermione from Harry Potter

 ..and the crash dummy.

Even the teacher was decked out...here is the bear welcoming the students into the classroom.

A very creative peacock..

Not sure about this one...

This little prize fighter is a girl.

Strutting her stuff...

Not so scarry witch...

Adorable.....

I bet this girl had to get up at 5am to get her well decorated face done.

Minnie Mouse.

And I saved the best for last "Bugger-man."

Have a happy halloween everyone.

Love,
Nancy