Beach on Chinese Hat
The beauty of the Galapagos Islands is truly staggering. Due to the relatively young age of the islands they are very rugged with their volcanic origins very much on display. Most of the wildlife that has developed on the islands has to be able to make do on very little fresh water.
While on the boat tour, each day’s itinerary was very similar. Generally, we began with breakfast at 7:00am. (By the way, the food on the boat was very good. A varied menu with fresh food, generally including vegetables, rice and/or potatoes in some form.) Following breakfast, we would board the launch and land on an island for a 1 1/2 to 2 hour walking tour followed by snorkeling. We would then return to the boat for lunch and at about 2:00pm go for another snorkeling session in a different area of the coastline or another nearby island. Return to the boat to change into dry clothes for another hike on land, again, to a different part of the island or another nearby island. After returning to the boat at around 6:00pm, dinner would be served at 7:00pm followed by our briefing for the following day’s itinerary.
Isla Santiago
There was a Galapagos National Park naturalist/guide on board with us during the entire trip. He was our primary contact regarding all activities and the source of information regarding any questions we had about what we were seeing. He has been working in this capacity for over 20 years, first as a dive instructor/guide and more recently on the tour boats. So each day, we had an opportunity to view the beauty of different islands and to experience the wildlife on each, as well as to snorkel to see the variety of marine life.
Of course, if is difficult to narrow the scope of the photos we want to share but the wildlife photos demonstrate the degree to which you can experience these creatures in their native setting and observe their natural behavior. We say many birds nesting, caring for their young, building nests and in their courting rituals. Before we left for our trip, Valerie suggested that we get a camera we could use underwater. We purchased the Canon Powershot D10 which is waterproof to 33ft., more than adequate for snorkeling. I’m really glad we did. This is a compact digital point and shoot camera that is easy to use. I don’t claim any particular skill but I’m happy with the underwater photos we were able to capture.
We hope you enjoy the photos. We’ll post again with more detail on our itinerary.
Second Act 
Thank you so much for posting all the photos. It’s the best next thing to being there. I’ve heard the wildlife is amazing.
Don’t know if I’d be getting in the water with that iguana. They grow rather large. I’m so glad that y’all had the opportunity to take this trip.
Things are better here, weather wise. Only rain, yesterday. The wind was blowing so hard, I thought someone was breaking in the garage.
Be safe, and keep posting.
Love y’all,
NGC
How close can you get to the sealions or is it how close do the sealion get to you? What was the size of the largest iguana and did any of them chase you? The islands are a bird watcher’s dream, so many varities. Beautiful pics thanks so much.
Kathy, The photos are not zoomed so you can see that we were very close to the sea lions. They are very quick of course so they don’t hang around very long. You have to be fast on the draw with the camera. Often we had to walk around the Iguanas since they were right on the path. The largest, nose to tail were around 3 feet long. No, they didn’t give chase.
The underwater pictures were amazing! That iguana looks like an interesting character- I was surpised to see it swimming in the water? Hudson enjoyed these too. It looks like you are having a great time- and it is warm there, we are jealous! Mike is taking Hudson skiing today…..
We love you guys-!
Hey! I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed all your postings. Your usual tongue-in-cheek humor is always a welcome addition to the beautiful pictures (e.g., “rush hour”)and such interesting travelogue information. I feel as if I’m with you (and wish I were really). Your photos are fantastic!! I’m so glad the two of you are doing this!! The rest of us are enjoying it vicariously at least. Lucky you! Keep the info coming–it definitely brightens up the yucky winter weather we’ve had–today is gloomy and cold–thanks for the bright spot!!
We love you,
Sheila