The Story of our trip to Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador & Galapagos Trip 31.7 to 15.8.10

[caramelo]

We returned back to our ship.

That night after dinner at about 10:30pm we dropped the anchor on the beach of Baltra and turned on the lights and this attracted the fish, and we saw a pelican, a flying fish, sea lions and even small sharks, but not one photo came out because it was too dark for photos.

It was a pleasant evening with a good temperature and a very clear and cloudless sky and on the deck level 6 there was a meeting place for those who wanted to watch the stars,but we decided to stay below watching the fish in the water illuminated by the lights of the boat.

After some time, we went off to bed.

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE SANTA CRUZ AND BARTOLOME ISLANDS

[dforeigner]

This has to be by far the best review I've read. The pictures are freaking awesome. Thank you very much for taking time to write and post this review.

 

Saludos hasta España (Greatings to Spain)!

Edited December 26, 2010 by dforeigner

[caramelo]

Thanks dforeigner...... wow, I´m flattered!!!! :)

[caramelo]

Wednesday, 11th of August.

 

 

 

 

Today we had the luxury of being able to sleep a little bit later as the first landing today was at 9am.

We arrived at the Bachas beach which is located north east of the coast of Santa Cruz. Bachas Beach is a beautiful white sand beach punctuated by lava formations of about 1 km in length.

 

The first images arriving:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caramelo]

 

Long ago, a rusted pontoon, a relic of the Second World War, a barge beached itself here and was slowly buried by the elements. You can still see parts of this barge sticking out from the sand. In fact, “bachas” is a poor pronunciation of “barges,” two of which were wrecked offshore at that time: the locals mispronounced the name and it stuck, which is where the name Bachas Beach comes from!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beach was beautiful, on one side white fine sand dunes and on the other side lava rock formations and other rocks completely covered in green making a total color contrast:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caramelo]

 

 

 

We left the beach for a while and we went to one of thel agoons. Along the way we saw these cactus......the one in the second photo is very old:

 

 

 

 

 

In one of the lagoons we spent a long time watching a flamenco.

 

 

 

[caramelo]

 

 

 

 

We went back to the beach and saw again some more sally lightfoot crabs ………..I have no idea why this one is covered with foam!!!!:

 

 

 

And again a mangrove canary and some other birds:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caramelo]

And a lava gull which is a rare gull species whose plumage is gray and brown. Endemic to the Galapagos Islands, it is the only one typical of the archipelago of the four present. Called by the Islanders brown gull and by the Anglo-Saxons lava gull. They inhabit the beaches of these islands, feed on detritus and hunt newborn marine iguanas, they nest alone and have no specific breeding season being able to breed throughout the whole year. They incubate two eggs for 24 days. When they reach adult size they measure up to about 45 cm long and from 90-100 cm wingspan.

 

 

 

And, of course, we saw more iguanas!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caramelo]

We also saw a Great Blue Heron, which are really beautiful, and have a wingspan of nearly 2 meters, 130cm tall and weighs about 2.5kg. and in the Galapagos Islands they generally can live up to17 years of age.

It is a fierce and efficient predator feeding mainly on marine iguanas, lava lizards and common fish, and looking for food constantly throughout the day and night. Galapagos great blue herons have gray-blue feathers on most of their bodies and a plume of feathers on the chest and back. It also has a long yellow beak and funny long legs.

The blue heron is tall and the wings, the peak of the neck, and legs are too long and when flying he has to hold his head back against his shoulders and his long neck is bent back, his long legs further back in an upright position and flies with slow but strong wing beats. When on earth or in water his walk is strong with long steps.

Great Blue Heron:

 

 

 

 

 

I am putting this picture even though I unfortunately cut the head of the blue heron a bit, but as he began to fly you can see how big he is:

 

 

 

And here is the beautiful landscape in the background:

 

 

We returned to the ship at approximately 12 o´clock midday.

[caramelo]

At 3:30 pm after lunch we went ashore again on the island of Bartolomé:

 

 

 

These were the first images arriving at the island:

 

 

It is very difficult to see in the picture below but just above everything there is a kind of lighthouse and we walked up to this point:

 

 

 

 

The Bartolome Island has the most spectacular landscapes of the Archipelago. It is a volcanic island and has an area of 1.2km² (112 hectares) and a maximum altitude of 114 meters . Here is the famous Pinnacle which is a huge black lava formation that has eroded over time.

The Pinnacle:

 

 

 

[caramelo]

Where we landed, we had to climb over the sleeping sea lions on the steps:

 

 

 

 

Upon arrival we climbed up the wooden staircase to the summit in order to appreciate a spectacular view of two beautiful bays and observe fascinating formations of lava and volcanic cones:

 

 

Where we climbed the steps... ... ... ... ... ...I realized on the way that I'm not physically fit for this, ha ha ha:

 

 

 

 

Images as we went up:

 

 

 

 

[caramelo]

Our naturalist or guide explained about the rocks formed from volcanic lava to us:

 

 

 

 

 

Upon reaching the summit are the best views of Santiago Island and James Bay to the west, and the pinnacle in the distance, as well as North Seymour, Baltra Island, Santa Cruz Island and the Rabida Island. Bartolome Island is surrounded by turquoise waters and white sandy beaches that really add to the beautiful landscape. Close to the Pinnacle Rock you can also see two beautiful beaches in the form of a crescent.

And the incredible views from above:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caramelo]

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we came down we had another opportunity to do snorkeling - we went to the zodiac to another area of the beach and on the way by boat by chance we were lucky enough to see a penguin out of the water:

 

 

 

 

 

[caramelo]

 

Seeing the Galapagos penguins swimming in tropical waters, right at the equator is really special because they can not be found anywhere else in theworld with hot climates. These penguins depend on thecold Humboldt current for food.They feed only during the day near the shore and their favorite food is sardines.

Then we saw other penguins in the water.They swim in a very graceful way leaving only their heads above water with the rest of their bodies submerged.

They also sometimes swim with their heads underwater when looking for fish.

 

Andwhen they come into action, they plunge into the water and move with astonishing speed, using their powerful flippers for propulsion and their legs as a rudder

They are very small and very fast which made it practically imposible to photograph them.

A penguin in the water:

 

 

 

I am now nearly atotalexpertonpenguins as I've seen them in the Antarctica, inSouthAfrica, NewZealandand nowin theGalapagos!!!!!

We tried snorkling a second time but we have not been more successful than on the first attempt. We swallowed gallons of water again! We decided not to do it again on this trip until we learn more at home on how to do it properly.

We returned to the ship where we enjoyed another quiet and relaxing evening.

TO BE CONTINUED ……… On the Isabela & Fernandina Islands…………...

[dalitos]

Caramelo,

You have been on an amazing, interesting, beautiful trip, and I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time and great effort to post in the forum and share it with us.

The information you have given is very well thought of, the pictures are wonderful (and some of them absolutely gorgeous), and you have showed us so many pictures of all the places you have been, that it actually makes me feel a little like I was there.

This is a post to keep alive, as I am sure it will help so many people in planning their trip to these areas.

[Terre]

Caramelo, thank you so much for taking the time to write your review; you keep me in suspense waiting for the next chapters! I love the history of places I go and you've done an excellent job of giving us that, not to mention your awesome pictures. I can't imagine the time you've put into this and we appreciate it very much.

 

My husband and I are seriously considering this cruise, but I'm not the most coordinated person and am wondering about the wet landings...how deep is the water at these wet landings and is it hard to get back into the raft? Do you recommend keeping on your water shoes after the landings or is the terrain too hard for them?

 

Thanks again for all your time in posting your review and pix.

[caramelo]

Thanks so much Dalitos and Terre.

Terre: do not worry about the wet landings at all, as at the very most we are talking of a few inches or cm of water but not a big amount..... the water hardly would reach the top of your shoe! You need adecuate shoes as it would be a shame to wet your normal shoes but it is in very little water.

For example, these are not my photos but ones found on the internet, but they show you exactly what and how a wet landing is like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, it is a lot of work doing this travelogue but thanks to all of you and your comments it is worth the effort, and I do hope it serves as good memories to those who have done a similar trip and as help to all the future travellers to the Galapagos

I´ll be back sooooooon with more!

 

[caramelo]

Thursday, 12th of August

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isabela Island is the largest in the archipelago and has an area of 4,588 km2, which corresponds to 60% of the total surface of all the Galapagos Islands. It has 6 volcanoes an 5 of them are still active, the most important of them is called Volcano Alcedo. It is 1,707 meters above sea level.

 

 

 

 

 

We landed at Bahia Urbina which has a trail that starts at the beach, where a wet landing is made, the route is approximately 3200m, and crosses through sand, pumice, lava, coral and vegetation in an area where the coast suffered a rising.

 

 

 

These were the first images arriving ashore:

 

[caramelo]

The boat on the left of ours is the National Geographic ship:

 

 

Urbina Bay went through a volcanic uplifting back in 1954, leaving marine skeletons, which makes the course very interesting:

 

 

 

Also in this area there is a large amount of vegetation which attract our attention such as the muyuyos, chamomile and rosewood, butamongall these plants stand out the beautifu lflower such as Darwin cotton, endemic to the Galapagos Islands.

The muyuyo flower: These large shrubs are endemic to the archipelago. They are named because of the white wool that covers the seeds. Its flowers are yellow with a purple corolla at the base of the petals and turns pink with age. It grows in rocky areas. It produces a fruit the size of a grape and its liquid is gummy, like hard glue. Its branches are used for rustical handcraft furniture, as well as for fences for livestock:

 

 

 

 

 

The Darwin Cotton Flower:

 

 

[caramelo]

We were ashore for about two hours, and on the way we saw for the first time the Galapagos turtles.

This animal can be more than 1.80min length and weighs over 225kg. Galapagos turtles are herbivorous and feed on creeping herbs, fruits, leaves and cactus, but also eat carrion when given the opportunity and even other bodies of the same species. These animals are extremely slow moving at a speed of 0.25km/h. The current population of the Galapagos tortoise is estimated at about15,000.There are15 sub-species of Galapagos giant tortoises. The Galapagos tortoise grows continuously for about 30 to 40 years to reach its maximum size.

It is worth mentioning that no one knows exactly how long a giant Galapagos tortoise can live, how ever it is believed they can easily reach 150 years of life and sometimes more!

 

 

 

 

We also saw the yellow coloured land iguanas:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it´s nest or resting place:

 

 

[caramelo]

We returned to the ship.

When we had our Welcome Cocktail on the first day aboard the captain said there was an ope ninvitation, no time or date, for passengers who wanted to, to go and visit the ship's bridge. So today it was the best opportunity and fitted invery well with the schedule and the plans so we went on the spur of the moment to see the bridge:

All the staff and the captain were very friendly and helpful showing us and explaining the operation of machinery and the ship and answering all of our questions.

At 3:30 pm we returned ashore for about 2hours on Fernandina Island, landing at Espinoza Point.

Punta Espinoza is located on Fernandina Island, the youngest of the Galapagos Archipelago and most volcanically active. She has an amazing combination of barrenness with lots of wildlife.

 

 

Fernandina Island is the westernmost area of the Galapagos Archipelago and is one of the youngest islands and also its volcano is one of the most active.There are no human settlements on Fernandina Island and there is only one authorized place for visits which is Punta Espinoza.The volcanoes behave differently to the other volcanoes in Ecuador. The total volume of gas is low (compared to continental volcanoes). Galapagos eruptions have low intensity explosive (such as Mount St. Helens, Mount Etna, etc.). In volcanic Islands the lava does not leave from a single strand. Eruptions on the island volcanoes are often through fissures. These fissures can be radial or circumferential. The Galapagos eruption began on Friday, May 13, 2005. A circumferential crack located the southern flank of the volcano was the source of diluted rock. The height of the crack is about 1,100 meters above sea level and its length was 6 kilometros. When the cracks are short, the eruptions are long because the lava has only a small area of escape. That is why the eruption in the Galapagos in 1995 took almost four months. Then, once a small crack opened and formed a cone which had a diluted rock while the eruption continued. (Something like a red hot pot). A month later, the cone wall broke and the lava began to flow towards the coast. It took a week for the lava to reach the ocean. When the cracks are long (like this present eruption) the eruption tends to be short, since all the rock has a higher diluted exhaust area. The bark of these lava flows cools slowly, and create an isolated layer. Below, the lava continues to flow for at least a month before it cools completely.

You can see the volcanic lava formations in the following photos:

 

 

[caramelo]

 

 

 

And the bird on top of the cactus:

And arriving ashore we saw the first sea lion sleeping his siesta:

And sharing the siesta with an iguana:

 

 

 

 

And his friend having a swim:

 

 

[caramelo]

Luckily we saw a turtle come out of the water, quite a young one judging by his colour:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we could not be without the Galapagos marine iguanas which are the only of its kind that have the power to swim in the ocean around the world:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caramelo]

 

 

And with the crab on top of his tail:

 

 

 

 

It is also funny how they all have their arms around and are hugging each other:

 

 

 

 

And with a Blue Heron:

 

 

 

 

And they seem very modern with a “punk” style and the spikes on their heads:

 

 

 

 

[caramelo]

 

 

& in big numbers or groups:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also found this sea lion funny with his wide and square shaped feet: