Elizabeth Bay was full of wildlife. There is no landing place--we explored from the dingies. The red mangroves are a great refuge for a variety of animals.
We viewed eagle rays, golden rays, bluefooted boobies, sea turtles, sea lions, flightless cormorants...on the water we saw 16 penguins and flying fish!
This series of photos (more in the album) was some of my favorites...three of the iconic species of the Galapagos grouped together for amazing poses.
Storm petrels hover over the water, feeding on plankton. You could see them between swells and they always looked so delicate. Like the ocean could just swallow them up.
From the Guantanamera, we saw a whale!
Urbina Bay showed us 14 wild land tortoises, one land iguana, hermit crabs...here we saw a skeleton of a land tortoise.
The Galapagos tortoise is the worlds largest, reaching 5 feet across and weighing up to 550 pounds. They are endemic to the islands. They can live a year without eating or drinking! They are long-living, over 100 years, but they nap 16 hours a day, so...I am sure that helps. Tortoises whose food sources are low to the ground have short necks and a low arch to the shell. If the food source is up high, the arch to the shell is much higher, and their necks are much longer!
The beach here was like pepper. White and black sand, really gritty. We encountered many types of beach in Galapagos...soft, pale white sand, completely red sand...black sand...More evidence to show how these different islands were formed.
The snorkeling was tough. The surf really threw us around.
But with big rewards...
At least 7 sea turtles fed on the rocks below us.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.