Friday February 20
The rules for visiting the Galapagos are strict: no fresh fruits vegetables or meat (and sometimes even processed foods or ground coffee). The bottoms of all shoes must be clean (it’s amazing what gets trapped in Vibram soles!). All checked bags are inspected before being loaded on the plane so our bags were collected at 10:00 pm yesterday. The plane is fumigated for insects before landing.
The detailed itinerary for any ship is completely controlled by the National Park— where and when the boat can go, the group can snorkel, or the group can kayak.
We left the hotel in Quito just after breakfast. We flew to Guayaquil and then on to Baltra without excitement. Upon arrival at Baltra (not a town but an airstrip from a WWII US air base) we boarded the Petrel, our 16-passenger catamaran to begin our exploration of the Galápagos Islands.
After lunch, some of the group went ashore on North Seymour to see Great Frigatebirds and Blue-footed Boobies. Most of us went on a zodiac ride to cover more distance and see more species. And we certainly did! Several new bird species, a land iguana, both types of seals/sea lions, cool fish and some great crabs. While we have seen blue-footed boobies in the past, these were by far the bluest feet we’ve ever seen, credited to their local diet of sardines. After dinner we went out onto the stern deck and watched black-tipped sharks and Galapagos sea lions chase flying fish in the lights from the boat. A bit later, we began a 11-hour transit to the NW corner of Isabela, the largest island (and one of the most westerly) of the Galapagos archipelago.
Pictured: the Petrel, Great Frigatebird— make display being ignored by female, blue-footed booby, lava heron, enormous Sally Lightfoot crab
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