(male & female--look at the eyes)
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| Ecuador 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| As we sat waiting for our flight from Tucson to take off Sam was dismayed to see part of my horoscope read “rethink travel plans.” But it was too late, and we were off. Sixteen hours later we get to Quito and have a short overnight hotel stay before getting back to the airport for a two-hop flight to Baltra Island. A short bus ride later and we’re borrowing a dock from some sea lions to get into a zodiac-like “panga” headed for MY Letty. (MY stands for Motor Yacht). Ecoventura.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We had been initially disappointed when informed that our 7-day Galapagos itinerary was changed due to the closing of San Cristobal airport, but found out after getting onboard the Letty it was only a flip-flop of a couple of islands and made little difference. As we get settled, the boat makes its way to Mosquera Island and we go ashore to visit more sea lions, this time in a natural environment. Several males cruise their territory, barking loudly. Otherwise they seem oblivious to our presence, and we need to watch carefully as they flop across the beach we share. The guide has seen people step on them and get bitten. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Over the next six days we visit the islands Genovesa, Fernandina, Isabela, Bartolome, St. James, Santa Cruz, Espanola, and San Cristobal before ending up back on Baltra for the flight out. We saw incredible wildlife, different not only from what you can see in the rest of the world, but also surprisingly different from island to island. We were quite lucky with cooperative weather and with a few unusual sightings that got the guides a bit excited. One day as we were approaching an island a flock of birds was fishing using a kind of mass dive-bombing tactic. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Individual Serving | Six-Pack | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| On one of the hikes there we saw marine iguanas, red crabs, lava gulls, and a couple of turtles in a tide pool (and more sea lions, one of which takes over our dock, making the panga find a different spot to pick us up). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| One-foot, Two foot . . . (male & female--look at the eyes) |
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| Red-foot . . . | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blue-foot (with chick) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| It was quite an experience being so close to all the animals and birds who were incredibly unafraid of us and just went about their business as we mingled and took photos. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highlights were the huge land tortoises and a snorkling session where we literally played with a large sea turtle, several sea lions, and a small flock of penguins (one of which nibbled on Sam’s elbow). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Page 1 of 2 | One More Page, the second week | |
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