From My Galapagos Islands Trip - July 2007
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| Th e Incredible Galapagos! |
I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Galapagos in the summer of 2007 while my sister, Adair, was living in the Galapagos for a year doing research at the Darwin Research Center. My brother, Alex, accompanied me on this once in a lifetime journey. A journey that I will never forget. A journey that has made me richer than money ever could.
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| My brother, Alex, and sister, Adair in the Galapagos |
On our first full day, we went to the Darwin Research Center and I was extremely fortunate to meet Lonesome George. This giant tortoise was the last remaining Pinta Island tortoise, and sadly passed away in 2012 along with any remaining hope that his subspecies would live on after him.
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| Lonesome George |
The following in an excerpt from a journal entry I wrote while visiting the Galapagos:
2 July 2007
Today I am on the 2nd day of a 5 day boat tour of the Galapagos Islands. This morning our boat took us to the North Seymour island where the majestic Blue-Footed Booby are mating and nesting.
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| The Blue-Footed Booby |
This was an incredible display of nature only steps off the path we walked. You couldn't walk more than 5 paces before seeing another Blue-Footed Booby nest.
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| Blue-Footed Booby Nest |
We saw several babies from every age from as young as a couple days old to a young adult.
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| A mama Blue-Footed Booby with babies only days old |
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| A mama is still feeding her young adult |
We also got to see the beautiful mating dance where the male Booby lifts his magnificent blue feet, spreads his wings, and whistles, all trying to impress his impressive mate.
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| The Blue-Footed Booby mating dance |
We then saw male Frigatebirds, who were also trying to attract a prospective mate. They have a red pouch under their beak that they inflate so it looks like a big red balloon attached to their neck. It was absolutely awesome.
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| The male Frigatebird |
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| The male Frigatebird's impressive wings |
Along the path we also saw evidence that life and death go hand in hand. There were a couple dead baby Boobies who where kicked out of the nest by their stronger sibling. We also saw a dead baby sea lion whose mother could not feed it, so she saved herself. Isn't life a wonderful yet sad and vast mystery?
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| There were a LOT of sea lions on North Seymour |
I found it so interesting to walk among animals and birds that had no fear of us and no natural predators. I imagined that walking that trail would have been almost identical 100 years ago. It was such a treat for me to spend a half a day feeling as if I was at one with God's natural environment.
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| We also saw the beautiful Galapagos land iguana. |
Once back on our boat, a tasty lunch was followed a Bridas Whale sighting. It was a pair of whales who would swim a few minutes under water where we couldn't see them. As soon as we heard them blowing through their blow hole, we could follow the sound and spot their massive backs again in the water. I also saw the mighty whale tail as a whale went back under the water. This was my first ever whale sighting only one day after I had my first dolphin sighting of over a hundred dolphins frolicking near our boat. As I stood there staring at the Pacific Ocean I marveled at this beautifully diverse world and realized how very lucky and blessed I am to see these wonders of nature.
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| Our boat, the Eden |
After a glorious 2 hour nap, I woke up to the bell on the boat signaling it was time to snorkel. I threw on my swimsuit & wetsuit, gulped down some instant coffee to wake up and was ready to go. Once in the chilly water, I was ready to see some marine life. It wasn't long before I was swimming with the baby sea lions. They were incredible! They love to play so I would dive down to the bottom and flip around and they would follow me down and do flips of their own. It was amazing, tons of fun and a travel moment I will never forget! Other than sea lions, we saw some tropical fish and a couple of majestic spotted eagle rays.
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| The friendly and playful sea lions |
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| My sea lion impression |
After snorkeling, we went in the dingy to see more rays, white tipped sharks and sea turtles. The sea life show concluded with a spectacular show of Golden Rays that Adair and I saw form aboard our boat, the Eden. What a wonderful place this is and how incredibly lucky I am to experience it!
For more pictures of the Galapagos wildlife on North Seymour, click here.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading my entry from this Traveling Travel Agent's travels. I am a travel agent because I love to travel and I love helping other people discover our big beautiful world! Through strategic partnerships, I offer my clients preferred rates, complimentary upgrades and extra amenities. If you would like to receive weekly travel specials from my agency, Purple Palm Vacations, please sign up for our Exclusive Travel Specials.
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