OK, this is Wildlife Day 2!
We are up at 6 am so that we will be ready for the water taxi at 7 am. It has been arranged (?) for us and the crew from Brown Eyed Girl, Judith, Joe and Jared, to all come in together. A taxi does eventually turn up though and we pick up some others on the way. When we arrive at the dock, there is no one there except some guy who keeps asking us if we want to go to San Crisbobal. We don’t.
Paul from WCC rescues us and gets us on the right bus. We are driven across to the north of the island to get the boat to North Seymour. It’s not the most comfy of boats but we chug along and reach our destination without mishap.
Once there we are split into two groups and taken off by the guides. Getting off the boat is OK but getting off the dinghy onto wet, slippery rock steps is a bit hairy - when the driver first approaches them he hits them full pelt and nearly sends half of us catapulting out of the dinghy and onto the rocks! It is about 11 am and standing on baking hot white sand with the sun coming down full blast on top of you means it is bloody, bloody hot and we have a hike of at least one and a half hours in front of us. We must be mad.
We are advised to keep to the marked trail and not to get too close to any wildlife we see. This is because the animals have no natural fear of us and they probably should have. The first thing we see is a baby gull waiting for its mum to return to feed it. Baby? It looks quite cute but is huge.
We walk along the beach. There are huge breakers landing on the rocks and the colours are beautiful as they curl over and explode.
Further along the beach we see some frigate birds nesting. Apparently they lay one egg at a time and the parents alternate the three month process of hatching it then look after the young for a year. They make their nests in bushes just above the ground. You can tell the males by their red necks which they puff up to help them to keep cool. The females ruffle up their feathers, spread their winds and pant a lot to do the same thing.
We are then rewarded by the sight of a famous Blue Footed Boobie, which has a really young chick lying in the shade of its parent’s body.
Next we see some very rare grey gulls. These were nearly extinct and exist only in the Galapagos. Their numbers were down to about 300 but now up to about 500.
We then turn inland slightly and start to clamber over volcanic rocks. The vegetation is just low lying thorny bushes, lots of them grey and waiting to burst into life again as we are just into the rainy season. There are also lots of cactus plants.
We then come across a wonderful sight. A Magnificent Frigate is hatching an egg, looking after a young chick and an older chick all together. The baby chick is absolutely, totally cute! We are treated to an open beak and lots of verbal as it demands food.
We come out into an opening and see a large land iguana in the shade of a tree. They are different in colour from the sea iguanas, being gold and brown in colour instead of mottled black, but are no prettier for it. As we watch, another one emerges into the opening and he wants the same tree to shade underneath. Iguanas are very territorial. The original one puts up with the interloper under his tree for just a few minutes – they have a neck stretching competition – a ‘my head’s higher than yours’ sort of thing – then the interloper is chased off the territory.
Then (good grief is there more?), on our way back to the boat we see a red legged gull. Apparently the red rim around their eyes helps them see to fish at night.
As we stand and look out to sea for our boat, we notice that it is no longer there. Apparently it has gone to re-fuel, but this give us the opportunity to spot one of the brightly coloured crabs scuttling across the rocks. I can’t see the point of them being red – surely this makes them easier for birds to spot – or is it that red makes them look dangerous? I forgot to ask the guide this one although I have to say that by this time I don’t think I could absorb any more information.
It also gives us the opportunity to stand and watch a small colony of sea lions on the rocks below. There are three adults swimming in the water nearby, including one of the biggest bulls I have ever seen. There are four or five pups playing in the water and I am able to get a good video of them as they are thrown around in the waves, biting each other and barking.
At last the boat returns and we jump precariously into the dinghy and go back to the boat. Once all the passengers are on board, lunch is served. We are given fish (beautifully cooked), rice and salad, with melon for desert.
The it’s up with the anchor and round to a sandy beach for snorkelling and swimming. Mike gets changed and takes my snorkelling gear while I dither for a while, deciding whether the condition are perfect enough for me to risk getting in the water. All sea activity for me is weighed up against the possibility of getting an ear infection …… or drowning! Eventually I decide that being cool for a while would be nice and go to change. Both the toilets are in use to I am directed to the only cabin. Yuk. It is obviously used by the all male crew and smells like it. It is also full of flies. I have never got out of my clothes and into a costume so quickly. Poor Jim, apparently not much more of a swimmer than me, can only sit on the boat and watch (watch the sea not me changing!) as he is still wearing my rather fetching sarong to support his arm.
By the time I am back on deck, Mike has presumed that I am not swimming and has abandoned me, so I climb, very gingerly, down the ladder (wearing my extremely sexy buoyancy aiding swim vest) and with a lot of effort, swim to shore. There’s quite an undertow when I arrive at the beach which threatens to pull me back down the steep incline but I make it. Looking for Mike, I can see him in the distance way down the beach so I walk for a little way before deciding that it is just top dammed hot so I get back in the water and swim to him. He is very excited as he has just seen a huge turtle. I of course can see nothing, so I head back for the boat, which looks a long way away, and seems to get further away as I swim towards it.
Finally back on the boat I realise there is no fresh water deck shower and that I will have to stay salty all day. I hate that. Mike arrives back having seen more than the one turtle and some huge rays.
When we get back to back to Puerto Ayora we go to The Rock to see if we can change our trip to Bartolome from tomorrow to the day after, as it’s a really early start (5 am!) and we could to with a day off in between, but we can’t change. We end up staying for an early dinner there before heading back to the boat. I go to bed not looking forward to the alarm going at 4.30 am – whatever the reason.
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