AMAZON AND THE GALAPAGOS DAY 9 - EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE

The water was blessedly calm last night. Quieter and less movement then the previous night, and we slept peacefully. Breakfast on a yacht in the Galapagos.  Did I mention we had breakfast on a yacht in the Galapagos?  It’s exactly as nice as it sounds. And this will end up being the least-best part of our day. 

Our first excursion of the day starts at 8am. We board the panga for an up close exploration of the coast of Punta Moreno with Fernanda, one of the ship’s two naturalist guides. The two hour long journey is flatly amazing, an absolute dream for any photographer, heaven for a naturalist, and a lifelong aspiration for any kid who’s ever watched a nature documentary on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Mandy takes photos and videos on the iPhone with the help of a selfie stick, while I work the camera with the long lens for things further away.  

In short, everything we could have possibly had hoped to see this entire trip is right here for the asking. Big pelicans soar the sky’s when they’re not perched and posing for us. The flightless cormorant birds hunt the water for their sushi breakfast.  

Lava herons sit at the water's edge, ready to strike a passing fish.

 

Marine iguanas, the only species to have adapted to swimming underwater for food, are absolutely everywhere. Sunning on rocks (where they blend perfectly, marching to the sea, wiggling back up onto the lava. 

 

The Sally Lightfoot crabs are absolutely beautiful. Their intricately patterned bright red shells with royal blue and yellow highlights make them a joy to see. We hear they’re delicious, but we’ll never know as they are a protected species. 

 

One of Mandy’s wishes for the trip was to see the Galapagos penguins, and that wish is granted. These adults are awkward on land, but absolute torpedoes underwater. One baby roughhouses with mom, who shows them who's boss.  And there's love in the air for one lifelong couple.

 

My wish was to find the Galapagos sea lions. Also granted. And they’re just as playful and cute as in the sizzle reels. 

And at the top of everyone list:  boobies!  Specifically the blue footed boobies. The funny hunter with the bright blue toes who flys gracefully then drops like a piano into the water when looking for a meal. 

 

We're not even done our first water excursion of the trip and we’re overjoyed.  Ecstatic, the pangamates take to telling each other stories of what just happened as we putter back to the boat.  

45 minutes later it’s back on the zodiacs for our first snorkeling.  By a mile, it’s the best snorkeling or diving we have ever done.  The fish are plentiful and in every color imaginable.  Some, like the parrotfish, clownfish and anglerfish, are familiar but in larger sizes and bigger numbers than we have experienced anywhere else.  Some are new to us, big schools of colorful little rainbow wrasse, gringo creole fish (yes, because they’re white), spotted flag cabrillas and the Galapagos shark. 

 

Mandy is in her own Disney produced undersea fantasy when a penguin zooms by, then she ends up swimming with three huge sea turtles all at once. 

 

My day (week? life?) is made with a sea lion shows up.  He approaches ever so gently as to not startle me.  I blow some bubbles as a way to say hi, so he comes up to properly greet me.  Then he’s all “look what I can do!” as he twists and spins and genuinely plays with me. 

 

We’re back on the boat, treated to a snack of hot tea, fresh juices and empanadas. barely noon on the first day, and we’re silly happy. If this was the entire trip , it’d be more then enough.  Lunch is great, and we try to nap, but the adrenaline is running strong so we just play around on the ship and do a soak in the top deck hot tub. 

 

We skip the 3pm geology talk. At 4, we’re back on the tender to explore the mangroves of Elizabeth Bay.  It’s serene here.  Just being at one with the place. Our guide affords us plenty of time for quiet reflection.  Breathe. Take in the landscape. That peace is disrupted by a penguin party. Dozens of the little guys hunting together, popping up, speeding across the surface then disappearing just as quickly. Not to be outdone, the  boobies start dropping from the sky. Several, hitting on the same school of fish as the penguins, ker-PLUNK into the bay, bobbing up but only scoring a bite every 9th or 10th try. 

 

We watch the sun dip below the horizon on our way back.  

 

Shower, dress for dinner, and we get the briefing for tomorrow.  It’s nice that they set expectations so well.  Tonight is pasta night, the chefs making their own homemade shrimps ravioli and fettuccine, with a trio of sauces and plenty of other accoutrements. We mix tables again to get to know more of our fellow travelers.  We’re zonked by 9pm.  

We have have been lucky to see a lot of this planet.  We have been absolutely blessed with this day.