Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Excursion: Jewels of South America: Galapagos & Machu Picchu - Day 3.

I know yesterday was overcast and warm but today we had lots of rain in the morning fortunately the sun came out in the afternoon.

We headed back over to the yacht again today and sailed to Daphne Island through the rain.  It cleared as we arrived at the island which made for better sightseeing.  We saw Darwin finches, gulls, blue footed booby birds, sea lions, red crabs, herons, pelicans & more as we sailed around the base of the cliffs.

Our next destination was Bachas Island but first the chef treated us, yet again, to a nice home cooked lunch of tuna & veggies; and passion fruit tart for dessert.  Sharks swam around & beneath the yacht as we had lunch.  It gave other visitors already on the island time to finish their walks.  The amount of people visiting each island is limited each day; and the sizes of groups are as well.  This is in order to preserve the environment and not to stress out the birds or any other living thing on the islands.

We took a zodiac to Bachus island and had a walk.  The heat was a bit of a killer but we managed, carrying plenty of water with us.  It was a nice walk.  There were lots of iguanas, nesting gulls, sea lions and cubs, frigate birds, booby birds, etc.  The dry island was carpeted in many places with red succulent plants and tall tree-like cacti.

We couldn't swim off the island today because of the sharks frequenting the area in the hope of an easy meal of baby seals.  I was very very hot after the walk so asked Juan if I could jump into the water from the yacht to cool off.  I promised him I would be careful and very quick. He and the pilot agreed.  No sharks had been seen since lunch time.  After checking the surrounding water and underneath the yacht I dived in and climbed out again while a member of the boat crew sat in the zodiac, keeping watch.  Another guest also hastily stripped to his swimming trunks and dived into the water to cool down too.

Another lovely day over and done with - we had to head back to our hotel.  The hotel manageress had arranged for us to go to a local restaurant for a meal and to experience island life.  She walked with us to the restaurant and left us there to enjoy our evening.  There was a good choice of 3 course meals and once again we were well fed.  While we were eating local musicians came into the restaurant to play (more so - to sell their CDs).  It made the evening more
wonderful.  Outside the rain hammered down and the restaurant had to close some windows so that those seated near the windows didn't get wet.  Needless to say, the hotel manageress sent a runner with umbrellas to our restaurant so that we wouldn't get wet on the way back.  It was a very thoughtful gesture.

After dinner we made our way back to the hotel under our own steam.  I decided to not see a bit more of the nightlife in town but headed back to the hotel so that I could chat to Paul via messenger and also get my report done.

Tomorrow will be an early start ...

PHOTOGRAPHS

Spot the seal?

Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Excursion: Jewels of South America: Galapagos & Machu Picchu - Day 2

We had an exciting day today even though it was an early start.

Juan and the bus driver met us at the hotel and we went to Santa Cruz, the Itabaca Channel, where we zodiac'd to a yacht.  We sailed to Santa Cruz Island with Dragon Hill in the distance.  During our yacht ride we caught sight of sea turtles mating, a shark, flying manta ray, pelicans, sea lions.

A zodiac trip took us over to the island where we had a bit of a walk around Dragon Hill.  There was plenty to see: red crabs, iguanas, different birds, booby penguins and more.  While on the island with Juan We learned a lot about nature conservation on the Galapagos islands.  It was very interesting.

Back on board the yacht it was time for lunch on the yacht.  The on-board chef had freshly cooked tuna steaks for us, cassava & vegetables; dessert afterwards as well as home made lemonade.  It was a feast and a wonderful meal - our bellies groaned from such delicious food.

We next sailed over to another island, Sombrero Chino, where we had a zodiac ride across to the island and a ½ hour walk along the coastline to walk off our lunch.  However the main aim was to see some sea sea lions.  We weren't disappointed.  We saw baby suckling noisily from mum's teat and baby sea lions without their mums as well.  We also saw plenty of red crabs, iguanas and birds too.  Back at beach we snorkelled in the warm water for a while.  Juan pointed out different types of fish and other sea life.  A baby sea lion joined us & swam amongst us. Juan and I mimicked its playful swimming, much to the baby's delight at its new play pals.  But we respectfully did not try to touch the youngster as it swam around and between us and the guests.

Sadly our day came to an end and we had to sail back to the Santa Cruz to meet up with our bus and head back to the hotel.

Another delicious meal awaited us - I say no more.  "Burp".

It has been a wonderful day and everyone 'gelled' well together, making a delightful group of happy/crazy but down to earth people.  We felt very spoilt on the yacht with chef, captain & other staff there to make us feel comfortable.  What a very interesting and fun day.

PHOTOGRAPHS