Galapagos Day 11

Today is the last day of November so I’ve been away from home for 2 weeks now.  There’s another 10 days left of my adventure, so I’m really only just over half way through.

Today, we awoke to find ourselves moored of Española, the oldest of the Galapagos Islands at the southern end of the archipelago.  At Gardner Bay we started off with a wet landing on the fine coral sand beach, and then looked for the varieties of Mockingbird, Medium Ground Finch and Lava Lizard that are local to the island.  As soon as we arrived we were mobbed by the Mockingbirds.  Clever birds that they are, they have learned that they can potentially get water by pestering tourists. Our guide made it very clear to us that on no account were we to give in to their begging, as long term it is not in the birds’ interest to become reliant on humans.  I’ve included a Mockingbird, and a shot of the Medium Ground Finch in flight with a small seed in its mouth as extras.

After the walk along the beach some of us went swimming, before we returned to the Beluga to get ready for the day’s snorkelling. The snorkelling was fascinating as ever, but the water currents here are colder and I was pretty chilly by the time I got out.

In the afternoon we landed at Punta Suarez for the highlight of the day, the Waved Albatross.  The main is of a young albatross who hasn’t yet reached the stage where he can fly, but as you can see he’s found his wings.  The first extra is of an adult in flight. Its been an absolutely fantastic privilege to witness these majestic creatures at the end of their breeding season.

The final extra is of the only bird of prey in the Galapagos, the Galapagos Hawk.