Galapagos Day 5: Santa Cruz Island – Highlands and Charles Darwin Research Station!

Our schedule for the day!


Exploring a lava tube in the highlands of Santa Cruz (Formed by the solidifying of the outside skin of a molten lava flow. When the lava flow stopped, the molten lava inside the flow kept going, emptying out of the solidified skin and creating a tunnel. Craziness!!!)


Giant Land Tortoise in the wild


Land Tortoise in the wild (you can hear our guide saying how they can live for 200 years)


Me at the entrance to the Charles Darwin Research Station


Baby Land Tortoises, being raised in captivity


Baby Land Tortoises can be pretty cute, too.


Lonesome George is famous. He is the only surviving member of the Isla Pinta subspecies of the giant Galapagos Land Tortoise. They have been trying for years to get him to mate with a female from another closely-related subspecies, but supposedly he has shown absolutely no interest in doing so. All reports are that he just ignores or chases away any females placed in his area. They've even been showing him tortoise porn with no luck. Imagine our shock when we came upon the following:

That’s Lonesome George on top, looking quite virile really… Maybe there's hope yet...

Galapagos Day 5: Charles Darwin Research Station, continued!

Tortoises Galore!

Land Tortoise close-up


Another Land Tortoise


Yet another Land Tortoise. This one is feeling sorta randy, and comes on to a female, but she’s having none of it, as can be seen in the following video:


It's like "Night at the Roxbury"!


Land Tortoise profile


Yet another Land Tortoise – go figure!


I’m starting to feel a little better about my neck waddle after seeing this guy…

And now a word from our sponsor...

I am mid-way through my 7-night tour of the Galapagos Islands, and without any exaggeration, I can honestly say it is the most unbelieveable thing I have ever done. Ever.


I finally got the blog entry regarding Bogota up, but in keeping with the proper chronology, I backdated it a bit, so you will need to scroll down to see it. I will do the same with Quito, and then there will be a bunch of entries regarding the Galapagos. I hope to update re: Quito by Sunday evening (the next time I will have internet access), and also get some Galapagos stuff up by then, as well.


In the meantime, here's some Galapagos stuff to get you going (I took all these pics in the last couple of days!)

Galapagos Day 4: Floreana Island! SCUBA Diving near Ederby Islet!

Our schedule for the day!

School of Black-Striped Salema

Marbled Stingray drifting along the ocean floor

School of Pelican Barracuda

Guineafowl Puffer

Hogfish from the side

Hogfish from the front

Hogfish

Galapagos Day 4: SCUBA Diving near Enderby Islet (continued)

Manta Ray swimming above me


This was totally crazy. When I was swimming along at about 90 feet below the surface, I saw this huge dark shadow above me, which I assumed was a boat. Then, as I came up a bit, I realized whatever it was was actually in the water, so then I thought it must be some mythologically huge whale shark or something. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was an incredbily dense and stationary school of fish. Salemas, to be exact. Maybe they do that to throw off predators, who might think that there's a gigantic creature in the water...


School of Salemas


Hogfish with part of the school of Salemas in background


Galapagos Shark (why does this photo look so fake? it's not -- I swear!)


Galapagos Sharks


Barberfish


I really like this shot looking up at the other divers with all the layers of different fish between me and the surface. Kinda cool, dontcha think?


Eagle Rays

Galapagos Day 4: SCUBA Diving near Punta Cormorant!

Here I am, all ready to go!


Almaco Jacks and Bullseye Puffer


Red-lipped Batfish

Diamond Stingray

Diamond Stingray on the ocean floor


Diamond Stingray - you can see it breathing through its weird spiracle thingy behind the eye. Craziness!

Galapagos Day 4: SCUBA Diving near Punta Cormorant, continued!

It's really hard to tell, but this is actually an octopus all rolled up!


White-tipped Reef Shark


White-tipped Reef Shark in motion


More White-tipped Reef Sharks



Some kind of funky blue starfish


Bluechin Parrotfish


Not particularly exciting video of a Bluechin Parrotfish


School of Surgeonfish

Galapagos Day 4: SCUBA Diving near Punta Cormorant, continued even more!

Trumpetfish


Some type of moray/snake type of thing.

This was an extraordinarily friendly Bullseye Pufferfish. I was just hanging out, minding my own business, fiddling with my camera, when I looked over my shoulder and saw this guy swimming over towards me quite deliberately. I held my hand out and he actually landed right in my glove. Then I took this photo of him.

After I took the photo of the Pufferfish, I swam away to rejoin my fellow divers. I turned to glance around, and the little guy was hustling to try to catch up with me! Then I took this video of him (he didn't quite land in my hand this time, but came close!), and I am not sure whether you can hear it or not, but he actually headbuts my camera. Then he swims away for a second, turns right around and comes back! He really wouldn't leave me alone. It was kind of cute, in a stalkerish sort of way...

A couple of sting rays on the ocean floor (these things are pretty big -- about 5 feet across!)

Me with a Stingray (there it is on the lower left, near my foot, but quite a bit behind me -- I was a little skittish after hearing what happened to Steve Irwin.)

Manta Ray

Galapagos Day 4: Punta Cormorant, Floreana Island!

Pink Flamingos on Punta Cormorant



I think this was a yellow-bellied warbler or something, but I'm not sure.



Lagoon and ocean behind, Punta Cormorant.

Me on Punta Cormorant, Floreana Island

Female sea turtle making her way up the beach to lay some turtle eggs...

Punta Cormorant, Floreana Island. Isn't it pretty???

Leaving Punta Cormorant


View towards Puerto Ayora after dropping achor. Puerto Ayora is the biggest town in the Galapagos and is located on the south coast of Santa Cruz Island. We were going to be spending the night anchored in this harbor and then visit the Santa Cruz Highlands and the Charles Darwin Research Station the next day. But first, we had pop over to town for a much-needed internet fix and the requisite appearance in the local watering hole: the Bongo Bar! Yeah, baby!

John, Me, Diane and Erica at the Bongo Bar in Puerto Ayora after a few caipirinhas. You would think we've never been off a boat before...

Galapagos Day 3: Española Island and Gardner Bay! Sea Lions!!!

Our schedule for the day!

WARNING: The photos and videos which follow contain material with an extraordinarily high cuteness quotient, and may not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.



Sea Lion Mum & Pup


Dozing Sea Lion


Sea Lion Pup climbing over iguanas


Dozing Sea Lion Pup


Sea Lion Pup collapses


Another Sea Lion Mum & Pup