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The 100 slides of iguanas is nothing compared to the approximately 200 slides I have of sea lions! Knowing that you surely don't need that many photos of sea lions, Leslie (another traveler) and I tried to help each other from going crazy with the camera when around sea lions. But we always had an excuse for "just one more photo." It's nursing, it's newborn, it's playing, it's posing, it's sleeping, it's breaded (rolled in sand) – and the one most used: "it's just too cute!" |
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Most people visit the Galápagos Islands to explore the wildlife. But each and every island has more to offer than the wildlife. Like Isabela Island, where we explored historical graffiti from pirates, whalers, and other early visitors and hiked to the top of the island for stunning views of an enormous salt lake crater and Darwin volcano. |
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A trip to the Galápagos is as active as you want it to be. Besides the daily walks exploring the wildlife on the islands, we also swam, snorkeled, and kayaked the clear, calm, and (fairly) warm waters. I'm a big kayaking fan, and took every possible opportunity to go paddling. I saw my first group of Galápagos penguins as I paddled close to the rocky shores of Isabela Island. One of my goals in life is to see each one of the 17 penguin species in its natural habitat. Needless to say, I was totally excited to meet the seemingly out of place, one-foot-tall, and fairly rare Galápagos penguin. |
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Day five of the trip was giant tortoise day. Besides the long anticipated visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, we went for a two-hour hike in the highlands to search for tortoises in the wild. Man, they are big! A Galápagos giant tortoise may weigh up to 550 pounds and measure up to 60 inches over the curve of the carapace. Watching the faces of these incredible creatures made me think of the movie E.T. - wonder if Steven Spielberg got inspired by tortoises when creating the E.T. character?
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If day five was tortoise day, day seven on Hood Island was definitely sea lion day. We spent the morning on the most beautiful, peaceful, white sand beach in company with hundreds of sea lions. Most of them were sound asleep like this very young sea lion pup lying next to my mother. Suddenly, the pup woke up - hungry and confused since its mother apparently had gone to sea to feed. The pup went on a mission to find its mother, its lonely cries almost breaking our hearts. It tried to nurse from other female sea lions but they, of course, wouldn't let it. First they tried to chase it away by hissing and roaring - and when that didn't work, they would grab it by the neck and fling it 3-6 feet. It was really hard not to pick up the poor little pup, scold the "mean" females, and argue they had plenty of milk to share. The pup found another lonely pup and the two of them teamed up in their quest to find their mothers. When we left the island, we could still hear them calling, and all of a sudden the harmony and peace of the beach was broken. Carlos (our great naturalist guide) told us that this is just the way nature is. The first time the mother leaves the pup is always difficult, since the pup hasn't yet figured out "how things work." He also said that the mother wouldn't be gone for more than a few days. A FEW DAYS! We all tried to seek comfort in that thought. |
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For more information and reservations, please contact:
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1266 66th Street, Suite 4
Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
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