Christmas in the Galapagos

We sailed overnight to Isla Espanola.  In the morning we went ashore and took a long hike across the island.  Today was the first day that we saw the famous Galapagos birds up close and personal.  I'm not sure how Darwin managed to catch finches; they are so small and quick.  But the sea birds are large and quite easy to see when they are sitting.  Today we walked by their nesting site and saw hundreds of birds sitting on their eggs or their new babies.



I have forgotten the name of this bird, but it lays two eggs five days apart.  After the chicks hatch, the older one kicks the younger out of the nest to die, but if there is something wrong with the older chick, the younger one kicks him out.  In this way, the parents ensure one healthy chick.  We saw the last albatross sitting on her nest as all the others had already flown away.  On the beach we saw sea lions, sea iguanas, and the Galapagos crabs which are bright red.



After our hike, we suited up and went snorkeling again, and again it was incredible.  The sea lions just swam in circles around us.  They gracefully rotate, swimming right side up and then upside down.

After lunch we came back ashore to visit the sea lions on Gardner Beach.   They live in pods and just hang out on the beach.  There were lots of pups and they are just as cute as puppies.

After lunch the crew put up the sails for the first (and it turned out, only) time.  We still motored, but it looked like a sailboat.  By the way, our Beagle is only ten feet shorter than the Beagle that Darwin sailed in (without a motor) for five years.  While we were sailing, a large group of dolphins and whales swam by, jumping in unison alongside us.

My roommate, Sylvia, and me enjoying the afternoon sail.

We sailed all afternoon, enjoying the sun and the rest.  Late in the afternoon, we reached San Cristobal, another inhabited island.  We didn't go ashore, but most of the crew did so they could visit their families for Christmas.  Our cook, Pedro, had spent all afternoon fixing us a feast of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and the fixing.  We never bothered telling the crew that eight of the twelve guests did not celebrate Christmas.

A Christmas toast

If you had asked me before this trip how interested I was in bird, I would have shrugged, but birds were the highlight of Christmas day, and we were all excited to see the three most famous Galapagos varieties.  First, we saw the red footed boobies with their  blue beaks, and then we saw the blue footed boobies, the symbol of the Galapagos with their unbelievably bright blue feet.  I had seen one in flight a few days earlier, but today we saw them on the rocks right in front of us.

Pretty amazing.  I had seen a National Geographic show about frigate birds mating but wasn't sure it was the right season.  It was.  The males have a bright red sack that hangs down below their beaks.  When they are ready to mate, they blow it up to an incredible size.

Birds nesting for as far as you can see

Of course, birding was not our only activity.  We had a nice siesta on board while sailing to Isla Lobos, and then we snorkeled again with the fish, sea lions, and the biggest sea turtle I had ever seen.