Bartolome island is an interesting place. The rocks are fantastic--there are amazing lava formations everywhere. And, on the way in....we saw a Galapagos penguin!!! That was an artist's inspiration, for sure!
Long ago, a group of penguins followed the cold Humboldt current up from Antarctica and settled here. They are the most northerly penguin in the world, and the only species to live in the tropics.
We also encountered Blue footed Boobies on the cliffs.
I won a beer because I knew that Booby means "bobo", which is Spanish for clown, stupid, or fool. (Because of their silly dance and how they wouldn't run away from the pirates.) Another reason to paint!
The blue color comes from the fresh fish they eat--so color indicates health. Females can tell if their suitors are good hunters for their young. It changes quickly--even 48 hours of a restricted diet and the color fades. Scientists studied couples and dulled their feet with makeup...and the females produced smaller eggs with less yolk. They concluded the females didn't want to invest in a male that wouldn't provide.
Other cool Blue Footed Booby facts: Their skulls have 'air bags', to protect their brain when they dive into the water at 60 mph. They can dive into water as shallow as 2 feet! They have this really cool mating dance...apparently the higher they lift their feet, the more attractive they are. After the dance, he offers her a pebble by putting it on her foot. If she doesn't like it, she kicks it off and he offers her another one. Their nostrils are permanently closed, and they eat most of their fish underwater. The males have larger tails and are smaller, so they can hunt shallow or deep. They feed the young early on. The female is larger and can carry more food, so she hunts for the chicks when they are bigger. Average life span is 17 years.
We leapt off the dingy and navigated past a sleeping sea lion, and the group behind us encountered him awake.
The barren landscape has its own unique beauty.
You can see a caldera just under the surface.
We walk up a wooden staircase and take in the sights.
Our group, hard at work.
We saw a Galapagos hawk here!
Santiago Island, Sullivan Bay was a strange landscape as well.
It felt very un-earthly.
The rust color you see is actually the 'print' left by a tree as the lava enveloped it.
Today's snorkeling highlights: I saw a penguin underwater but it zipped by so fast I couldn't get a photo!
For more highlights of today, see the album! Today I started a list of fish we are seeing, using a species book on the boat. I kept adding to it until the trip was over.
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
3 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
4 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.