FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 5 & 6
February 16, 2012 by Susan Clarke
Day 8 – Saturday, February 11 – Baltra & Santiago Islands – sunny, humid, high 80’s
Pinnacle Rock
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill (printed sheet read 7 am)
- 4 day passengers disembark – only 6 of us doing 10 days
- 1st Excursion – 10:45 – Baltra beach
Santiago Island
- Bad News – not very nice & not good snorkeling
- More Bad News – sea lion gets comfortable next to my snorkel gear then starts barking & chases me
- Bad News – 12 noon back on ship
- Good News – more good food @ lunch & nice siesta!
- 2nd Excursion – 5 to 7 pm – Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island
- Good News – walk on huge lava formations – only 120 yrs old – see more marine iguanas, lava lizards
Day 9 – Sunday, February 12 – Bartholomew & James Islands – morning high clouds, breezy – afternoon thick gray clouds – showers
Lava Cactus
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill
Lave Lizard
- Good News – it’s my birthday!
- 1st Excursion – 8 to 10 – hike up hill – 360 steps
- Good News – complete wooden walk way to top w/stunning views of the distant volcano & lave flows
- Good News – beach snorkel – see 4 penguins sunning on rocks, 4 ft reef shark, stingray, sea lions
- More Good News – most volume of fish ever, clear water & actually swim w/sea lion
- Good News – more good food @ lunch & nice siesta!
View From Top of Bartholomew
- 2nd Excursion – 4 to 7 – Playa Espumilla wet landing in soft volcanic sand – big waves breaking on beach
Zodiac Back to Ship
- Bad News – disappointing! short hike w/not much to see
- More Bad News – attempt to snorkel but too murky & rough
- Good News – Surprise birthday party – it’s a surprise who of my new friends on board shows up!
FF (FUN-facts) – There are 13 species of Darwin Finches. They all have different types of beaks. They adapted based on the food source. Some eat seeds, some eat insects, some remove ticks from tortoises, some eat leaves, some eat flowers, some drink blood from sea birds & 2 species use twigs or cactus spines to extract larvae from dead tree branches.