Galapagos !

27 Oct - 5 Nov - An amazing week-long cruise around the Galapagos Islands, a privilege to have the opportunity to visit this fabled location, famous for Attenborough, Darwin and many others. A strange other-worldly atmosphere in this remote archipelago, uninhabited til recently and where the wildlife is completely unafraid of man. Visitor numbers are strictly controlled, and on arrival the airport already had our permit logged as being on the expedition ship "Evolution" for a week. The journey out was staged by 2 nights and 36h in Quito, giving time for a tour of the old city, slightly breathless due to its altitude being approx 9,000'. A dramatic city perched on the edge of some precipitous Andean crags, with some impressive Spanish colonial architecture, and giving us a good initial experience of Ecuador, authenticity enhanced by our student guide. The internal flight took us to the islands themselves, very exciting to see them from the plane for the first time. Our itinerary was fairly packed, different islands being visited each day. We woke the first morning to mirror-like seas and a misty sunrise over Isabela, the largest island, and the first few of many Magnificent Frigatebirds were cruising around the ship, and even perching on the rigging. These birds are ungainly on land but amazing fliers. Quite a few bird species are endemic, Galapagos Petrel, Shearwater, Galap Penguin, the stunning Swallow-tailed Gulls, and Blue-footed Booby (wonderful name!) being among the first to be logged. We saw many Elliot's Storm-Petrels from the ship throughout the week. Brown Noddies were nesting on the lava outcrops and ledges along with BF and Nasca Boobies, and even in the caves indenting the volcanic coast. The first of many prehistoric-looking Marine Iguanas were standing sentinel along the rocks. An afternoon visit the first day produced an amazing spectacle at one of the larger Iguana colonies - dominant males displaying with head-shaking, and spitting to expel excess mineral from their salt glands (they drink sea-water). Galapagos Sea Lions were everywhere and needed to be stepped over - the pups were great favourites with all visitors. Visiting American shorebirds included Wandering Tattler, Semi-palmated Plover and Hudsonian Whimbrel. We also had our only sighting of the Galapagos Martin on the first day. The island terrain is lava of various ages and forms, and varying amounts of vegetation, being incredibly sharp and rough to walk over. A feature of the trip was cruising the rocky shoreline most days in outboard craft or Pangas - this brought us close to the wildlife and gave amazing views of, amongst others, the endemic Penguins, the flightless Cormorants, and the seabirds colonies. Isabela Island supports a few Giant Tortoises, and here we saw our first, and also our only Land Iguanas - larger and more dinosaur-like than the Marine variety. The next day was based at Baltra, an old US military base with airport and dock facilities. Despite these slightly unsalubrious surroundings, this was the only location where we saw Lava Gull, the rarest Gull in the world with a total population of 2-300 individuals. Also on the adjacent Bachas beach (of perfect turquoise sea and white sand) we saw our only American Flamingo of the trip, as well as Black-necked Stilts and Least Sandpipers. The red island of Rabida in the afternoon was very scenic and the lagoon was good for more shorebird photography, as well as lovely shots of lounging Sea Lions on the beach in the evening sunshine. The equatorial sun is fierce, with early morning and late afternoon being the only times when there is respite from the intense heat. Fortunately, humidity is low at this time of year. The boat generally moved overnight between islands to maximise daytime activities - day 4 was on the stunning island of Bartolome with its pinnacles and 400m summit, giving an amazing panoramic view and - a mobile phone signal! A chance to catch up after 4 days marooned away from technology. The last 2 days were really contrasting experiences - firstly Santa Cruz island, the main habitation and large enough for upland forest and meadows - the main stronghold of the famous Giant Tortoises, of which we saw a good number. The forest here also held quite an assortment of the famous Darwin's Finches - the keener birders obviously very interested in the different species with their different bill adaptations. Very confiding, as are all the birds on the islands. The final day was my real highlight of the trip that I'd been looking forward to all week, and it did not disappoint - Espanola with its colony of (almost the total world population of) Waved Albatrosses. Superb, an experience that I will always remember, one of my all-time birding highlights. Not only the amazing Albatrosses, enormous at close range, displaying in front of us and then plunging off the clifftop runway and instantly becoming so graceful in the air - leaving their gawky young to peer at us - but also fantastic Red-billed Tropicbirds buzzing about on their stubby wings, pairs of Swallow-tailed Gulls at close range, and close up Boobies displaying at their nest scrapes. Not to mention the inquisitive Espanola Mockingbirds trying to get into our rucksacks for snacks! Overcast skies here made for good photographic conditions. A wonderful few hours. Strangest sighting of the day was a Short-eared Owl that I spotted flying around the ship. The last morning we had time for the Galapagos museum on San Cristobal (and the endemic Mockingbird) before the start of the long journey home, watching the islands disappear from view, then 2 night flights spaced by a sleep in an Atlanta hotel room. Many great memories, and even more photos.......... truly the trip of a lifetime, and a wonderful expedition ship and crew to make things as perfect as possible, all logistics running seamlessly from start to finish.