The Galapagos airport is on the small, barren island of Baltra, where the U.S. stationed forces in World War II to protect the Panama Canal against a potential Japanese attack.
From Baltra, we took a ferry ride to the much bigger island of Santa Cruz.
97 percent of the land mass of the Galapagos is in the Galapagos National Park. Every group
visiting the Galapagos must be accompanied by park service guides. Ours are Jaime and Sofia.
On the way to the hotel, we stopped to see a huge sinkhole.
The Galapagos mockingbird sitting on this prickly pear cactus is endemic to the Galapagos,
meaning that it arrived here through natural means and now exists only in the Galapagos.
This male lava lizard is also endemic to the Galapagos.
As is this lava gull.
At the end of the first day in the Galapagos, El Garrapatero's warm water was refreshing.
A flamingo was in the brackish water a short distance from El Garrapatero.
9 comments:
What a wonderful trip, Jack !
Your trip is amazing, Jakc. Thanks for sharing:)
Another place I'd love to visit. Splendid shots- that sinkhole especially.
All kinds of sites await you there.
Beautiful photos, Jack. To witness a flamingo in the wild…wow! What a treat for you! I expect to see some super-sized gopher tortoises posted soon and perhaps a blue footed booby too. Safe travels! (And, I hope you mailed in your primary election vote before you left.)
I thought that must be where you were headed! Looking so forward to seeing lots more pics, Jack!
Wonderful photos Jack. I love that flamingo! Coincidently, there is another CDP blogger in the Galapagos right now, Susan from Walla Walla DP. She is posting her pictures on FB, but the last ones I saw were from Quito. She will probably start posting her Galapagos pics soon. It will be fun to compare them to yours!
Great candid portraits of your guides.
I'm reviewing your trip photos again. You've hit more enviable destinations again and the Galapagos is one of those "must see" bucket list places.
Post a Comment