Day 5 was all the island of Santiago, and it was a glorious day. Late afternoon saw us at Puerto Egas, a dramatic indented shoreline. Shorebirds lined the tidal pools. Fur seals cavorted with sea turtles in the grottos. Sea lions bobbed off-shore. And marine iguanas basked in the sun. This is a long photo essay, as it was one of the loveliest and most dramatic hikes we took.
Such incredible beauty.
Our group headed first over to the grottos, where we saw the fur seals. These two almost look like they're having a conversation at the side of the pool. These grottos were a lava tube that has collapsed.
When the fishing is done, it's always nap time. The Galápagos fur seal is an emigrant from South America. Smaller than the sea lion, it also tends to live on the rocks and is a nocturnal hunter.
And what a bonus! On the ledge were this lava heron....
and this yellow-crowned night heron. And the yellow-crowned was active. Here, preening.
Here, scratching.
Here, stationary, with a great shadow.
They were actually rather close to each other. I love herons.
And in the water in between the fur seals and the herons, sea turtles swam and surfaced for us to enjoy.
Nope, not a big ledge. But I like the juxtaposition with the Sally lightfoot crabs.
Here, we've moved along the shore, and the other group is up on the grottos.
Incredible geology here. All these beautiful ridges and lines come from water erosion. The colors and patterns were an endless source of fascination for me. Well, until I realized how far behind the group I was....
Marine iguanas. They are truly fascinating creatures. They are herbivorous and adapted to swimming in the ocean. Those white spots on their heads? Salt. Yes, they blow out (sneeze) the salt once they return to land, and if the wind is blowing toward them.... yup. White salt encrustations as body art.
There were little yellow warblers running all over the rocks.
The marine iguanas all bunch together, trying to warm up after being in the ocean....
and these "colonies" can extend for some distance.
And two feet later, another sleeping sea lion.
And then more marine iguanas.
Turning to the water, ruddy turnstones dig in the tide pools.
No, this iguana didn't keep moving.
Overexposed, but I wanted detail of the spines and body.
Oyster catchers.
Um, another ruddy turnstone? I'm not sure.
A sea lion testing the currents.
And lucky us -- we got the most incredible light along the water!
Finally, we had to go back. At one time, this part of the island was home to a salt mine with 400 employees. Nowadays, when ship crews can catch a break, they'll often disembark too and grab a quick soccer game.
Parting shot, before heading to the zodiacs and back to the boat for dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment