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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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“Sea Lions BITE!” |
Nov. 24, Thursday, Thanksgiving day. It didn't seem to be Thanksgiving, especially since there were only 3 US citizens aboard. We woke near Espanola island, a low flat island. We went to the island, where we stepped from stone to stone to get to the bird colonies. Also saw red marine iguanas (red because they eat red seaweed & algae). We came upon the albatross colony, saw a mom feed her baby (the baby stimulates moms beak until she regurgitates fish, which the baby then eats), and saw other albatross do their mating dance. We were very close, only a few feet away. We watched the albatross take off, all they did was walk off the side of the cliff and spread their wings. A baby learning to fly only has one chance to get it right!
We saw some masked boobies and their chicks, but it was not time for the blue footed boobies to nest yet, though we saw a lot of adults. We saw some beautiful white birds with long feathered tails called "tropic birds", they had a very harsh cry however.
We looked over the side of the cliffs and saw waves crashing in, they would crash through holes in the lava cliffs called "blowholes" which would shoot up a geyser-like column of water with a roar.
Little birds came up to us begging for food, these were a type of Mockingbird who had learned that some people would feed them treats. This is one reason one should not touch or feed the animals on Galapagos Islands, because it starts to change their natural behavior-usually to the worse! However, I think even our mere presence is definitely changing animal behavior, especially the sea-lions, which have discovered they can intimidate us, and that we are not very powerful against them. We really found out about sea lion behavior today.
We went to Gardener bay to swim & snorkel, but it was full of sea-lions, and the surf was heavy with quite an undertow. Only a couple people tried to snorkel, and they both got bit by a male sea lion, one just got pinched & bruised but the other got bit bad enough to have to need stitches. We just happened to have a cardiologist, a veterinarian, and a nurse on board, so he was in good hands! The first aid supply was a little scant, but we got him bandaged up.
That evening we came to Santa Cruz island, and came into the harbor of Puerto Ayora. There were many boats anchored there, and the lights of the ships and shore at sunset, and all reflecting off the water was very impressive. Our captain skillfully threaded the boat around other boats to get into the harbor. We then took the small rubber boat to the dock and went into town, the sea lion bitten victim went to the clinic to get stitches & antibiotic, and the rest of us went to get a beer! Later some of us came back to the boat, and all the crew left for a night on the town. Us that were left got into the wine, and raided the kitchen for olives, cheese and crackers! We played some dice games till fairly late. But the crew didn't return till around 4 am!
previous travel blog entry
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