|
|
TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
|
|
Unfortunately I woke up feeling extremely ill (I'm convinced as a result of a dodgy beer - but since I was the only person to have a dodgy beer all week, I guess it could have just been a 48-hour leurgy!). Nonetheless, I joined the trip over to Sombrero Chino (Chinese hat) Island, for our first up close & personal experience with sealions. There were a number of GORGEOUS baby sealions (just a few weeks old) - one of which made a beeline straight for me. Bless!!! Not sure it's a totally complementary thing, though, considering they like fish?!
The Galapagos Islands began to emerge from the ocean over 5 million years ago - as a result of volcanic activity. Continuous volcanic activity ensures the ongoing creation of new islands, whilst plate movement brings about the destruction of older islands (as they are lost beneath the earth's crust). Due to the related volcanic activity, whilst some of the islands are green & luscious, others are quite baron & striking. Sombrero Chino Island itself is made of black volcanic rock, but has lovely white sandy beaches. As well as encountering a number of sealions here, we also came across more red crabs.
Following our morning stroll around the island we then went for our first snorkel of the trip. As I wasn't feeling all that great I didn't stay in the water for too long, but I did get to see some Galapagos penguins (the 3rd smallest species of penguin in the world, plus the only species to live so far from poles) & a marine iguana feeding on algae underwater. Before leaving on my trip last year I took a course on Life In The Oceans. As part of the course I had to watch a number of videos, one of which showed footage of Galapagos marine iguanas feeding underwater, so it was fantastic to see it for real. I took some photos with a disposable underwater camera, but will have to wait until I return home & get the photos developed before seeing how well they turned out!
After lunch on board the Pelikano we headed on to Bartolome Island. On the way we passed by a volcanic crater which contains a lake, normally home to a number of flamingoes. Though there were a few there at the time, they were very far away, on the other side of the crater, so not so easy to see! Upon reaching Bartolome Island we went ashore in the pangas. We climbed to the summit of the island in time to watch the sun setting over the surrounding islands. Stunning. Later that evening we cruised on towards James Bay, Santiago Island.
previous travel blog entry
Would you like to comment or ask a question?
Sign up for a free account, or sign in (if you're already a member).