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| A stack of Iguanas on Santiago Island |
Of course the Galapagos can keep on getting better! Cue: enter sharks.
But the sharks must wait ... first we went on a panga ride around Buccaneer Cove to see the dock of choice for the islands' many visiting pirates. The ride took us past 'the monk' (a Buddhist one, we reckoned) as well as Galapagos Fur Seals (which are actually a type of sea lion), a Lava Heron, a Swallow-Tailed Gull (the world's only nocturnal gull), some Blue-Footed Boobies (of t-shirt fame just like their red-footed cousins), Yellow Warblers, Notty Turns (not Naughty Turns, although we collectively managed to mis-hear the name in this way) and a few other flashes of bird-life. Once the winged inhabitants of the island had had their chance to show off, we went snorkelling with numerous shoals of fish, a Fur Seal (which I failed miserably to spot, alas) and the much-anticipated sharks. Six or seven of them chilled out on the sea bed, about ten metres below, with their white-tipped fins pointing towards us. We dived down again and again to get a closer look while they continued their busy schedule of napping unperturbed.
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Fur seal near Buccaneer Cove.
Despite the name, it's actually a species of Sea Lion! |
Back on dry land, in the afternoon, we set out to learn the collective noun for marine iguanas. It is 'an orgy of marine iguanas' - surely you'd agree from the photos below? The black lava beach was so thick with them, we had trouble making sure we didn't pulverise any with our flip-flops. An iguana's camouflage has no advantage when its assailants (those odd bipedal creatures wearing sunscreen) are trying NOT to hurt it. So we picked our way carefully between the lava roses - large black buds of rock testifying to volcanic explosions of millennia past - and watched each footfall.
After another stunning day we left the beautiful Santiago island to its be-spined lords (and their still-life orgy) then set out for the rough crossing to Santa Cruz. The sea churned. Glasses fell off tables and smashed. I slept nicely.
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| Iguana on the beach |
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| Blue Footed Booby |
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| More Iguanas! |
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| Entering a cave in Bucaneer Cove |
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| What's the collective noun for Sally Lightfoot crabs I wonder? |
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