It's a short ride from Cerro Dragon on Santa Cruz to the small island of Rábida, also known as Jervis. From where we're anchored, we can see sea lions and pacific green sea turtles in the water. The soil and sand of this island is rich with iron, resulting in a rich, deep red colour.
Our first excursion with the island is snorkelling off the panga. This time, we're accompanied by Javier in the water. His keen eyes are quick to spot interesting things under the water, and he soon finds a sting ray. Trisha and Donna were close by, so they went to check it out. As Donna dived down to look, a sea lion came and started swimming in circles around her. Javier and Trish grunted to get her attention, but she didn't notice until she looked up to find him staring right at her! Donna surfaced to get air with the sea lion following.
Later, we have a wet-landing on the beach, and we come across a sleeping sea lion and her newborn pup. Sea lions carry their young for nine months, just like humans, and on this island we see pups between a few days old to a few months old. Their motions are definately baby like, as they struggle to sit upright, or move around jerkily, trying to develop some dexterity.
|
|
| We walk along the beach, and come to another brackish lagoon, like the one we saw on Santa Cruz earlier in the day. This time, we're successful in seeing the greater flamingo. Brilliantly pink, it's a shame that my picture is overexposed. We're very quiet as we walk on the trail, since flamingoes are one of the most nervous birds in the Galápagos. They have been known to get startled and fly away, sometimes never to return to the area. It's remarkable to watch them feed, sucking water through their beak, and filtering out the shrimp and water boatmen to eat. They get their colour from the shrimp, and during problem years such as the El Nino years, they turn grey in colour. |
|
The day draws to a close, and we begin the 11 hour ride from Rábida to Fernandina and Isabela Islands. One thing about our itinerary is the crew's dedication to making sure we make the best of our time, even if it means long nights such as this one. In the eight days, we visit outlying islands like Genovesa, and Española as well as the central ones like Rábida and Santa Cruz.
