Red Mangrove Campo Duro Galapagos Islands

... pushing each other away from near drowning females, desperately trying to keep her head above the ocean while s*x hungry turtle males excitedly try to mount her...dark green murky water is the play ground for a massive turtle orgy with me being the only human witness...I wonder if I should wake up my fellow travellers but the moment is pure magic...I don`t seem to be able to take my eyes of the spectacle, glued to the scęne absorbing the ...

... polp-plop-plop, small white colored eggs appear from turtle bodies, still covered in uterus slime and gore.

This is the time our feathery gull amigos have been waiting for. Exitedly and with happy anticipation they fly up and start to harras the turtle mothers, skydiving and faster than the turtle eyes can follow eggs disappear down hungry gull throats. Pieces of shell and specks of egg yolk, all that is left ...

You guessed it, I stayed on another week in the Galapagos. More diving, more gorgeous powdery white sandy beaches and more sealions!
Also visited some salt mines but to be honest they werenīt spectacular. La Tortuga on the other hand ... I canīt get enough of that beach. So much so, that I spent my last day (today) on La Tortuga beach. Itīs not all lazing around though as you have to walk 2 ...

Islas De Galapagos, Islas Plazas,
15-10-1990.

Swallow-t ailed gulls shriek loudly at our progress up to the top of the cliff, a perfect vatage point for watching the multitute of birdlife around us, tropic birds shear by us at alarming proximity, landing nearby on a rocky outcropping to feed its two hungry chicks. Out at sea I can see pirate birds and brown pelicans slashing it out over a scaly body pertruding fromk the pelicans baggy beak ...

... with the Galapagos islands of course!
WOW, what can I say .. they really have taken my breath away and that was even before I went on the tour. The tour was great but Ím glad I was only on it for 3 days / 4 nights because I am black and blue from the boat (small cabins and choppy seas dont agree with me).

NB: Im finding punctuation difficult on these foreign keyboards so do bear with me!

Tour Day 1 - I missed as I was diving. Ill come to that later ...

... had no idea.... About and hour later Ruben and I met up
again to have lunch and compare notes... He had found a guy Called
Oscar who would rent us bikes so we could go see the giant tortoise
reserve and see some lava tunnels, the bikes were going to cost us $4
for 4 hours. So a quick taxi ride (in a Toyota pickup) 20 min's down
the road to a small village of Santa Rosa and we rode the 30 min down
hill track to the tortoise reserve.




There were loads ...

... and more species of birds, with their fluffy youngsters chirping away. Our guide, Rafa, was incredibly knowledgeable on the islands and facts of each species and in knowing exactly where they would be hiding. He said he only brought the book on the species on each walk to show us the facts when someone didn’t believe him! The day continued with a cruise to a beautiful turquoise bay where we went snorkeling - seeing rays and an abundance of fish, before another ...

Having met Judith, a conservation volunteer from Geneve, Switzerland, yesterday as we were both on the wrong bus into town from the ferry port, we made friends and have stayed in contact.
NB: Basically the airport is on a small island from which you get a free bus to the ferry and pay 50c for the ferry ride (except they thought I was with a tour so I didnt pay!). From the ferry its a 45 min bus journey to the main town of Puerto Ayora. Judith and I along ...

Islas De Galapagos, Isla San Cristobāl, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno,
14-10-1990.

A small eatery in on Puerto Baquerizo Moreno`s quay with the fitting name Comedor Comida Rica - tasty food in the local lingo - is a perfect place for a meal and getting to know our new passengers - a spanish couple in their early forties - while we wait for the crew to load supplies.

It takes but a few hundert human steps to get away from the village though ...

... main town of Puerta Ayora. The town is surprisingly less touristy than you would think and cheap ish things can be found, including accomodation and food. Most tourists will only stay here for a short time before boarding a pre arranged tour. We on the other hand started searchng for last minute tours. There were plenty of spaces available on boats leaving today and over the next couple of days, the tour operators varying from dell boy dodgy dealers to fairly smart outfits. Then came ...