Galapagos Sunset - Santiago Island - Galapagos Islands

 

 There’s not much that I’m going to say in this blog post.  We had a fabulous sunset, and I thought I’d just share it with you via several photos.  So just sit back and……

 





 

 

 

 



Enjoy!



Flowers of Puerto Egas – Santiago Island – Galapagos Islands

On our walk this morning, we also saw a few different flowers.

Morning Glory

I really liked this little flower.  Check out the tone on tone pattern – I love the subtle texture it creates.

Muyoyo Bloom

Here’s a flower that I’d never seen before.  I don’t know how to pronounce it, but according to my Galapagos book, it’s a muyoyo flower.  I love the fluted, almost lacy look of the petals on the flower.  Of course, the bright yellow really brightens up the area where it’s located.

Beach Morning Glory

I think this is a slightly different variety from the first image above.  It does look very similar, but the shading, especially on the very outer edges of the petals seemed to be different.  In any event, it’s a very pretty bloom!

Enjoy!



The Birds of Puerto Egas – Santiago Island – Galapagos Islands

 

There were a number of different types of birds on Santiago Island, some that we’d seen before, and others new…..and one that fell in love with my camera!

Giant Heron Up Close

Yes, I know I included a number of images of Giant Herons before, but this one was just so striking I had to include it!  The morning sun lit him so wonderfully, and I love how clear his eye is.

8739 – American Oystercatcher

I’m not certain why this little guy is called an American Oystercatcher instead of a Galapagos Oystercatcher, but, oh, well!  He was very intent on searching for his meal, altho I hadn’t heard that there were actually oysters around!  I loved his orange beak and the orange circle around his eye.

Galapagos Flycatcher

And, now we have this little guy.  He was actually a bit of a distance from me when I captured this shot.  I’m not certain what he saw with my camera lens, but…..

Approaching Camera

…he really seemed to focus on my camera (no pun intended!) and started to make a bee-line for me.

Loves the Camera

He’s actually getting so close to the camera, it’s having a hard time focusing on him.  His eyes are very intense, aren’t they?

Up Close

And here he’s right up at my lens.  He never actually touched it, tho.  Did he see a reflection of light, or of himself and he thought it was another bird, or something else?  I have no idea, but he did it to other cameras as well – maybe he just loves cameras!

Enjoy!



Galapagos Fur Seals – Puerto Egas – Santiago Island – Galapagos Islands

It seemed a bit inconsistent – in the middle of an area of lava rocks, there was this small pool of water that was below the level of the rocks, and in which were some Galapagos fur seals playing in the most beautiful aquamarine waters I’d ever seen!

Galapagos Fur Seal in Pool

They seemed oblivious to us, just floating along in those lovely cool waters.  By this time, the heat and humidity was getting a bit intense, and I truly felt like jumping into that water to join them!  However, I had no idea how to climb up from the pool……besides, I would have gotten much too close to them, and would have totally invaded their space.

Cool Clear Water

I love this image because you can just see how comfortable this little guy is, and how relaxed in his environment he is.

Galapagos Fur Seal Playing

The little guy had just started playing in the pool, sort of flipping over and doing dives and twists.  I was able to catch him, mid-flip!

Two Fur Seals Playing

Here’s a scene of two of the fur seals in the pool playing – love the way the guy at the top of the pool seems to be waving.  But, is he waving at us or at his buddy?

Enjoy!

Orange on Santiago Island – Galapagos Islands

There were some bright orange colored spots on our walk, and after all of the dark marine iguanas, I really appreciated the bright spots on our walk!

Sally Lightfoot on the Beach

It’s the almost neon bright Sally Lightfoot Crabs again!  I really like this image because of the feeling that I get from it.  The crab really seems to anchor this image and provide a bit of calm from the churning, slightly out of focus waves behind it.

Sally Lightfoot on the Rocks

This is what made me first think about this blog posting.  We were walking over so many areas of lava rock that is black, and the Sally Lightfoot Crab just seemed to stand out as a bright beacon in this barren environment.

Sally Lightfoot at Clear Water

I’m including this image because I really like the way it shows just how pure and clear the water is here, when you can look at it when it’s clear.

Dynamic Duo at Puerto Egas

When I saw these two at such close quarters, I just had to capture them.  A rather strange dynamic duo, but there you have it – many different types of creatures!

Brilliant Butterfly

And, finally, here’s a bright spot of orange from a different species – this lovely little butterfly!  It really “popped” when it settled for a moment on the lava rock.

Enjoy!

 

Marine Iguanas – Puerto Egas – Santiago Island – Galapagos Islands

Ok, I admit it.  These guys are really very ugly.  Whenever I look at them, I think of some very old “B” movies that I used to watch as a kid (and the movies were old even back then!) where creatures would always seem to be invading Japan and threatening the people there.  I’m not sure why these creatures always seemed to pick on Japan, but that’s a thought for another blog! 

Marine Iguana Close Up

When I thought of the Galapagos before visiting here, I always thought of it as having some creatures living there that seemed prehistoric…..and these guys certainly fit the bill!  They are actually fairly large, but not threateningly large!  It’s mainly their appearance that is so off-putting – they really didn’t care about us, and wouldn’t bite us or anything.  They are not meat eaters….at least not humans!

 

Iguanas Heading Out

The most amazing thing about these guys was that they were just all over the place!  As we walked, I almost tripped over a couple and was very careful to watch my step from that point on!  Again, they wouldn’t have hurt me; I just didn’t want to hurt them!

Iguanas on the Rocks

They really are sort of fascinating creatures, tho, and it was rather amazing how they tended to blend into their environment.  They spend time on the rocks warming their bodies, which is why they are just sort of laying around.  Once they get warmed up enough, they will head back out to the open water….

Iguana Hot Tub

…or enjoy themselves in what looks like the iguana version of a hot tub!  I couldn’t resist this shot!

Enjoy!

Puerto Egas – James Bay – Santiago Island – Galapagos Islands

 

This area on Santiago Island was once owned by the Egas family (hence the name).  They tried ranching; however, there’s not really any fresh water on any of the Galapagos Islands, so there effort was sort of doomed from the start.  They gave it to the government of Ecuador, but later tried to buy it back in order to build an upscale resort on it.  Thank goodness, the government said no!

On Shore at Puerto Egas

This was our first view of the island.  It truly feels like a deserted island – the only creature to greet us was a Giant Blue Heron, which you will see in a later post.

Shoreline at Puerto Egas

This hike was incredibly hot and humid, and I wasn’t sure that I’d make it back to our landing area.  It was scenes like these that sort of kept me going……wishing I could just take a dip in the nice cool waters!

Rock Texture

This is an example of the terrain we walked on for at least the first part of our hike this morning.  I was fascinated with the texture of the rock.  I can sort of sea what I imagine was the movement of the waves in the rock, can’t you?

Enjoy!