This morning we woke up anchored just off North Seymour. Yet another lovely sunrise. We’ve seen a lot of those recently.
From that view we had a very short ride in the dinghy to land for the last hike of the cruise. At 6am of course. But we got to see more sea lions, land iguanas, frigate birds and blue footed boobies. Several of us almost tripped over this guy lying right in the middle of our path!
Male frigate bird trying to attract a mate before breeding season comes to an end.
Huge land iguanas. Some were over 3′ long and must have weighed 25+ pounds.
And Blue footed boobies, hundreds of them. Many were already nesting, others were doing the boobie dance to entice a mate. The male blows air through his mostly hollow beak and makes a noise like us blowing through a straw, while the female makes a quacking sound like a duck. Quite a riot to watch and listen to.
A couple in love (also part of the mating dance)
From there we were back on the boat for breakfast and time to pack up. 815am we are off the boat and waiting for the shuttle bus back to the airport. Most boats unload around 8-9. But the airport shuttle bus only runs every 30 minutes. This morning there were 100+ people offloading from the boats (and I imagine this is the same everyday) yet the buses only hold ~50. Needless to say people are impatient. Such a simple fix to run the buses constantly and move more people. Nope, you wait till the next round. Oh well we had no agenda today, so while frustrating, not the end of the world. Anyway once we got to the airport we were able to repeat the bus, ferry, taxi process to get into town. Umm, maybe a bridge across the 100′ canal would make things more efficient? Anyway, I’m just whining. We made it back to Hotel Fiesta around 10am and thankfully our room was ready. 15 minutes later we were in the pool cooling off and relaxing. Nice! We met up with a few people from the boat for lunch at the Galapagos Deli. Fabian and Christina were moving on to Isabela and left after lunch to take the ferry, and Simon is staying in Puerto Ayora and diving tomorrow. Interesting conversations abound when you have a Canadian couple, German couple and a Swiss national talking international stuff. A fun part of travel for sure.
Since it was hot again we decided an afternoon in the pool would help. It sure felt nice and there we met another couple from Arkansas. So on this trip we’ve met Germans, Brits, Aussies and a slew of Americans. Lots of interesting characters and stories. We’ve commented we’ve missed out on that part on some previous trips when we only have our guide and no others. It is a nice change for sure.
Finally we invited Simon to join us at Isla Grill for dinner. More nice chat and a leisurely walk back to the hotel after dinner. Tomorrow is relax or maybe explore, but definitely sleeping in. No more 0530 mornings for us for while!