Quito Jan. 27, 2018 Galapagos East

The Galapagos Islands are truly the Enchanted Islands!  From Jan. 19 to 26 we soaked in the experience.  We caught an early morning flight from Quito to Baltra Island via Guayaquil, took a water taxi across the strait where we caught the panga boats to our 16 passenger ship, the Ecogalaxy (formerly the Galaxy II).  We cannot say enough wonderful things about the ship experience, great rooms, great service, great food, great guide. We snorkeled and swam with fish, sea lions, rays, sharks, eels, iguanas.  Pictures are great memories but our camera is limited and so often I was enthralled at the moment and did not capture it in a photo.

We toured the Eastern Galapagos (older islands), Santa Cruz, Floreana, Espanola, San Cristobal, Baltra, Genovesa, South Plazas, Seymour Norte, Mosquera.  We learned about the history of the islands and saw so much wildlife.  Birds we saw:  blue-footed booby, nazca booby, red-footed booby, great frigatebird, lava and swallow-tailed gulls, waved albatross, red-billed tropicbird, lava heron, striated heron, galapagos hawk, galapagos mockingbird, galapagos dove, cactus finch, woodpecker finch, galapagos short-eared owl, galapagos flycatcher, petrels, stilts, flamingos, pelicans.  Reptiles:  giant tortoise, pacific green turtle, marine iguana, land iguana, lava lizard.  Mammals:  galapagos sea lion, galapagos fur seal (not a true seal,  sea lion family).  Marine invertebrates:  sally lightfoot crab.  White-tipped reef sharks, surgeonfish, angelfish, parrotfish, manta ray, spotted eagle ray.  Plants:  mangroves, cacti, scalesia.  Hiking and snorkeling were daily activities and we learned and saw so much.  When we signed up for the tour, we thought this would be a once in a lifetime adventure; now we are thinking of the west islands with their seahorses and penguins are a destination!