BOOBY PRIZES If you have selected this page in the hope that you might find something risqué or at worst an appraisal of joke items you’d prefer to avoid, then I regret to disappoint you. On the other hand, if you might like a pictorial travelogue in search of uncommon pelagic birds, this may be just what you are looking for.
The Galapagos Islands lie in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator, a two-hour flight away from Quito or Guayaquil, Ecuador, their parent country. Until 1989 flights were to the flat arid Baltra Island, but now there is also an airport on San Cristobal. The number of tourists allowed within this national park was strictly limited to 2500 in any one day controlled by the availability of berths and guides on the registered transport ships. However, in recent years, the number of individuals able to holiday on the islands themselves has increased giving some cause for concern by conservationists.
We arrived to Baltra and were then transferred by panga (small fishing boat) to the MV Santa Cruz, our floating home for the next three days. The first two days were spent on and around the central islands of Santa Cruz and Santiago, observing numerous Marine Iguanae, Sally Lightfoot Crabs, Lizards, Frigate Birds and Darwin’s (yes, he came in 1835 on HMS Beagle) Finches. We had strict instructions from the guides to stay on the footpaths and to keep a healthy, long before Covid, 2 metre distance from all wildlife. But because the Galapagos fauna see so few humans, they are often inquisitive and seem to have little fear of mankind. When relaxing on the beach a playful sea lion might come ashore to enjoy a roll in your towel.
But what did we just see on a steep dive? 48
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