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Dear Friends, Of course I did not travel to the Galapagos Islands to see only birds. So here are some other creatures I encountered, and as I wrote before they are not afraid of people, and the guides are mostly there to protect them from the visitors. It is of course forbidden to touch any animal. About the trip itself: I expected to join a group, but I was on my own. There were activities planned for me every day, sometimes with a group, sometimes alone with a guide. I visited four islands: Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Seymour and Isabela. Transportation between the islands was on noisy speedboats. The hotels were clean and comfortable. The residents are very friendly and helpful, on the whole there is a very relaxed atmosphere. And you do not see anybody smoking! It does help if you speak Spanish, as only very few people are fluent in English. It was very hot, and usually there were thunderstorms in the afternoon. Also it is practically impossible to go out without a mosquito repellent. And now to the animals: 1. Lava Lizard, male (Microlophus spec.) 2. Lava Lizard, female ( " " ) 3,4. Land Iguana (Conolophus subcristatus), feeding mostly on cacti, but also on other plants and insects. 5,6,7. Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus). They feed underwater on algae, but as a cold blooded animal they bask in the sun before and after a dive to warm up. 8,9,10,11. Galapagos Giant Tortoise (Geochelone ssp.) There are several subspecies from different islands. The most famous is "Lonesome George" (no picture as he turned his backside to me) from the island of Pinta. He is the last of his kind and resides at the Darwin station. The Darwin station also has breeding pens for baby tortoises (pic.11) where they are kept until the age of 5, and then returned to their respective islands. 12,13. Galapagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebacki) They can be seen in ports, resting on boats or on rocks. It is not advisable to approach the big males! There are places where you can even swim and dive with the sea lions. (I cannot swim...) 14. Large Painted Locust (Schistocerca literosa) 15. Sally Lightfood Crab (Grapsus grapsus) This crab is almost seen everywhere at the cost. Younger specimens are black. 16. Waving Good By, a Fiddler Crab (Uca belleri), the male waves his large claw to attract females. Chag Sameach to you all, Ruthie
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