Galapagos - Day 4 (April 30th)

Early morning Zodiac ride to see Kicker Rock. Looks like a boot – see it?  Hubby and mom-in-law couldn’t see it. Sigh, must be hereditary!

This extrusion in the middle of the ocean is simply mammoth!  As we cruise up to it in our little rubber boat I start to feel insignificant! Our boat driver takes us into a little itty bitty crevice slightly bigger than the boat, seems all fun till the tide starts to rise and therefore we rise in this little itty bitty crevice!  We could almost reach the walls on either side of us!  Since these guys do this week after week I guess they know what they are doing and need a little excitement in their lives!  We finally back out, since the other side was rapids!  We cruised around the rock and spotted different wild life living in the out croppings!

Next stop was the Interpretation Center on San Cristobal Island. Having read a couple books and online things this was not all that interesting. (as in, if you take this trip, you can probably skip the center or do the nature walk which we were not allowed to do).

We did do a little shopping and watching the waves! Got me my fancy Blue Footed Bobbie Hat, and hubby a new t-shirt.

Afternoon trip was to Espanola Island.  We started on a path that was blocked by some red iquanas sunning themselves.  It is really fascinating that man is of no interest to them. Great – of course, but still weird! 

We continued on our walk and came upon a pair of Galapagos Hawks – mating. I was unsure of edicate, do you clap, look away? We moved on! 

Next we got to see Blue Footed Boobies shading their eggs! They stand over them so their shadow keeps the egg cool during the hot part of the day. It really is a neat thing to see!

Then came the giant albatross! These fellas (and ladies) are huge! Wing span is enormous!  They are not the prettiest birds – they have flat head, big beaks, wide feet..  But one was on a golden colored egg. Again protecting it from the sun with it’s body. When they took off they were very graceful! Floating on the wind! This is the only island they nest on since it has a nice cliff for them to get flying from. They don’t take off well either!

Finally was the blow hole! Little hole in the lava that the wave just rushing into pushing air under water to produce a giant spray!  We weren’t allowed to get too close, but it was cool!