Galapagos in the water

I've wanted to come here for decades, since first receiving David Attenborough's The Living Planet from my grandparents one Christmas, the book that is; the DVD box set was some years later. It was quite a daunting read for an 8 year old at 300 odd pages but fortunately it had lots of pictures.

One was of the crab who filtered sand then back heeled the spit ball before moving on to the next, it leaves the beach looking like this:

I didn't quite catch him on the ball but it's fulfilling to finally have my own photo.

And this is how the Galapagos is, all the nature programs you've ever watched and things you've read are here before your eyes, the wildlife isn't wild as such because it doesn't fear man, this allows you to very close and makes for just an amazing set of memories.

From the moment you arrive, when the a320 touches down in what you fear might be rock (there no houses by the airport nothing on the approach reveals any sign of a town or inhabitants) to the moment you leave from an old US Air Force base (built to beef up the pacific presence after Pearl Harbour), just the full circle of nature surrounds you and it's astonishing how concentrated into a small space it all is.

The sealions are everywhere from the port to every beach they are like playful like puppies on a first walk.

They swim with you and from watching them you see the full soap opera of their life from one glance at the beach; from pups in the surf

 

And their challenges 

(Galapagos Hawk). Through to fully grown beach master noisily patrolling the hareem from the surf and the trials they face from land and sea:

The shark bite will heal but it's a timely reminder for me as I pop on a wetsuit and snorkel that I need to be looking in more than one direction at all times. 

Meeting a shark is something I've always wanted to do but it's not until the last day that we do, after two Silky sharks circle the boat pre-dive, and once we're wet a white tip passes just feet beneath us before a blue footed boobie plummets into the water  surprised to find I've already scared off the fish

Also in the water are loads of green turtles, too many to count as they feed on the (frankly unappealing) green algae, they can be seen feet from the shore surfacing every 5 mins for a breath. The males have a long tail - well it's a long way to reach around her shell, if you follow my meaning

They feed along side the marine Iguana, the red belly shows we're on Espanola island, different colours for different places

Before they bask on the beach to warm up - the sea is cool in the Southern islands due to the Humbolt current sweeping up the pacific's eastern edge. They need a body temperature of 40degrees before they venture for another swim and after an hour in the water I feel the same.

You can dream up your own monster movie with these creatures especially as they snot at each other to excrete the salt

Further out from shore but only 10m or so I meet the most northerly penguins, so so fast through the water I'm lucky to be in the right place for the flock to sweep past me after the small fish I'd scared earlier. 

Add in the sting rays and the eagle rays, the mosaic of coloured fish and it's the best snorkelling anywhere.