All work and no play…
My wife and I are avid travelers. That’s our thing. We decided years ago that we already had enough stuff. So a few years ago, we decided that instead of putting more stuff in our house, we’d focus on putting stamps in our passports. Well, that and I was told that I was dying, so – you know. (no worries – we found out this year they were wrong). Now, a few times a year, we explore the world together, and every trip thus far has been an amazing adventure. This one – the Animals of the Galapagos.
Bucket List
With that said, the Galapagos Islands was one of my absolute favorites. We had the option of staying on land or sea, but the thought of having to fly back and forth island-hopping didn’t seem to make as much sense compared to making a small ship our home base. Besides, the entirety of the time during daylight hours, we were on one type of excursion or another.
Excursions
We did not see all of the islands, only six out of thirteen, but I guess this gives us an excuse to go back. The islands we did explore (with a guide and in small groups of maybe ten people) were the Baltra, Santa Cruz, Fernandina, Isabela, and Floreana. As a result, I don’t have pictures of all of the islands here, but let’s face it. People don’t go to the Galapagos Islands to see the actual islands – this trip is about the animals.
Research Station
Of course, I am a bit of a nerd, so a visit to the Darwin Research Station was also in order. Besides, they had about a dozen different studies at the time, including some on freshwater algae, and I wanted to check those out. But, this article is about animals. I didn’t get pictures of all fifteen of the Galapagos Big 15, but I did get eleven of them. The other four (noted) will have to be on our next trip and some other islands.
Animals of the Galapagos – The Big 15:
- Galapagos Albatross (missing)
- Blue-footed Boobie
- Nazca Boobie (missing)
- Red-footed Boobie (missing)
- Flightless Cormorant
- American Flamingo
- Frigate Birds
- Galapagos Hawk
- Land Iguana
- Marine Iguana
- Santa Fe Land Iguana (missing)
- Galapagos Penguin
- Galapagos Sea Lion
- Galapagos Fur Seal
- Galapagos Giant Tortoise
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A Few Island Pics
The Animals
Galapagos Sea lion 
Galapagos Sea lion pup 
Galapagos Sea lion pup
Where are you when you’re not cleaning pools?
