Live from... Silver Origin. Sept. 16-23, 2023

[twangster]

Our guide takes us in the shallow tidal pool among the mangroves. 

 

What pictures can't portray are the sounds of the various birds in the mangroves calling out to each other.

 

 

A number of Red Footed Boobies are at various heights in the mangroves.  It was basically like a Booby condo.  

 

 

 

 

 

Can you find the Booby in the mangroves?

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by twangster

[twangster]

At the same as this tour an optional complimentary Sea Kayak excursion from our ship was exploring the coast.

 

 

More variations of finch.

 

 

 

A Yellow Warbler.

 

 

 

 

 

Researchers have discovered that the finch can evolve with one generation.  Pretty remarkable.

 

 

A young Booby close to our trail watches us with curiosity.

 

 

If it's nesting in the trees it must be a Red Footed Booby chick.

 

 

Who brought their pet dog?  Oops, just another Galapagos Sea Lion.

 

 

With that it was getting close to sunset and time to return to the ship.

 

 

 

[twangster]

Some housekeeping items... literally.

 

I'm posting this so those that come after me will know what they don't need to bring or make the determination if you had better bring something.

 

 

The included water bottle has worked quite well for going to shore.  Filling station in the bathroom or other places around the ship.

 

 

Destination talk time. 

 

 

The Cerro Dragon (see bar menu posted earlier).

 

 

North Seymour tomorrow morning followed by snorkeling and Sullivan Bay in the afternoon.

 

 

Day two dinner menu.

 

[twangster]

Day Three - North Seymour and Sullivan Bay

 

This is a pretty great way to start the day...

 

 

Basecamp is where all excursions depart from.  Here the "Green" group is departing.  The Blue group that I am in will depart 15 minutes later on this occasion.

 

 

 

Team Blue on the move.

 

 

It's a short ride over to the shore.  At this point we are all "zodiac pros" like we've been doing this for weeks.

 

 

[twangster]

Our guide has found something.  Can you spot it?

 

 

Cactus is a favorite diet of a species of land Iguanas found on North Seymour so where there is a cactus, there is likely an Iguana protecting it.

 

 

Overhead several Magnificent Frigatebirds were soaring above us.

 

 

[twangster]

Nesting Frigatebird.

 

 

A Frigatebird with a young chick.

 

 

 

Time to warm up.

 

 

 

Gotta show off that big red chest.

 

 

 

A Blue Footed Booby with a chick.

 

 

 

A resting Frigatebird.

 

 

Where there is cactus, there is...

 

 

 

 

Not much farther down the trail.

 

 

[twangster]

Another male Magnificent Frigatebird showing off his chest.

 

 

A Blue Footed Booby near a nest.

 

 

North Seymour had many Blue Footed Boobies.  Along our trail were three sets of Boobies who appeared to going through mating rituals.

 

 

 

"Look at my blue feet!"

 

 

 

They were so close we had to walk around them to maintain some distance.  Absolutely no fear of us.

 

 

 

 

Pictures don't do this justice, you have to experience it right in front of you.

 

 

Check out those blue feet!

 

 

This guy had a slight turquoise hue to his feet which he continued to lift up and down to make sure she saw them.

 

 

Quite the moves.

 

 

 

She must have been impressed because it looks like success!

 

[twangster]

As we continued along the trail we came to a beach albeit a rocky one.

 

 

 

Sea Lion family.

 

 

 

Mangrove Finch

 

 

 

 

A young Booby.

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

These male Magnificent Frigatebirds are mostly likely younger males who have matured enough to have the inflatable red chest.  So impressed with their new capability these young male birds inflate their chest and take flight only to discover how awkward it is to fly with a fully inflated chest. 

 

 

 

Older males who have been around the block a few times probably know better.

 

With that it was time to head back to the ship.

 

[twangster]

Our second excursion for the day was an advanced deep water snorkel.  A basic snorkel/beach excursion was also available.

 

 

A benefit of these snorkel trips is being able to see the coast up close.

 

 

Time to snorkel.

 

 

The waves and current were a little stronger today leading to more sediment reducing visibility compared to yesterday.  It's the ocean, it is what it is on the day of your visit.

 

 

A Starfish.

 

 

The waters were still full of life.

 

 

Approximately 30 feet down on the seafloor were a number of white tipped sharks.  Unfortunately I didn't get a very good picture of them.  Later our guide said he counted nine of them in different places along our route.

 

 

So many fish.  You can see why so many birds breed here due to an abundance of food.

 

 

 

 

 

The Origin was never far.

 

 

After 45 minutes it was time to get back on the zodiac and return for lunch on the ship.

 

[twangster]

This never gets old.

 

 

 

The Silver Origin is such a beautiful ship.  It's so prefect for the Galapagos.

 

 

[lincslady]

These photographs must be amongst the very best to have been on CC. Just fantastic.

 

Thank you.

[dawntrdr]

10 minutes ago, lincslady said:

These photographs must be amongst the very best to have been on CC. Just fantastic.

Agree!  They are even better than the SS brochures.

[twangster]

While at lunch we started underway to our second stop of the day... Sullivan Bay.

 

I knew a Galapagos cruise was all about visiting the islands of the Galapagos but the scenery today was unreal.  You can't do it justice in pictures.  The slow cruise through the passages to reach Sullivan's Bay was breathtaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we arrived the unloading of the zodiacs began.

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by twangster

[twangster]

Today's nature walk will take place on a relatively young lava flow.  But first, now that we are all zodiac masters, we take to the sea.

 

 

The short ride in from the Silver Origin.

 

 

Pinnacle Rock is another icon of the Galapagos and it looks very different from what we saw from the ship.

 

 

They offer walking sticks for this hike.  

 

 

It was hot and the sun was bright.  Walking on black lava contributed to the effect.  

 

 

 

This lava flow is from an eruption in 1897 which in geological time is pretty much yesterday.  Once again pictures don't do it justice.

 

 

This is Pahoehoe lava named from Hawaii which roughly translates to rope like.

 

 

Paúl our guide provides all the details for this hike and encouraged frequent water breaks.

 

 

 

[twangster]

Paúl offers to take pictures with our phones.  Fashion has gone out the window, I'm all about protection from the sun.  Doh!  I should have smiled.

 

 

It's not a hike with a very much of an elevation change but you do have to watch each step as there is loose broken lava bits with many cracks and crevices.  It would be easy to catch a toe and stumble so it's all about watching where you step.  

 

 

 

Our trail will take us around the back side of that brown hill pictured above where we will circle around and loop back to the start.  

 

 

Compared to staring at black lava the hill appears to be dirt but it too has a volcanic origin so it's really lava rock that has been discolored by centuries of exposure to the elements compared to the relatively young lava flow we have been walking on at around 125 years old.  In another couple of thousands of years the black lava probably won't be as black.

 

 

 

This lava rocks reminds me of what one might find in a gas grill back home, at least the small bits.

 

 

[twangster]

Behind the cone of lava rock we find an oasis of growth, at least for a volcanic island.  Over thousands of years vegetation has taken root.  We are in the western or youngest part of the chain of Galapagos Islands.  In thousands of more years this island may look like some of the islands we saw in the beginning of this trip.

 

This is just a start.

 

 

We continue after a water break.

 

 

Back here we find an area where the lava flow stopped in its tracks having run out of magma for this eruption.  Looks like a photo op!

 

 

 

Onward back onto the black lava towards our Origin.

 

 

A cactus has taken root.  Where the hill has broken down from exposure indeed we see it too has a black lava base.

 

[twangster]

A lava lizard is spotted darting around the lava flow.

 

 

These large cracks show the make up of the flow.

 

 

I spotted a cold cerveza in the distance.

 

 

Pinnacle Rock like a beacon to guide us home.

 

 

Lava cactus is another sign of the lava flow coming to life.

 

[twangster]

The patterns of the Pahoehoe flow are mesmerizing.

 

 

Or maybe I've been out here too long and the heat is getting to me.

 

 

I think I'm going to find one of these pictures to blow up and put on my wall at home to remind me of this trip.  It's basically like art.

 

[twangster]

If you had asked me before about a hike on some lava I would said yeah, okay, sure.  Now?  Just wow! So different from our other stops, and that is the magic of a Galapagos Islands cruise.

 

 

"Can we get an Uber for ten please?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just another example of pictures don't do this justice, you have to come here and experience it.

[twangster]

Back on the ship and you know you are having a great day when Pinnacle Rock is framed in your suite window.

 

[twangster]

Dinner menu.

 

 

Before dinner was a lecture followed by the destination talk for tomorrow.

 

The lecture was about the currents that prevail in the Galapagos Islands and it really helped to explain so much about the Galapagos Islands.

 

The Finch beverage (look it up on the bar menu posted earlier).

 

 

We cross the Equator four times on this itinerary (the yellow dotted line).  Given the different currents we learned about, this means at times, depending on the currents, we can experience some motion.  It hasn't bothered me yet and I'm pretty far forward but if you are sensitive you'll want to explore motion remedies before you depart for any cruise and this cruise is no different. 

 

 

 

Tomorrow will not involve a landing on the island.  There will be zodiac tours of the coast in the morning and afternoon with a deep water snorkel before lunch.

 

 

Spoiler alert - I'm writing this post on day four after dinner having experienced what this destination talk highlighted and wow!  What a day.  But more on that later...

 

 

This has been awaiting us each evening in the suite.  I've been collecting the Chronicles for another time.  Picari chocolate is a premium Ecuadorian brand I learned about at the Cocoa museum in Guayaquil.  There have been different flavors for us on the bed each evening.  All I can say is...it's good, very good, 

 

 

[twangster]

Day Four - Punta Mangle and Punta Moreno

 

First we have a Galapagos sunrise in the Bolivar Canal Crossing.

 

I stepped out on my balcony early and discovered the makings of a new day.

 

 

Time to head up to deck eight forward.

 

 

Even in the darkness it was easy to make out the silhouette of a Frigatebird soaring above the ship.

 

 

I could see a mist in the hills of the islands all around us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

 

 

There were a number of Frigatebirds gliding above the ship.

 

 

There were dozens and dozens of Galapagos Shearwaters skimming the service.

 

 

Then the sun made an appearance.

 

 

[twangster]

A couple of the Expedition team guides were hosting an event in the observation lounge overlooking the bow of the ship.

 

 

 

 

Frigatebirds were doing Frigatebird things.

 

 

 

 

Including trying to steal a meal from another bird.

 

 

 

 

The pirates of the skies maintained a lookout above the ship.