The Galapagos - 1/2018
an outdoor market in Quito, Equador
view of Quito from the Basilica tower
Orchid Garden at Quito Airport, Ecuador
we only saw one flamingo - their color comes from eating carotenoids
Marine Iguana
blue footed booby
Marine Iguana
baby fur seal
Our Ship - the Santa Cruz II - 90 guest capacity
Rabida Island - high concentrations of iron in the lava produce the distinctive red color
Bill and Mary Ann Flinn
Pinnacle Rock - a spearhead obelisk on Bartholome Island - one of the most famous landmarks in the Galapagos - a black eroded lava formation created when the magma expelled from the volcano reached the sea
my brother-in-law, Bill Flinn
I call this "booby land" - Genovesa Island
red footed boobie
Nazca boobies nest on the ground while red footed boobies make nests in the trees
Melanie in Quito
Quito, Equador
Land Iguana welcome us to the Quito Airport
Black-winged Stilt
cutting all the string and netting from this neck and flippers
fur seals basking
sleeping like only a baby can
Melanie with our ship in the background
pelican on Rabida Island
Galapagos Penguins and red rock crabs
another view of a volcanic island (which all of the Galapagos Islands are)
wooden walk on Bartholome Island
My sister, Mary Anne Flinn, awaiting her call to a panga
Melanie and a Nazca Boobie
red footed booby baby still in nest
female Frigatebird
Basillica of the National Vow in Quito, Equador - technically it is "unfinished" - local legend says when it is finished, the end of the world will come
Mary Ann & Melanie in Quito, Equador
dog checking luggage at Quito Airport
Sally Lightfoot crab
our ship - Santa Cruz II
saving a green sea turtle from all the plastic wrapped around his neck and arms
release!
yellow warbler
our ship - the Santa Cruz II
lava lizard with a new tail because part of it had broken off
carpenter bee on cactus flower
think I'll go swimming....
painted locust
Ed and Bill catching their breath
Prince Phillip's Steps on Genovesa Island
love the feet - they look like rubber
Clutch size is usually two eggs, however when they both hatch, only one of the chicks will survive. The second chick is just "insurance". It will get put out of the nest.
red footed boobie
Melanie was the only one to walk this catwalk and climb the very steep ladder at the end in the tower in the Basillica
Quito, Equador
Oystercatcher
Marine Iguana
blue footed booby
Marine Iguana - found no where else in the world other than the Galapagos
love this pose!
Fatima explaining how the cactus adds alternating levels
cactus is so important on these islands
lava lizard
Galapagos Penguin and red rock crabs
wooden walk and stairway on Bartholomew Island - very long with many steps to the top
Nazca Booby
short-eared owl - unique because it hunts during day
beautiful from the rear
this red footed boobie baby (still with down) is almost as large as the adult