|
Quest
Nature Tours |
|
The
Galapagos Islands |
|
11 to 18
November 2011 |
|
 |
|
Colourful
Sally Lightfoot Crabs were common. Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz -
Indefatigable Island
on 11 November 2011 |
|
|
|
I
thank Laurielle Penny of
Quest Nature Tours, for inviting me
to lead this adventure tour to the Galapagos Islands aboard the
Beluga. Juan Tapia, our naturalist guide from Galapagos National Park, was outstanding. Thank you
everyone in our Quest group for your camaraderie, enthusiasm and
special talents. |
|
|
|
Page 1 of 9. Please
scroll down then go to Page 2. |
|
 |
|
Arrival at Baltra Island in the Galapagos on 11 November 2011 |
|
|
|
 |
|
Beluga, our luxury
motor yacht and home for the next seven nights. |
|
|
|
 |
|
From Baltra we sailed
to Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz Island for our first landing. 11
November 2011 |
|
|
|
 |
|
Coming ashore at
Dragon Hill, Santa Cruz Island on 11 November 2011. Every day we went
ashore in pangas. |
|
|
|
 |
|
Juan Tapia was our
excellent Galapagos guide who told us new information about what we
were seeing. |
|
|
|
 |
|
We walked past Giant Prickly Pear Cactus
Opuntia echios var. gigantea, which is the tallest variety on
the Galapagos Islands and occurs only on Santa Cruz. |
|
|
|
 |
|
Cacti are an
important food source for iguanas, land tortoises and birds. |
|
|
|
 |
|
Galapagos Marine
Iguana greeted us on the beach. This is the Santa Cruz subspecies
Amblyrhynchus cristatus hassi. |
|
|
|
 |
|
The Humboldt and Cromwell currents are
so cool that the Galapagos Marine Iguana must warm up in the sun
before and after feeding trips. |
|
|
|
 |
|
We saw our first
Darwin's Finches. This is a Medium Ground Finch, told by the size of
the bill. 11 November 2011 |
|
|
|
 |
|
Small Ground Finch.
Note small bill of the smallest finch. 11 November 2011 |
|
|
|
 |
|
Endemic Dark-billed
Cuckoo Coccyzus melancoryphus at Dragon Hill, Santa Cruz
Island on 11 November 2011. |
|
|
|
 |
|
Galapagos
White-cheeked Pintail Anas bahamensis galapagensis breeds
only in
Galapagos. |
|
|
|
Now go to Page 2
- Santa Fe |
|
|
|
|