For the first time on the trip I rose early enough to see the sunrise and was rewarded with a brilliant orange grey sky. Soon after we went onshore to San Cristobel to finally see Blue Footed Boobies. Some were already settled on egg filled nests while others rocked from foot to foot, doing a dance that would find them a partner.

Also on the hunt for a partner were the frigate birds, who puff up a bright red pouch to impress the females. We were so busy looking at the birds on either side of the track that we would sometimes almost step on a sea lion or iguana that lay across the path.

Here we also saw the land iguanas for the first time, all of the others had been marine iguanas. The land iguanas are bigger, fatter and don’t have the line of spikes along their back. We had breakfast later than usual and then motored back to Baltra.

There was a bus shelter where we got off the boat, but both of the large bench seats were occupied by sea lions. And they weren’t even catching the bus.

After a short bus ride we were back at the airport. The airport terminal is like a large shed with half height walls on two sides, this allows a steady cooling air flow through the building, giving relief from the hot equatorial sun.

The sound of someone gargling in a bucket has just filled the air, meaning we will be boarding soon. We return to Quito via Guayaquil. Read the rest of this entry »

We motored during the night to complete a semi-circumnavigation of Isla Santiago. Just off the coast of it is Isla Bartoleme. It is a barren island, formed by a volcano about 800,000 years ago. It has a small variety of plants (mostly pioneer plants) and sandy black volcanic soil. We walked to the top of the island about 140m up and were afforded good views of Isla Santiago and a few of the other nearby islands.

This is day three on the boat and that is close to my limit for staying in such a confined space. The other factor is the lack of control over your movements. Unlike a hotel where you can walk out the door at any time, on a boat you can only leave when they want you to leave.

The cruise finishes tomorrow with the trip officially finishing after breakfast in Quito the day after. In the afternoon we cruised to Sombrero Chino and had a short walk after most of the others had been snorkelling. Stepping off the IRB we had to avoid stepping crabs and then dodge the sea lions as we moved further up the rocks. Everywhere you looked there was some sort of wildlife, it was amazing. On the way back we cruised past some penguins.

In the evening we were served a cocktail before dinner to mark the end of the cruise. Everyone (the 4 day and 8 day cruisers) would be getting off. It was also the birthday of one of the passengers (David) and a brightly iced cake was produced.

Last night saw a restless sleep. The gentle rocking punctuated by a bump and the constant thrum of the engine was much the same as sleeping on a plane. We awoke to an orange sunrise against an island of red rock. Rabiba is red because of the iron content of the rock. It is the result of a volcanic explosion where the lava was exposed to oxygen in the seawater and the air, oxidising the iron.We went for a short walk along the cliff and looped back inland to the beach. The main plant was the cactus and the wildlife included lizards, sea lions, penguins, pelicans, frigate birds and finches. For what looks like a barren island there is a surprising amount of wildlife.

On leaving the island we saw dolphins and some large fish jumping out of the water. A pair of frigate birds accompanied the boat. The female was sitting on top of the boat and the male was hovering above and occasionally circling.

After lunch we anchored off the west coast of Isla Santiago, at a place called Puerto Egas. There were ruins of a house and some of the buildings which used to be used by salt miners. We did another inland-beach loop with enough marine iguanas to sink a ship. They are almost the same colour as the volcanic rock on which they bask and I almost trod on one on several occasions. There were also crabs, oyster catchers and sea lions.

Another two ships pulled into the same beach and one of the ships held about 80 passengers. It was a task keeping away from the big group, but we managed and finished the day with what will probably be a hundred pictures of iguanas. There must be at least one good one among them.

The plane stopped off in Guayaquil which I think is the other big city in Ecuador. After landing in Baltra we took a squashed standing room only bus to a small ferry followed by a not quite so crowded bus to Puerto Ayora, the main settlement on Santa Cruz.

We dropped our gear on the boat (via a Zodiac IRB transfer), then back on land for a walk around the Charles Darwin Research Station. Here we saw some of the 13 species of tortoise that inhabit these islands, including “Lonesome George” the last male of a particular species of tortoise, who refuses to do the manly thing with either of the two remaining females. With such a small gene pool the species is probably doomed anyway, but it is both eerie and disturbing to look upon the last example of a living creature.

We returned to the boat for a lovely meal before a briefing on tomorrow’s activities and an early night.

Our cabin is below deck and the sound of the engine is a constant companion. Our twin bunk cabin with private bathroom is about the size of our walk-in wardrobe at home. My bunk is so close to the roof, I am afraid that if I get an erection during the night I will be pinned to my bed.

We “sail” (an unusual term to use for a stink boat) at midnight, so if I do get used to the engine enough to get to sleep, it will probably wake me them. We shall see.