San Cristóbal, 24 Sep 2017

On Sunday, Sep 24, we arrived at SCY, the airport at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristóbal. Here is a view out the airplane window as we approached the island:

San Cristóbal island from the plane
After the expected work through customs, we headed for the ship. The ship is named MV Origin, and it is owned and operated by Ecoventura. All of the ship-to-shore transportation was by zodiac, called a "panga" by the Ecuadorans:

Jill on Panga
We got a lot of hours of experience in these! Once on board, we got settled in and had a little lunch:

Jill and Marie at lunch
The ship was very nice, with large windows throughout the passenger areas. It is only a year old. After some discussion with our guides, we all decided to head back on shore to La Lobería, a sea lion breeding area (sea lions are called Lobos Marinos in Ecuador - Sea Wolves). After a brief drive, we started our hike toward the beach. We saw native Galápagos cotton:

Galápagos cotton
And our first of many Marine Iguana:

Marine Iguana
We also saw our first of many Yellow Warbler:

Yellow Warbler
It's a subspecies of the Yellow Warbler we see during migration season in Colorado, but the male has a prominent red spot on its head. The Ecuadorans call them "canario maría" - the Maria Canary.

We also saw our first of many (many) finches. I am not going to attempt to figure out what kind each of the finches is - some of them, you have to use calipers to figure out:

Darwin Finch

Darwin Finch






Once we got to La Lobería proper, we saw its namesake. Here are a few examples:

Galápagos Sea Lion mother nursing her baby
Baby sea lion

Mother and baby
We also saw our first Ruddy Turnstone:

Ruddy Turnstone
And our first Sally Lightfoot crabs:

Sally Lightfoot Crab

And our first of many Green Sea Turtles:

Green Sea Turtle
Here is, I think, a Sanderling sleeping:

Sleeping Sanderling (?)

We saw more Yellow Warblers:

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warbler

More Marine Iguanas:

Marine Iguana

Marine Iguana
And a cattle egret passing through:

Cattle Egret
Returning to the harbor, we saw what I think is a Lava Heron:

Lava Heron (?)
Still more iguanas:

Marine Iguanas
And a resting Brown Pelican:
Brown Pelican

We then took our Pangas back to the ship, where we had a nice dinner while we watched the sun set in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno:


Finally, there was a briefing for the next day's activities: a trip to Genovesa and various activities there:


We then went to bed for our first night on board.

Previous: Guayaquil
Next: Genovesa
Back to Index Page
Location: San Cristóbal Island, Ecuador

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

August 21, 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

Image
Like millions of other people, we went chasing the Great American Eclipse. We chose Nebraska, since everybody we knew was going to Wyoming, and the climate models suggested a good probability of clear weather. Our initial camp was at Lake McConaughy, which is just inside the line of totality. My sister Danielle and her husband Edward got there early to start scouting. Our plan was to check weather forecasts and then go mobile the day of the eclipse. The morning of August 19 I got up early and snapped this shot of the moon on its way to its date with destiny: Sunday morning we checked the forecasts. It was not looking good for Nebraska in general, but east-central Nebraska seemed better than western according to the forecasts. So we packed up camp and headed out to Camp Augustine, a Boy Scout camp near Grand Island, Nebraska: They had camping spots available, and a large field which would be good for observations. After a rather hot, muggy, sleepless night (dry camping wi...
Read more

April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

Image
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse crossed a huge swath of the United States. We had been planning a trip to see it ever since the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse . Our chosen destination was at Chalk Bluff River Resort and Park , near Uvalde, Texas, due to statistical likelihood of clear skies in South Texas: The main attraction at Chalk Bluff is Nueces River and the the eponymous bluffs that rise above it: Chalk Bluffs The eclipse was widely publicized. Enough so that the state of Texas found it necessary to put warnings on its highway signs: Texas DOT warning sign Texas DOT warning sign We arrived at Chalk Bluff on April 6. As eclipse day approached, it became clear that the weather was not going to be our friend: NWS blended forecast for eclipse day So, what was originally going to be an "Eclipse expedition, with a possibility of some birding" became a "Birding expedition, with a possibility of seeing an eclipse". It is fortunate that we chose thi...
Read more

Pune Adventures

Image
Today, the morning was spent on work email. But this afternoon, Ken and Fred arrived from Germany, and Jeetendra joined us to go on an excursion. We started with some shopping in one of Pune's shopping districts - Ken wanted to buy some things. I may or may not have bought anything - only me and Mr. Visa know for sure. Anyway, I caught this picture of one of the oldest wooden buildings in Pune, with hand-carved wooden decorations: After wrapping our shopping up, Jeetendra took us to a combination theme park / restaurant named Chokhi Dhani - it's kind of like a Rajasthani Cultural Center, or maybe a North Indian Standing Renaissance Faire. The buildings are decorated up like historic buildings in Rajasthan, and there are various exhibits, activities, shows, food, etc. scattered throughout the park. Here are Ken, Fred, and I saying " Namaste " to you all along with Chokhi Dhani's plaster host: This is the main entrance. They really go for the electric light...
Read more