20240602 Celebrity Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip, Day #4 - Galapagos, South Plaza Island and Santa Fe Island

Celebrity Xpedition Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip - Walking, snorkeling, and walking some more

This morning, we awoke, underway to South Plaza Island. We signed up for the long walk activity for this morning, a roughly one-mile walk around the island, looking for wildlife. You could optionally do half the walk and return to the ship, but we figured it wasn't that long, so we went for it. The walk was a combination of relatively flat and sandy, so modestly sloped and rocky. I wouldn't recommend it for mobility-challenged folks, but that didn't stop some of them. Nobody got hurt, so that was a good thing.

Here are some of the sights from this morning's walk.

Frigates

Darwin Finch

Opuntia echios (Galapagos prickly pear cactus)

These grow 1-2 centimeters per year

They are fibrous inside - the iguanas eat them

They are experimenting with wire baskets to protect young cacti from the iguanas

Sally lightfoot crab

Brown Noddy Tern

Yellow Warbler

The lighthouse and an overlook

Galapagos Shearwater

Hundreds of these were zipping all around

Swallow Tail Gull

A chick in the foreground

That's a chick in the middle

Red-billed Tropicbirds

Lava Lizards

Galapagos Land Iguana

Sea Lions

If they're dark and shiny, they're wet as they recently came out of the water.

Basking

Can you see the sea lion?  Look right on top of the rock.

There he is

Looking coy

Big yawn

A pup, snoozing under a cactus

Mom came up from the water, temporarily stopping us from walking as they have the right of way

Roadblock - who is she waiting for?

Mom? Here I come!

We waited for her baby to catch up and cross the path

It was a great morning.

The Galapagos Islands

After lunch at the Beagle Grill, we relaxed for a bit and got ready to snorkel. They supply shorty-style wetsuits, fins, masks, and snorkels, but we brought our own masks and snorkels.

We dropped anchor at Santa Fe Island and headed out on Zodiacs for a 45-minute snorkel. The water was, let's call it, invigorating. I'd guess it was in the low 70s. It made you gasp but with the wetsuit, it was tolerable. The snorkeling was good, but not great. They promise that there is world-class snorkeling coming later this week. Here are some photos. I didn't identify everything we saw.

OK, this one I'll identify - a playful sea lion

A marble ray, sitting on the bottom

It was a decent afternoon in the water. We got back to the ship with just enough time to change and head back out on a Zodiac for an afternoon rocky walk on Santa Fe island.

One of the things I really wanted to see up close and personal was a blue-footed bobby. That happened today in two phases. The first was on our way to the landing when our guide spotted on on the rocks and our Zodiac captain skillfully brought us close.

As we landed, a curious sea lion popped up to see what was up.

Sea lions were on the beach as well, rolling in the sand to protect themselves from flies. But the beach isn't all fun and games. We ran across several sea lion skeletons, reminding us that there is indeed a circle of life.

Frigates were flying.

Pelicans were flying and diving for fish.

We walked past a mother sea lion nursing her older pup. The pups continue nursing for two to three years before they learn to fish on their own. It was amazing to see and you could hear the sucking sound from the pup as it nursed.

We got to see Galapagos doves, identified by the distinctive blue rings around their eyes.

The prickly pear cactus on Santa Fe Island grows quite tall. It develops a thick bark that the iguanas and tortoises can't chew through, protecting the plant.

This gives a good size perspective of this cactus

Some were blooming

The other cool thing we saw was the Santa Fe land iguana. It differed from the Galapagos land iguana mainly by color - this one was mostly yellow.

That wrapped up our walk. We boarded the Zodiac and headed out. We saw sharks and rays in huge numbers, but from above the water, so no photos. But...blue-footed boobys. We ran into a bunch of them and they were hunting - well, fishing. It was awesome. They were diving in teams, catching fish. We were right there on the water and it was incredible.

There were so many just sitting in the water

The take-off run.

Searching for a snack

The synchronized attack.

We got back to the ship and I jumped in the shower. We had a little bit before the captain's welcome toast and the daily briefing.

Master of the Vessel, Captain Nathaly, and her senior officers

After the briefing, we enjoyed dinner and headed to the room. Speaking of the room, here is an oddity on this ship. If you've cruised, you know what a vacuum toilet is. You push the button and, *whoosh*, there is a loud sound and the suction pulls the content of the bowl away. Not so on Xpedition. It is an old-school gravity-fed toilet. There's still a flush button, but pushing it fills the bowl and that forces it to drain. It was surprising - just like not being able to drink the water in the room. Oh well.

Tomorrow is another full day and that seems to be the norm for this voyage. Time to saw some logs.