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ARRIVAL AT GALAPAGOS:  On our arrival day the first highlight was seeing three sea lions playing among the machinery on the harbour where we boarded the boat. People took this completely naturally, it was obviously an everyday occurrence. The next thing we have already reported: Mick losing his upper set of teeth. On the same day we snorkelled and saw sea lions with babies and lots of iguanas, both land and marine. Some of the big male iguanas were over four feet long. The male sea lions mostly stayed in the sea guarding their harems and hooted at us if we came too close. They expend so much energy looking after the females that every month or so a new male takes over the harem. There is a bachelor colony of males awaiting their turn just down the coast from the "married quarters". We saw the babies breast-feeding from their mums. |
 Front to back: Sea lion, Jean, Debbie, Franklin, Samba |
Most of the sea lions ignored us but two babies rushed up to me as though they recognized me (David). The babies are very sweet with big eyes that make you want to cuddle them and take them home, but visitors are not allowed to touch animals. The mother sea lions behave like proud cat-mothers and seem pleased if you take an interest in their babies. The young sea lions play at fighting and sometimes play with sticks like dogs. They will also sometimes come and play with humans in the water and will even bite playfully at times. | |
| The big males have got scars from fighting. In fact we saw sea lions everywhere and sometimes they came up to greet us in the dinghy or the ship, and played with us when we were snorkelling. |
 The sea lions' fur is darker when the animal is wet |
 This one has just had a swim : |  Young sea lion playing with stick : |
 Sea lion using our towels for shade : |  We were glad to be of service : |
 Baby sea lions are often left alone while mother goes fishing |
 Young sea lions playing |  :Sea lions will bite playfully |
 Big male defending his harem |
 Sea lion doing what sea lions do best |  Jean joining in : |
 Baby sea lion waits for its mum on the beach |
 Sea lions share their rock with a marine iguana |  sea lion hangs out with a penguin : |
 Females just hangin' out : |
 Baby sea lion breast feeding |
 Two sea lions under water |
The iguanas are a bit more reserved but will swim with you occasionally. You can walk right up to them and they won't run away. |
 Marine iguanas in a big group on a lava landscape |
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 Large female land iguana |
 Large male land iguana feeding |  Male land iguanas fighting |
 Living in large groups |  Female lava lizard |
In fact our guide was able to pull loose scales off them, which seemed to please them. Like all reptiles they shed their skin regularly and sometimes little bits don't shed completely and irritate them. |
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On Day Two we were taken to the Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz where we saw giant tortoises (we could walk right up to them but were told not to touch them). They were absolutely enormous and are known to live at least two hundred years, but probably much longer. The station has a breeding programme and they are releasing about 1,000 babies a year on to the islands where they originally came from. They have one huge male named Lonesome George who is thought to be the very last member of his sub-species, brought from Punta Suarez. |
 Giant tortoises at Darwin Research Station |
 Giant tortoises mating : |  Feeding time for giant tortoises : |
 Giant tortoises in the wild |
 They turn off the road to avoid us |
 Waiting in the field until we go away |
 young giant trying to hide |
They are trying to find a mate for George so that he can participate in the programme and they are offering a reward of $10,000 to anybody who can supply a female of his sub species. |
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It seems lots were taken as pets and zoo specimens and the like over the last two hundred years and one might still be alive somewhere. We also saw giant tortoises in the wild (still without much fear of human beings) and went down a lava tube which is a tube left after a volcanic eruption but just looks like a big tunnel. You could drive a bus down it quite comfortably. |
 Lava tube swimmers Monica, Kimberley, Yvonne and Debbie | |
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By the end of our second day we were very thrilled about Galapagos and had fully adapted to life aboard ship. Our stomachs were growing accustomed to the rocking motion and we were able to sleep soundly without medication, even when the boat was sailing through rough seas at night. |