**Check out my guest post Exploring Iceland’s Golden Circle over at The Travel Wench! (All the cool kids are doing it, so you might as well… ) If you haven’t yet visited, The Travel Wench is an amazing travel blog chronicling the wanderlust of the aforementioned, highly entertaining “wench.” Go forth!**
Day #9,996: The Galapagos Archipelago is a place forever worthy of quiet contemplation, if only because there is an inordinate amount of natural amazingness to absorb.
Our first full day in the Galapagos began, as most will, in a small boat.
This particular small boat was taking us to the island of Española. Right off the Zodiac, we were met by the island’s most famous inhabitants.
Española is the only island in the Galapagos that can lay claim to the Red Marine Iguana. How, I’m not sure- the little dragons appeared to be extremely good swimmers, and there were other, smaller islands very nearby. Couldn’t they just swim on over? Am I overestimating their reptilian abilities?
Because the marine iguanas end up ingesting so much salt water, they’ve evolved to filter the water in an organ near their nose. Every so often, they’ll “sneeze” and blow the excess salt out of their nostrils.
With a whole lounge of lizards (thumbs up to whomever is in charge of naming groups of different animals) around us, it was a virtual symphony of salt sneezes!
Although they’re the most readily appreciable, red marine iguanas aren’t the only wildlife that Espanola had to offer.
In fact, birds seemed to be the order of the day on our afternoon in Española.
A few minutes into our walk, we encountered two Blue-Footed Boobies who had decided it was… ahem… Business Time.
The birds circled each other, stomping their webbed blue feet with the male dipping low to impress his potential mate. Apparently, all species are won over by the ‘drop it like it’s hot’ thang.
Truthfully, the females are focused on one thing: how blue the male’s feet are! The bluer the feet, the more attractive the booby. (I’m allowing myself one subdued giggle about ‘boobies.’ Done.)
The name ‘booby’ originally came from the Spanish word ‘bobo’- which means stupid- because they found the birds to be excessively clumsy. Apparently the first Galapagos explorers weren’t so impressed with the courtship dance.
The famous blue-footed boobies aren’t the only boobies in town. Or on Española, as it were.
Nazca boobies are beautiful black and white birds with a rather violent inception. While most Nazca females will lay two eggs, the first chick to hatch will attack its sibling, and the parents leave it to die. It seems the second egg’s only purpose is to insure that one Nazca chick will be born. It sounds harsh, but such are the laws of nature.
The Circle of Life isn’t all siblicide and gloom; nature has a way of making sure that life goes on. (I learned that on Disney’s The Lion King.)
The Waved Albatross breeds ONLY on Española Island in the Galapagos archipelago. One island! One island faced with the future of an entire species!! That kind of blew my mind until I stopped to think that really, our tiny little earth is just one island faced with the future of a whole bunch of totally unique species. (I just recently read about how the famous Blue Marble shot- the image taken of the whole earth by the crew of Apollo 17 in 1972- did more for environmentalism than almost any other campaign. Largely because it made people realize that the earth is a finite, self-contained island. So fascinating.)
As we made our way back around to the beach where our Zodiac docked, there was a new creature that hadn’t been there before. Like, literally hadn’t been there.
Life. Is Amazing.
It’s worth saying out loud. Life. Is. Amazing.
Aside from working the livestock area at a state fair (a story for another day), it’s not often that you’re faced with so much… life… in a few short hours. From courtship to egg-laying to birth, the circle of life was on full display on Española Island.
I couldn’t imagine a better way to learn about the birds & the bees.
For more Galapagos excitement, read about my adventures tracking the elusive Galapagos tortoise and exploring the lunar landscape of San Bartolome Island!
Great post Miranda! And I see by your schedule that you're in Morocco now (you lucky dog)! I just knew you were my kind of people. :) I’ve really enjoyed connecting with you this year and look forward to your 2014 stories. Happy New Year! ~Terri
Such kind words, Terri, thank you! I'm so glad to have found your blog... your travel tales are some of my very favorite and give Mr. M & I much to aspire to! We did, indeed, usher in 2014 in the middle of the Moroccan Sahara... it was a great kick-off to the new year. A belated happy new year to you & James both!!
Such amazing wildlife! So cool to be so close to it. I saw an iguana once in Chichen Itza, Mexico. It was pretty impressive. Even though I have seen iguanas plenty of times, it was something else to see it wild and in its natural habitat. And those definitely are some blue feet!
That's so true, Erika! There's something uniquely special about getting to see animals living life in their natural habitat. Zoos have their place in inspiring conservation & fostering a love of animals, but seeing them in the wild is just... so cool! That must've been amazing to see the wild iguana. They're big, aren't they?!
Amazing pictures...thanks for sharing them...Life is amazing!!
Happy New Year, Jenn! I'm so glad you enjoyed the pics. Life IS amazing! I love those moments that shake me out of my daily grind and force me to remember it. :)
I'm so green with envy right now! The Galapagos Islands have been on my short list of dream destinations for probably 20 years. I need to do something about that! I can't die without seeing these beautiful images you captured in person. Thanks for sharing.
You'll make it to your dream destination, Trish! 20 years has probably just added to the anticipation. :) Something about getting to be a tiny speck of human surrounded by all that unfettered nature exerts such a pull on us. Thank you for all the kind words and for stopping by!
Great post, love the photos! Hope to visit one day. Also I lived in Iceland for 2 years and it was amazing! Now were currently exploring in Germany ;)
I've been wanting to visit Germany for forever! As difficult as it might be to live in a foreign country, that seems like SUCH an amazing experience! I'd love to have a couple years to really get to know the place. As a previous local, I hope you approved of my Iceland guest post, Mrs. B! ;)
Cool to learn more about these birds! Great photos too.
Thanks for stopping by, Rachel! I've got a soft spot for boobies. :) Beyond having a fabulous name, they're really, really interesting animals!
So many amazing animals! I used to own an iguana, but we gave him away after awhile since they get bigger than we imagined.
It's crazy how big iguanas can get, isn't it? Especially when they start out life as such cute little hatchlings. I've treated a few that were between five and six feet long... at that size they're really difficult to house appropriately, let alone restrain for a physical exam! :)
One of the most amazing places I've ever been and seen. I think everyone should visit Galapagos if they can ...
I totally agree- some places seem less 'Travel Destination' and more 'Life Requirement.' I'd definitely put the Galapagos Islands in this category! It's amazing to be somewhere so untouched.