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The windward passage to the Galápagos kept the crew of Carina busy constantly; here Jake and Philip enjoy a much needed offwatch nap while underway. |
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Carina first arrived in the Galápagos islands on October 13, 2006 after a five and a half day passage from Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador. |
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Upon arrival in the Galápagos, Carina displays flags of Ecuador, Galápagos and the Q flag,meaning that she requests practique or clearance. |
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The crew of Isla Encanto (David and Liz) and Carina enjoy lunch after arriving in Galápagos after a five day passsage. |
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Carina settled at anchor at Wreck Bay, Isla San Cristobal after passage from Bahía de Caráquez on mainland Ecuador. |
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The Darwin Interpretive Center at Isla San Cristobal provided fascinating information about the history of the Galápagos Islands. |
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Charles Darwin landed at the Galápagos for the first time at Las Tijeretas, a perfect little bay on San Cristobal over which this statue presides. |
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Marine iguanas hang out on volcanic rocks and are so well camouflaged that you have to be careful not to trip over them. |
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Even during the wet "garua" season, the leeward side of San Cristobal was dry. |
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San Cristobal's hiking trail diverges to a gun port used historically for target practice. |
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This very young sea lion pup on the beach at Wreck Bay showed a baby's inquisitiveness while his mom slept with one eye open watching us. |
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On Isla San Cristobal about 2500 giant tortoises remain in the wild. Access is by boat and then an hour and half hike. |
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Some giant tortoises were relocated from their tiny existing habitat on the north end of San Cristobal to the Cerro Colorado Galápaguero. |
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This year and a half tortoise was the first one born at the Galápaquero "seminatural" tortoise rescue and breeding center on Isla San Cristobal. |
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Philip poses with one of the tortoises in the Galápaguero Tortois Ctr. Not unafraid, the reptiles would retract their heads and hiss when touched. |
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Seven month old Galápagos tortoises jostle for food under the protective eye of National Park scientists. |
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The Junco Lagoon offers a stable supply of fresh water for land and sea birds alike. The day we visited the lagoon was being re-charged by rain. |
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The Junco Lagoon is named for a reed that flourishes along its shores in an extinct volcanic caldera. |
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The Quinta de Ceibo is a tree house in historic El Progresso on San Cristobal built in the largest tree in all of the Galapagos Islands. |
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The Sharksky owned and operated by second generation captain, Manuel Yepez provides trips into the Galápagos National Park. |
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The Sharksky trip group: Bruce (US), Jeri & Matt (UK), Javier (guide), Melanie (Swiss), Janet & Bill (Canada), Philip & Leslie (US), Bruce (Canada). |
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The north side of Isla San Cristobal is dotted with interesting features - Sharksky passed through this grotto! |
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Leon Dormido (Sleeping Lion), also known as Kicker Rock, sits off beautiful Bahía Stephes in San Cristobal, Galápagos. |
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Sea lion antics brought out the comedian in Darcy, a volunteer English teacher from Arizona. |
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A lava gull begs for food in the Parque Nacional Galápagos. |
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The spires of Leon Dormido drawf the snorkelers who were drifting through the gap in company of Galapagos sharks. |
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The north side of Leon Dormido is buffeted by waves that shine in the late afternoon sun. |
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Later at Isla Los Lobos this baby fur seal showed no fear of us as we trudged by. |
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From the masthead, Carina's world seems spectacular but not necessarily informative. |
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Galápagos islands are supplied by small merchant marine vessels. The Virgin of Monserrat supplied sacks of potatoes and limes, propane & beer. |
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The Isla Isabela anchorage, sitting behind the reefs of Islas Tintoreras, is tight and shallow but has beautiful views to the west (SV Otter photo). |
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On Isla Isabela the main road is interrupted by an Iguana crossing (Cruce de Iguanas) where these exotic monsters cross to the beach. |
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On the grounds of the old prison, near the Wall of Tears, we spotted our first (Darwin) cactus finch snacking on the seeds of this opuntia cactus. |
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Flamingos are rare and shy even in the Galápagos. Isabela's lagoons are one place they survive. |
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Galápagos penguins are a species unique to these islands but they are related to Magellan penguins and those in the Falkland Islands. |
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Blue footed boobies are big active diving birds whose electric blue feet make them almost comical when perched on (in this case) lava rock. |
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We don't know the common name for this "parkinsonia" flower but it shouts out during dry season from a tree that looks grey and barren, |
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Galápagos penguins move like the elderly when on land but in the water while fishing they use their rudimentary wings to travel like rockets. |
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Isla Isabela has many trails, we hiked this one with friends Rich and Hope to the Centro de Crianza for giant tortoises. |
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Tourist facilities on Isla Isabela are not exactly posh. We traveled on bench seats in this truck to Sierra Negra through the dusty desert landscape. |
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Nearby the Galápagos National Park, a caballero keeps small horses for excursions. Our guide described the horses as "rustic". |
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Leslie's stubborn but attractive little horse was called Pata pata which translates to leg leg. Hmmm |
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The caldera of Vulcan Sierra Negra is the second largest in the world and remains very active; exactly one year ago lava flowed down this slope. |
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Joseph our guide to Sierra Negra volcano eats his lunch at the edge of the caldera. |
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The lava of Sierra Negra shows both smooth "pahoehoe" and sharp, pointed "aa" types taken from the Hawiian words for "ropey and to hurt", respectively |
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In October spring brought new vegetation and activity to the bird population. This Galápagos mockingbird was harvesting lichen for a nest. |
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Looking across the cinder cones of the active volcano Sierra Negra, pristine isolated Elizabeth Bay is a spectacular site. |
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After a exhilarating ride through surf and around rocks we arrived at the amazing lava tunnels at Cabo Rosa on Isla Isabela. |
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This enormous sea turtle was gliding amongst the grottos of Isla Isabela's lava tunnels at Cabo Rosa. |
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Near Cabo Rosa on Isla Isabela there is an extensive area of protected waters formed by lava that supports cactus, mangroves and a plethora of fauna. |
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The water is amazingly clear at the lava grottos at Cabo Rosa, Isla Isabela. |
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Just west of Puerto Vallamil at Isla Isabela sits Roca Union which is home to Nazca (masked) boobies, swallowtail gulls, iguanas and sea lions. |
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The Wall of Tears at Isla Isabela is a stark reminder of man's cruelty to his fellow man. |
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The cemetery at Isla Isabela in the Galápagos sits behind a lava rock wall and overlooks a beautiful white sand beach. |
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Returning from the Galápagos to Panama the weather was mixed but the mighty Pacific always dealt us beautiful natural scenes. |
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Though most of our passage was sunny and warm, we did encounter the occasional shower of warm rain. |
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Later as we approached Punta Mala, Panama, squalls and convection over the mainland to the east created even more spectacular natural displays. |
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