Sea lions, sharks and… pelicans? Every snorkeling trip offers its own surprises! Sea lions are regular visitors and we always look forward to their antics!The colorful fish like this Blue-chinned Parrotfish are a bonus…Seeing White-tipped Reef Sharks can be exhilarating. Galapagos Sharks even more exciting… and if we are lucky we might see a Hammerhead…

North Seymour Island is one of the ‘showcase’ locations for the Galapagos. Blue-footed Boobies nest here in large numbers, alongside Great and Magnificent Frigatebirds. (See our previous post on identifying frigatebirds.) Blue-footed Booby males offer gifts of sticks and pebbles as they dance and sing, literally. A ring of poop… what simpler nest could you…

Santa Fe Island has the largest sub-species of Opuntia Cactus with small groves creating a forest-like appearance. The rugged coastline is very photogenic! Not the mama! Okay, if you are younger then about 45 you won’t understand that reference… but some of you will find it funny. Maybe. The trails on Santa Fe all beging…

Snorkeling at the island of Santa Fe is a different experience from many other locations. Here its not the color we seek, but the new experience. At Santa Fe can often swim alongside turtles, sharks and, as seen above, Spotted Eagle Rays! Many other species of rays are visible here as well, like Diamond Sting…

Above is a Galapagos Hawk resting on a rock near two Galapagos Doves… Here is the same Galapagos Hawk with the same two Galapagos Doves now in his talons! photos © Kevin Loughlin

The tiny island of South Plaza requires few words… the photos say it all… Red-billed Tropicbird Swallow-tailed Gulls Land Iguana Lava Gull Yellow (Mangrove) Warbler Galapagos Sea Lion Land Iguana Photos © Kevin Loughlin

Bartolome Island, Sullivan Bay. Not only the best snorkeling, but also a very picturesque landscape, used in many movies. The walk to the overlook is now all on boards, which includes over 370 steps! Along the way few plants can be seen, the largest is the Lava Cactus (above), but the most common is tequilia,…

Snorkeling in the Galapagos is spectacular, offering some of the best underwater opportunities in the world. In the Galapagos, my favorite snorkeling location is at the base of Pinnacle Rock in Sullivan Bay. Here we can often swim with Galapagos Penguins (seen here in the middle of the image on top of the dark rock).…

Striated (Lava) Heron Blending well into their volcanic background, Lava Herons — recently re-lumped with the very different appearing Striated Heron — hunt for young Sally Lightfoot Crabs along the rocky shore. Striated Herons are much more pale, are very streaked on breast and belly and prefer hunting in the mangroves and other vegetation-covered shorelines.…

The red beach of Isla Rabida invited a hike to the top of the cliffs for a wonderful view and cool breeze. The beaches in the Galapagos vary widely from Rabida’s red, coarse sand to the fine, coral sand beach of Garner Bay on Española to the ‘green’ beaches of Floreana and San Cristobal. Galapagos…

Our first morning in the islands offered a wonderful jaunt to one of the newer visitor sites, Dragon Hill, on the western side of the island of Santa Cruz. The “dry” landing was a bit slippery and “Ecuadorian baby steps” were needed to slowly make our way up the bank to dry rock. Once on…

The rules in the Galapagos are changing (see post from March 2011), but the wildlife is as fun and exciting as ever! Even having been there more than a dozen times, I can’t wait to return. I get to go back again in October! On this trip we visited the highlands of Santa Cruz on…