Galivanting thru the Galapagos & the Amazon
Day 10 - On Board the Carina (Isabela: Point Moreno & Elizabeth Bay) - Thursday, December 23, 2021
Had another fairly long night of traveling, but already anchored when I got up just before 6am. Pretty rough, but again no one sick & it's calm in the cove here at Moreno Point. Made it around the bottom of the seahorse of Isabela. Shorter stretches of travel now & more protected. We had our normal yummy breakfast (this time it was scrambled eggs with onion & peppers).
We were loading in the pangas for a ride by 8am. Weather was overcast, but warm & settled.
There was a school of Marble Rays swimming near the top of the water as we motored to the Mangroves. We could see them below us, but very difficult to get a photo. Included an internet photo to show you what we were seeing.
Continued on around the small islets covered in lava rocks & mangroves. Saw more rays, tiny finches. It was very interesting. Included the Ebird checklist route through the GPS. Amazing that I could maintain a map to go with each checklist even though we could not hook to the internet.
There were pelicans nesting and we came upon our first Flghtless Coromorants. Here's the description by ebird.com "Brown, aquatic bird with brilliant blue eyes. Tiny, stunted wings look almost comical and seem out-of-place on such a large bird. Endemic to Galápagos (where it is the only cormorant), and restricted to rocky coastlines of Isabela and Fernandina islands. Breeds throughout the year in small colonies. Often seen carrying large clumps of seaweed, which it uses to build its nest."
We continued, seeing more Blue Footed Boobys, Penguins, Sea Lions, Marine Iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs, etc. Tons of wildlife. The more you look, the more you realize are close around you!
The Sea Lions loved to play around the boat and we even saw a Flightless Cormorant on her nest!!!
Our silly guide climbed out on the rocks to take a selfie with a Flightless Cormorant & the cactus.
One particular rocky outcropping was covered in Marine Iguanas & we watched them fighting for a prime spot. 2 pretty good sized ones fought & one pushed the other into a crevice.
Back on board, we immediately took off for your next port of call - a couple of hours navigation away. We went upstairs to watch for a bit - it was windy at first, but called down when we headed north. The Frigates loved sitting on the radar while we were underway!!
While we were cruising to Elizabeth Bay, we had a little down time. Most of us met in the Lounge to take advantage of the Cappuccino machine. It was pretty complicated & we mostly just gave our request to Joffre & let him make them for us!
Then we were treated to a cooking class by Chef Jonathan who should us how to make a fresh ceviche with freshly caught Grouper. It's considered to be "cooked" by the acid from the lemons added to the dish. Humm??? Anyway, it was a joy to watch him mince & chop & mix with a some help (interference???) from Luis. Luis also interpreted as Jonathan couldn't or wouldn't speak much English. It made for a pretty presentation & we all got a side dish of it for lunch. It was actually quite tasty, even for me, the fish avoidance expert. The buffet lunch was amazing today - besides the ceviche, there were tiny crabs in a very spicy orange sauce (I skipped the crabs, but used the fabulous sauce over rice), chicken, large lima beans, yellow squash, julienned carrots, peppers, onions, broccoli & cauliflower & a vegetable salad. We were eating good!!! There was Tangerine jello for dessert. Luis waxed eloquent about his love for jello. The rest of us were not so impressed.
Soon we were back in the panga & heading for a new location for investigation. We had moved up the west coast of Isabela & followed the coastline into the indention that made up Elizabeth Bay.
This area of protected islets & coves had crystal clear water & lots of mangroves that shelters all the wildlife we were already used to seeing, plus lots of green sea turtles!!!! Also some Hawksbill turtles. Both species love the mangroves. I could never get a picture, but deep in the mangroves, we kept hearing a fussing sea lion. Turns out 2 were fighting over a comfortable spot to rest above the water on a tree branch!! Luis called them Tree Lions!! Too funny!
I happened to notice these signs/flags in a few places. Luis said it was designating off limits areas - so basically saying that no one was allowed on show there, it was for panga sightseeing only.
It made for a very exciting afternoon. Birds were feeding everywhere. Deep diving & circling over. We saw a few shore birds, like a Whimbrel & a Striated Heron. Of course the Blue Footed Boobys & Penguins. It's funny that last time we never saw a single penguin & this time we've seen them every day! It was odd seeing the penquins sitting on very tiny ledges on the rocks. They looked comfortable, but sometimes the ledges were just wide enough for the feet to rest on them. The weather was gorgeous. Everyone was bare foot in the panga - probably high 70's. Forgot to mention that on the first day I had forgotten to put sunscreen on my lips & blistered them! Not too painful, but definitely burnt! Never even gave it a thought until it was too late. Did protect my feet with sunscreen & just keeping them covered with anything loose in the boats!
Just as we were talking about heading back, Luis spotted a penguin on a nest. Fun to see that! Also, always enjoyed seeing them in the water swimming near us.
By the way, those trees are not dead. They just know how to preserve their energy by going dormant to wait for rain.
Even the cruise back to the boat is enjoyable due to the beautiful water & feeling of freedom out on the water.
Tables were already set for our dinner, but we had time to head up to the top deck to watch the magnificent sunset. Should have had some kind of dramatic music. It was truly a spectacular sunset.
We noticed the Carina's panga coming back & went down to investigate - yep, they had been our fishing for fresh fish to compliment our meals! Quite a catch!!
Then it was time for our daily meeting about tomorrow's plan! Gonna be another exciting day!
I ran out on deck for one last photo of the sunset. Wow! Oh Wow!!!
Just one last notation for the day - every evening there was a choice of 2 kinds of soup - usually like a lentil or pumpkin. Always varied & always good & always served with popcorn! Yep - they normally put popcorn in their soup!! It was really good! They also love hot/spicy. This sauce was always available & used liberally in the foods & was nice & hot! Have to look for it! That ended our day - off to bed as we were already moving for our next location! Watched a Man in the High Castle & immediately to sleep!
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