Brian & Joy McCauley

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Sporadic dispatches from the hinterlands.

Galapagos

Flying from Guayaquil (Ecuador) to the first Galapagos island, San Cristobal Island

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We kayaked to Manglecito Beach on San Cristobal Island where we camped for two nights. Great Blue Heron ( Ardea herodias ) supervising the kitchen crew and the hermit crabs roaming around camp like 'roomba vacuums'

Green Sea Turtle ( Chelonia mydas )

Snorkeling at Kicker Rock and seeing: Nazca Booby ( Sula granti ), Brown Noddy ( Anous stolidus ), Magnificent Frigatebird ( Fregata magnificens ), Red-billed Tropicbird ( Phaethon aethereus )

Bullseye Puffer ( Sphoeroides annulatus )

Galápagos Sea Lion ( Zalophus wollebaeki ) playing with Brian at Kicker Rock (San Cristobal Island). We felt the sea lion's whiskers brushing against us.

Whitetip Reef Shark ( Triaenodon obesus ) at El Finado Lagoon, San Cristobal Island

Misty morning, hiking up the Sierra Negra Volcano (Isabela Island)

Galápagos giant tortoise ( Chelonoidis niger) . Shell size and shape vary between subspecies and populations on the various Galápagos islands.

Galápagos penguin ( Spheniscus mendiculus ). The only penguin found north of the equator.

Whitetip Reef Shark ( Triaenodon obesus) sea cave nursery at El Finado lagoon, San Cristobal Island

Green Sea Turtle ( Chelonia mydas ) is the largest hard-shelled sea turtle and primarily a herbivore, eating mostly sea grasses and algae.

The Tortoise Breeding Center (Isabela Island) is operated by the Galápagos National Parks Service to conserve the giant tortoises which the archipelago of volcanic islands was named after.

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Photo-bombing a Galápagos penguin ( Spheniscus mendiculus ).

Female Galápagos Small Ground Finch ( Geospiza fuliginosa ). One of Darwin's famous Galápagos finches.

Sally Lightfoot Crabs ( Grapsus grapsus ). Baby sally lightfoot crabs are black, or dark brown with small white and red spots to blend in with the lava rocks.

Lava Heron ( Butorides sundevalli ) hunting for baby crabs

Galápagos Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus Ruber )

Galápagos Marine Iguana ( Amblyrhynchus cristatus )

Galápagos Yellow Warbler ( Dendroica petechia ). Female or juvenile.

Vermilion Flycatcher ( Pyrocephalus nanus ). We were thrilled to get some very close-up looks of this striking bird on our hike to the Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela Island.

Tortoise encounter in the wild hiking up Sierra Negra Volcano. One of the 10 populations of land tortoises on Isabela Island.

Galápagos Small Tree Finch ( Geospiza parvula )

Galápagos land iguana ( Conolophus subcristatus )

Smooth-billed Ani ( Crotophaga ani) . Member of the cuckoo family.

Female Vermilion Flycatcher ( Pyrocephalus rubinus )

Inter island flight from San Cristobal to Isabela Island.

Galápagos Mockingbird ( Mimus parvulus )

Galápagos Marine Iguana ( Amblyrhynchus cristatus ) sunbathing on Puerto Villamil's white sand beaches (Isabela Island)

Male Galápagos Yellow Warbler ( Dendroica petechia ).

Galápagos Lava Lizard ( Microlophus albemariensis ). Red throat indicates adult female(?)

Leaving our beach camp at Playa Manglecito, Isla San Cristobal.

Puerto Villamil at night, Isabela Island.

Los Tuneles, a one-hour speedboat ride from Puerto Villamil, San Cristobal Island

Los Tuneles (Isabela Island). Lava formations, arches, and caves.

Los Tuneles is also a Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) breeding site, where some performed their mating dance for us.

Ceviche and plantain chips

Santa Cruz (Island) Brewery. We also visited the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island.

Adriano Cabrera, of El Trapiche farm in the Highlands of Santa Cruz Island, gave an entertaining tour of how they make coffee, chocolate, candies and distill the cane sugar into aguardiente, a gin-like spirit.

Angermeyer Waterfront Inn, where we stayed at Puerto Ayora bay on Santa Cruz Island. We had to get the water taxi to go into town.

Baby sharks gathering near the hotel's lighted stone walls at night.

July 22, 2025 by Brian McCauley

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