This is the last dispatch on Pinky’s and my amorous adventure in Ecuador. I’ve tried to be brief in my descriptions, but the experiences have been so overwhelming that brevity has been a challenge. So, those of you who have been able to sort through all of these, I hope you have had some modicum of enjoyment from following us. On Thu, I left Pinky and went on morning and afternoon “advanced deep-water snorkels.“ I was led to a cove in Pta. Espinoza, Fernandina Is, where I observed countless large marine tortoises swimming around, along with a variety of fish, and I almost swam into buy a large sea lion (or it into me.) The water was cold, so we all wore wet suits, something I had never done before. (Never too old to try something for the first time.) I tried out my GoPro and am ho
peful the results are acceptable. Friday’s highlight took place on South Plaza, Santa Cruz islands, where we observed a frigate attack mother and father swallow tails and their chick, trying to steal the regurgitated squid the parents delivered, and probably the chick as well. It was an extraordinary, up close wildlife experience that we will never forget. I took an amazing photo of the attack, which I posted on Facebook. On Saturday, we returned to civilization at Puerto Ayora , a city on Santa Cruz of about 20,000 population, where we visited the Darwin Research Center and its giant tortoise breeding facility, which has been successful in re-introducing tortoise populations on islands which had been impacted by human introduced goats and cattle (now largely removed.) We departed the Galapagos Sunday to return to Quito and toured sites in the Andes, where we saw Pululahua (an extinct volcano ), a variety of hummingbirds, a small coffee tree reintroduction “finca,” and a tiny chocolate production operation in Mindo. This was a great way to finish our adventure, where we experienced events and saw wildlife we will never forget and made many friendships among the 95 or so we shared our adventures with.
This is the last dispatch on Pinky’s and my amorous adventure in Ecuador. I’ve tried to be brief in my descriptions, but the experiences have been so overwhelming that brevity has been a challenge. So, those of you who have been able to sort through all of these, I hope you have had some modicum of enjoyment from following us. On Thu, I left Pinky and went on morning and afternoon “advanced deep-water snorkels.“ I was led to a cove in Pta. Espinoza, Fernandina Is, where I observed countless large marine tortoises swimming around, along with a variety of fish, and I almost swam into buy a large sea lion (or it into me.) The water was cold, so we all wore wet suits, something I had never done before. (Never too old to try something for the first time.) I tried out my GoPro and am ho
peful the results are acceptable. Friday’s highlight took place on South Plaza, Santa Cruz islands, where we observed a frigate attack mother and father swallow tails and their chick, trying to steal the regurgitated squid the parents delivered, and probably the chick as well. It was an extraordinary, up close wildlife experience that we will never forget. I took an amazing photo of the attack, which I posted on Facebook. On Saturday, we returned to civilization at Puerto Ayora , a city on Santa Cruz of about 20,000 population, where we visited the Darwin Research Center and its giant tortoise breeding facility, which has been successful in re-introducing tortoise populations on islands which had been impacted by human introduced goats and cattle (now largely removed.) We departed the Galapagos Sunday to return to Quito and toured sites in the Andes, where we saw Pululahua (an extinct volcano ), a variety of hummingbirds, a small coffee tree reintroduction “finca,” and a tiny chocolate production operation in Mindo. This was a great way to finish our adventure, where we experienced events and saw wildlife we will never forget and made many friendships among the 95 or so we shared our adventures with.
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