After an uneventful flight from Quito to Baltra Island, we boarded the Daphne... a 70-foot yacht and our home for the next ten days. Once onboard, we were given our room assignments and an emergency drill. In an emergency, the crew would ring the same bell they rang for meals, island tours and whale sightings. When the first meal bell rang, I wasn’t sure whether to grab my lifejacket, backpack, binoculars, or appetite.
Our first island visit involved getting everyone safely aboard the panga with lifejackets on. This was our first wet landing experience. We had a quick lesson in how to disembark from the panga onto a beach without getting completely soaked (or without soaking our camera gear). With waves lapping at the boat and pushing it onto the beach, this is harder than it sounds.
Sally Lightfoot crabs creep sideways along the lava rocks at the water’s edge on Bachas Beach...
This last image is actually a shed Sally Lightfoot crab exoskeleton. Crabs have an exoskeleton that they shed as they grow. Live Sallys are very brightly colored, but their shed exoskeletons are even brighter.
The light was about perfect when we spotted a group of about 15 flamingoes feeding in the water...
This was a nice, relaxing introduction to the Galapagos Island life.
Iz couldn’t resist taking a dip in the ocean after our tour of Bachas Beach...
Observation of the day... salt water stings when it gets in your eyes.
It doesn’t taste very good either.