Hola! Around South America on LAN

[RooFlyer]

Blue footed coughies .. who can't love them? Not universal around the islands we visited, but in decent numbers. We didn't visit any nesting sites ... mostly on the rocks and diving arrow-like into the water.








One bird we were a bit short of were penguins. Yes, penguins on the equator; remarkable. Just a couple here and there; some in the water while we were snorkelling, but they move so fast it was hard to tell.




Lava Herons somewhat unremarkable, until they take up an unusual sunbaking pose.

 

[RooFlyer]

And who can't love a marine iguana. This was one of my top 'must sees' and I wasn't disappointed. All over the place. This one reminded me of a judge I had a run-in with once (over a backyard fence):





When not in the water they want to heat up, and do this by facing the sun, like a grotesque bank of solar panels:




The came in twos and threes, or by the score on Fernandina Island:





I would have loved to have swum with them, but alas only saw them from the shore:

 

[RooFlyer]

Calling the Green Sea Turtles. Again, in abundance and a favourite when snorkelling. Unfortunately my underwater camera - acquired just before the trip, didn't perform that well. The first 2 pics were captures from a video I took. Quite a strong in-and-out surge; once I got over the turtle, we rocked back and forth in rhythm for about 5 minutes!

 

[RooFlyer]

Genovesa island. Everyone's favourite from the cruise, I'm sure. The best up-close experiences and some of the most gorgeous animals (birds).

The Lava Lizard - a female, showing she's hot to trot; a Sally Lightfoot crab, putting colour onto every basal flow:



Sure, a pelican is a pelican, but the Galapagos variety manage to show a particular form of indignation. Not sure what the light-footed guys on the right were, but they followed in the ship's wake most days, skimming the surface:




Ah, and the Nazca coughies. So abundant and 'friendly' on Genovesa, often nesting on the paths; billing each other and generally having a great time. Expressions are priceless.






How can you keep 2m from the animals when a young coughy takes a goose-like shot at our feet:

 

[RooFlyer]

What made Genovesa Island special was the wall to wall Frigate birds - and it was mating season .

The male displays his prowess by inflating a large red sack on his chest - for upwards of an hour at a time.





There were hundreds of the poor desperate things. Nesting in bushes at waist level, all around the paths. At one time they were so thick our guides called off going any further along the trail!




Whenever a female appeared or flew over, the males would stretch out their wings, shimmy and call out 'Hey babe, check me out!". Quite voyeuristic to watch (and listen to):




This pic I call 'boy gets girl' - couples snuggled down together on the nest. He's still flashing it.





And if you've got it - flaunt it, even on the wing:

 

[RooFlyer]

The Red Footed coughies were the other stars on Genovesa island. At the nesting stage, hundreds of adoring couples were busy nest building. A close up of those prehensile feet:










To round out the set, some more Nazca coughies




And on the left, a rare and hard to spot Galapagos Short Eared owl (I think the world's only day-time active owl). And the little bird on the right was determined to carry off the lady's shoelaces for nesting material. The instruction from the guide was "Don't move - let nature take its course; if you get carried away, we'll come and get you."

 

[RooFlyer]

Really must move on from the animals. Just a few more.

Land iguanas - much like the Giant Tortises, they just lounge around, in convenient photogenic locations such as logs besides paths and on the paths themselves.





Second pic here is a Galapagos Hawk on Bartolome.



Significant disappointment were the flamingos. None at all at the first location, and we approached the second (and final) location with some trepidation, on the last morning. A single, solitary, motherless flamingo. I'm sure the guide, on finding none, hit the button that produced said solitary flamingo from an underwater chamber: 'flamingo on demand' . This was Santa Cruz island.




And just to keep the botanists happy, some cactuses. Well established 'tree' cacti from Santa Cruz, and the 'pioneer' species that first colonises the lava flows, the lot on the right at Fenandina.

 

[TomVexille]

The animal photos are great for those of us who haven't been and won't get the opportunity anytime soon.

 

[RooFlyer]

Orright.

I haven't snorkelled for ages, but this wasn't the time to be embarrassed about squeezing into a nXL wetsuit!

Those white tipped sharks ... the guide paddled us right over where they were .. ?roosting? 'Oh, some sharks she said .... :shock: ' . No time or opportunity to back off .



Lots of schools of tropical fish; my underwater camera was a cheapie and didn't perform that well .. On the right showing them breaking the surface.







What about the famous Darwin's finches you say? They were all about, but very busy and not photogenic . This is a honeyeater from near Darwin' Crater on Isabela island. The crater, with the Eclipse in the background, on the right.

 

[RooFlyer]

Of course none of the animals and plants would be there if it wasn't for the rocks! "The earth is a geologist's paradise" is a thoroughly applicable saying when it comes to the Galapagos.

Basically, the Galapagos have formed like Hawaii. There is a fundamental 'hot spot' in the Earth beneath Hawaii and Galapagos (and a few other places, such as Yellowstone). At these places, plumes of molten rock rise up from the mantle and break through the crust forming volcanos. As the oceanic and continental plates are moving however, the erupted volcanos are transported, conveyor-like, away from the hot-spot. As they move away, volcanism stops and erosion eventually planes the islands off and they disappear beneath the sea (if oceanic). In the Galapagos' case, the plate is moving ESE towards Sth America, so the oldest (dead) volcanos/islands are to the east and the newest/more active ones are to the west.

In any event, every bit of land in the Galapagos is a volcano. In some vistas, you can see maybe 50 or more cones. Sensational

Never say AFF doesn't give you an education on things other than frequent flyer programs :mrgreen: .

However, photos of rocks are boring to the layman; I was able to impart some extra knowledge to the guides about what they were seeing and walking over, and I think they appreciated it.

On the left- another photo of the MV Eclipse? No! The bloody boat getting in the way of a nice volcanic cone. On the right, the whole volcanic cycle thing beautifully in miniature. The circular ring is an eroded volcanic cone, looking just like a whole island before it eventually disappears below the waves. In the very centre, a submerged circular structure is the remnant of the lava throat of the volcano. Oh, there were some penguins swimming around here, but who cares?




Bartolome island; the youngest in the Galapagos, looking towards Isabela (IIRC). On the left, fresh spatter cones; on the right, the different colours are cones and eruptions of different ages; the black stuff in the back-ground the most recent lava flow which nearly joined the islands. The sharks mentioned above were hanging out this side of the point in the RH pic.




Another panorama of Bartolome. How many volcanic cones?





On the left; a beautiful example of a volcanic bomb. Ash and tuff has formed sedimentary beds, still soft; several blocks of lava about the size of a football have been blasted out of the volcano and have plopped down on the soft sediments; see how they has deformed the beds beneath it. . On the right - proof as to the usefulness of geology / volcanic bombs to the wild life :mrgreen:





Left - another spatter cone; on the right; an old eroded volcanic pile (red) engulfed by recent basalt lava flow.



Yes, I really enjoyed that! :mrgreen:

 

[amaroo]

Excellent TR RooFlyer

 

[love_the_life]

Loving the report - the Galapagos were fabulous. i'm a sucker for any furry or feathered creature but I must admit that the marine iguanas stole my heart!

 

[RooFlyer]

Cue The Seekers The Carnival is Over (g'won, play it as you read this)


Our last morning; a last walk on the beach, observing nesting turtle trails and nests but alas no hatchlings.





In this group are a great couple from the US who suggested we go on the Orient Express together. (gulp! ... cost!!). A Sally Lightfoot crab




So we got onto the panga for the trip back to the boat (bottom lip starts to tremble)




The cruise boats moored off the wharf for Baltra airport; the last panga ride (holding back tears)




But at least they KWIA - MV Eclipse pax get access to the Lounge at Baltra airport . We had to shop for an hour before we were allowed airside (I'm sure a deliberate strategy by the Ecuadorian government to shake the last loose change out of us). Then on the AeroGal (Avianca) A319 back to Quito ... and for me, onto Peru!

 

[Milboo]

Loving this TR! Making me even more excited about our upcoming trip!

How physical have you found the excursions and panga ins and outs? I have an uncooperative knee at times but have been assured that the excursions are very slow paced due to the stopping and looking.

Did you snorkel just from the beach or off the side of a panga too?

 

[love_the_life]

We have had quite a few, shall I say 'elderly' co-passengers in both the Galapagos and Arctic where we were on and off pangas/zodiacs all the time. They managed fine as did me, a somewhat overweight and unfit 60+ female. One thing I did find very useful were hiking poles - we took our own so I knew they were the right length. Over the rough rocks they were a great help. I'm, sure RF will give you more info. We had both beach and 'deep water' snorkeling excursions offered.
Enjoy your trip - we loved the place.

 

[RooFlyer]

Loving this TR! Making me even more excited about our upcoming trip!

How physical have you found the excursions and panga ins and outs? I have an uncooperative knee at times but have been assured that the excursions are very slow paced due to the stopping and looking.

Did you snorkel just from the beach or off the side of a panga too?

Like L_t_L we had a couple of um ... pax who had enjoyed perhaps a few too many Sunday puddings (and I'm no stick insect!!) and they managed fine. For us, and I'm sure its universal, there were always 2 crew to help you in and out of a panga, both always holding hand to forearm (like a 'bro' shake).

Track conditions will depend on the islands you visit. Most of our tracks were level earth and easy; there was one moderately steep climb with steps (Darwin Crater); there was one steep climb with lots of steps (Bartolome) and one uneven with lava. The more difficult ones are optional (in fact of course you needn't go on any particular excursion .. stay on the boat). But our most unfit pax did all the excursions, so don't worry.

If a dicky knee .. you'll just need to get the feel of the trip. The park rule is that you always have to be with a guide, so its tricky if you change your mind mid excursion and want to 'just wait' (although I did see it with another ship group). But let me assure you any cruise boat will have a lot of experience with all sorts of pax and they will advise you well.

We had a mix of wet landings (off the panga into ankle deep water on a beach) and dry (onto a small wharf). Again, no issues for anyone on our trip; no falls or dunkings!

There was a mix of snorkelling off the beach and off pangas. I had never done the latter and a couple of times the water/current was a bit much for me and I got tired, so I re-boarded the panga (always close) and got back into the water a bit later. Sometimes there was a choice of either panga or beach at the same time.


The main thing to bear in mind is that the vast majority of Galapagos-goers are those that can afford it ... the more 'senior' of us, with all our attendant 'issues' . The cruise boat and crew will be used to it!

 

[drron]

Loving this TR! Making me even more excited about our upcoming trip!

How physical have you found the excursions and panga ins and outs? I have an uncooperative knee at times but have been assured that the excursions are very slow paced due to the stopping and looking.

Did you snorkel just from the beach or off the side of a panga too?

I went to the Galapagos before I had my knee replacent.absolutely no problems.Snorkelled from the beach and the pangas.Getting back into the panga I was glad that no one took a photo.felt most ungainly.
RooFlyer just loving your pics.Bring back delightful memories.It truly is an amazing place.
Looking forward to Machu pichu but please make it sound like a walk in the park or I doubt mrsdrron lets me go!

 

[RooFlyer]

After overnighting in Quito, it was time to leave for Peru, the Sacred valley and Machu Picchu (and I wish the auto correct would stop changing it to "Macho Picchu" ).

At Quito airport, Diners Club rule the lounge roost, but I was allowed access via OW Emerald. Basic sort of affair; forgot to take pictures.

On the taxi out, there was Volcan Cotopaxi looming in the distance. This was the best view I had of it .. I was planning a day trip out there, but it was always too cloudy to be worth it. Then , as we took off in that direction, I kept my eyes peeled, hoping for a aerial view. Granted! I nearly missed it as we almost flew over the top. Wish I had more than an iPhone and a dirty airplane window ...




It was a LAN A319 again, and I was in 1A think's to JohnM's seat booking tip of last year, and OW Emerald status. I also like the 'Preferente' in bold letters on the BP. LAN have consistently got Priority boarding working - perhaps due to the fact that there was usually only me, and maybe one other, in the 'Preferente' queue!! :shock:

We skipped down the Andes and got this good view down the snow capped front range. Subduction and mountain building at work! Lima however was foggy and maybe smoggy. Exactly how I left it when I was last there, about 20 years ago!!




Cleared immigration at Lima, then out of the terminal, then back in to check my bag for the domestic flight to Cusco.No lounge at Lima for me for domestic flights. I had about 3 hours to kill. Then another A319 and 1A again to Cusco. I must admit, I really don't like flying in mountainous areas and looking out and seeing a mountain peak along side the plane. Should have chosen 1 C. But then - Cusco!




And here was a surprise. I had booked a 5 day tour via my TA, and they sourced the trip from a wholesaler. I've mentioned to drron and mrs.drron how unhappy I was with said wholesaler - very vague on details; I drove my TA nuts going back and asking questions and clarifications. The tour I was expecting was a series of locals doing their bit in their area, then putting me on busses and trains and passing me on. I was met at Cusco airport by the tour rep, as expected, but lo and behold there was also a guide and a driver who would be with me most of the time . Great result, but confirms how useless the wholesaler was in giving me details!

I was wondering how I would go at Cusco. I had been on Diamox for a day already. Coming off the plane - no effects. In the parking lot at the car I realised I needed a bathroom break before we headed out so I jogged back into the terminal. Hmmm - suddenly short of breath, but other than that, no problems; walk, don't run; fixed. The tour strategy was to go immediately to the Sacred Valley, quite a lot lower, then do Machu Picchu the next 2 days, then come up to Cusco again, hopefully well acclimatised.

Lots of nice scenery on the drive to Yucay, a village next to the main town of Urubamba, pictured right, on the floor of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, in the late afternoon.




At Yucay I had the night at the Sonesta Posada hotel - apparently part of a high-ish end chain. It was set in a former convent and was most charming, including the old chapel.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

So glad everything worked out RF !! Great trip report and loving your photos.

 

[juddles]

....I wish the auto correct would stop changing it .....

Now you know my pain - I LIVE here :/