Galapagos Farewell

We returned to the Pikaia Lodge just in time for the sunset to light up the lodge in beautiful orange tones.  We said our goodbyes to various folks.  Heidy the server was going off to the mainland for some holiday fun.   Luis our guide was going off to meet up with his kids at skate and surf camp.  The manager, took off to meet Christan the Assistant Manager on the mainland.  Sandy, Julia and Kate told us about a seemingly easy bike ride to the beach that they took earlier that day.  When the driving rain hit the dirt roads small bits of debris got into one of the girls contacts.  After rinsing they decided to put on their snorkel masks.  They felt silly riding a bicycle wearing a mask and snorkel!

Pulling up to the lodge

It had just rained and the air was clear

The third cabin to the left was ours

Dessert Time

Laurence was very handy with the drinks

A TOAST to the great Galapagos!

Puerto Ayora Adios

We walked through the main shopping street of Puerto Ayora.  We only bought some chocolate and a blue footed booby figure as the carry on luggage does not allow for the acquisition of large numbers of souvenirs.  The shops sold standard tourist fare, lots of t-shirts, some nice art and of course a fine selection of artisanal chocolates.  Both the quality of the product and the packaging were impressive.  We continued to walk through town and reached the "Fish Market".  Here they were cutting up the fresh catch and the birds were helping out.  Frigate birds hunt on the wing and never land in the ocean.  Their oil glands are small so they are lighter and can soar for hours but their feathers are not waterproof enough to be aquatic birds.  So as we watched the fish mongers cut up the fish we saw a cycle of Frigate bird after  Frigate bird after Frigate bird swoop by and grab fish parts to eat. 

A great square of chocolate

Made from Cacao grown on the island of Santa Cruz

The town stretches out 

Colorful shops 

The Fish Market

Here comes a Frigate Bird

Then he is gone

I captured the entire fish bits grab sequence.  Here the bird is on his approach.

Getting into position

He has made the grab

Fish bit in beak and ready to eat

Just that quick, the fish remains have been cleaned up!

Then another bird gets bits

Off he goes

and another

yummy

and it continued on like this until the pelicans got involved

Pelicans, ready to help!

a bit too close

Shoo!

All hell breaks loose!

The Garden of Mosaic Tile

Just outside the national park is the Garden of Mosaic Tile.  I did not get the whole story but it was made by an artist that has since passed away.  Her brother still lives close by and it is free and open to the public. The art work was very detailed and quite extensive.

The gateway to the garden is a big dragon

Don Quixote's Horse

Lots going on here, its three dimensional

Maze or Brain?

Lots of fantastic birds

Actual slabs of Lava

Yellow crowned birds

More 3-D art with Disney coffee cups

The Sun!

Cool flamingos

The Blue Footed Boobies

A Mermaid, in her hand is a lobster

Abstract and absolutely cool

Land iguanas,  sea lions, crabs and all the creatures of the Galapagos

More items in the research center

So much to see!  Cacti, finches, lava lizards ready to mate, old bones and more!

these cacti are very tall

the trunk of a dead cactus

a crazy honeycomb pattern of the trunk of the cactus

Mocking bird

Lava Lizard

A female lava lizard ready to mate

Come hither 

More tortoise shells

A chest plate

You can see the backbone and ribs that are fused to the shell

The bones of a whale

Vary long spine

On and on!

I did not even know that there was such a thing as a dwarf sperm whale, but here are the bones

Our Guide Patti!

All the different types of Tortoises