Williams Sea&Sky

(Arrival) – “Galapagos Islands have always been on our bucket list of cool places to visit. When we saw an opportunity to go on a small expedition-style, newly-renovated liveaboard boat with National Geographic and Sven Lindblad, we jumped on it. We arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador on the coast staying one night at the gorgeous Hotel del Parque surrounded by a “dry” tropical gardens. I sampled Ecuador’s finest cacao in various strengths and flavors on a curated tour of the grounds. We joined the crew of the Islander II liveaboard the next day after a 2-hour flight from Guayaquil out to the Galapagos islands, 600 miles out in the pacific. We cruised past Daphne Major island at sunset as frigate birds flew overhead on our way to Bartolome Islet. A clear night filled with stars offered a view in the morning hours of the Large Magellanic Galaxy considering we on are the equator”

(Bartolome) – “The next morning, we took a zodiac ride to explore the peculiar tuff Pinnacle Rock teeming with sea lions and penguins. Sandy, Brett, Chad and I did two snorkels around the Pinnacle in cold water (62deg F). Full wetsuits kept us comfortable. The visibility was good with a surprising amount of tropical fish; including parrotfish, Mexican hogfish, yellowtail surgeonfish, with sea lions and penguins darting around us! Chunks of layered tuff underwater looked like layered cake. A whitetip reef shark swam around Sandy! Fantastic sea life on the shore and underwater alike”

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(Cerro Dragon) – “After lunch and a great talk on photography by Anahi, we cruised to Santa Cruz island for a hike at Cerro Dragon. There were beautiful flamingos, some even laying down close enough for beautiful photos. Land iguanas didn’t seem to care that we were there; nor did the marine iguanas on the shore. Yellow warblers darting around were a challenge to photograph. Anahi gave photo tips along the way which were very helpful. Naturalist Cindy Manning showed considerable knowledge of the local flora and fauna on this hike. That evening, scientist Denley gave an excellent presentation on deep sea camera systems”

(Champion Islet & Punta Cormorant) – “Overnight, we cruised to Floreana island in the south to Post Office Bay, where some passengers went ashore to leave letters at the famous Post Office Barrel. Chad and I snorkeled Champion Islet where we found no beach, but tall, ragged cliffs topped with prickly pear cacti on which numerous sea lions were sunbathing on ledges alongside Sally Lightfood crabs. The visibility was excellent with myriads of cardinalfish, king angelfish, and barnacle larvae. The sea lions would jump in the water and play with us! A cave was filled with orange sponge. Sandy and Brett spotted a red-billed tropicbird at Champion Islet via zodiac. After lunch, we took a hike to the green beach called Punta Cormorant on Floreana. Anahi showed us the olivine sand that imparts the green color the sand to the beach. The beach was loaded with sea lions and blue footed boobies, diving in the water next to green sea turtles. That evening naturalists Ixora and Vanessa set up a projecting Leica microscope showing plankton they caught with a dipnet. What a treat to see the plankton that supplies 70% of the oxygen we breathe!”

(Gardener Bay & Punta Suarez) — “We steamed to Gardener Bay, Espanola, where we spent the morning in the water with female green turtles that seemed to play with us. Male frigate birds and sea lions sat on the cliffs watching us snorkel. Mexican sea anemones were prolific in this area. After lunch, scientist Salome gave an excellent talk about her research using remotely operated vehicles finding mesophotic kelp. A hike led by naturalist Ixora in the afternoon to Punta Suarez was fabulous! So many marine iguanas, you had to be careful where you stepped. Sea lions were everywhere; including one with a large shark bite scar. Albatross were interacting and frigates were diving on their nests. A massive blowhole was the icing on the scenic cake. A perfect surfable wave at the inlet caught Chad’s attention. Later, we enjoyed Ecuadorian cuisine and a Halloween party in which the staff and passengers donned costumes. One of the most original costumes was 2 passengers dressed up as interacting blue footed boobies. The staff dressed Brett up as Harry Potter and he won first place in the costume contest!”

(Punta Pitt & Cerro Brujo) — “We woke up the next morning at Punta Pitt, San Cristobol Island. Naturalist Cindy led us on a vigorous hike up rugged and dry Punta Pitt where vistas of brilliant red Sesuvium contrasted with the blue pacific waters with our Islander II in the background. We spotted Nazca and red-footed boobies as well as a variety of lava lizards on the hike. Chad was able to see sea lions in the water from the cliffside and couldn’t wait to run down and get in the water with them. He didn’t even bother putting on fins. Sandy and Brett had made sea lion friends by the time we got back to the beach. Spending two hours splashing around the shallows with young energetic sea lions was the highlight of Chad’s trip. After lunch on the boat, we used zodiacs to land on a gorgeous white sand beach at Cerro Brujo. It was deserted aside from sea lions, ghost crabs, and marine iguanas! Green sea turtles came up to the shallows to say hello. We watched the sun as it was setting next to spectacular Kicker Rock as we headed to our next destination. We visited the bridge to meet and thank Captain Garcia for a great and safe trip”

(Rancho El Manzanillo) — “The final day included the much anticipated visit to the giant tortoises at Rancho El Manzanillo in the Santa Cruz highlands. Cindy explained the altitude zonation on the island – going from sunny on the coast, to rain and mist (Garua) in the Scalesia Forest around 700m elevation. The Scalesia Forest is threatened by exotics like invasive blackberry and Cindy described the conservation efforts to preserve the area. As we were approaching the ranch, giant tortoises littered the road and were in no hurry to move. The ranch was beautiful with many exotic plants and tortoises everywhere. We wore heavy boots as there was plenty of mud which the tortoises love”