Saturday, August 24, 2024

At the end of the voyage

Our week traveling in the Galapagos Islands on the Lindblad-National Geographic Endeavor II has ended. This morning rather early we left the ship on the familiar zodiac boats, arrived at the dock near the Balta Island Airport, checked in and waited for the plane, and finally flew to Quito, Ecuador. Tomorrow night we’ll return to the Quito airport and fly home. I’m happy that I finally have fast enough internet to post more photos. Needless to say, I will be posting lots more photos and thoughts from the trip after we finally get home, and I’ll also be reading blogs by my blogger friends! 

Galapagos Sea Lions

Galapagos Sea Lions are a separate species from other Pacific sea lions. We saw them constantly.
They swim vigorously in the sea, climb up the rocky shore, and bask on the sandy beaches. 
On some beaches we saw a large number of mother sea lions with their cubs. This mother and
baby were on a sandy beach.

 Another day, a baby was sitting on a high rock; its mother came up  from the sea and called it with loud barking. In response, it skooched down the rocks and then began to nurse.

Many of the babies were left alone while the mothers went out to catch fish.
After giving birth, the mothers stay with the babies for a few days — but then mom has to eat!

The last beach of the last day of our trip, we waded in the surf to board the zodiac boats that would
return us to the ship. Of course a few sea lions were sleeping on the beach.

The Zodiac Boats





Blog post and all photos © 2024 mae sander


11 comments:

Mark Baker said...

Glad you had a great trip. Thanks for sharing with us.

eileeninmd said...

Hello,
What a fun experience! The sea lions are cute critters. I love the babies and the closeups of their cute faces. Great series of photos. Take care, enjoy your day and have a great new week!

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

It looks like you had a great adventure during your travels in Ecuador. The Galapagos Islands are a location that every naturalist I know talks about visiting. It's such a fascinating place.

I look forward to seeing what you will post next and read next.

Vicki said...

Your trip sounds amazing! I love all your photos, thanks for sharing them with us,

My name is Erika. said...

Glad it was a great trip Mae. I'm really curious, do you think it was enough time? I'm asking because we've been looking into the Galapagoes, and I'm curious about how you traveled, the ship and the time. When you get home and you write a post I'd love it if you could include some info. Thanks for sharing the photos, they have been super to see. Safe travels. Hugs-Erika

Jeanie said...

I would love to see the sea lions. It sounds like a spectacular holday. Yes, do answer Erika's question about "was it enough time." I've really loved all these photos.

JoAnn said...

This sounds like an amazing trip. Wonderful photos!

Jinjer-The Intrepid Angeleno said...

zodiac boats look FUN and that very first baby sea lion is the cutest thing!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

An experience I am sure you will treasure in your memory for many years.,

Helen's Book Blog said...

What an awesome trip you have had! The Galapagos look spectacular!

thecuecard said...

Those mama sea lions are big, wow. Interesting to see them close. They have quite the life sleeping on the beach.