Floreana Galapagos Feb-Mar 2011

Giant tortoises eating

YOLO at anchor in Santa Cruz
Yellow scallop shell amongst the pencil-spine sea urchins.

Jason snorkeling. He got yelled at cuz he went onto the beach where male sea lions barked at him in anger. The guide had warned us, but J claimed he didn't hear him.

Datura tree. The seeds are medicinal and/or halluncenogenic I think.

Look closely, you'll see a finch in the turtle pen

A small cave on Floreana

Pencil sea urchins while snorkeling

Penguins on the shore

Sally Lightfoot crabs on the black lava rocks. Their bright reddish orange color may not show up here but they are colorful

Giant tortoise in the mud

The same tortoise on the move once he got out of the mud.

Giant tortoises eating in their preserve pen. They wander around freely but a rock wall around them keeps them from escaping into the wilds.

Moss on trees, sometimes white, green or reddish brown.

The spines of the pencil sea urchins make up this entire beach.

Iguana on a rock

Wandering giant tortoises

Vista on Floreana, towards another cinder cone

Male iguana

Karen in a cave. I kept a wet kerchief around my neck to try to keep cool on the long hikes.

Jason waiting at the restaurant before the hike

Jason on the lighthouse tower on Floreana
Jason straddling a run of water as we walked through the rock canyons here.

Rocks on Floreana

Penguins on the shore

Our transport up to the highlands, open air comfort as we bounced along the rutted path of a road.

A cave on Floreana where early settlers were said to have lived

A carved rock face. Reminds me of the Moai of Easter Island, but nobody really knows who carved it here on Floreana.