Isla Baltra:
Galapagos sea lions. This is what we encountered when we got to the docks on Isla Baltra. I've got to wonder whether any human has ever sat on those benches. (Galapagos sea lions are related to California sea lions, the only major difference being their smaller size.)

This is also the answer to the question "Where does a 400-pound Galapagos sea lion sleep?" Anywhere it wants to.

Our first blue-footed booby. This was also right at the docks.

Lava gull. One of our first bird sightings. This one appeared on the rail of the boat during our first talk, and didn't fly off, even when three or four photographers were coming out to take its picture. It's not the most striking of birds, but it's worth noting that this is the rarest gull in the world -- only 400 pairs. However, this is only because of its limited range. It's not endangered, and we saw them several times.

North Seymour:
Blue-footed booby. The booby -- all right, giggle if you must -- gets its name from the Spanish bobo, meaning "silly", "clown" or "fool", and to human eyes, boobies do live up to this description. It was nesting season for the blue-footed boobies (or "bluebies"/"bloobies", as one of our guides abbreviated them), so we saw a lot of boobies building their nests, engaging in courtship, and raising chicks.

Booby closeup. It doesn't have external nostrils, which is a good thing for a bird that dives into the ocean headfirst at great speeds.

Marine iguana: This was the first marine iguana we saw up close. It was pretty small (1.5-2 ft. long), and a female, according to our guide...

...and neither he nor anyone else knew exactly why she was doing this.

Crab on the rocks. This is a sally lightfoot crab. Better shots of them will appear later.

Great frigatebird. One of two species of frigatebirds on the islands. The males of both species (which inflate their pouches and pound them with their beaks as part of their courtship ritual) look exactly alike except for the color of the iridescence on their back feathers. Great frigatebirds have a green sheen, magnificent frigatebirds have a purple sheen.

Lava lizard. We saw lots of these critters. There are a half dozen or so different species with no common names, found scattered across the islands. Naturally I had to record every species we saw. This is a female Microlophus albemarlensis.

Another great frigatebird with a deflated pouch.

Land iguana. This one was lumbering towards us, providing some great camera shots. Unfortunately, it had a dried leaf stuck on its nose. Not very photogenic.

The leaf isn't as obvious in this one.

Female great frigatebird. Female magnificents have more white on the chest and blue eye rings. The Spanish name for frigatebirds translates to "pirate bird", and pirates they are. They steal food and nesting material and anything they can get their beaks on from other birds.

Galapagos snake. Most of Galapagos's snakes are fairly reclusive, so this was a lucky shot. A lot of Galapagos's wildlife is just the animal's name preceded by "Galapagos" or "lava". So, for instance, if you see a cricket in the Galapagos and don't know what it is, if you say, "It's a Galapagos/lava cricket", chances are you'll have ID'ed it correctly.

This is part of the blue-footed boobie's coutship display. The male (left) slowly assumes the "skypointing" position and whistles. If the female (right) is interested, she mimics the gesture, but honks instead. The pupils of the female's eyes look larger, but that's caused by a ring of dark pigment surrounding the pupil.

Another land iguana. This one was lying right in the middle of the trail, forcing us to step around him. In fact, lots of the animals were lying in the middle of the trail, completely oblivious to us.

A booby with eggs. The only time you get to see a booby's eggs is when the parents are changing places on the nest, which happens only a few times a day.

Another part of the blue-footed booby's courtship display: alternately raising each foot in a slow dance. The blue color plays a role in courtship, and they show off their feet as much as possible. Even when they're landing, they thrust their feet out in a very comical manner.

A blue-footed booby "skypointing". You WILL take him seriously.

Another blooby courtship display.

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