The Galapagos Islands were on my bucket list even before I married an evolutionary biologist.

They did not disappoint.  The abundant wildlife of the area was obvious even before we boarded our boat.

We spent seven days exploring a number of the northern and western islands (San Cristobal, Genovesa, Isabela, Fernandina, Santiago, Rabida, and Santa Cruz) aboard the boat M/Y Letty.

There were twenty passengers (including our good friends, David and Jaye) and two naturalists along with nine other crew members. The multiple daily field trips included hiking, snorkeling and cruising shorelines in a panga (Zodiac boat).

The wildlife was amazing  but the landscapes and vegetation were also special.

There were volcanos.

Lava beaches and formations.

Other interesting rock formations:

Mangroves:

Red beaches:

Grasses and Cacti:

Where do I start with the wildlife? The first thing to realize is that because of the lack of predators, the birds and animals are not scared of tourists. They basically ignore people which means encounters are often up close and personal. The National Park is very strict about where tourists may go and how many can be on one island at a time. They are very serious about their conservation efforts.

So let’s begin with the birds. Many, but not all, of the birds we saw are only found in the Galapagos. This is just a sampling.

Pelicans

 

We did see lots of finches but there was much discussion and not always agreement on which ones so I will just let this picture represent the whole lot. I think these are small ground finches.

It was still breeding season for the Magnificent and Great Frigatebirds. They didn’t care at all that we were around.

In fact, they frequently accompanied our boat as we moved from one island to another.

A key attraction for me were the Boobys. Their colorful feet and comical expressions are great.

And I know penguins are birds, but how can I not give them a special shout-out? The Galapagos Penguin is the only penguin found north of the equator.  It was exciting enough to see one perched on a rock and to observe others in the water, swimming and feeding, but even better was seeing a penguin zoom by me unexpectedly while I was snorkeling. It was so fast!! On a different snorkeling trip, we watched a penguin zipping in and out of a school of small fish. It caught one, took the fish up to the surface to eat it, and then continued its hunt,  a real adrenaline rush!!

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On to the mammals. We had good views of Galapagos Sea Lions on the land and in the water while we were snorkeling.

There were also Galapagos Fur Seals around.

On two different nights, we had pods of dolphins (Bottlenose and Common) decide to play around our boat and surf in our boat wake.

There were a few notable land and intertidal invertebrates.

And lots of underwater invertebrates. (Thanks, Don, for all of the underwater pics).

Here are some fish and rays just for fun.

Finally, last but far from least, check out the reptiles!

Most of the Galapagos Tortoises that we saw were in research facilities. On our first day, we visited a turtle sanctuary, on San Cristobal Island, where young turtles are raised from eggs until they are big enough to survive most threats from predators. They are then released back into the wild.

On our last day, we spent time at the Charles Darwin Research Center which houses many different subspecies of Galapagos Tortoises (there are 15 known subspecies) and has an active breeding program to try and help the critically endangered reptiles.

There is a notable difference in the shape of the tortoises shells based on where the subspecies lives. (And no, the Pacific Green Sea Turtle is not a tortoise but it was part of this display).The tortoises with saddle-shaped shells (left) live in drier areas where they need to be able to stretch out their necks to feed on vines, fruit and leaves growing off the ground.

Those with dome-shaped shells live in colder climates, are unable to stretch their necks as far and so graze on grass.

This male wanted to be sure we knew he was earning his keep.

We did see the hind-end of a few tortoises in burrows in the wild and some near a watering hole.

The Pacific Green Sea Turtle, while endangered, seemed plentiful on our trip. We saw them everywhere! Young ones used mangrove roots as a nursery.

Older ones could be seen grazing on algae.

And in one case, a school of fish was grazing on the algae growing on the turtle’s shell.

Transitioning to lizards, we saw a Galapagos racer snake slither slowly across our path while a Lava Lizard tiptoed nervously across a log above it. These snakes are more toxic to prey than people.

The Lava Lizard with the red head is the female.

The much bigger Land Iguana was truly a dinosaur.

These two iguanas, one young male challenging an older male, fought for over 2 hours.

Land Iguanas are weird enough. Marine Iguanas are from outer-space.

They lie around in piles to gather warmth from the sun and then slowly peel off and saunter down to the water to feed.

It was even cooler snorkeling and watching them swim and graze underwater.

If you have ever considered travelling to the Galapagos. GO!! It is such a unique place and totally bucket list worthy.

We covered a lot of ground in the 6 weeks we spent on the East Coast of Australia.

We said good-bye to Jeremy after celebrating New Year’s Eve in Brisbane. Keeha was able to stay longer and headed north with us to Heron Island to dive on the Great Barrier Reef, a bucket list item for sure. Living on Heron Island, you really feel like you are one with the environment. It was breeding season for Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Black Noddies. We learned to embrace the unique aroma of the island and the cacophony of bird sounds.

Black Noddies were nesting everywhere. It was a good idea to wear your “poop” hat at all times.

We spent a lot of time just walking the perimeter of the island and there was always something exciting to see.

It was also turtle nesting season. One night, we were able to watch a Green Sea Turtle dig a nest and lay her eggs. In the morning, it was obvious where other turtles had come on shore.

The weather was a bit iffy and the wind was definitely blowing for most of the trip. This made the surface water quite rough so we didn’t snorkel a lot. We were able to go on some dives though. All the dives were drift dives (where the boat drops you off one place and picks you up later down current). I was happy to hold on to Don so I didn’t get pulled away by the current.

The coral cover was beautiful and seemed to go on forever.

After Heron Island, Keeha took off on her own to explore more of Australia and to spend time in New Zealand. Don and I took a train north to Townsville to visit our Seacamp friend, Joanne and her husband, Robert.

While there, we took a ferry to Magnetic Island, just off the coast, in search of Koalas in the wild. And we found some!!

We also spotted this Wedge-tailed Eagle hunting.

After that, Joanne advised us to rent a car, get out of Townsville, and head north. So we did. It was the perfect spontaneous trip.

We spent a couple of nights in Cairns. It had a fun esplanade along the waterfront with lots of shorebirds, including white pelicans.

Walking down the street, we heard loud raucous cries coming from the trees. When we looked more closely, we realized the trees were filled with hundreds of flying foxes, aka large fruit bats.

We spent a couple of nights in Cairns and snuck in three more dives on the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef. This portion did not look as healthy as the southern portion but we did get to see Cuttlefish, a goal of Don’s.

We also visited Tjapukai, a type of theme park for tourists to learn about Aboriginal culture. We were concerned it might be exploitative or tacky, but it turned out to be a great learning experience. I won’t share the videos of Don and me trying to throw a boomerang or hunting spear. Don could be a hunter. I would definitely need to be a gatherer!

We then meandered back south in search of unique Australian wildlife and scenery. We stayed in some tiny towns which proved to be a surprise highlight of the trip.

Yungaburra:

There was a moving Memorial Park for soldiers lost in the Afghanistan war, including a tribute to the dogs lost.

Etty Bay: Found several Cassowaries in the wild!!!

Papa thought we should back off. Glad we were in a car!

The Tablelands:

The timing of our trip was fortunate for us. Townsville suffered devastating rains and floods just after we left. There were even reports of crocodiles swimming in the streets.

The holiday travelling was over and it was time for Don to go back to work. We flew to Melbourne first where he spent time at Monash University. It was extremely hot (113F) that week. I entertained myself with a trip to Brighton Beach, famous for the colorful beach houses.

Melbourne is known for its alleys filled with street art and also for its commissioned public art. Just the buildings themselves are works of art.

We met up with Pablo, a former PhD student of Don’s and he took us to dinner and a rooftop bar you need a local to find for you.

The Great Ocean Road is a famous coastal highway started as a project to provide work for WWI veterans. It runs south of Melbourne next to the Southern Ocean and has incredibly spectacular scenery. We could only squeeze in a day tour but it deserved more time.

The tour included a walk in the rain forest.

There were sulpher-crested cockatoos everywhere.

I was psyched that we saw more Koalas.

And we had the remarkable luck to see Orcas, a first for our well-seasoned guide.

Our next stop was Sydney where Don spent time at the University of Sydney exploring the reproductive ecology of a cute tiny seastar.

We did visit some very busy beaches like Bondi and fit in some body surfing and boogie boarding despite the hoards of other tourists.

We saw several of these guys sunning on the rocks by the beaches.

Inserted some culture by attending the opera, La Boheme, at (where else?) the Sydney Opera House.

Took a fun hike in the Blue Mountains.

Our Australian visit finished where we started, in Brisbane.

We were more social in Brisbane than on the entire rest of the trip! We stayed with and were entertained by Thomas, a post-doc and friend of Abagail, another former FSU PhD student now doing a post-doc in Brisbane.

We had drinks one night with Frannie , the daughter of friends from Canada (we knew her before she was born!), and her boyfriend, Gabe.

Don’s host at the University of Queensland, Cynthia, had us to dinner, took us on a rainforest hike and arranged a visit to her husband’s brewery along with her lab.

We truly truly enjoyed all of our adventures in Australia. I’m glad we allotted so much time there.

Our three months in the Land of Oz are coming to a close on February 16th. The time has just evaporated. Our adventures have taken us up and down both the east and the west coasts and each place we have visited has been unique and wonderful. I can only give you a small peek at all we have seen with a heavy emphasis on the wildlife.

We lived in Perth for six weeks while Don hung out at the University of Western Australia. We had a nice view of Swan Bay from our apartment.

I knew I was in Australia when two Laughing Kookaburas landed on a tree outside our window.

And there were always black swans hanging out in the bay.

The Rainbow Lorakeets loved the tree in front of our dorm. They are beautiful but make a lot of noise.

The apartment was within walking distance of Kings Park and Botanic Garden featuring plant life in Western Australia. My favorite was the Giant Boab tree.

Rottnest Island is a short ferry ride from Perth. We spent a day there biking around the gorgeous island, snorkeling, looking for wildlife and spotting lots of Quokka, small marsupials (not giant rats), for which the island was (mis)named.

We also wandered around Freemantle, the port from which the Rottnest Island ferry left. We laughed when we walked up a set of stairs and turned around and saw this, work from the same artist we saw in Carcassonne. Freemantle is known for the best preserved prison built by convicts  and for an open air market. We passed on visiting the first and buying anything from the second.

We visited a number of different beaches during our stay in Perth and every time we visited a new beach, I was startled by how blue the water was. The windy weather, rough surf and warning signs never kept Don out of the water.

I was not so tough. (Or crazy!)

We were really excited when Keeha arrived on December 15th for the holidays. We took a quick overnight trip south of Perth to the Margaret River area which is known for its wineries and its surfing beaches.

Remarkably, after the sunset, we drove past a field full of kangaroos. We pulled over to watch and saw two males boxing. The pictures are a bit blurred but I just have to share them. It was so awesome. In the last picture, the kangaroo on the right had just been kicked and fell over.

On the 19th, Jeremy arrived and we were complete. Yay!

Our plan was to spend two days exploring while making the twelve hour drive north to Coral Bay where we would spend a few days over Christmas. We never imagined how many neat things we would discover.

Stromatolites of Hamelin Pool: These are considered living fossils and are examples of the earliest life known on earth.

Shell Beach: Located in the Shark Bay Region, this beach is made entirely of Cockle shells. These small mollusks can live and thrive in this “super salty soup” of an environment. The high salt content also makes it easier to float!

Denham: We spent two nights in this small town in the Shark Bay area. Our first morning, we woke up and saw Emus walking down the main street.

Later, we saw them swimming while we were snorkeling.

That evening, we had beverages on a viewing platform at Eagle Bluff which overlooks Shark Bay. There were a lot of flies but we could see small sharks, rays and turtles swimming in the water below.

And we spotted some Wallabies on the way back to our humble abode.

Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort: If you stay in Denham, this is the place everyone says you shouldn’t miss. “Wild” dolphins have been coming to this beach looking for handouts for decades. It was very touristy but we did get to see two newborn calves, one 3 weeks old and one only a couple of days old. The “swimming” with the dolphins was a total myth and actually prohibited. Oh, and there are no monkeys.

The drive north definitely demonstrated how vast and desolate a lot of Australia is. It was very dry and scrubby for most of the way.

We arrived at Coral Bay on December 24th and found our accommodations to be quite acceptable.

Our Christmas day began with a walk along the beach to a shark nursery area where young black tip sharks can be seen feeding at low tide.

The wonderful part of this beach is that you step into the water and the snorkeling is terrific.

We were told that a typical Australian Christmas is spent swimming at the beach,  drinking beer and barbecuing. Our beach was a prime spot.

We figured we should join in.

By far, the most fun we had, was a boat trip we took to the outer reef to search for Manta Rays and to visit a shark cleaning station. An airplane was used to spot the Manta Rays and sharks. The boat would zoom around and drop us off and pick us up to see as much as possible. It was a rush.

On the way home, we stopped by the Pink Lake at Port Gregory.

And then there were the Pinnacles near Cervantes.

The amazing Christmas trip had to end. We flew out of Perth to the east coast on December 30th and ended 2018 watching fireworks together over the river in Brisbane.

To be continued…

 

 

We had a 36 hour layover in Dubai while travelling from the Seychelles to Bali. (I know, life is tough). Everything in the city is new and shiny and it was described to us as Las Vegas but without the excitement. The people were actually very welcoming and everyone told us how safe Dubai is, that virtually there is no crime.

From our hotel room, we could see the tallest building in the world (the Burj Khalifa), the Dubai Mall and the Dancing Fountains. 

A main attraction of the city is the Dubai Mall, reportedly the biggest mall in the world.  They have a skating rink, aquarium, movie theaters, a dinosaur skeleton and of course lots of restaurants and stores. It was interesting watching the cross section of visitors from all over the world and the different styles of dress, but it was depressing to travel half-way around the world and see the same cheesy stores.

Although it was an interesting to see the city, we were much happier during our tour into the desert. We chose a tour that excluded dune bashing in a 4 x 4 and sand surfing, and chose instead to learn a little about the Bedouin’s traditional life style and visit a wildlife refuge. It was a good choice.

We were told because it was private property, we were required to wear appropriate head coverings. I suspect this was more for the tourist experience but that’s ok.

So I would be lying if I didn’t say I was totally psyched that we got to ride camels to the Bedouin encampment.

We rode to an area where a large tent, made from camel skin, was set up. The whole tent was lined with carpet. We were given a traditional greeting with Arabic coffee.

Breakfast was prepared for us. They did provide me with gluten-free options.

The culture was discussed while we ate.

Afterwards we were shown how falcons are used for hunting. I loved learning that they would catch a young falcon at the beginning of the hunting period, train it up and use it for the season, then release it to go breed. They would catch a different falcon the next year. It was made clear that the falcons have no attachment to the humans, their relationship is strictly food related.

They also discussed using the Saluki as a hunting dog, but we didn’t get to see one run. Apparently the week before, this one got away and actually caught a gazelle much to the dismay of the guides and the tourists.

He clearly knew Don was not going to let him run.

There was also the chance to try and milk a goat.

I opted for a henna tattoo.

Afterwards, we went into the reserve. Our guide pointed out and identified different plants and animal tracks and discussed conservation. We did get to see both Mountain Gazelles and Arabian Oryxs . I loved seeing wildlife but  I also found the desert to be mesmerizing.

Our flight left at 2 AM which allowed us to meet up with our friends, Lisa and Denny, who had a 12 hour layover. We used the time to go up to the 125th floor of the Burj Khalifa and look out over the city.

While we enjoyed our time in Dubai, we did not regret that we only had 36 hours there.

Don and I have visited our share of beautiful places and beaches during both this trip and in our previous travels. The Seychelle Islands have leap-frogged to the top of my list of favorite places. We spent an amazing week there in November, made even better by the fact that our good friends, Lisa and Denny, flew half-way around the world to join us.

We spent five days on Praslin Island. Our hostess was incredible in directing us to great places to go and things not to miss. Her newly built self-catering apartments were right across from a beach.

Our first full day, (my birthday!), we took a boat tour to two different islands, Cousin and Curieuse.  Cousin is a wildlife preserve with only guided tours available and then only in the morning. This allows the abundant native wildlife to be undisturbed in the afternoons and evenings.

Ferry Tern:

White-tailed Tropic Bird:

Seychelles Magpie-robin:

Seychelles Skink and Bronze Gecko:

Aldabra Giant Tortoise:

We had lunch on Curieuse, went swimming at this gorgeous beach and then walked across the island through mangroves to a land tortoise sanctuary. And yes, we were very excited to see lots of Aldabra Giant Tortoises.

We then went snorkeling.

On the way home, we noticed some large birds flying over the island. They turned out to be fruit bats. What a great day.

The following day we got up early and took the ferry to nearby island, La Digue. Don had found on-line a guided, rigorous hike to some very secluded beaches on that island.  We rented bikes to get to the beginning of the hike.

The hike was beautiful but quite challenging. Denny was told his height of 6’7ish” would be an advantage in places but that really wasn’t true for a lot of the hike.

We survived!

And celebrated with drinks at a fancy hotel. After the whole day hiking, we may not have met their usual standard for guests.

 

There is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Vallee de Mai Nature Reserve,  in the center of Praslin. We visited there and the Fond Ferdinand  Nature Preserve. These areas are so green and lush. Walking the paths, you feel like you are in Jurassic Park.

The pride of the island is a palm tree known as the Coco de Mer. This tree is found naturally only on Praslin and Curieuse Islands.

There are male and female trees. The female produces the largest and heaviest nut in the world. The nut can weigh up to 30 kg so they warn you not to park your car under one of these trees. The fame really comes from the shape of the nut, revealed once the husk is removed. It is illegal to take these nuts although they can be bought from licensed dealers. Each has it’s own identification number so it can be tracked. The “sexier” the nut, the more expensive. Need I say more?

Let’s not forget the male tree. It reportedly has the largest catkin in the world. The flowers, remarkably, smell just like popcorn.

We chose not to bring these souvenirs home.

One hike was all uphill and ended with a spectacular view of the area.

After hiking, we were ready to hit the beach again. Our hostess arranged for us to have access to a private beach called Anse Georgette. We drove there, parked our car, were cleared by security at the guard gate and then walked 20 minutes up and down through the only golf course on the island.

We then arrived at the best beach of our visit.

The sand was white, the water was turquoise and warm, there was shadow (shade)available and it was possible to body surf.

And there were more fruit bats as we walked back to the car at dusk.

As Lisa and Denny were fond of saying, “Another best day ever”.

We spent our last two days on Mahe Island. We have been continually surprised by our accommodations on this trip, mostly booked blindly on-line. We found ourselves staying in a guest house of the Danish Consulate to the Seychelle Islands. It seems like a pretty sweet posting to have.

Across the street was anither nice beach. Am I getting repetitive here?

We rented a car and explored the island. The driving was terrifying. The roads are very narrow, they drive on the left, and there is no shoulder, only a deep ditch or long drop off. I did not enjoy that part at all and I didn’t have to drive. We visited a market in Victoria, the capital and largest city of the Seychelles.

We did find this beautiful view on top of a mountain at the Venn’s Town site, where there had been a school for the education of children of freed slaves.

And some more beaches.

And sunsets.

My most memorable moment on Mahe was at dinner one night.

We had seen fruit bat curry at a previous restaurant and so I decided to be brave and try it.

Don’t! They put the WHOLE bat in it!  Really gross. But memorable!

What a wonderful week. If you ever can, go visit the Seychelles!

 

We spent the first week in November visiting three different, unique destinations in Greece.  It was a lovely week.

Our first stop was on the island of Santorini, also called Thera. We both fell in love with this island. It is a volcanic island with a still active volcano. The island is actually part of the edge of a sunken volcanic crater or caldera and has a long and interesting history related to catastrophic volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. It has even been associated with the myth of the lost city of Atlantis.

https://www.greeka.com/cyclades/santorini/santorini-history.htm

Our hotel was beautiful, built from a traditional cave home overlooking the volcanic caldera. The staff definitely spoiled us. We weren’t expecting such a high end place. Thanks Booking.com.

We visited Akrotiri, a flourishing city that was abandoned in the 17th century BC due to earthquakes and then a volcanic eruption. The city was buried by lava and therefore fairly well preserved like Pompeii. The multi-story buildings, sophisticated frescos, and household furnishings indicated it was a well-to-do city. We did have a tour guide but it became clear during the tour that, to be kind, he had his own unique interpretation of the history. To be truthful, he was just making s**t up!

We spent an afternoon in the town of Oia, a bustling tourist destination on the island. This town has tripled in size in the last 10 years.  It was obvious to us that the area is extremely vulnerable to the next earthquake or volcanic explosion which, because there is still an active volcano there, will come.

The blue-domed churches were a stand out feature in Oia and on the island.

We spent one day on a tour on a boat that took us into the Caldera and taught us about the geology of the area and the people. The water was turquoise and we did go in for a short cold snorkel. It was a perfect day.

Our next stop was on the Island of Paros. This accommodation was at the opposite end of the spectrum from our last, a very low rent fishing camp except there was no complaint about the location.

And I liked our visitors.In fact, there were stray cats all over the island. They seem quite well accepted and in pretty good shape. We ate outdoors one night on a closed in patio and at least 6 different cats snuck through the door and begged for food.

We rented a car and explored the island, visiting both inland and port towns and several very different beaches.  It was a Sunday and windy and cold so we didn’t see many people and not much was open. We enjoyed ourselves anyway.

Our last two days were spent in Athens. We had been warned that it was mostly a big dirty city but we really liked it and found it easy to walk around. The history is overwhelming so we appreciated having a tour guide to help us wade through it. I’m just going to post pictures here!

The Acropolis:

This was the view from the rooftop balcony of our hotel.

Entrance gate (Propylaea) and the Temple of Athena Nike:

The Parthenon:

The Porch of the Caryatids at the Erechtheion:

Odelon of Herodes Atticus and Theater of Dionysus:

Zeus’s Temple:

Changing of the Guard at the President’s house:

Poseidon’s Temple:

We were in Greece for the U.S. primary and so very aware that democracy began in this country. We were really intrigued to learn that they used a type of lottery system to pick their juries.

They also had a system for banishing power seekers from Athens. Interesting and I suspect easily corrupted.

Greece had been on my radar as a place to visit for a long time and I can happily report it exceeded my expectations!

We have only been in Perth for a week and I am already hooked on this country. Everything is so new, exciting and different here, I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning. There are lots of colorful birds around, the mammals are just bizarre, and the beaches are glorious. I will get back to our previous travels but I wanted to share one of our weekend adventures with you while I am still enjoying the afterglow!

We went to the Caversham Wildlife Park. It is a private park, about 45 minutes from us, that is has only native wildlife. I have mixed feelings about it being a glorified petting zoo but never the less, it was a hoot. The adventure began with us missing our bus stop because I was trying to identify a bird I saw out the window and Don was following the FSU soccer game (National Champs baby, oh yeah!).  So we walked 30 minutes back to the park. It was hot and dusty and the flies were annoying.

But I did catch a glimpse of two kangaroo tails and a baby in the brush! Alas, no picture.

We started our visit by going to the farm show. It involved a too brief demonstration of their working dogs, Kelpies, herding the sheep into a pen.

Sheep shearing.

And a demonstration for how to use a whip. I volunteered and was picked to try to crack the whip. It was harder than it looked but I did make it crack on about my 4th try.

I just loved that there were so many mammals, mostly marsupials, that I had never heard of before or have always wanted to see. So bear with me, I have to share some of these, because of their names, if nothing else.

Quokka:

A Woylie:

Common Brushtail Possum:

A Pademelon:

Dingo: (Yes I know this one! But thought it would look different.)

Flying Fox:

A Bilby:

Echidna:

A Quoll:

There were many beautiful birds but I am working on taking my own pictures of these in the wild while I’m here. However, I will include two birds since it is unlikely I will see the first in the wild.

Little Penquin:

And I have no idea what these are,  Lol. There was no signage.

And then there was the petting zoo part.

A Wallaby:

And Kangaroos galore:

I find this picture slightly disturbing. Looks like something out of the movie Alien.

Last but not least. The Koalas.

Welcome to Australia, Mate!

 

Thanks for joining us!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton