10th - Quito

When we landed at South Plaza Saturday afternoon we encountered more land iguanas which were even more colorful than the ones we had seen in the morning. We also got a chance to spot some exotic birds that pass by the islands. These were horribly fast and therefore very difficult to get a decent photo of.

Land iguanas

Exotic bird

When returning to the boat and started sailing to our last destination, we were followed by more than 20 frigates, that went from flying next to the boat to sit in large amounts on the roof. We also got a brief sighting of a small whale (only the fin came up a couple of times, so it was impossible to see what kind it was), and shortly afterwards we saw in the distance a manta ray jumping out of the water several times (which it does to get rid of parasites). Later at night we were met by a couple of sharks and a sea lion.

Jumping manta ray

Frigates sitting on the boat

Sunday morning we got up very early in an attempt to beat the other boats at landing at North Seymour to see frigates where the males have their front sack (the red patch you see in the other photos) inflated. After an hour we came back to the boat, had breakfast and were dropped off at Baltra Island where we got the plane back to Quito.

Frigate with inflated sack. Very manly!

They can only fly for a short while with the inflated sack, and it's usually because another male has forced them away from where they were seated.

The trip was very rewarding, and I can recommend it to anyone who wants to see some unique wildlife and environments. But be prepared to get sick and tired of sea lions… The people who only did the shorter trips actually said that they would have wanted to stay longer, so if possible, choose the 10-day trip. Big thank you to Raul our great waiter/bartender who was always happy (and was going on 2 weeks leave after 6 weeks on the boat at the same time we were leaving, which basically made him sunshine on legs the last night on the boat), and to Diego, our great guide who seemed to be all-knowing and very competent.

Now, Monday morning I am sitting in the hotel room, finishing this part of the blog, and waiting to depart to the airport to get to Lima.