Today is our last day in the Galapagos islands and we will be very sorry to leave. We are up by 6 AM as the boat moves back to North Seymour. We finish packing as much as we can before going down for breakfast.
Our last shore excursion is a dry landing on North Seymour. While we are looking for all possible animals, our focus is the male frigate birds and their courtship ritual which is quite spectacular. The male birds have flaps of red skin hanging under their necks that are inflated with air into football-sized red balloons to attract females that fly overhead. Often sitting on the branches of a tree, when a female frigate bird flies over head, the male will make sounds to attract the passing possible mate.
We saw quite a few of this display. Some times there were many males sitting in the same area competing for the same female. We saw one male succeed in his endeavor. The female slowly circled and then swooped in and alighted right next to the male. We are told that sometimes one male bird can pop the sac of another - that is the end of that birds hopes to mate and he will have to wait until next year after his sack heals.
As we walk along, we also find lots of blue-footed boobies, some with new born chicks. There were a few of the blue-footed going through their courtship ritual. There are lots of cactus trees on this island. We came upon a few juvenile boobies that were trying to learn how to fly. They would awkwardly flap their wings and try to get aloft - none did so while we watched.
We watched a yellow warbler as he balanced on a branch looking for seeds or other food. There were the usual mass of marine iguanas. We saw quite a few dead birds - mainly juveniles. There was one dead sea lion pup. It is the cycle of life and death on the islands.
At the end of the walk we sat on the rocks overlooking the sea and the waves crashing into the shore. The birds were flying overhead and some were diving into the ocean to feed. As we sat there, we contemplated life on the islands and what it was like (especially without humans). A way of life has developed here with minimum competition and not too many predators. It is also how life took root here and adapted and evolved to survive the harsh, unique conditions.
We headed back to the Tip Top III, where we finished packing our bags and we got ready to go ashore and catch our flight. The boat moved to the nearby Isla Baltra and we hopped into the zodiac for one last short ride to shore. They brought our bags over. A short bus ride later and we were at the airport. After checking in, we did some last minute shopping.
The flight back was uneventful - we made the transit stop in Guayaquil Airport, but this time they let us stay on board. We got to Quito late in the afternoon and took it easy that night. Lots of sleep to catch up on.