Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Which animals are where in the Galapagos Islands

A few weeks ago I wrote about the best time to go to the Galapagos Islands, and where to go on your adventure cruise in the Galapagos.

If you are looking for specific animal species, here is where you can find them:
  • Red footed booby - year round; Genovesa, Darwin, Wolf, Floreana, Punta Pitt on San Cristóbal
  • Blue Footed booby - year round on most islands
  • Nazca booby  - year round and best seen on Genovesa, Española and Floreana
  • Frigatebird - year round on North Seymour, Floreana, Isabela, Genovesa and San Cristóbal
  • Flightless cormorant - year round, nests July - October.  North & west coasts Isabela, east coast Fernandina
  • Greater flamingo - year round on Floreana, Isabela, Santiago, Rábida and Santa Cruz
  • Galapagos penguins - year round, nests May - January.  Fernandina and the west coast of Isabela
  • Waved Albatross - year round, nests April - June.  Española Island
  • Galapagos Green Turtle - December - June on most islands
  • Giant Tortoise - year round in the wild on Isabela, Pinzón, Pinta, Santiago, Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal and Española.
  • Land iguana - year round on Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, North Seymour, Española and South Plaza.
  • Marine Iguana - year round on most islands
  • Lava lizard - year round on most islands
  • Sea lions - year round, breeds May - January; all islands
  • Humpback whale - July - September around Bartolomé and Española 
Try to include Fernandina, Isabela and Española in your itinerary. They offer a lot of the different species you can see on your adventure cruise in the Galapagos Islands.  Rábida (Jervis) and Santiago (James) offer the best snorkeling in the islands.

Galapagos Topographical Map - Wikipedia



Thursday, January 2, 2014

Cenote in the Yucatan

I have been lucky enough to swim in cenotes in Cuba.  A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. Especially associated with the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, cenotes were sometimes used by the ancient Maya for sacrificial offerings.

Look what happens when a photographer descends in to the depths of a cenote and takes some stunning photographs.

Photos courtesy of BBC Travel.