While we ate a light breakfast on the back deck of the Endeavour, the ship maneuvered through the entrance and came to a standstill somewhere near the center of the caldera. “Good morning,” Paula Tagle, our expedition leader, announced over the ship’s public address system, “we are inside a volcano.”

This was the last full day of our exploration of the Galapagos. Genovesa was for me the most enchanting of all the islands we saw, not only because we got to walk along the rim of the caldera, but because of the birds in tremendous profusion. And what birds they were: boobies of every kind, frigate birds, gulls, owls, mockingbirds, finches, pelicans. They were mating, nesting, roosting, sleeping, hunting, fighting. The sky was full of them arriving and departing from their feeding grounds. The noise they made, especially at sunset, was cacophonous. I’ve never experienced anything quite like Genovesa.

In this post, I will let the photos tell the story. In future posts, I will be interviewing some of the scientists National Geographic supports to do research and conservation in the Galapagos.

This is the ninth post in my account of a ten-day exploration of the Galapagos, on board the National Geographic Endeavour. In my previous post I wrote about the turtles and tropical penguins of Bartolome and Sombrero Chino islets. I was on the Lindblad-National Geographic Expedition as the National Geographic expert. (See all the Galapagos Expedition posts here.)

National Geographic Endeavour at anchor in the caldera. Photo by David Braun

A perfect place in the middle of the Pacific for seabirds to roost, mate, nest and raise their young. Photo by David Braun.

Red-footed booby at sunset on Genovesa. This is the only one of the three booby species of the Galapagos that has prehensile feet. Photo by David Braun.

Galapagos doves. Photo by David Braun.

Nazca boobies photo by David Braun.

Nazca booby nesting. Photo by David Braun.

Frigate bird harasses booby in flight. Frigates do this to rob boobies of the food they are bringing to their young. Photo by David Braun.

Frigate bird on the attack. Photo by David Braun

Photo of booby by David Braun

Photo of red-footed booby by David Braun

Photo of resting booby by David Braun

Brown pelican photo by David Braun.

Brown pelican photo by David Braun

Photo of mockingbird on cactus by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun

Photo of frigate bird chick by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun

Photo courtesy of Anthony Braun

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

In the absence of significant competing predators, this short-eared owl is able to hunt on Genovesa by day. Photo courtesy of Anthony Braun.

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

The end of the day, and the birds start to get sleepy. Photo by David Braun.

Marine iguanas hug the warm rocks as the sun goes down on Genovesa. Photo by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

This was the last Zodiac to return to the Endeavour. Photo by David Braun.

Next time on Galapagos Expedition Journal: National Geographic Research and Exploration in the Galapagos.

Green turtles mating. Photo by David Braun.

Bartolome is a breeding and nesting ground for the turtles. It’s also a favorite stop for visitors to the Galapagos because of its fantastic geology, an energetic climb up 376 wooden steps to a commanding view from the summit of the islet’s main volcanic cone, and spectacular snorkeling with sharks and rays in the clear water around postcard-famous Pinnacle Rock.

This is the eighth post in my account of a ten-day exploration of the Galapagos, on board the National Geographic Endeavour. In my previous post I wrote about climbing Dragon Hill in search of giant iguanas. I was on the Lindblad-National Geographic Expedition as the National Geographic expert. (See all the Galapagos Expedition posts here.)

Every island we visited on our tour was unique in both appearance and its assemblage of species. But none stood apart from the others so much as Bartolome. It’s a relatively young island, expelled from the sea by forces deep in the Earth that created a mound of gnarled and twisted lava frozen in the tubes and spatter cones of a volcanic eruption more than a million years ago.

Some travelers have observed that Bartolome looks like a landscape on the moon, bereft of plants and life. Others think it looks more like Mars, perhaps because red is a predominant color of the rock. But it’s certainly not without life. Everywhere I looked I saw evidence of the opportunism and tenacity of Earth’s species. It was another fascinating lesson of how life takes hold and adapts to the tough conditions of the Galapagos.

NASA image courtesy of MODIS.

Climbing the Volcano

Galapagos National Park authorities somehow managed to construct a boardwalk to allow visitors to walk comfortably and safely up and along the steep sides of the volcano. It was made to protect the island from erosion caused by people climbing the cone, according to our guides. But much of the ground was covered in pebbles and sand at angles so steep in places that it would have been impossible to walk on it without slipping and sliding.

In the foreground, a lava cactus, one of the first "pioneer" plants to occupy the barren landscape of a volcanic island. Photo by David Braun

Members of our party cast shadows on the lava terrain of Bartolome islet, Galapagos. Photo by David Braun.

This does look as if it could be on Mars. Photo by David Braun

It’s true that there are hundreds of steps and nearly 400 feet to make the ascent from beach to summit, but our guides led us at a stately pace, at least for those of us in the group that opted for a pace that allowed stops to enjoy the views along the way. Faster climbers like Anthony, my son, elected to join the first group that reached the summit with minimal stops. For those who selected the more leisurely pace, there were platforms every few hundred yards where we could admire and make pictures of the view and catch our breath. It’s a thoughtful system that caters for people of all levels of fitness.

Photo of feeding frenzy out at sea by David Braun.

“Who knows what that sound is,” our naturalist asked when we got to the first platform. “The wind,” I ventured. Wrong. The dull roar was coming from the ocean below us, from a giant patch of what looked like boiling water, apparently a signature of the chaos caused by a feeding frenzy of predators driving fish to the surface. Looking down the lava slopes colored pink and yellow, the distant churning sea made me think how the entire scene was primordial. The Galapagos was like this for thousands of centuries before a human set foot on the place.

A famous view of Pinnacle Rock and the beaches of Bartolome. The big island of Santiago is in the background. Photo by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Pinnacle Rock

High on the summit of the volcano, we had a terrific view of one of the most famous landscapes of the Galapagos: Pinnacle Rock and back-to-back golden crescent beaches separated by a narrow neck of land. Pinnacle, our naturalist explained to us, got its spear-tip shape from both erosion and the U.S. Air Force. The strange structure is made of tuff, compressed volcanic material that erodes readily under the natural effects of wind and rain. During World War II the U.S. built an airfield on Santiago Island, next to Bartolome, as part of a ring of defenses around the Panama Canal, which Japan might have targeted to disrupt Allied supply lines. The airmen used Pinnacle Rock as target practice, adding to Mother Nature’s sculpture of the formation. No live ordinance was used, our guide assured us. The rock was targeted with bombs filled with sand. That was reassuring to hear, for we were later to go snorkeling around Pinnacle Rock.

Photo of Pinnacle Rock beach by David Braun.

Pinnacle Rock and its two adjacent beaches were a dramatic foreground to the sweep of Santiago Island across the sea. From our perch on the volcano, we could also enjoy the 360-degree panorama of the ancient eruption and the titanic forces that had shaped the Earth around us.

Photo by David Braun

Gobs of lava. Photo by David Braun

Bartolome's lava is brightly colored. Photo by David Braun

The Red Rock Crab Known as Sally Lightfoot

We descended to the beach and admired the Sally Lightfoot crabs swarming over the glistening rocks.

Sally Lightfoots “are very beautiful, with clear brilliant colors, red and blues and warm browns,” according to quotes attributed to John Steinbeck in his book The Log from the Sea of Cortez. “Everyone who has seen them has been delighted with them. The very name they are called by reflects the delight of the name. These little crabs, with brilliant cloisonné carapaces, walk on their tiptoes, They have remarkable eyes and an extremely fast reaction time…If you walk slowly, they move slowly ahead of you in droves. If you hurry, they hurry. When you plunge at them, they seem to disappear in a puff of blue smoke—at any rate, they disappear.”

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Steinbeck made his observations about the Sallys he saw on the shores of the Sea of Cortez. According to the Encyclopedia of Life website about the crab, the species is commonly found on the rocky shores of the Pacific Ocean from North America to Peru, and of course, the Galapagos. I don’t think there was a single island we went to in the archipelago where we did not see these magnificent crustaceans, which, fully grown, are about the size of a splayed human hand. As Steinbeck noted, they are wary and easily spooked. Trying to sneak up on them to make a memorable photo resulted in their disappearing act described by Steinbeck. The Sally Lightfoot reputation is that it is almost impossible to catch one — although an attempt to do so would not have been permitted in terms of Galapagos National Park regulations.

Grapsus grapsus gets its common name, Sally Lightfoot, from its quick mobility, according to a paper about the crab by By Christopher Davis. “It runs with extraordinary speed and agility along the upright sides of rocks and has the uncanny ability to hide away in crevices to escape predation by rapacious birds,” Davis notes.

Remnants of crab eaten by a bird, perhaps. This is evidence that not every Sally Lightfoot is too quick for predators to catch them. Photo by David Braun.

Sallys are prey for a number of other Galapagos species, including herons, turtles, and octopuses. They eat mostly algae, but also act as the beach sanitation squad, feeding on anything edible washed up or discarded by birds. The crabs have also been observed preying on turtle hatchlings and booby chicks, so they give as good as they take in the food chain. Read more about them on the Encyclopedia of Life website. Visit this site to see a photo of a Sally Lightfoot specimen collected by Charles Darwin on mainland South America.

Photo by David Braun

Brown pelican and green turtles. Photo by David Braun.

We picked our way past the Sallys to our Zodiac, observing a brown pelican preening itself on a rock. And there, just beyond the pelican, were the turtles still coupling. They had been at it the whole time we’d been on the volcano cone.

Zodiacs ferried explorers back to the ship or the beach alongside Pinnacle Rock for snorkeling, hovering over the submerged slopes of the volcano in the comfort of a glass-bottom boat, sunbathing alongside sea lions, or simply to sit on the rocks and contemplate the lizards.

Snorkeling Around Pinnacle Rock

Anthony and I elected to go directly to snorkeling on the beach. Anthony went out ahead of me and discovered some docile sharks lurking in underwater caves. He also saw a marine iguana feeding on an underwater rock, which he caught on video using a GoPro camera strapped on his head. The still image below is from his vide.

I floated lazily on the surface, content to gaze on the enormous schools of brightly colored fish around and below me. I was on the lookout for an octopus, which others had reported seeing in the general area, but I didn’t notice any in the kaleidoscope of marine organisms around me.

Picture of marine iguana feeding on a rock underwater, courtesy of Anthony Braun.

After another hearty meal on Endeavour, we boarded the Zodiacs in quest of Galapagos penguins and a visit to a famous small volcano called Sombrero Chino because of its resemblance to a Chinese hat. Touring tiny islets by Zodiac is a feature of the Lindblad-National Geographic expedition that I particularly enjoyed. Our crew would take us right up to rocks crammed with birds and crabs, and that was how we got to see at really close quarters one of the most intriguing birds of the islands, the Galapagos penguin.

Tropical Penguins

Photo of Galapagos penguin by David Braun.

Ordinarily, one would associate penguins with the ice floes and snowy ledges of the Antarctic. But here in the Galapagos they were testimony to yet another marvel of evolution: penguins on the equator.

The Galapagos penguin has a number of unique adaptations that allow it to survive the high temperatures and unpredictable food supply of the Galapagos, according to the Encyclopedia of Life. Foraging in the sea during the day helps them to avoid overheating, the EOL website says.  But the species also has a number of behavioral adaptations that allow these birds to keep cool on land, including standing with flippers extended to aid heat loss. (Read more about adaptations to heat and other facts about these remarkable birds on the Encyclopedia of Life’s Galapagos penguin website.)

The Galapagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) once numbered in the thousands in the archipelago, but after a big setback in a particularly rough series of climate events over the last two decades, less than 2,000 may survive. The IUCN Red List and the United States Endangered Species Act list Galapagos penguins as Endangered. Bartolome, Sombrero Chino and the tiny islets around them are one of the few places where the world’s most northern colonies of penguins breed and survive.

“Due to climatic changes brought about by El Niño and La Niña cycles, the food supply available to the Galapagos penguins varies greatly,” explains the Encyclopedia of Life website. “These unpredictable shifts in food supply often lead to starvation and deaths and a substantial decline in the already dwindling penguin population. Furthermore, human disturbances and predation are major factors contributing to the decline of S. mendiculus. Human disturbance is the main cause for ecosystem harm that affects the nesting grounds of Galapagos penguins,” EOL says.

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Our close-up inspection of a handful of penguins found them standing or lying motionless on the rocks. At least out here on these isolated islets they appear to be relatively safe from predators such as rats and domestic dogs. But they remain prey for hawks, sharks — and Sally Lightfoot crabs.

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Photo of Sombrero Chino volcano by David Braun.

 Next time on Galapagos Expedition Journal: Genovesa Island, Home of a Million Birds

This is the seventh post in my account of a ten-day exploration of the Galapagos, on board the National Geographic Endeavour. In my previous post I interviewed award-winning photographer Terry Goss about the underwater wonders of the Galapagos islands. (See all the posts here.)

We saw only two land iguanas on our walk — one dead alongside the trail and another we could glimpse resting in the shade of a bush a short distance into the thick undergrowth.  We did see quite a number of their burrows, which looked as if they were being well used.

Galapagos land iguanas grow up to five feet in length and weigh as much as 25 pounds. This one is kept in the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz, where the reptiles are bred for release into the wild part of the island once they are considered to be too big to be preyed on by feral cats and rats. Photo by David Braun.

The land iguana is listed as Vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, largely because introduced species like rats, dogs, and cats have come close to exterminating it throughout the Galapagos. International controls regulate collection and trade of the species, and only a few months ago a tourist was arrested for trying to smuggle four land iguanas out of the Galapagos.

Aside from habitat loss and trafficking, the biggest threat to the iguanas continues to be the introduced predators that nearly wiped them out. After the last few dozen iguanas were evacuated from Cerro Dragon for emergency protection in the 1960s, the authorities made valiant efforts to eradicate the predators from Santa Cruz. The feral dogs were all rounded up, and there have been ongoing attempts to reduce and manage the populations of cats and rats. Even so, we saw a kitten on our walk up Dragon Hill. We all remarked on its cuteness, but I also knew that it represented a deadly menace to the island’s naive birds and iguanas, which have lived on the Galapagos for millennia without any major predators. If the cat lives and breeds, it will probably have a direct role in the deaths of countless numbers of birds and other small endemic species. I observed our naturalist discreetly talking to someone on her radio phone about the kitten. It’s a tough business trying to protect the native species from alien invaders.

Photo of feral kitten in the iguana sanctuary courtesy of Anthony Braun.

Cerro Dragon habitat for Galapagos land iguanas. Photo by David Braun.

Cerro Dragon. Somewhere in there be dragons. Photo by David Braun.

Land iguanas are bred under captive protection at the Charles Darwin Research Station on the southern side of Santa Cruz. We saw several of them in pens the previous day we were on the island. Once the iguanas have safely reached a cat-proof size they are released into the wild on the northwestern side of Santa Cruz, so that the species can again take up residence on Cerro Dragon.

According to some estimates there are as many as 10,000 wild land iguanas on the Galapagos. They are a striking yellow/orange with bristling spiny backs and heads, and they can grow to an impressive five feet in length. Dragon Hill is an appropriate name for their home.

Read more about this magnificent animal on the Encyclopedia of Life Galapagos Land Iguana website, where you may find details about their morphology, mating rituals, diet, and the efforts being made for their recovery.

Photo of gull feeding on a fish head by David Braun.

In the dry season, the Galapagos land iguana eats cactus for food and moisture. The cactus on the islands has evolved into a treelike structure, to escape the reach of herbivores like iguanas and giant tortoises. The tortoise in turn evolved upturned shells and longer necks to reach the lowest branches. Photo by David Braun.

The walk up Cerro Dragon started with a Zodiac landing onto a rocky path that led us to a white sandy beach. We passed a gull feeding on the head of a parrot fish dropped presumably by a sea lion, then picked our way through a grove of giant cactus trees to a small lagoon where we could watch a solitary flamingo skimming the water for tiny shrimp.

Although we didn’t get much in the way of sightings of the land iguana on our walk, the views were spectacular and there were plenty of birds, marine iguanas, insects, and plants to enjoy.

Photo of flamingo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Marine iguana near the Cerro Dragon landing site. Photo by David Braun.

Lunch on the ship after our morning excursion was a special “Ecuadorian Buffet,” the centerpiece of which was roast pig. It reminded me a little of the Hawaiian luau, although this pork was not baked in sand.  The catering staff came out of the galley to talk to us about traditional dishes and local produce. Ecuadorian food is delicious, and the cuisine on board Endeavour certainly helped give the Galapagos expedition an exotic flavor.

Photo by David Braun

While we dined on the Ecuadorian feast, the galley staff gave us a lively talk about local foods and dishes. Many of them are wearing traditional hand-woven hats, known as Panamas but made in Ecuador. Some of the finest examples of the craft sell for as much as U.S.$1,000 per hat. Photo by David Braun.

I made my second presentation to passengers in the Endeavour lounge after the feast, and I was pleased to note a good turnout in spite of the soporific effect of the lavish meal. Part of what I talked about was how National Geographic News covers the Galapagos, including research the Society supports in the archipelago.

In the afternoon we steamed north, along the way passing Daphne Major islet,  made famous by Princeton University’s Peter and Rosemary Grant and their long study of the ecology of Darwin’s finches. A documentary about their work was screened in the ship’s lounge. ”The Grants’ empirical research has made the most important contribution since Darwin toward making evolutionary biology a science in which proof is possible,” the Inamori Foundation of Japan said of the Grants when it awarded them the Kyoto prize for their work in 2009. National Geographic News reported on their work in the 2006 story “Instant” Evolution Seen in Darwin’s Finches, Study Says. I thought of them when we sailed past where they spent so many years observing the evolution of the finches.

One can’t helping thinking a lot about evolution when you’re in the Galapagos, from the stories of Darwin to the many explanations by the naturalists of how the different species adapt to the unique environment and one another. It’s a fascinating story still unfolding.

Daphne islet at sunset. Photo by David Braun.

Next time on Galapagos Expedition Journal: Bartolome and the Penguins of the Chinese Hat Volcano.

This is the sixth post in my account of a ten-day exploration of the Galapagos, on board the National Geographic Endeavour.

In this post I interview Terry Goss, who was on our expedition as the 2011 winner of the Ocean in Focus Photo Contest, a competition that focuses on the human impacts on marine environments and species, positive and negative, in an attempt to advance ocean conservation through the power of imagery.

Terry’s winning photo was a portrait of a blue shark (Prionace glauca) with the remnants of a longline hook through his jaw, taken in the open ocean off the coast of Rhode Island.

His prize for winning the contest was a Lindblad-National Geographic Expedition cruise of the Galapagos for him and his partner, Olivia Chapman. Terry and Olivia also got married during the trip, with John Zurita, the captain of the National Geographic Endeavour, presiding over the ceremony and the rest of us on board witnessing the event on the top deck of the ship. You can see a picture of the happy couple getting married in my earlier post, On Board National Geographic Endeavour.

Terry Goss. Photo courtesy of Terry Goss.

Terry spent much of his time diving around the islands we visited. He also gave passengers a slide show and brief lecture about his work. I asked him some questions for my expedition journal:

Tell us about the photo contest you won and what inspired you to enter it.

The Ocean in Focus contest is spearheaded by Marine Photobank, a partner with SeaWeb.org, which is a charitable organization dedicated to the science of the oceans, and furthering research and educational projects having to do with ocean conservation. Marine Photobank is a massive repository of images for use in scientific and educational publications. I had entered some photos in previous years, and as a result have seen some of them in use in marine literature around the internet. I really like the idea that I have contributed something that is useful to a researcher or educator, especially since I think I really missed my calling in marine biology.

How did your winning photo come about? What message does it convey?

The winning photo was one of a great many I shot that day, while snorkeling in the open ocean with dozens of blue sharks with a couple of photographer friends. I was really only looking forward to my first interactions with some blues and makos (only one young mako showed, and quickly left), and maybe getting a couple of nice portraits. So many of the sharks showed signs of non-natural injury, many had hooks and lines still attached, and one poor fellow was actually hopelessly tied up with plastic straps, which had begun cutting into his flesh. Our intrepid“Expedition Leader”(for lack of a better characterization) was constantly leaving his camera on the boat in favor of wire cutters, and managed to cut several of the sharks free of their trailing debris. It was thrilling to play with so many beautiful sharks in the open sea, but very heartbreaking and tragic to see just how much damage humans do, even passively.

Photo courtesy of Terry Goss.

You’re obviously passionate about the environment, particularly the ocean. How would you like to make a contribution to marine conservation through your photography?

A great image inspires, the way no amount of words can. I remember being struck with an incredible fascination for sharks after seeing Jaws for the first time, and subsequently grabbing every book I could find that had cool shark pictures in it. Jacques Yves Cousteau famously wrote on his experiences with sharks, but none of that compares to seeing the perfection of the shark itself, cutting through the water like something out of pure imagination.

And that’s right where I could like to come in. The ocean is wondrous and beautiful, and its creatures are some of the most amazing on Earth – but few people ever get to see that and really feel it, so it must be brought to them. I take great pains to depict sharks as simply the beautiful, magnificent creatures they are, not the vicious, toothy demons we have been led to believe for millennia. There is a real paradigm shift happening right now, where the old world’s fear-based mythologies are being supplanted by real research and real people getting into the water with all the various“bloodthirsty man-eaters”and proving that we’re all just humble creatures and we’re all just trying to get by. I love seeing the looks of wonder and awe when I show someone one of my sharks – or any other marine creature – and seeing the spark that gets them seriously thinking about the oceans.

Photo courtesy of Terry Goss.

Photo courtesy of Terry Goss.

How did you find the health of the ocean around the Galapagos islands we visited?

I found the islands just as I had hoped – lush and healthy, with little evidence of human intrusion, just like a protected sanctuary should be. Even in the inhabited areas of the port towns, everything was clean and sparse, and not gloriously bloated like some tourist towns you might see around the world. Some of the shallow reefs were a bit barren looking and less densely populated than others, but I know from very similar oceanic conditions in central and northern California that this is largely seasonal. At the deeper water sites I encountered some powerful surge and currents, and as a result there was no shortage of sharks, fish, turtles, you name it – we saw pretty much every animal in the field guide!

What were some of the highlights of what you saw and photographed on this expedition?

While diving, it was definitely stumbling upon the mola mola cleaning stations – it was like a NASCAR pit stop, with these giant, alien fish hovering in a neat row, being cleaned by dozens of king angelfish, hogfish and raccoon butterflyfish. It was almost cartoonish to watch. Then of course the truly massive whalesharks at Darwin’s Arch – you always hear about how big they are, but nothing really prepares you for how big they really are! On land, it was very exciting to watch the waved albatrosses, bill-fighting, taking off and landing, and just walking right by you like nothing’s happening. And to finally see the famous giant tortoises, just hanging out in the grass. I felt I had to keep looking over my shoulder for David Attenborough….

Photo courtesy of Terry Goss.

Photo courtesy of Terry Goss.

What would you advise underwater explorers to look for in the Galapagos?

For the Galapagos, I would advise the same thing I would advise in any marine ecosystem: keep a sharp eye, everywhere you go. Even the most mundane rock or stretch of sand can harbor a fascinating critter – or several – that might have otherwise escaped people’s notice. Every dive is a treasure hunt, whether you’re scanning the deep blue for whalesharks or small, rocky crevices for seahorses. E.g., at Isla Isabella, after swimming with a dozen giant mola molas, I found a beautiful nudibranch in a crevice that was less than a quarter of the size of my thumbnail – that tiny world is simply amazing to behold.

You use some pretty sophisticated equipment to make your underwater photos. Can you tell us a little about it and how you go about shooting underwater?

My rig consists of: two Nikon D300 camera bodies (one as backup, in case of flooding), an Aquatica AD300 aluminum housing and 8” acrylic dome port, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye zoom lens, Nikkor 12-24mm zoom lens with +4 diopter, Ultralight cast aluminum arm segments & joint clamps, and two Sea & Sea YS90 strobes, connected with an Ikelite dual-sync cable (to trigger the strobes with the camera’s shutter). I also carry a Nikkor 18-200mm lens w/circular polarizer for ‘dry-land’ stuff. I’ve also recently taken to mounting a GoPro video camera on the housing, with a specially made Ultralight bracket and a custom GoPro housing from Backscatter (GoPro now makes their own, just like it).

The rig is really heavy, bulky, and always takes a couple of minutes to properly arrange once in the water, but it’s worth it for those rare times when you get that perfectly framed moment with a big, fast animal like a shark or sea lion.

Photo courtesy of Terry Goss.

Photo courtesy of Terry Goss.

For the amateur with a modest budget and not a lot of photography experience, what would you recommend as a camera for underwater photos at the Galapagos?

Unfortunately, even though great camera technology is at an unbelievably affordable level, “budget” and “underwater” are uncomfortable bedfellows. I believe the old saw “you get what you pay for” is painfully true in underwater work.

Start with a good quality camera , and then get a high quality waterproof housing for it. You need something that can get clean, sharp, detailed shots in low light – so check online field tests and reviews. My favorites in the compact point-and-shoot realm are the Canon G12 and S100; the Sony DSC-RX100 and Olympus Tough TG1 are also highly regarded. These cameras and their housings aren’t exactly “cheap”, per se, but the clearer, more vibrant images they can capture are worth the slight extra cost over their cheaper counterparts.

An important consideration for editing underwater work is the ability to shoot in RAW format (each manufacturer has their own patented RAW file-type), and this is becoming more widely available in compact point-and-shoot cameras. Many cameras also offer some sort of image-stabilization, with can be very helpful.

Photo courtesy of Terry Goss.

Where would you like to travel next to advance your underwater photography?

Top of my list for 2013 is Isla Socorro, in the Revillagigedos archipelago, just west of Mexico, and I have tentative plans to swim with the orcas of Norway in 2014. There are so many places yet to see, and prioritizing any of them presents quite a challenge. I dearly wish to revisit Isla del Coco (Cocos Island, Costa Rica), but since I’ve been there once already I feel maybe I should focus on new places.

For more information about Terry Goss and his photography, visit his website, Flickr  page and blog.

Next time on my Galapagos Expedition Journal: In Search of Giant Iguanas on Dragon Hill

Photo courtesy of Terry Goss.

We were roughly midway through our 10-day Lindblad/National Geographic Expedition around the iconic Galapagos islands, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean 600 miles west of Ecuador, South America. The spectacular sunset reminded us that the Endeavour was as much part of a unique experience as the islands themselves.

National Geographic Endeavour photo by David Braun.

Passengers on the Endeavour's bridge deck photograph whales swimming alongside the ship. Photo by David Braun.

Passengers Olivia Chapman and Terry Goss got married on board National Geographic Endeavour. Captain John Zurita performed the ceremony. Photo by David Braun.

Endeavour catering staff made the wedding floral arrangement out of fresh produce. Photo by David Braun.

From the ship we had made forays  by Zodiacs to beaches and ledges of lava to get up close to sea lions, giant tortoises, marine iguanas, and colonies of sea birds. But also from on board the ship we had watched whales, been met by pelicans, boobies and frigate birds, circumnavigated islets, and moored in waters rich in tropical fish of every kind.  The Endeavour was our luxury hotel, transporter, and platform for exploration.

In this fifth post of my Galapagos Expedition Journal, I share some of the highlights of life on board the National Geographic Endeavour. I was on the ship as the National Geographic Expert, sharing experiences as a journalist for the Society and learning about the islands and species I have featured in our news stories.

In my earlier posts about the expedition, I described our arrival on the island of San Cristobal and our first visit to a Galapagos beach, what it was like to swim with sea lions, how we followed Charles Darwin’s footsteps to Floreana Island, and what it was like coming face to face with giant tortoises.

Named after HMS Endeavour,  the ship Captain James Cook used to explore Australia and New Zealand in the late 1770s, our National Geographic Endeavour was built in Germany in 1966 as a fishing trawler. Refitted and renamed for cruising in polar waters, the ship is full of photos of the Antarctic.  For the last few years she has been based in the Galapagos, sailing under the Lindblad/National Geographic colors. Other Lindblad/National Geographic ships explore the Arctic, Antarctic, Alaska and Baja California.

As befits a National Geographic ship flying the Society’s famous expedition flag, Endeavour has the look and feel of a vessel built and equipped for exploration. Very comfortable exploration for those who want to experience the Galapagos as curious travelers.  But also a floating exploration platform for National Geographic’s scientists and journalists who use the ship regularly for field research and reporting.

Below decks on the Endeavour. Notice the National Geographic seal on the floor, at the ship's main entrance. Photo by David Braun.

My favorite place on board Endeavour is the library, which from the uppermost deck has wonderful views of ocean and islands through large picture windows. It is crammed with books about adventure, exploration and discovery, including a large National Geographic Atlas of the World on a reading stand.

The Endeavour's well-stocked library includes many books about exploration, discovery, and geography. Photo by David Braun.

The ship library is also a great place to quietly sit and admire the island scenery. Photo by David Braun.

Expedition Paula Tagle briefs passengers on the day's exploration options. Photo of Endeavour lounge by David Braun.

The lounge is where much of the social activity takes place. Each evening we would gather for cocktails and hot pre-dinner snacks to share photos and video, recap adventures, and compare notes of what we had seen and learned during the day. It was also where we would meet to go over the next day’s program, hear presentations by the naturalists, and watch videos about the Galapagos. On some evenings there would be after-dinner live entertainment by local artists.

Perhaps the most popular part of the Endeavour is the dining room. Three lavish meals presented each day by a talented kitchen staff provided great opportunities to meet and mingle with other travelers.  Endeavour takes up to 96 passengers (plus 90 crew), a number small enough to provide a good measure of intimacy, but just large enough to find many new friends.

Lindblad/National Geographic Expeditions is fastidious about minimizing the tourism impact on the Galapagos. Great care is taken to make sure that all fresh produce taken on board Endeavour is free of soil and organisms that might introduce new species to the islands.  Trash is meticulously sorted and recycled. Water is processed by desalination and made available to passengers in reusable bottles. Detergents are ecofriendly and used in minimal amounts.

While the focus of the expedition is on visiting the islands, snorkeling, kayaking, and walking, there are plenty of things to do on board. The library is certainly an option to relax and read, or use the ship’s satellite wireless connection to check email or surf the Web. But there is also a small gym, swimming pool, sauna, and several decks to sunbathe.

Photo by David Braun.

In this video I interviewed our Expedition Leader, Paula Tagle, about her job and her passion for the Galapagos. Paula is also a storyteller, having written a book about the islands. The book and several handicrafts made by residents of the islands, are available in the Endeavour’s small shop.

Next time on my Galapagos Expedition Journal: Underwater Exploration with Prize-Winning Photographer Terry Goss

Endeavour inside the partly collapsed and submerged caldera of Genovesa island, Galapagos. Photo by David Braun.

Explorers view marine life from a glass-bottom boat, one of the many activities off the ship available for Endeavour passengers. Photo by David Braun.

National Geographic Endeavour off Bartolome Island. Photo by David Braun.

I report on our visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, where a decades-long breeding program has restored the iconic giant tortoise to the wild. We also visit Puerto Ayora, the largest settlement on the islands, a plantation where farmers distil moonshine from sugar cane, and the Santa Cruz highlands for encounters with wild tortoises in their natural habitat.

In earlier posts, I described our arrival on the island of San Cristobal and our first visit to a Galapagos beach, what it was like to swim with sea lions, and following Charles Darwin’s footsteps to Floreana Island.

The video at the top of this fourth post presents some of the work National Geographic is doing to support conservation of the Galapagos giant tortoise.

NASA image courtesy of MODIS.

Giant tortoise at Charles Darwin Research Station, Santa Cruz, Galapagos. Picture by David Braun.

At one time there were an estimated 250,000 giant tortoises on the Galapagos islands. They descended from South American ancestors that were probably swept out to sea during floods, floating hundreds of miles on the Humboldt current to the archipelago on the Equator. Tortoises can survive for extraordinarily long periods without food or water and the largest specimens would have the extra bouyancy and longer necks required to keep their heads above water as the strong current swept them west. Once they gained a foothold on the Galapagos, localized currents probably helped tortoises disperse to half a dozen of the islands, where over time they adapted to each island’s unique habitat and microclimate, becoming subspecies.

Galapagos tortoise distribution map shows islands with surviving subspecies shaded. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Fallschirmjäger

Sadly, the very characteristics that helped tortoises survive the perils of a long ocean voyage to the Galapagos, and adapt to the islands’ harsh ever-changing climate of extended periods of drought, made them ideal food for the pirates and whalers who discovered the Galapagos in centuries past. Tortoises could grow up to 800 pounds. They could survive on ship decks for months without food or water. That was a lot of fresh meat for sailors at sea for very extended periods.

All too soon, giant tortoise populations that had built up over many millennia were in free fall. If they weren’t taken for food, their eggs and young were eaten by introduced rats, cats and dogs. Goats, donkeys and pigs trampled their nests. Tortoise numbers crashed to as few as a couple of thousand, and some subspecies became extinct . Some of the islands lost tortoises entirely. Today, ten sub-species hang on, ranging in conservation status from Threatened to Vulnerable. (For really good information about all the subspecies of the Galapagos giant tortoise, visit the Encyclopedia of Life.)

Photo by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun.

The Charles Darwin Foundation‘s Research Station on Santa Cruz Island is supported by Lindblad and National Geographic, in part through donations made by passengers on Lindblad-National Geographic expeditions in the Galapagos. The Station has run a successful program to restore giant tortoises to their natural habitat for decades.

Today, perhaps 20,000 tortoises are again roaming the Galapagos, a significant and encouraging rebound from near extinction. Rigorous efforts have been made to rid the islands of larger alien species like donkeys, dogs and goats. But the threat remains from rats and cats, which is why tortoise eggs are collected from the wild, incubated and hatched under protection at the Research Station, and baby tortoises are raised until they are sufficiently predator-resistant for reintroduction into their natural habitat. There is a high rate of survival.

Hatchlings from eggs collected from Espanola Island are kept safely under a heavy cover at night, to keep rats from getting at them. When they are around five years old they will be returned to their natural habitat, but only after they have been given a little orientation to learn how to survive in the wild. Photo by David Braun.

Photo of giant tortoise hatchling by David Braun.

At the Research Station we toured the enclosures for the different tortoise subspecies and age groups, and for the endangered land iguanas, which are also hunted by feral cats and other animals introduced by humans to the Galapagos.

A land iguana under protective breeding in the Galapagos Research Station. The reptile has suffered greatly from predation by feral dogs and cats. Photo by David Braun.

We visited the empty enclosure of Lonesome George, the last of the tortoise subspecies from Pinta Island. He died only a few months ago, probably at the age of around 100. (Read our National Geographic News story: Lonesome George, Last of his Kind, Dies on Galapagos.)

In memory of Lonesome George, this plaque was erected alongside the last Pinta Island giant tortoise's now empty enclosure. Photo by David Braun.

Researchers are looking at the possibility of isolating the DNA of Lonesome George’s subspecies from hybrid tortoises. It’s a process called selective breeding, and research into how it might succeed is also funded in part by National Geographic. (Read my blog post: Can Extinct Galapagos Tortoise Be Bred from Living Hybrids?) Hybrid tortoises are the product of pirates and whalers dumping tortoises from one island on other islands. The hybrids preserve the DNA of all their ancestors.

We met another famous giant tortoise in the center, Diego, who was donated to the research facility by San Diego Zoo (hence his name Diego). Diego was one of 13 Espanola tortoises exported from the Galapagos to the zoo in the 1930s. He was returned to the Galapagos in 1977. He has earned admiration and the title of Mighty Diego at the Charles Darwin Research Station because of his prodigious breeding success. Some 1,700 of his offspring are said to be living, providing a big boost for his subspecies, which came very close to extinction.

Diego is still going strong at the estimated age of 130. Giant tortoises have been known to live in zoos for as much as 170 years. It's thought that they live to around 100 in the wild. Photo by David Braun.

From the Charles Darwin Research Station we strolled through Puerto Ayora, home to some 18,000 people. Much of the settlement’s activity appears to center on tourism and fishing. There are many gift shops, tour operators, restaurants and bars. The town’s main street is flanked on each end by statues of a giant tortoise and an equally giant land iguana. If it’s tee-shirts of boobies, shot glasses to toast Lonesome George, or stuffed toy sea lions and hammerhead sharks you are looking for, Puerto Ayora is your town.

Puerto Ayoro main street. Photo by David Braun.

Puerto Ayoro tourist store. Photo by David Braun.

The tiny Puerto Ayora fish market displayed a pile of freshly caught fish monitored intently by a small flock of pelicans and gulls eager for any scraps that might somehow fall off the counter. There was a bit of a buzz in the town because Ecuador was playing Venezuela in an international football match. Many of the townsfolk were wearing yellow, the team color, and sidewalks were thronged by local residents trying to watch the game on television in the bars and restaurants. A couple of women set up a sidewalk table with a yellow cloth piled with snacks for sale.

Puerto Ayora fish market picture by David Braun.

Picture of brown pelican at the fish market by David Braun.

Our group met at a bar called “The Rock,” which was decorated for Halloween with skeletons, witches, and a portrait of Saddam Hussein. After enjoying an Ecuadorian beer, we boarded buses that took us to a small plantation of sugar cane and coffee trees. The owners had an unusual press to squeeze the juices from sugarcane, powered by tourists doing the work! The liquid is processed into a very pleasant but potent moonshine, best consumed with freshly squeezed orange juice. The locally grown coffee was also delicious. I had a swig of both ‘shine and coffee and definitely got a bit of a buzz.

Sugar cane press photo by David Braun.

Sugar syrup in the process of becoming moonshine. Photo by David Braun.

After we lunched at “Aquelerre” restaurant, the buses took us higher into the hills to visit the heart of the ancient giant tortoise migratory route. Tortoises migrate up and down the volcanic slopes of the Galapagos islands to take advantage of different vegetation in wet and dry seasons. There is also a theory that female tortoises migrate to different altitudes for nesting sites, which might have a bearing on the gender of their offspring. Like crocodiles, tortoises hatch into females or males depending on the temperature of incubation of their eggs. It’s not known if female tortoises determine the gender selection through their choice of nest sites. That’s the subject of another research project supported in part by National Geographic.

We encountered numerous giant tortoises in the wild. I could see why they could be so easily hunted for food by whalers and pirates. The lumbering giants do nothing to ward off danger other than hiss and pull in their heads. They appear to be oblivious to anyone approaching them from behind. They are easily found by their enormous carapaces glistening brightly in the sun. Retreating into their shells probably made it only easier for a team of burly men to pick them up and carry them off to their fate.

Tortoise heaven amid the greenery in the highlands of Santa Cruz. But in recent centuries this has been no paradise for the giant reptiles, which nearly became extinct from over-harvesting and habitat destruction. Photo by David Braun.

The tortoises are so old that lichens grow on their carapaces, giving some of them a greenish hue. Photo by David Braun.

Giant tortoise carapaces shining in the equatorial sun. They're like sitting ducks for anyone wanting to capture them. That's no longer allowed on the Galapagos. Tourists may not molest them in any way. The threats against giant tortoises today are invasive species that prey on their young and ongoing destruction of their habitat. There is also some poaching. Photo by David Braun.

Giant tortoise feet resemble those of an elephant. Picture by David Braun.

Our naturalist guides gave us plenty of time to wander around scores of giant tortoises foraging in the lush foliage around us. I can confirm that giant tortoises eat a lot, for they certainly leave giant mounds of poop for unwary visitors to step in.

Tortoised out, we descended to Puerto Ayora and the Zodiacs waiting to take us back to our ship. After-dinner entertainment was provided in the lounge by musicians and dancers from the town.

Evening commuter rush hour in Puerto Ayora harbor. Photo by David Braun.

Next time on my Galapagos Expedition Journal: Life on board the National Geographic Endeavour. Take a tour of one of the best-equipped vessels in the Galapagos, a comfortable hotel for passengers that also serves as a National Geographic platform for research and reporting.

Photo by David Braun

In the first post, I described our arrival on the island of San Cristobal and our first visit to a Galapagos beach. In the second installment, I described what it was like to swim with sea lions.

NASA image courtesy of MODIS.

Photo by David Braun.

We arrived on the third day of our expedition at Floreana, one of two islands on our itinerary that were visited in 1835 by Charles Darwin. Back then it was known as Charles Island, which was named not for the famous father of the discovery of evolution, but after King Charles II of England. Darwin, 26 at the time he saw Floreana, wrote in his journal: “This archipelago has long been frequented, first by the bucaniers, and latterly by whalers, but it is only within the last six years, that a small colony has been established here. The inhabitants are between two and three hundred in number; they are nearly all people of colour, who have been banished for political crimes from the Republic of the Equator, of which Quito is the capital. The settlement is placed about four and a half miles inland, and at a height probably of a thousand feet.”

Darwin also noted that on Charles “the staple article of animal food is supplied by the tortoises. Their numbers have of course been greatly reduced in this island, but the people yet count on two days’ hunting giving them food for the rest of the week. It is said that formerly single vessels have taken away as many as seven hundred, and that the ship’s company of a frigate some years since brought down in one day two hundred tortoises to the beach.”

We were to see no tortoises on Floreana, but the scenery seemed to be as Darwin described it: “Higher up, the woods gradually became greener; and as soon as we crossed the ridge of the island, we were cooled by a fine southerly breeze, and our sight refreshed by a green and thriving vegetation. In this upper region coarse grasses and ferns abound.”

Galapagos heron with crabs on the background rocks. Photo by David Braun.

Booby fledgling with coral beach in the background. Photo by David Braun.

Basking sea lion photo by David Braun.

Our first excursion on Floreana was a 6:30 a.m. walk from Punta Cormorant, getting our feet wet as the Zodiac pulled up gently on to the beach.  There are two types of  landing on the islands – wet and dry. Wet landings require sandals that can be immersed in water; dry means it is possible to alight directly on to a rock or a stone step without having to remove closed walking shoes and socks.

The first beach we encountered was olivine, giving it a greenish hue. Of course, there were sea lions in residence. A second beach was fine, white coralline sand, which we were told was a favorite nesting place of turtles. We were permitted only to look at the coral beach from the edge of the green beach, lest we trample hidden turtle eggs. Both beaches were lined with mangroves and littered with shells and clumps of seaweed.

Looking down the two beaches at Punta Cormorant, Floreana Island, Galapagos. Photo by David Braun

Some of Floreana's fascinating beach vegetation. Photo by David Braun.

Extinct volcanic cone reflects on the surface of a salt pond on Floreana Island. Photo by David Braun.

A short walk from the beach took us through some interesting vegetation to a salt pond. A couple of Galapagos flamingoes were foraging at the far end of the pond. An extinct volcanic cone reflected on the water. Vegetation was green and thriving, much as Darwin had described.

The Zodiacs returned to take us to breakfast on the Endeavour, followed by another deep-water  snorkeling exploration. There was also the option of going out on a glass-bottom boat. I elected to stay in the comfortable ship lounge to catch up on my email. The ship is equipped with satellite transmission for this purpose.

Photo by David Braun.

Zodiacs arrive to take the beach-walkers back to the ship. Photo by David Braun.

A little later I boarded one of the Zodiac rides around Champion islet, one of the last refuges of the very rare and endangered Floreana mockingbird. Like the tortoises, these birds have become extinct on the main island, in part because of invasive rats preying upon them.

Floreana scenery, viewed from a Zodiac. Photo by David Braun.

Two main ways we explored the Galapagos islands were on foot, along trails, and by Zodiac, motoring around the coves and islets to get really close-up views of the birds, sea lions, iguanas, and crabs. Photo by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun.

Our first sighting of Galapagos penguins, the only penguins found on the Equator. Photo by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun.

After lunch, Paula Tagle, our expedition leader, regaled us with tales of some of the crazy characters who once lived on Floreana. Paula is something of a storyteller and has published a book about the islands, “Galapagos Bedtime Stories.”

There were opportunities for people to kayak, and then we were all taken back to Floreana main island for a visit to the Post Office Barrel. Apparently it’s been a tradition for two centuries for travelers to leave their mail in the barrel. Passersby sift through the letters and cards for those they can deliver, leaving their own mail in turn for others to carry. Several Endeavour passengers took postcards addressed to people in their home towns, leaving their own mail to be delivered by future visitors.

Post Office Barrel on Floreana Island. The tradition for centuries is to leave mail here for passing ships to collect and deliver. Photo by David Braun.

Tourists keep the Post Office Barrel tradition going by leaving mail for other visitors to deliver. The idea is that if you find mail in the barrel addressed to someone in your home town you will deliver it.

Floreana Island was once home to hundreds of political detainees in exile from the mainland, and apparently to some downright crazy people who came to the island in search of a perfect life. Today it is turned back to nature -- and tourists. Photo by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun.

During cocktail hour in the Endeavour lounge, we were shown a variety of handicrafts made by the islanders. They’re offered for purchase in the ship’s store, and it’s another way that Lindblad-National Geographic explorers can help the tourism economy of the Galapagos. The more inhabitants gain from ecotourism, the more they have vested in securing the ecosystem that lures tourists to the islands.

As the sun was setting there was an announcement from the Endeavour's bridge: Whales were swimming alongside the ship. Photo by David Braun.

The evening closed with a screening of the National Geographic-BBC documentary about the Galapagos. It’s a great show, I’ve seen it several times, but nothing could keep me from my bed after such an eventful day.

Next time on my Galapagos Expedition Journal: Face to Face with Giant Tortoises.

Photo by David Braun.

NASA image courtesy of MODIS.

Photo of blue-footed booby by David Braun

We awoke on the first full day of our expedition to find we had been transported during the night by the Endeavour‘s crew to the island Espanola. After a grand buffet breakfast, we were issued with our snorkeling gear for the week: wetsuit, flippers and mask. Explorers were offered the choice of deep-water snorkeling, beach snorkeling, or a walk on the beach. My son Anthony and I opted for the deep-water experience.

A Zodiac took us to Gardner, an islet off Espanola, where we were to snorkel along the steep cliffs of a submerged canyon. Falling backward off the Zodiac, as we were taught to do by our accompanying naturalist, we were plunged into a colorful world of tropical fish and sea stars. But as we approached the rocky sides of Gardner, we became aware that we were not alone. Sea lions swarmed around us, stopping to peer into our faces, and occasionally giving us a friendly nudge or a painless nip on a flipper or leg as if inviting us to play with them. A turtle glided beneath us.

The snorkeling was the first of half a dozen opportunities to explore the submerged paradise of the Galapagos. I came to realize that the islands had as many natural wonders below the water as they do above. And it was also apparent that a great many species, including birds, animals, mammals, and reptiles, were equally at home in both worlds. I will return to the diving iguanas and other submarine wonders of the Galapagos in another post.

Waved albatrosses. Photo by David Braun.

Albatross chick photo by David Braun.

Galapagos sea lion picture by David Braun.

Galapagos sea lion picture by David Braun.

Galapagos sea lions catching some rays. Photo by David Braun.

Yellow warbler on Gardner Beach, Espanola, Galapagos. Picture by David Braun.

When we tired of the snorkeling, the Zodiac took us to the beach, a fringe of dazzling white sand covered by basking sea lions. We were asked not to walk beyond the high-tide mark, as the beach is host to many turtle nests and their fragile eggs. The sea lions certainly appeared to observe the regulation. But they were not as respectful of our belongings, and a couple of them availed themselves of our towels and gear for headrests.

After repairing to Endeavour for a splendid lunch, I gave the first of my presentations in the Endeavour‘s lounge: “Tales of the Weird: Stories of a National Geographic Digital Journalist.” I focused a bit on our new National Geographic book, “Tales of the Weird: Unbelievable True Stories,” which was published in October. A copy of the book now resides in the Endeavour‘s library.

Photo by David Braun.

Iguanas on Espanola. Photo by David Braun.

Marine iguana on Espanola Island, Galapagos. Photo by David Braun.

Mockingbird on Espanola Island, Galapagos. Picture by David Braun.

Later in the day, we were ferried to Punta Suarez, said to be one of the richest wildlife locations in the Galapagos. Our first wildlife encounter was a colony of iguanas basking in the sun. We picked our way across boulders for a mile and half to a cliff packed with waved albatrosses, blue-footed boobies and smaller birds, including Darwin’s finches and the famous Galapagos mockingbird. Above us soared the Galapagos hawk, hovering like a helicopter in the head wind. The hawk is said to be the top predator on the islands.

Photo by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun.

Waved albatross and blue-footed booby have a bit of a row about their overnight resting place on Espanola Island, Galapagos. Picture by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun.

As the sun dipped into the ocean, the scene around us became surreal. Sea lions and iguanas were streaming ashore, and everyone was competing for a warm and sheltered spot to spend the night. We watched albatrosses, boobies and sea lions jostle for a berth. It appeared to be more a matter of who could make the loudest noise than anything else. Finally, everyone seemed to be able to find a place, while we had to watch our footing so as not to step on an iguana or a nesting bird. It is constantly amazing to see how indifferent the animals are to humans in their midst. The whole scene seemed to be like a throwback to a primordial era, a glimpse of how the Earth might have been before people altered it so much.

Photo by David Braun.

Photo by David Braun.

Back on board, we showered and changed for cocktail hour, a review of what we had seen and done that day, and a briefing about the next day’s program. There was a presentation of “Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic, Partners in Exploration,” followed by dinner in Endeavour‘s diningroom.

The partnership between Lindblad and National Geographic has been going strong for a number of years. Endeavour was the first ship to fly under the National Geographic flag. Four more vessels are in the fleet, taking travelers to amazing places in the company of Lindblad and National Geographic experts.

Photo by David Braun.

The ships are also used by National Geographic as platforms to do research, such as tracking of animals like the mola mola, and as a base for National Geographic writers, photographers, and videographers on assignment. Travelers regularly have an opportunity to interact with our scientists and editorial experts.

Lindblad and National Geographic  also raise funds for conservation groups such as the Charles Darwin Station in Galapagos and the Galapagos National Park.  Support is also given directly to schools, researchers, and other NGOs working to preserve and understand regions such as Southeast Alaska, Baja, and Antarctica.

Next time on my Galapagos Expedition Journal: Following Charles Darwin’s footsteps to Isla Floreana, and a visit to Post Office Bay.

Photo by David Braun.

I returned last week from a ten-day expedition through these strange mid-Pacific volcano mounts. The islands are not exotic in the sense of a South Pacific tropical paradise with swaying palm trees. Instead, their jagged lava landscape and their situation astride the Equator, in a mixing bowl of currents coursing from both hemispheres, nutrient-heavy water welling from the Pacific depths, and shifting trade winds bearing birds and other airborne life, have endowed them with truly unique species of plants and animals adapted to such a peculiar environment.

The Galapagos are home to sea lions and penguins from the Arctic and fur seals and flamingoes from the Americas, while tortoises, iguanas and other reptiles that somehow floated across the seas to the islands have taken on shapes, sizes and hues found nowhere else on the planet. Each island is unique in its assemblage of species, and every island has animals and plants found nowhere else.

The Galapagos islands are the tops of volcanoes some 600 miles to the west of South America. NASA image courtesy of MODIS.

Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, The SeaWiFS Project and GeoEye, Scientific Visualization Studio.

My mission was the National Geographic expert accompanying a Lindblad-National Geographic Expedition through six of the Galapagos’ 13 biggest islands. It was one of the most extraordinary natural history adventures I have had in journeys to some 80 countries. And it lived up to everything I’d heard abut the place.

Flying time from Ecuador’s balmy port city Guayaquil to San Cristobal Island is 90 minutes on AeroGal, surely the only airline in the world to paint iguanas on its aircraft. Visitors arriving at Cristobal’s tiny rocky airfield are welcomed warmly by a sign that states: “Galapagos is peace, human history, and evolution … Help us protect it for generations to come.” Right in front of it is a rough green mat for passengers to wipe their shoes free of soil and seeds that might add to the growing menace of  stowaway species that have been invading the islands.

AeroGal aircraft livery sports iguanas and other Galapagos wildlife. Photo by David Braun.

An indolent sea lion blocks the way to the Zodiacs that will take us to our ship. Fortunately, there was an alternate set of steps. No one would want to argue with this hefty animal. This was the first encounter we had with the Galapagos rule that the wildlife have the right of way on the islands. Photo by David Braun.

“Galapagos is peace, human history, and evolution.”

After clearing Galapagos “Immigration” and receiving a Galapagos stamp in our passports, we were met by the naturalists of the National Geographic Endeavour, our home and transport for the week.

Our official tour guides, the naturalists are employees of Landblad-National Geographic, but they wear Galapagos National Park insignia and gently monitor compliance with the strict protocols all visitors must observe in the protected parts of the islands. We quickly established that not only are they knowledgeable about animals, vegetation and geology, but many also share tips on where and how to make the best photos in the Galapagos.

Photo by David Braun

A short bus ride to the harbor put us in view of the Endeavour.  We threaded our way past basking sea lions and wary crabs to a small flotilla of Zodiacs that ferried us to the mother ship, where we found the luggage checked in at Guayaquil already in our cabins.

There were mandatory safety drills and briefings about the voyage, and then we sailed to the far side of San Cristobal and our first encounter with the legendary wildlife of the Galapagos.

The good ship National Geographic Endeavour, comfortable mobile home for 86 passengers and 65 crew on our voyage. Photo by David Braun.

On the beach at a site known as Cerro Brujo, or “Wizard Hill,” we were greeted by a profusion of sea lions and shore birds.

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

After exploring the beach and being stared at by the wildlife for a couple of hours, the Zodiacs returned to take us home to the Endeavour, where the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party awaited us.

Photo by David Braun

Next time on my Galapagos Expedition Journal: Swimming With Sea Lions