North Seymour and Rabida Islands
As we approached North Seymour Island today, right at the landing site where we normally get off the zodiacs, we were welcomed by a sea lion pup that kept looking at us as if we were coming to pay him a visit. It was incredible to see how this beautiful creature had no fear.
Home of two species of frigatebirds, the walk in this interesting formation today gave us the opportunity to learn about the intense struggle for life most species have to go through in isolated ecosystems.
As the frigates and the blue-footed boobies have started mating again, we realize that the high productivity of the site has made life a bit easier for all of them; most species were happily displaying their best uniforms to attract the opposite sex.
We could not ask for more today; most of the unique inhabitants of this island were posing for the perfect pictures that you normally see in the photo books of the Galápagos. It was as if they had all been paid to pose for us… what an incredible morning!
Rabida, a few hours away from Seymour, is a very different environment. To start with, the entire island is red, due to the high concentration of iron oxidized with the agents. The walking trail was mostly cinder, which is the eroded landscape; the contrast of colors here is amazing.
Inside the island, around the shallow hyper-saline lagoon, we find the greater flamingos, considered a Galápagos sub-species. Flamingos have not been seen around this area in a long time but thanks to the rainy season this year, the waters of the lagoon have been replenished and are again supporting life for the minuscular organisms that give these flamingos their beautiful pink color.
We ended our day with a walk along the beach of Rábida Island at sunset time…
