Galápagos, first island

I spent the morning on North Seymour — our first landing on this trip — and spent about two hours walking a small loop. You’re not allowed off the trail and you don’t really want to be; the whole island is a working colony.

Blue-footed Boobies were doing the whole routine: the sky-pointing, the careful foot-lift display, the reciprocal squawks. They don’t care that you are there. I kept thinking about how every nature documentary in the world has stood where I was standing.

Frigatebirds overhead and sometimes at face level. Males with bright red pouches still inflated — early season here. Swallow-tailed Gulls on cliff ledges. One young Galápagos Hawk sat on a rock for about ten minutes and watched us watch it.

Marine iguanas on the shore, piled on each other like rocks, occasionally sneezing salt. The land iguana we saw was alone and looking for prickly pear. My guide said land iguana is way easier to see on South Plaza and to temper expectations.

Heat was serious by 10:30 AM. We were off the island by 11:00 AM and onto the panga back to the boat. My lens fogged for the first twenty minutes on board and I’m still a little worried about what that did long term. Worth it.