On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
lashonharangue
Sailing west overnight, we anchored off of Rabida island, which is just south of the much larger island of Santiago. The next morning, we had to disembark from the inflatable boats onto a narrow rocky place, and then hike up the cliff to get to the trail.
This gives an indication of how high we had to climb up from the ocean. Not a huge climb but pretty steep.
Once on top we saw that Rabida was very dry no matter which direction we looked. I don’t know if it greens out much in the rainy season. Along the trail we heard birds but didn’t see a lot of animals.
What Rabida is known for is the intense red soil from the oxidation of the volcanic rocks. The cactus is partially covered by the red dust stirred up from the trail.
Not a great photo but it was the first finch I was able to capture on the trip. Seemed like it was an obligation to photograph them. None of my bird pictures are “Albatrossity quality” but most are better than this one.
We did see small lava lizards.
Here is a better photo of one.
Heading back to get on the boats I took this photo because of the juxtaposition of colors.
We did see another marine iguana when we got down to the shore. You can see the white head which is formed from their excreting excess salt – part of their unique adaptation.
Next Stop – Santiago Island
Traveller
Very interesting! The pictures and text gave a good sense of what it was like to be there, to have this experience. Thanks.
Benw
Your photos are so amazing they make me want to invent a new theory of something!
arrieve
Thanks for bringing back so many wonderful memories. I’d forgotten about the salt on the iguanas–it makes them look so old and weathered. I am guessing that there were a lot more finches!
eclare
The juxtaposition photo, which I will call mishmash, is lovely.
Elizabelle
Magical place. The whole archipelago.
Miss Bianca
I’ve wanted to visit the Galapagos Islands ever since I was a little one, so I’m loving this series. Thank you!
eachother
lashonharangue: Great series. You got to see some unique places and animals. So cool. Hot actually. Equator hot. And the water is usually cold. Blue lips cold. Amazing place.
One picture shows beach shoes on lava. Funny in a very abrasive way. I went through two pairs of hiking boots and two pairs of sneakers in two months. Raw lava = shoe death. Good thing I had to go because I was out of footwear.
dr. luba
I remember the wet (wade to shore) and dry (small dock) landings……the Galapagos are an amazing place to visit. It’s been so long (1995) that I’m a bit fuzzy on which island was which, but I remember piles of iguanas looking at me.
The animals on the Galapagos have little interaction with humans, except for the visitors who come though, and thus do not have the fear of humans that those who live with us do. You can get quite close to the wildlife to look or photograph, but there is a definite comfort zone…come too close, and the iguanas start scooting backwards….
Will have to find my old photos and look again…..
StringOnAStick
When you fly from Guayaquil to the Galapagos, you realize by the length of the flight that you are a long, long way from the mainland. Then you see all these amazing creatures and you start to wonder how they got to such a remote destination; it blows your mind.
While there we snorkeled off an island well to the west (the farther west you go, the colder the water due to the major sea circulation patterns there). Even with a wet suit top it was a really cold swim, but I got to hover over a huge school of very large, vertically striped fish and as long as I didn’t move, they went about their fishy business and I could just float and watch them. Such a cool place! Thanks for the reminders!