Isla Baltra, is a small island off the northeast coast of Isla Santa Cruz. It houses a modern airport (Seymour), built with sustainability in mind, without the normal comforts of air-conditioning, a moving passenger baggage belt. Electricity is generated by wind turbines which are clearly visible in front of the airport.
Isla Daphne Minor
Off the coast of Isla Baltra the islands of Isla Daphne Mayor and Isla Daphne Minor. Isla Daphne Major has a tuff-crater and its rim rises 120m above sea level.
Travelling around Isla Baltra on the boat, we were followed by a group of frigate birds and a blue-footed booby who seemed to enjoy the drafts created by the boat. They weaved in and out of the drafts in an elegant dance as they soared high above our boat.
Frigate birds in flight – overhead
Frigate bird close-up
The snorkelling at Punta Carrion (Itabaca channel) between Baltra and Santa Cruz is quite amazing. The volcanic rocks mean there are many crevices for the fish to play hide and seek. We managed to see a white-tipped reef shark, lots of surgeon-fish, wrasses, parrot-fish, pelican and sally lightfoot crabs.
Yellow-tailed surgeonfish
Sally lightfoot crab
The first snorkel in the Galapagos – What a moment!
Sealion resting on the bow of a container ship
The container ship that the sea lion is resting on is the lifeblood of the Galapagos. The main supply line of goods between the mainland, bringing out most of the food and other goods used by the permanent population (circa 35,000) and the visitors (circa 250,000 annually).
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Travel date: 23 December 2018