April 20, 2023
We landed on Baltra, what I didn’t realize is that one of the photos I took while landing included our boat in the bay waiting for us.
As we walked to the pier, we were greeted by the first of many visitors to come for our trip. We took our panga (dingy) out to the EcoGalaxy II where we settled into our cabins, had lunch, and went through the initial briefing for the trip. That afternoon we headed to Bachas Beach for our first excursion.
Bachas Beach was my first real introduction to the Galápagos landscape and wildlife. White sand beaches mixed with black volcanic rock, Sally Lightfoot crabs moving across the lava rocks, frigate birds and pelicans.
We also saw sea turtle nests along the beach, including fresh flipper tracks that suggested eggs had likely been laid the night before. Nearby was a sea turtle egg research site monitoring the nesting activity.
While hiking, three flamingos flew directly overhead. A short time later we spotted the same three birds standing together in a lagoon. There are only about 500 flamingos in all of the Galápagos, so we were incredibly lucky to see them. They ended up being one of the highlights of the day.
Along the shoreline sat abandoned WWII barges that had once been used to provision the American airbase on nearby Baltra during the war. Decades later, they remain where they were left, slowly rusting into the landscape. Paul did his best ‘Karate Kid’ interpretation as the sun began to set.
That evening the sky completely cleared. From the top deck of the boat we watched the Milky Way stretch across the sky and spotted three shooting stars.
It was a pretty good introduction to the Galápagos.
