The blogger returns...Galapagos part one

This blog will probably read incorrectly in terms of past present and future tense as I will have done my entire (or most) of my Galapagos trip by the time you get to hear about it rather than read it bit by bit. Prepare to struggle through a several day epic….or simply click LIKE or return a short email saying sounds fun with no particular reference

I am sure you have all been struggling to get through your days without a little bit of Libby in your life, I know I would find it hard if I couldn’t spend time with me let alone not getting to hear about the weird and wonderful things go on in my head!

It has only been day one and already I know the simple solution will be to show you all my pictures- I have 2300 photos and still a month to go, so mum dad thank your lucky stars they are not all on your smart telly and everyone else start preparing your excuses for being unable to attend the slideshow for ‘The Great Adventures of Libby Nemo hop-a-long Nails Greenfingers Greenhalgh’ (a catchy nickname don’t you think, courteousy of my amigos) .

Within a blink of the eye in the Galapagos islands and nature was everywhere- a sea lion and iguana- chilling on the dock before we got to our boat and then a blue footed boobie swings by, a shark starts circling our boat and then a turtle pops up to say hi.  Truly amazing I never realised it would be just there – snorkelling with sharks, stingrays, multiple fish and then being within 2 FT  on a baby sea lion. Incredible. Tomorrow we may even get to swim with them….which we did briefly today.

There are about 13 or 16 of us in total on our ship from a collection countries mainly Canada and America and the majority older than me.  

Here is brief break down on the gang

 Anabella and Rick (Canada) a teacher and an Electrician travelling for a year and just been working in a monkey Sanctuary. Great fun though some serious competition for the oreos at tea break

 Sue and Isabella (Canada and USA) a grandmother and her grand daughter. Sue sounds very English is originally Irish and seems to have been everywhere in her life. Some brilliant stories- I particularly like the one about her husband using his helicopter blades to cut the trees, Her son is also an orthopaedic surgeon in the UK- so a good contact for my current broken body issues!

Angela and Frederick( German). Angela was very hard to talk to and I hate to say it but potentially the stereotypical German. Frederick was very funny and he was very into his cameras filming and photography ready to make a long film to bore his friends with when he gets home…..hmmm a bit like me

Pam and Cecil (USA) though Pam was originally from Plymouth in the UK and is a cradle snatcher. Cecil is a professor in anthropology and got super excited at all the birds and was chief in charge of telling us what was what

Phil and Rachel (UK) father and daughter who have clearly travelled a lot together through the years and to some pretty isolated places. Phil is a jeweller by trade back home and his friend is a Michelin star chef, and informed there is a food Olympics!

Debbie  and James or Peter…can’t remember  (Canada) super keen to write down the names of everything we have seen after every bids, fish, sea lion experience. Also missionaries in Africa somewhere!

Garth (Canada)aka SPOK from the original Star Trek movies. Owns the oldest café in Montral and I have a fair few more stories about him as I spent an additional day and night with him

Becky (Germany) My roomy- lovely girl from just outside of Frankfurt and works in the drug industry at least that is what I have whittled it down to.

 The boat is lovely (the shower amazing) and I am in a twin room with my German friend Becky – who burns more easily than me! The shoulder so far has survived one day snorkelling but I am beginning to wonder if it is swelling up a bit hopefully it will hold out for a long day tomorrow with 2 snorkelling sessions!

Holidaying is hard……especially in the Galapogos, mainly because the sun is relentless. Not sure I have ever put so much suncream on, drank so much water and felt so tired. Making it to 9pm at night is a major achievement. Today’s busy schedule pushed the barriers of the collar bone with the drugs failing to dull the pain. But red footed boobies, including babies,  herons, owls, finches and some massive birds whose name now escapes me, delighted me, let alone the serious bird twitchers here. Follow that with swimming with a turtle seeing a marine iguana in the water, not just on land, and even more crazy fish from puffers to wrasse and I am beginning to think is there anything left to see.

Answer….I suspect so. Hoping for hammerhead sharks, penguins, swimming with sea lions.

I have not been disappointed – tick tick and a pause on the penguins. But the last full day of our boat tour saw us go to a place called Sante Fe and yes we got to swim with sea lions a little too close at times I would say. If a school of fish suddenly turn and start swimming at you the is probably a pretty good reason. Yes sea lions chasing them!!!  Eagle rays, diamond rays some weird fish I still can’t name and turtle that I actually got t really swim with.

Follow that we hit the shore to spot the green iguanas not yellow ones (they looked pretty much the same) saw another blue footed boobie – they don’t seem to be that common.

Then it was hit the sack early for a 0630 boat trip around Kicker Rock followed by a snorkel before I left the ship in San Cristobel. Good morning dolphins and turtles and hello White tipped Sharks, hammerheads, puffer fish and not so nice that pesky jelly fish that stung me

I shall pause there before I begin to tell you of my latest adventure with Spok,  two random Ecuadorians and a middle of the night boat ride!