Galapagos adventure

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oldsalt
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Galapagos adventure

Post by oldsalt »

Many of you know I had to give up diving. Life, while diminished, hasn't ended. I will mark my 75th birthday here at the equator, visiting the Galapagos. While snorkeling, a 5 meter manta ray passed beneath me. Plankton obscured the visibility and I was forced to shoot down, but I got a picture to show I was there.
manta
manta
I had better conditions when I saw these three sea turtles swimming away.
sea turtles
sea turtles
While snorkeling, we also saw sharks, penguins, flightless cormorants, sea lions, marine iguanas, and a mix of the normal tropical reef fish. The bottom is primarily bare lava - no coral.
Above the surface we have tortoises, land iguanas, and many birds. I'll leave you with this shot of a blue footed booby, because it is so much fun to say.
booby
booby
-Curt
Last edited by oldsalt on Wed Mar 06, 2019 9:37 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Tom Nic
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Re: Galapagos adventure

Post by Tom Nic »

So happy that you are able to experience this!!
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Gdog
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Re: Galapagos adventure

Post by Gdog »

Curt, that is very cool. I love that you chose to continue your love affair with the ocean, and not allowing your no longer diving to interfere with that. I envy you going to Galapagos!
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Penopolypants
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Re: Galapagos adventure

Post by Penopolypants »

What a grand adventure! I'm so glad you're getting to experience Galapagos!
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ScubaJess
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Re: Galapagos adventure

Post by ScubaJess »

Amazing!!!! What an adventure! So cool you got to see all those beautiful critters!! I love the blue footed Bobby!!! Wow!! How's the coffee down there? Safe travels!
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YellowEye
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Re: Galapagos adventure

Post by YellowEye »

Very cool! Awesome!

What's a flightless cormorants? Do they just swim and dive? :)
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Jan K
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Re: Galapagos adventure

Post by Jan K »

Happy Birthday Curt. What a perfect way to celebrate.
How many people can say that they got pictures of Manta, turtles underwater while swimming with them. I for one do not discount snorkeling. What counts is that it is you who sees that on your own eyes. I am younger, but would love to snorkel along side of you right now instead of preparing for yet another snow apocalypse...
Keep on living as you managed so far. From your posts here on NWDC, you got the formula right! :)
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oldsalt
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Re: Galapagos adventure

Post by oldsalt »

YellowEye wrote:Very cool! Awesome!

What's a flightless cormorants? Do they just swim and dive? :)
That's right. They are endemic here. I was unable to get an underwater picture of them, but they are amazing when they are hunting. Here's a group of three. Notice the vestigial wings.
cormorants
cormorants
Curt
Last edited by oldsalt on Sat Apr 20, 2019 3:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Scubie Doo
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Re: Galapagos adventure

Post by Scubie Doo »

What a cool experience. Thank you for sharing this. Happy birthday.


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Scubak
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Re: Galapagos adventure

Post by Scubak »

How wonderful that you were there and able to enjoy your adventure...
I hope to get there soon.
Thankyou for sharing...
Kirsten
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H20doctor
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Re: Galapagos adventure

Post by H20doctor »

to be be 75 years old and able to go on a Vacation to the Galapagos islands is Incredible .... congrats my friend
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