blue-footed booby | Miles To The Wild

Now I am the first to admit I am not a fan of small boats due to being prone to sea-sickness but if you want to get to Punta Pitt and see 3 species of Boobies, Frigatebirds and more you have to do a day trip in a boat. These trips don’t go out every day so I recommend checking out several tour operators when you first arrive, book your tour and then you can fit in other land tours around this trip. The tour is supposed to be a complete circle around the Island of San Cristobal but in our case they only went to Punta Pitt and back. I didn’t care because Punta Pitt was my target and I am not really a snorkeler. Lunch is provided but they only serve a seafood dish and rice. I don’t eat seafood so my husband ended up with a double portion and I got some bread rolls. This was actually a blessing in disguise because when we came back via Kicker Rock, the sea was so rough I would have lost the lunch!.

We booked at Dava Tours and it’s called the 360 Tour.

DSCN0942 DSCN0941 DSCN0943

This is a cruise ship that travels around the Galapagos Islands. DSCN0944

We headed to Punta Pitt passing some very spectacular scenery. DSCN0949 DSCN0950 DSCN0955 DSCN0958

We spent a couple hours cruising around Punta Pitt going up close but not docking or getting off the boat. This wasn’t a problem as we could see all the birds easily enough from the boat. DSCN0966 DSCN0968 DSCN0970 DSCN0972 DSCN0986 DSCN0988

BOATING WITH BOOBIES!

When we left Punta Pitt, we picked up a few hitch-hikers. Some adventurous young Red-footed Boobies landed on the boat for a joy ride! It was pretty cool to watch them having fun as the boat sped over the waves, rocking them as they tried to hang on with their webbed feet. If they lost their balance, they would fly off, circle around the boat and land again on that rail with passengers cheering them on! It was awesome and the highlight of the trip for me!

We stopped for lunch at a beach halfway back to town but before Kicker Rock and we were able to jump in for a swim. I should caution that it is really hard to get up the ladder back on the boat!

Like I said, Kicker Rock was meant to be a snorkel spot but the sea was so rough we didn’t go in. We did see other people snorkeling from other boats. Our hitch-hiking Boobies had left us by this time but there are still other birds to see on Kicker Rock.

DSCN1032 DSCN1033 DSCN1035 DSCN1039 DSCN1042

Arriving back in town. DSCN1048 DSCN1049 DSCN1050 DSCN1052

Here you see the boat we were on. It looks more like a dive boat with the seating platform in the middle. I would have preferred a boat with proper seats as it was kind of uncomfortable. DSCN1053 DSCN1054

Since I didn’t eat lunch, I was happy to see a hot dog stand near the pier! They were good hot dogs too! DSCN1055

Over all despite me being a reluctant boater; it was a good trip. Mission accomplished and we saw all the target birds!

The Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) is a marine bird in the family Sulidae, which includes ten species of long-winged seabirds. Blue-footed boobies belong to the genus Sula, which comprises six species of boobies. It is easily recognizable by its distinctive bright blue feet, which is a sexually selected trait. Males display their feet in an elaborate mating ritual by lifting their feet up and down while strutting before the female.

Although they have a large range along the Pacific coast from Mexico to Peru, Blue-footed Boobies are almost synonymous with the Galapagos. It’s a rare tourist, birder or not who doesn’t come home with at least one hat, artwork or “I love Boobies” t-shirt!

bfbooby