Thursday 29 May 2008 - Rabida Island

The afternoon excursion took us to the island of Rabida which is the 11th biggest island in the archipelago, but still only about 2 square miles in area!

It's composition is largely scoria, created by explosive eruptions when hot lava meets sea water.

Scoria has high levels of iron that gives it a red color and the island's coast is characterised by tall red cliffs and a red beach.

The single volcano that resulted in the island's formation is extinct. A small lagoon behind salt bush that line the beach is one of the best places to see flamingos. Unfortunately there were none to be seen today.

While waiting to go ashore a few of us were treated by the sight of a sea turtle which swam up to our boat then dived deep beneath! Just a tantalising taste of the wild life we would encounter over the next week.

Ashore we could also see a few sea lions frolicking on the beach and in the surf.

After a short walk to where the flamingos should have been, we returned to the beach where we had left our snorkelling gear. We were greated by a rare sight - a Galapagos Eagle, perched just out of reach....

A really spectacular bird, with no apparent fear of humans being so close - something that we would learn was common among the inhabitants of these islands!

A short walk along the beach bought us to a Pelican colony and a group of playful fur seals, but the real surprise lay beneath the waves.

Our first snorkelling adventure for this trip would reveal an amazing array of beautiful tropical fish, in numbers so vast that it was impossible to no which way to look, especially when you had found yourself right in the middle of a whole cloud of fish!! King Angel Fish, Yellow Tails, Blue Chin Parrot Fish, Rainbow Wrasse, Streamer Hogfish, Black Tip Cardinal Fish! The variety was just amazing!

Fears about the depth of water which had increased rapidly only metres from the shore, or the prospects of sharks or any other danger were quickly forgotten!

The Galapagos was living up to its reputation as a haven for a vast array of wild life and sea creatures!