A Colourful Sally Lightfoot Crab on Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos
One of the most colourful creatures of the Galapagos Islands and Pacific Ocean coastlines of the Americas!
You see these red, orange, yellow and white crabs almost everywhere in the Galapagos. On remote coasts, clinging to lava rocks on beaches and walking along docks in the few villages of the islands.
Everyone in the Galapagos islands seems to call them Sally Lightfoot crabs, supposedly named after a beautiful dancer from a sailors legend. They are also known as Red Rock crabs…but their official name actually sounds the coolest: Grapsus grapsus.
Brown Pelican - Taking a Break from Fishing in the Galapagos
Pelicans are fascinating birds to watch when they are feeding. Especially the Brown Pelican, which is unique from all the other, larger Pelican species.
Brown Pelican - Looking for a Meal in the Galapagos
While the other seven Pelican species usually feed by pushing schools of fish into shallows waters and scooping them up, the Brown Pelican dives for fish, similar to other birds in the Galapagos, such as the Blue-Footed Booby.
Brown Pelican - Diving for Fish in the Galapagos, a Unique trait to this Species
Watching them hunt for their meals a real treat and I was lucky enough to snap these photos of a Brown Pelican that was diving for fish underwater off the coast of Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos.
A Hood Mockingbird, or Espanola Mockingbird, in the Galapagos Islands
This mean looking guy got his picture taken not because I thought he looked cool, but because he was being aggressive.
Called a Hood Mockingbird, or Española Mockingbird (as they’re on found on Espanola Island), they have no fear of people and are happy to fly by and harass you! They’re one of the Galapagos bird species that will attack if you have an open container of water, even if you’re taking a sip from your water bottle!
One of four mockingbird species in the Galapagos, the Espanola Mockingbird is listed as a vulnerable species. Interestingly, this is the only mockingbird species that Charles Darwin failed to see or capture during his time on the islands.
Every so often you have one of those travel moments that leaves you stunned and speechless. For me these moments have almost always been of the good variety, such as watching the sunrise from the top of Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka or coming eye-to-eye with penguins in Antarctica. This story is about a time when I was accidentally Anti-American.
Curious and Lazy Sea Lions on Chinese Hat Island
I was in the Galapagos Islands, and had been simply awed by the approachability of the wildlife on these islands. The sun had been getting the best of my Canadian winter skin too, so on this particular day I headed out on a island hike with my trusty sun hat to shield myself from those pesky UV rays. With the rest of my tour group wandering ahead I stopped to take some pictures of the playful sea lions and scenery on Sombrero Chino (Chinese Hat) Island.
After a few minutes I hustled along to catch up with the others, when I crossed paths with two other people coming down the trail in the opposite direction. I said a quick ‘hello’ to the woman who passed first and was about to say ‘hi’ to the guy behind her, when he quipped ‘That’s really Anti-American!’.
Did I hear him right? Had I looked at his girlfriend / wife whoever she was, in a wrong way? All I did was say ‘hello’. I stopped and didn’t know what to say. As he passed by I turned around and he looked back – obviously seeing the stunned look on my face. He asked where I was from, I said near Toronto, Canada. That’s when he told me that my hat was anti-American, then he continued down the trail.
Me, and my 'I Am Canadian' hat
My hat? What? Ahh, then it all sunk in. My sun hat was a freebie I had picked up one summer in a case of beer. A case of Molson Canadian beer. That was during the heydey of their ‘I AM CANADIAN’ beer slogan and TV commercials. So, naturally, on the front of my hat was emblazoned the ‘I AM CANADIAN’ logo. Apparently my pro-Canadianism was seen as anti-American to this fellow I had just met on the trail.
I kind of laughed afterwards, but wished I had been able to explain it to him, and even showed him some of the classic commercials associated with the beer campaign. When I caught up to the other travellers from my boat group I asked the Americans what they thought of my hat, and they thought it was great. Funny, I thought, how my hat had caused such concern to someone. It was a strange twist on the ongoing travel debate of Canadians vs. Americans. I have met many Americans on the road who at first meeting claim to be Canadian, but this scenario was a definite first.
