testmeat photoblog

i had a number of different favourites when i went to the galapagos. the main reason that i went there was because i wanted to see hammerhead sharks. eventually i did, on one of the last snorkels from a week long cruise, in what was my favourite day on the islands. my favourite animals however were sea lions, who were so playful and friendly under the water. my favourite snorkelling trip was the afternoon of the hammerhead day when i spent 30 minutes following a giant galapagos turtle, literally inches away from the placid beast. my favourite photo, which i still haven't posted yet, was a close-up of a face of a bird - far from the most exotic animal that exists there but a favourite nonetheless. my favourite island, well that's a tricky one, but it was probably the white sanded beaches of isla espanola. and then the top prize, the favourite thing that i saw with my eyes (catchy title i know) was another bird. i was snorkelling, head under water looking around for signs of life. a fish a few metres in front of me caught my eye when a split second later there was a huge splash as a bird dived into the water, mouth open wide to capture it's prey. i'd seen this before from land, but this was the first (and only) time that i witnessed it from such a close distance in the water. i didn't have access to an underwater camera at the time, and even if i had it would have been close to impossible to photograph. but the image was so majestic it's now permanently imprinted in my mind.

to avoid confusion this isn't the incident in question, but the best i could get from the other occasions i was sharing the water with hungry birds. here's the original