My Great Galapagos Trip – Day 10 (The Conclusion)

On By Adventures of a New FloridianIn Galapagos

As a recap, it has been the biggest dream of mine to go to the Galapagos Islands since I was 6 years old. I was incredibly blessed with the opportunity to do so this summer. This post will cover the final day of the incredible 10-day journey. If you missed the previous posts, you can start the series here.

This day marks the saddest day of the best trip I have ever taken. Today was the day I had to leave the place that I have been dreaming about since I was 6 years old. Reading back through my travel journal, I am brought back to incredible sadness I felt on this day. The bags were all packed the night before so that we could wake up early this day for one final Galapagos adventure.

Day 10 (North Seymour Island and Baltra Island): We left the yacht at 6 AM to ride to the island. We were able to witness the most incredible sunrise on the ride over while there were frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies flying all around us.

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A gorgeous sunrise to start the final day!

Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted by swallowtail gulls and brown noddies. Over our ten days in the islands, these had become a common sight. A few meters away, a blue-footed booby sat calmly on her nest. Our tour guide explained that both male and female boobies take turn sitting on the eggs while the partner is out hunting. If something happens to the partner, the eggs (or chicks if hatched) will be abandoned. Blue-Footed Boobies normally have nests of two eggs, but nests of one or three eggs are not uncommon. This beautiful female stood up and allowed us to gaze upon her nest of two beautiful eggs.

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Further along the trail, we were also able to see a second nest of two eggs and a female with a young chick.

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We got up close with several blue-footed boobies, and even saw one male attempting to court a female through stomping, dancing, and offering sticks as gifts. He did not seem to be successful in his attempt, especially after a second male started trying to impress the female.

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One of the animal photos you see most from the Galapagos Islands is of the frigatebirds with their bright red gular sacs inflated. This was something I had really wanted to see, and luckily, we were finally able to see it here on North Seymour! There were several male, female, and juvenile figatebirds all over the island. They were all absolutely gorgeous!

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Land iguanas and Galapagos sea lions also call this beautiful island home. I don’t think I could ever get sick of seeing these beautiful animals.

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The ride back to the boat was sad. We had to load up all of the suitcases and ride over to Baltra island for our flight. Saying goodbye to our incredible crew was not an easy task as they are all absolutely incredible people. I finished all last-minute shopping at the airport before the flight. The rest of the trip was uneventful. We flew back to Miami, and after an hour and a half train ride, I had made it home from the best trip I have ever taken.

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This marks the end of this series! For those of you who have followed along with me on this incredible journey, I thank you. Going back through all of my photos, journal entries, and videos has allowed me to relive my biggest dream over and over again. Even though this item is now checked off, the best part about bucket lists is there is always something new to check off! There will always be more adventures to take!

A couple of questions for you (answer any and/or all):

  1. What is your number one bucket list item? What is the next item you will check off?
  2. What was your favorite trip you have ever taken?
  3. Is there anything in particular you would like me to write about?

Thank you all!

Day 10
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76 thoughts on “My Great Galapagos Trip – Day 10 (The Conclusion)”

  4. josypheen

    Argh! Those blue-footed boobies are so, so cute! I love the crazily bright colour of their feet! Gorgeous photos as always!!

    Now your trip is over, are you tempted to go back?

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  12. Wow, I love your photos and story here and what’s not to love about the blue footed boobies??? I’m so glad you got to visit the Galapagos as it’s obviously been a dream for years. I have a similar dream about the Greek islands, so one day I’ll get there!

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  17. Unbound Roots

    McKenna, thank you so very much for sharing your incredible journey with us. I’m so sad that this series is done, but I’m excited to see where you will take us next on your journeys. I have to say that I shared the last few posts with my family and my son now wants a blue-footed boobie stuffed animal. He was amazed at the turquoise feet, as was I (well, I still am). I also enjoyed seeing the the beautiful eggs the blue-footed boobies lay. They almost match the feet color! Congratulations on a successful, beautiful, series, McKenna!

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    1. I always look forward to your comments, Erin! I am also sad that this series is over! However, I do have plans for upcoming posts, so hopefully they will continue to be enjoyed! I’m so grateful that you’ve shared my posts with your family and that your son loved the blue-footed boobies! Maybe Santa will bring him a stuffed animal for Christmas this year! Thank you for always bringing a smile to my face! 🙂

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      1. Unbound Roots

        I’m sure your posts will always be enjoyed! You are fabulous! BTW – I shared your pictures with my aunt who also went to the Galapagos last August. She really enjoyed your pictures and they conjured up many stories for her to share with me. 🙂 And, I think that Santa will stick a blue-footed boobie in my son’s stocking this Christmas. 🙂

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  20. What an amazing sunset! And those birds! I agree, the last day is always the hardest and I can’t imagine after dreaming about your trip for so long. Thank you for sharing your adventure! I have the El Camino on my bucket list and my mom is going to go with me so I am even more excited. Hopefully in the next few years!

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    1. Thank you so much! It was a very difficult one to leave, but I know the end always leads to new adventures! Wow! The El Camino would be incredible! Are you planning on doing the entire thing? I’m not sure my body would ever be in good enough shape for that! I hope that you are able to achieve that goal soon! 🙂

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      1. Yes, I hope to do the whole thing. I guess there are different versions and it will depend on my mom (who is an avid hiker, too). I have backpacked as much as 520 miles at one time, so I think I can handle it. We’ll see!

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  26. I’ve loved your Galapagos Island series and the islands are definitely on my bucket list. Answering your questions though:
    1. Costa Rica and Sicily share number one spot on my Bucket List at the moment.
    2. My favourite spot so far is the island of Boa Vista in the CapeVerde Islands. This destination was no 1 for ages and I was lucky enough to cross it off my list last summer. Having said that I would go back again in a flash – perhaps visiting the other 9 islands of Cape Verde 😊 I did see a trip advertised that combined the other islands along with a week in the Ashanti region of Ghana, which appeals to me enormously. We shall see 😊

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words and for reading! 🙂 I was lucky enough to go to Costa Rica right after my high school graduation. That was my graduation gift, and it was AMAZING! I would definitely go back in a heartbeat! Sicily would be amazing to see! I hope you are able to see both very soon! 🙂
      I just looked Boa Vista up, and it looks INCREDIBLE! Wow, I can only imagine how amazing that trip was! I hope you are able to see the rest of the islands soon as well! 🙂

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  31. You have some really great photos of the Blue-footed booby and the frigate bird. Congratulations! I definitely want to get to the Galapagos. I want to see marine iguanas and have done since I was a kid. My son is 5 so I’ll wait until he is old enough to remember the experience. Dream destination for me? Papua New Guinea to see Birds of Paradise. Favourite trip? Hmm, tough one but it might be Komodo Island, or Borneo.

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    1. Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words! I hope that you are able to get to the Galapagos one day with your son! It is truly an incredible experience!
      Wow! Papa New Guinea would be absolutely incredible! I would also love to see birds of paradise! Also, Komodo Island is definitely high up on my bucket list! I would LOVE to see Komodo dragons in the wild! Thank you for reading! 🙂

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      1. If you scroll down far enough on my blog you will find my article about Komodo dragons. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life. The post actually got selected by WordPress to be featured on the old version of Discover, called ‘Freshly Pressed’.

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