'Little Earners'.....The 'Silver Fox' and the butterfly net!

The 'Silver Fox' as he is affectionately known, is a legend among Cruise Directors, colleagues and friends.

His abilities in dealing with staff, passengers and associates are second to none.

Part of the 'old school' he worked his way through the Hotel and Pursers departments, (normal in those days),  before settling in the entertainment department, therefore his 'working knowledge' of ships, is vast.

His eye for talent was also impeccable, as he was the one who hired me for my first ship's contract!

He was also the one, two years later, who recommended me for my first post as Cruise Director, therefore I have much to be grateful to the 'Silver Fox'.

He was also responsible, directly or indirectly for where I am today, (a beachbum!).

During a transatlantic crossing to New York, I received instruction from Head Office that the following day, upon arrival in New York, I was to leave the ship and fly to St. Martin in the Caribbean to join the Cunard Countess . There I would spend one week getting familiar with the ship and the itinerary, then take over as Cruise Director.

The person I was to take over from was the 'Silver Fox'. He had been seconded from the QE2 some months earlier, to sort out problems that had arisen concerning a previous Cruise Director who had been fired, as a result of being discovered taking 'back-handers' from various tour operators.

  (In reality, it was the Silver Fox, some years earlier who had initiated the 'back-handers' in the first place, so it was, in effect putting the fox in charge of the chicken coup.) 

The 'back-handers' from the tour operators was just one of several 'opportunities' to make a little bit on the side and quite lucrative. These 'opportunities' cost the company nothing, if anything they gained, by the Cruise Director having incentive to sell the excursions. However, Head Office 'big cheeses' had now, through the 'neglect' of the previous Cruise Director got their teeth into the 'sorry mess' and were determined to put a stop to it!.... and to a large extent, they did.

 However the 'Silver Fox' did manage to quietly maintain the 'relationship' with certain tour operators he knew very well and whom he could trust.

Despite the partial demise of the bounty from the tour operators, thankfully the main 'little earner' in the Caribbean, was still in tact. 

Some years previously the 'Silver Fox' had worked around the Caribbean on the same ship, the Cunard Countess. It was then he established contacts in many of the ports, Tortola, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Maartin, San Juan and particularly St. Thomas.

Megan's Bay, St. Thomas USVI

Main Street, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI

Apart from its geographical attractions, with  stunning beaches and ‘pirate’ history, St. Thomas is a mecca for shopping and of particular interest to Americans who gain large duty free allowances on all purchases made on the island. Of particular interest was jewellery and liquor.

The call to St. Thomas was weekly, in fact every Friday, prior to most passengers disembarking the ship the following morning in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As Friday was a full day and evening in port, the Cruise Director would present, on Thursday evening before dinner……….

‘An important and Informative talk on Disembarkation procedures in San Juan and advice on getting the best from the visit to St. Thomas - It is very important that all passengers  attend this talk’

The Lounge would be packed to the seams, the main reason being, to gain assurances  for  the arrangements for disembarkation  in San Juan.

With a captive audience, the Cruise Director, whose podium resembled more a market stall than a lecture stand, with sample merchandise festooned around him, would firstly talk about the shopping opportunities in St. Thomas. His opening lines would be, 'be careful when you are shopping in St. Thomas, not everything you see is what it seems’…..and knowing the big attraction to buying jewellery, he would add ‘And remember, all that glitters is not gold!’ .......Now he had their attention!

He would then proceed to work his way around the map of the town, which had previously been distributed around the room, highlighting the best buys from each ‘contributing’ shop.

Ending his presentation with the disembarkation procedures.

Friday was a relatively easy day as passengers headed off on their shopping frenzy.

The main job for the Cruise Director was later in the day, to do his rounds of the shops collecting his 'little earner'.

On one occasion, late Friday afternoon, the Hotel Manager …. Let’s call him 'Arsee', who 

was at his funniest when he was angry, inquired, in a loud voice as to the whereabouts of the Cruise Director. ‘Stupid bloody question’ he retorted to himself, ‘he’ll be heading down St. Thomas Main Street with his butterfly net!’

I managed a slice of the ‘good time cake’ for which me and my Bank Manager are grateful, but eventually a former Cruise Director with another company, created a business (complete with glossy brochure) promoting, through an official shopping lecturer, all the major shops around the Caribbean Islands, giving a percentage of the commission to the shipping company. So, another ‘little earner’ had bitten the dust.

The cruise companies were now well aware of the various ‘opportunities’ and began closing the net.

 Bingo and Horse Racing were now being run by the on board Casino.

The Tour Operators had been threatened that if there was any indication of 'back handers' with the Cruise Director or Tour Manager, they would be fired.

One day, the ‘Silver Fox’ came to me in a distraught state …..’Dear Boy’ he said ‘I needed some cash and had to make out a personal cheque’…….’ I haven’t made out a personal cheque for cash in over  30 years at sea’…….His signing hand was shaking as he spoke.

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Post Script....Bingo was affectionately referred to as 'Madam Garcia'.  The popularity for Bingo, varied from cruise to cruise, depending on the ports and the nationality of the passengers. The fund, both for the passenger jackpot (which was directly connected to our 'little earner') would accumulate as the cruise progressed, some cruises better than others.
If any of the participating staff were curious as to how the Bingo fund was accumulating, they would ask as to the well-being of 'Madam Garcia'....How is Madam Garcia? .....she could have been in any number of conditions, sometimes 'very well' ..... sometimes 'could be better' ......sometimes 'sick'..... or at the very worst..... 'terminally ill' 
However, the 'Silver Fox' kept a gold Rolls Royce on the dockside in Southampton, which he affectionately referred to as his 'company car'! assuring us that 'Madam Garcia' for the most part was in excellent health!


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P.P.S......You had to keep your eye on the ball if you were running these 'little earners'!
On one occasion, the word got to us that the ship's auditors were on board, doing random checks...
A minor panic ensued, which required, amongst other things, to  ‘off-load', mid Atlantic, a batch of illicitly acquired Bingo tickets.
The only way, so as not to be seen, was to dispatch the tickets through the port hole in the Cruise Director's quarters.

The deed was done in the dead of night, only to find, in the cold light of day some of the departed tickets were stuck to the side of the ship. We tried buckets of water, to no avail then providence intervened by way of a heavy thunder storm, duly delivering the tickets to the ‘deep’. Phew!

Thank you 'Silver Fox'.


The beachbum

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'Little Earners'....Maps......now what could be interesting about maps??

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has been involved with Cruise Ships for any length of time that there were always opportunities to make money on the side, (in the good old days).

The Maitre D’, Hotel Manager, Chief Purser, Doctor, Cruise Director, Chief Officer, Chief Engineer, Food and Beverage Manager, even the Captain had chances then,  to supplement their salaries.

The maps scenario is just one of many ‘little earners’ which benefited the Cruise Director and his staff and so simple you may wonder why it was never discovered.

The ship was the Cunard Countess and as I explained on previous blogs, she had a regular two week run around the Caribbean, so regular in fact that you knew the day of the week by the port you were visiting.

Passenger Giveaways, as they were called, were items such as pens, wallets, the famous umbrellas etc. usually with a company logo and used as prizes for passengers participating in entertainment activities such as daily quizzes, crosswords, fancy dress competitions, talent shows etc. They were bought in bulk and could be used for other ships in the fleet. However, the maps were personal to the ship as they showed the ship's two week itinerary.

As with other ‘giveaways’, the ordering and printing was arranged by Head Office in New York  and flown down to San Juan, Puerto Rico. During a cost cutting exercise, it was ’discovered’  the maps, including printing and air freight, were actually costing the company around $3.50 per map.

Step in Jose’ (yes him again!)….the Assistant Cruise Director who visited a print shop in St. Thomas and presented the company with a price of $1 per map. (not actually true, but I’ll explain later) and no air freight involved as we visited St. Thomas every Friday.

The company was pleased with the large cost reduction and gave the ship permission to purchase ‘locally’.

The actual price given by the print shop in St. Thomas was 50c per map, which was the first 'rub'.

The rest is a fictitious scenario, but close to actuality…..

1,000 maps were ordered at a real cost of $500 however the company were happy with the $1 per map they had been advised  and the printer was happy  receiving the order and made out the invoice for $1,000. That was the first $500 ‘in the pocket’.

If we said, for arguments sake, we gave away 50 maps per week (through the books) in reality, we only gave away 25, the other 25 were put to one side (under the bed). By the time all 1,000 maps had been ‘given away‘, there were still 500 under the bed.

With a blank invoice acquired from the printer in St. Thomas, we received another $500 for the 500 maps, which were then transferred from under the bed, back to the prize cupboard.

That’s the second $500 ‘in the pocket‘ for the same batch of maps.

Working on the same principle, when the next 500 maps were ‘given away’, there were still 250 under the bed and with another blank invoice from the printer, we had an additional $250.

So, a batch of 1,000 maps had made upwards of $1250 profit.

Returning to the print shop for a re-order of 1,000 maps, the system would start again.

The costing of the ‘passenger giveaways’  as a whole, was still within budget, therefore, never queried.

Thanks Jose’

The beachbum

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Another few jobs Done.....

I was talked out of using Koy, Poy and Fat for painting the house, as most of the paint apparently, ends up anywhere but the walls.......however, clearing land drains really good.

Following last night's thunderstorms there was no water backing up.....great.

and replacing the Sala roof is right 'up their street'.

Precariously perched, but no problem!

Sea Gypsy brothers, Koy, Poy and Fat. (and not a Beer Chang in sight!)

Post Script......This is how they end up when they're painting.

Thanks guys

The beachbum

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Venezuela and its Longing for........apples?

The Cunard Countess had cruised the Caribbean for all of her life with Cunard Line and as with other Cunard ships, had led the trend for cruising rather than following it. Her home berth was Pier 1 San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the days when there were only 4 berths. (there are now, upwards of 30)

For many years, the Countess had carried primarily American passengers, along with a small number from Puerto Rico, however, it was decided as more and more larger ships were being built and heading for the Caribbean, to re-think the marketing strategy  and extend it to Europe and particularly Britain and Germany.  Also, to make the itinerary different from their competitors, to include Venezuela, South America.

 

The Countess ran a two week itinerary around the Caribbean Islands and following a ‘juggle round’ of the ports, it was decided  the only feasible run  to La Guara, was from Grenada, one of the most south easterly of the islands. It still required ‘break neck’ speed to get from Grenada to La Guara and from La Guara back to the ‘islands’ thus giving only a 6 hour window in which to run the required excursion to Caracas, the Capital of Venezuela, located approximately 120 Kilometres from the port of La Guara.

La Guara itself offered little to passengers, just hillsides filled with precariously perched shanty villages.

Caracas by contrast, in all its splendour.

It was imperative therefore that the ship’s ‘clearance’ (a procedure requiring the ship’s paperwork to be submitted to the relevant authorities in each port of call; Immigration, Customs, Health etc) be done quickly, so as not to delay the passengers' departure from the ship. Upon docking, a ‘drove’ of uniformed officers glittering in braded gold,  headed up the gangway, reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado, with the Lord High Chief of Police, the Lord High Chief of Port, the Lord High Chief of Immigration, the Lord High Chief of Customs, the Lord High Chief of Health and probably the Lord High Executioner!

Clearance was long and drawn out, not helped by the fact that Spanish was their first language, but mainly because this Military Junta ran  a culture of corruption and a Cruise ship was an opportunity not to be missed.

The clocked ticked by and  an anxious Captain, aware of the tight schedule, summoned the Assistant Cruise Director, let’s call him…. Jose’ who was Spanish, to try to speed up the process.  (Jose’s brother, Hose B... worked for the Spanish Fire Service). Jose' went along armed with cartons of duty free cigarettes and liquor (the usual tools for such occasions)  to discover, that what they wanted additionally, were……… …..apples!!

We had left our home port of San Juan only two days previously, therefore the ‘store cupboard’ to feed 700 passengers and 350 crew, was full. Several cases of apples along with the already distributed duty free goods were duly delivered to the ‘scrambled egg’ brigade and within a short time the ship was ‘cleared’.

The hierarchy made their way from the ship to the terminal building and the passengers headed to their coaches.

On a PR or opportunists mission,  Jose’ chatted to the various officials to ensure a quick clearance for our next visit. They soon realised from the ship’s log, the Countess visited St. Thomas US Virgin Islands, each Friday and knowing  St. Thomas was a duty free port asked if it was possible to get cases of whisky  in St. Thomas and bring to them in La Guara. - with a view to the ‘officials’ selling them on. It soon became clear however, Jose’ would first of all have to put up the money and get his payment the subsequent visit.

In ‘Lord High speak‘  …’Is it possible?’…’ means... ‘either bring the Johnnie Walker or the ship won’t be cleared!‘  .

Prior to the next Venezuelan visit, the apple order for the ship’s stores was increased and Jose' bought and paid for several dozen cases of Johnnie Walker from Rise’s Liquor Store in St. Thomas. The liquor was delivered to the ship and Jose'  with the help of the Chief Officer, found a suitably large locker, located near the gangway to store the ‘in-transit’ bounty.

Upon arrival in La Guara, a small army of ship’s staff  delivered apples and the liquor to the terminal building….. The ship was ‘cleared’ instantly and the passengers departed the ship on time.

Jose' had forked out several hundred dollars and now he had to sweat for two weeks to get his money back. Having  seized the opportunity, he had already added on his own percentage, however, 10% of Zero is Zero……..You can’t exactly take a foreign Military Junta to court, for non-payment!

Two weeks passed and upon arrival a similar routine took place. Liquor and apples slid down the gangway in a slick coordinated manoeuvre. Once the passengers had left for their tours, Jose‘, big of breath and  cap, or rather sombrero in hand, went to see the Venezuelan Liquor Sellers.

Keeping to their word, they handed over the cash from the sales of the previous visit and so the arrangement continued……..with no cost to the shipping company, other than the apples and a few fags.

It was some months or maybe a year later a different Captain had been appointed to the ship. The Captain who will be nameless, was very much a ‘company’ man and insisted everything was done by the book.

During a weekly Captain’s Inspection (a routine on all ships) he opened a Bosun’s locker, to find it filled to the deck head with Whisky. Upon investigation he then discovered  the Venezuelan arrangement. Jose' was hauled in front of the Captain and told in no uncertain terms the arrangement had to stop.

The ship arrived in La Guara…… liquorless!

The Venezuelan Authorities took several hours to clear the ship.

The ship’s departure was considerably delayed,  with a knock-on effect of a series of late arrivals in the up-coming ports of call…….

Following major passenger complaints, it was decided, much to the chagrin of  the Captain, to reinstate the liquor arrangement and the Bosun’s locker was back in action.

Post Script.....Due to continued unrest in Venezuela (as the abundance of armed Police on the street corners verified) it was eventually decided to change the itinerary and drop the call to Venezuela…..……. 

However, for Jose‘, the ample pickings from this foray into South America, rattled much louder than his castanets!

The beachbum

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Ukraine....Released from 'Mother's' Apron Strings.....

The Cunard Princess, like the Countess was one of the best ships to work, for many reasons. The itineraries were interesting and varied and the Captain, officers and crew, exceptional. The ports we covered were often off the beaten track, mainly around the Mediterannean during the summer and more conventional ports around the Canary  Islands in the winter. The Black Sea cruises, usually beginning in Venice, would include Istanbul and the Bosporus. The highlight of these cruises was undoubtedly the ports of the Ukraine.

In 1922 following the Russian Civil War, Ukraine emerged as one of he founding republics of the Soviet Union. It became independent in 1991 which started a period of transition to a market economy, in which Ukraine was stricken with an eight-year recession......
By 2011 it had become the worlds 3rd biggest grain exporter.

In the early 90’s following Perestroika, it took some time for the idea that things had changed, and in theory, had become more open. It wasn't getting to the ‘shop-floor’. Each visit we made to the Ukraine and in particular to Yalta and Odessa, saw different rules and regulations in place and in some cases that nothing had changed.

Initially, as with the old regime, passengers were not allowed ashore unless they took organised excursions,  then on subsequent visits, they were allowed to buy a visa upon arrival, but valid for that particular day and that port only.

The cost of a ‘Visa upon Arrival’ initially was $50 but of course, 99% of passengers opted for the organised excursions therefore there were few if any ‘takers’. Subsequent visits saw the ‘Visa’ price reduce to $25 then to $5. Now Visa requirements are clear and 'set'.

Odessa and Yalta are equally beautiful cities and quite different. Odessa a Sea Port and Yalta a resort and  Spa Town. Yalta was particularly badly hurt by their new found independence, as this Resort Town, nestled at the foot of the Crimean Mountains had been a thriving Spa Town for ‘Party Members’. Now, with the end of the Union and in the midst of a deep recession,  its grand hotels were empty, becoming tired and dilapidated. 

There were few cars on the streets and little  interest in the shops,  however, both Yalta and Odessa, and particularly Yalta, had become a Mecca for artisans and artists who displayed their works along the waterfront. Others, more ‘opportunistic’ were selling former Soviet uniforms and watches.

It was obviously a difficult time for this new country and inflation reflected the same. A tour guide I had the good fortune to meet, a lady, in her mid 40’s who had been a Tour Guide and School Teacher all of her working life, since leaving University gave me her story. She was single and had regularly put savings in her Bank Account. Following Perestroika and the inevitable ‘inflation’ she found that her ‘life savings’ were now only enough to buy a pair of shoes!

I was stunned by her philosophical and positive approach, but she considered herself to be one of the lucky ones, as she was still able to work.

An example of the desperate situation was explained to me when we arranged with our Yalta Agent to have a full day tour, to include a half day visiting the Swallow’s Nest, the Alupka and Levadia Palaces (where the Yalta Treaty was signed) followed by lunch and a show at the Yalta International Hotel. To afford the show through the official route would have made the price of the tickets to the passengers prohibitive, as any ‘commercial’ dealings, through the Agent were at an exchange rate of  $1 = 1 Rouble. 

The tourist rate, however was $1 = 30 Roubles. 

So as to make the show affordable, each visit to Yalta, I would go to the bank as a tourist and exchange the required amount .

The show, which followed an extravagant lunch , was spectacular, with a cast of around 90 including a 20 piece orchestra.

A spectacular show!

With equally spectacular dancing.

Egor, our Agent,  a tall and rather stern man at first glance, was delighted with the outcome and the reaction to the days events and would spend most of  the lunch rising to his feet and toasting (with Vodka shots) to his ‘special friends’ . If you didn’t drink the shot ‘ in one’ he would return to his well practiced ‘stern look’ and exclaim……..’You don’t lak de toast?’ ….at which point we would drain the shot glass……
We staggered out around 4pm.

The Livadia Palace where the Yalta Conference was held, following WW II

Prime attendees, Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin

The most famous landmark of the Crimea, Swallow's Nest, now an exclusive restaurant and where I had the pleasure of having lunch with a dear friend Hannelore (at the Agent's expense of course).

A similar arrangement was made for our visit to Odessa. With a ‘tourist’ rate of exchange, we were able to hire the Odessa Opera House, with a full Ballet Company and Orchestra, including the backstage and front of house staff, for the grand sum of $5,000.

A magnificent interior.

Thankfully, I wasn't there when, during one of our visits, the conductor died, mid ballet!

The Odessa Opera House is a ‘Vienna Style’ auditorium, with boxes all around the outer walls, which we would reserve for our VIP passengers and of course for ourselves.  For the VVIPs and most definitely for ourselves we would purchase a bottle of Shampanskoye (Russian Champagne)  for $1 from the Matruska  at the cloakroom counter.

The quality of Odessa champagne (Shampanskoye) was such they beat the French at their own game.
They won the coveted 'Grand Prix de Champagne' at a World Fair in Paris.

Odessa Wine Factory.

Communication into Ukraine at that time was unreliable and uncertain. We would send numerous messages with tour participation numbers but seldom received replies.

The saving grace was Egor the Agent who was totally reliable, organised and professional.

As I mentioned earlier, the rules changed from visit to visit so it came as no surprise when we received a message from our Head Office that the half day tours in Yalta wouldn’t be available for our future visits. Only the full day excursion would be operating. In reality and knowing the geography of the area, this was just a ploy to increase revenue, knowing that probably 90% of our passengers would take the full day excursion. The half day excursion took in the Alupka and Lavada Palaces, along with the Swallow’s Nest which were situated to the north of Yalta, then the coaches would have to practically drive past the ship to drive slightly to the south of the town to the Yalta International Hotel for lunch and show.

From a selling point of view, it was no hardship as we knew that both the lunch and the show were first class and thus cause no complaints but rather, achieve a high satisfaction level from our passengers.

During the course of the cruise as we were heading to the Black Sea, a gentleman passenger who I knew to be part of a group of around 30 people, asked me if there were vegetarian options for lunch.
(I’m not sure what my face was saying, but my mind was picturing the main course, which I had sampled many times and which I can only describe as resembling a ‘cow pie’! However, I put the ‘cow pie’ out of my head and said……’yes of course’ …..to which he asked if I could arrange for most of his group.

With no half day excursions available, I knew there would be upwards of around 600 passengers taking the full day tour and decided to send a message to Egor the Agent to ask if he would arrange for 45 vegetarian meals.

Upon arrival in Yalta, I left the ship ahead of the passengers to check if Egor had received the up to date information I had sent. He was standing erect, with his ‘organised , stern look’ with clipboard in hand.
‘Good morning Egor’
‘Good mornink’
‘Did you receive the information I sent to you?’
‘Yes’ and allowed me to share his clipboard…..’Boos von to fifteen, for the English speakink passengers, Boos 16 for the German speakink passengers, Boos seventeen for the Spanish speakink passengers and Boos eighteen for the wegetarians!’
At this point, I couldn’t restrain myself  but Egor didn’t see the funny side.
I said ‘Egor, we can’t gather together the vegetarians, as I have no idea who they are.
Egor looked at me with disdain and said, 'they will be better all together as I have arranged a wegetarian guide!’

As I glanced along the regimented line of buses, there was Bus No.18 ’Cunard Vegetarians’ and a pale waif standing by the coach door who I guess was the vegetarian guide.

(I had visions of the passengers heading for the buses and having to interviewing each one……Mr. Brown, are you vegetarian?…..’Yes but my wife isn’t’ …well sorry you won’t be able to travel with your wife today!!!!!

And the Tour Guide……‘Good mornink ladies and gentlemen. My name is Svetlana and I’m vegetarian!
As we go along the road, please ignore the cows on the left and the sheep on the right and concentrate on the vegetables in front!!!!’

I finally persuaded Egor to take down the ’Vegetarian’ sign and everyone went on their merry way, with their companions. The Dutch Manager of the hotel had everything in hand and the vegetarians along with the carnivores had a brilliant day.

During lunch, Egor made the usual numerous vodka toasts to ‘special friends’ and after the show, we staggered back to the ship.

I blame Egor and the vodka shots for the fact that we always left the hotel in a weak state of mind and unable, under the circumstances to say ‘NO’ to the street sellers, hence ending up with a wardrobe full of  Russian Army uniforms.

The beachbum

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Galapagos ....Part 2

continued.......

Arriving on the islands in the dead of night, we had no concept of our surroundings and only in the morning were able to take in the strangely dry, flat, untropical and at a glance, dreary and lifeless landscape around us. However, as the hours passed we soon began to realise the wild, fascinating and varied experiences we had before us.

There hadn't been rainfall on most of the islands for in excess of 300 days prior to our arrival, hence what at a glance appeared limestone deposits, were in fact bird guano, deposited and built up during the hot dry days and nights.

What appear to be lifeless trees in the background of the picture below, in fact conserve their strength and only produce leaves when the tree is 'desperate' for water, then captures enough 'morning dew' to sustain its life.

And so, to our friend the Blue Footed Booby!

Although not an endemic species the Blue Footed Booby is one of the most popular amongst visitors to the Galapagos Islands. They are actually found on several islands along the South American western coastline, but mainly around the Galapagos Islands.

It’s a  long winged seabird which only needs land for breeding and prefers rocky terrain.

The courtship of the Blue-footed Booby consists of the male flaunting his blue feet and dancing to impress the female. (I know a few like that)

 The Blue-footed Booby is a monogamous animal although has been known to be otherwise (I know a few people like that too)

I'm not sure if she works clockwise or anti clockwise, but she certainly spreads it around!

Again, not endemic to the Galapagos but the Frigate Bird is a colourful addition to the wierd and wonderful collection of fauna.

and in flight.....

The Great Frigatebird is a long winged seabird found in many areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. 

The Waved Albatross  also known as Galapagos Albatross, is the only member of this group of seabirds, located in the tropics. When they forage, the Waved Albatross follow straight paths to a single site off the coast of Peru  about 1,000 km (620 mi) distant to the east.

The Red Footed Booby almost looks a 'poor relation' in comparison to its relatives with those distinctive, camp Blue dancing Feet.

The Land Iguana surveying its terrain, or more likely, warming up for the day ahead.

Charles Darwin described the Galapagos Land Iguana as "ugly animals, of a yellowish orange beneath, and of a brownish-red colour above: from their low facial angle they have a singularly stupid appearance." The Galapagos Land Iguana grows to a length of three to five feet with a body weight of up to twenty-five pounds, depending upon which island they are from. Being coldblooded, they absorb heat from the sun by basking on the volcanic rock and at night sleep in burrows to conserve their body heat.

Not easy to find despite the lack of land cover, but there two in this picture.

and one decides to make a run for it!

The Galapagos Penguin is a penguin endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It is the only penguin that lives north of the equator in the wild; it can survive due to the cool temperatures resulting from the Humbolt Current and cool waters from great depths brought up by the Cromwell Current.

The Galápagos sea lion is a species of sea lion, which exclusively breeds on the Galapagos Islands.

And my only glimpse of the underwater world around these island was to see a beautiful Green backed Turtle.

A curious fur seal investigates a 'Sally Lightfoot' Crab and family....mmm lunch I think.

And here's Sally in glorious technicolour!

The Marine Iguana is an iguana found only on the Galapagos Islands that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to live and forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile.

A close-up of 'Lonesome George' the longest living Giant Tortoise in the world.

The Galápagos tortoise  is the largest living species of tortoise, reaching weights of over 400 kg (880 lb) and lengths of over 1.8 meters (5.9 ft). With life spans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates. A captive individual lived at least 170 years.

Varying shell sizes and varied characteristics, depending on the environment they were found, contributed to Darwin’s theory of evolution.

During the survey voyage of HMS Beagle, Darwin had no idea of the significance of the birds of the Galápagos. He had learned how to preserve bird specimens while at the University of Edinburgh and had been keen on shooting, but he had no expertise in ornithology and by this stage of the voyage concentrated mainly on geology. In Galápagos he mostly left bird shooting to his servant Syms Covington.  Nonetheless, these birds were to play an important part in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

On the Galápagos Islands and afterward, Darwin thought in terms of "centres of creation"

And this little fella, is where all the 'fuss' began.

One of the 'finches' or as Ornithologists call them 'little brown things'.

 Darwin's finches (also known as the Galápagos finches) are a group of about 15 species of passerine birds. It is still not clear which bird family they belong to, but they are not related to the true finches, however, despite their different characteristics they are thought to have come from a single ancestor (Significant in Darwin’s theories) They were first collected by Charles Darwin on the Galápagos Islands during the second voyage of the Beagle.

So, I hope you enjoyed the 'whistle stop' tour of the Galapagos Islands.

Weeks, not days are what's needed to really see this extraordinary part of the world.

Anyway, I'll wave Goodbye and hopefully see you again.....

The beachbum.

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