Attenbro's Galapagos

 There are only so many photos one should take or share from vacation... Fortunately we were joined on our adventure by a local expert to reflect upon the scenery. 

Galapagos is known for the odd birds that make the islands their homes. Penguins and frigates abound, but it is the boobies that adorn t-shirts and amass in numbers. 

We also encountered a variety of reptiles happy to sun themselves in the warmth of the equator. They are a ways removed from their mainland kin, snorting salt and swimming or climbing trees for flowers.

While the birds may thrive, it comes with a cost.

These islands are often associated with Darwin's expedition. It has been a long time since adventurers braved volcano heat and extended voyages with minimal fresh water. 

Our predictions for the rest of the year were a bit off. I think this poor fella's training may have to continue for an event in 2021 (2024)?

The Galapagos is highly rated as a destination for elderly couples. They come to the mangroves from around the world. The majesty and beauty of nature. We sailed on the appropriately named 'Beagle' and took pangas to excursions.

While the equator gives lots of sun, ocean currents from the deep ensure that the water is very cold. We still went in for snorkeling at least once a day and often twice. Thank goodness for the buoyancy of salt water and suits to make it easy to swim alongside various critters.

There were sharks, rainbow fish, eels, and corrals. Occasionally playful sea lions would take a break from nap time to cool off in the water as well. The sea turtles were absolutely gorgeous show stoppers every time.

Our last full day on the islands brought excellent luck - a giant dolphin pod! The bell rang on deck and everyone rushed to get into swim suits and onto pangas. Sunscreen was too slow, there were dolphins to see! We'd been fortunate to see a dolphin pod on an earlier day, but we'd been returning from and island so merely motored alongside. This time, we got to swim near as well. We'd drop out, the dolphins would overtake, then we'd get back in the pangas to motor ahead and jump in the water once more. Mary was incredibly fortunate and ended up going a slightly different direction than most. She was on top of multiple mums and babies and estimated 3-4 dozen pass by while she was in the water.

It's hard to be as graceful with fake flippers.

Gratuitous there were lots of photo dump now:

The Beagle's tourists + guide

The Beagle itself

Gardens and Monkeys

Andrew finally caved and bought a hoodie to stave off the morning chill. Which is well, since we took an early-ish train to Arashiyama--a district in western Kyoto nationally designated as a place of scenic beauty! It was only a few degrees that morning but the sun was out and doing its best. Arashiyama is known for temples, its monkey park, and the famous bamboo grove. Once off the train we made a beeline for the grove, as it fills up very quickly with tourists even in the off season.

Found these cuties on the way

These ones too

The walk was about 700m and had a small shrine in the middle. A crew was harvesting some bamboo as well; I hadn't considered that the grove was an active farm before seeing that. After exiting the path we found a small park, and saw our first cherry blossoms! We weren't sure if we would be too early in the season to see them, but this bodes well for the final days of our trip. They are very fragrant; the pink smell more fruity, the white more floral.

Tucked in to the south of the bamboo grove is Tenryū-ji, a 14th century Zen temple that features a beautiful garden. Over the years it grew to incorporate over 150 shrines and subtemples, some of which have survived. The complex was devastated by no fewer than five fires over the centuries, and most of what you see today was reconstructed after the most recent fire during the mid 19th century. The main temple itself--what you're allowed to visit anyway--is fairly empty. Mostly large, open, tatami-floored rooms used for tea ceremonies.

Wood carving of Gautama Buddha

If you're ever in the area, check out the garden but skip the temple (admission is separate). It's open-air and you can see most of what's accessible from the grounds anyway.

After our time in Tenryū-ji we walked south a few blocks and found ourselves at the foot of a small mountain. If you've been following the blog you know what that means! Lucky for us the trail was paved and there happened to be a convenient monkey park partway up, so we stopped there. This protected area houses a troupe of 140 Japanese Macaques, which is larger than one you'd find in the wild. These monkeys live for about thirty years, and are found the farthest north of any primate (with one notable exception writing this post). They've documented and named every macaque living here for as long as the park has been around, which is about forty years! For a paltry 100¥ you can even feed the little rascals peanuts or apples, what's not to love?

Getting all the sun they can

One can only feed them from inside the hut

The monkeys were very docile around humans, even walking up to and around the groups on the observation deck. There was clearly a pecking order between them however, with some larger males chasing off smaller ones from the feeding area. Babies weren't safe either, and we had to hand bites of apple directly to the small ones to avoid them having it stolen. For example, check out this clip.

Konichiwa!

Our travels have found us in Japan after a red-eye flight from Hanoi to Osaka. Luckily we had lots of fantastic coffee in Vietnam to tide us over. The weather is quite a bit colder here, which should ease us back in to Edmonton's climate in a couple of weeks (boo!).

Some don't mind the cold

In fact our first order of business was to pick up a sweater for Mary, as well as try out some local snacks like taiyaki, okonomiyaki, and fried Japanese maple leaves. The production of the latter is quite involved, as they need to pickle leaves picked right off the tree for a full year before frying.

Taiyaki; fish-shaped baked dough with red bean filling

Okonomiyaki; a savoury pancake with lots of flavour

Momiji tempura; crunchy!

The maple leaves were purchased on the way up to Minoh Falls north of Osaka. While it is still early in the year and some trees are still bare, it was a very picturesque hike with a small temple along the way.

She heard me yell "duck!"

 Nyoirinkannon temple

Once we reached the waterfall, we were only a few short kilometres from Katsuō-ji, a temple dedicated to "victor's luck". It was established in 765, but given this name in 880 when the emperor credited his recovery from illness to praying here. Upon arriving at this temple we noticed something... different.

Can't shake the feeling I'm being watched...

Daruma are a sort of good luck charm, so it's fitting the the temple would be absolutely covered with them. When created and painted, their eyes are left blank. When a person acquires one, they make a wish and paint or draw on one eye. The other eye is completed once the wish is fulfilled, and some people bring their finished daruma here to Katsuō-ji to bask in concentrated luck.

There are at least 9 in this shot alone

Have you counted them all?

Seriously there's a quiz at the end

There's even a labyrinth if you're in to that sort of thing

With all the sights seen--and the rain beginning to fall--it was time to make our way back down the mountain. It was getting chilly, and we only brought so many snacks you see.

Definitely punctured my jeans