My trip to the Galapagos Islands in 2014 inspired a new range of paintings, pictured above. I was so overwhelmed by the experience I wasn't able to put my paintbrushes when I got back! The unique species that roam these Pacific islands inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and it’s easy to see why. The Galapagos is host to the only waved albatross breeding colony in the world as well its very own endemic penguin, the Galapagos penguin - and each separate island is home to a different species of giant tortoise.
Remarkable creatures such as blue-footed boobies and magnificent frigate birds fill the skies whilst Sally Lightfoot crabs, named after a nimble Caribbean dancer for the way it deftly tiptoes across the sand, scuttling across the beaches. I couldn’t help imagining what it must have been like for Darwin to see these creatures for the first time when he landed there in 1835. Apparently there was no artist to record the species that he saw because the expedition’s official artist had been made redundant shortly before Darwin landed in Galapagos. As I traced his footsteps across these incredible islands, I felt inspired to make up for that lack of images and vowed to bring back as many drawings, photographs and video footage of my own trip.
https://youtu.be/wRDZqaES3Gw?list=PLx09JDaWUEFNNLS5JFeTIacC2s-nd4vgb
Even the landscape there is other-worldly. On some islands the sand on the beaches was a volcanic black whilst on others it was a deep red colour cut through with jutting black lava rock. The effect, on seeing a flushed pink greater flamingo picking its way across a brackish lagoon or a group of marine iguanas crowding the black rock, is almost surreal. But one of the most exhilarating things about the entire experience was the way in which you could walk amongst the wildlife.
Right from the first moment we arrived, we were in amongst the throngs of weird and wonderful creatures. There is supposed to be a rule that you are not allowed within seven feet of wildlife and that you must stick to the paths, but you try telling that to the land iguanas or giant tortoises sunbathing on these marked trails. In fact you have a job not to stand on the mocking birds, lava lizards land iguanas and even sea lions that team underfoot – you even come across them in the town fish markets as they jostle for titbits whilst the fishermen gut their catch. And in the water the wildlife is so unperturbed by human presence that turtles glide round you and sea lions brush against your legs as you snorkel in the clear waters.
My two children, five-year-old Lily and two-year-old Ruby, delighted at seeing sea lions jumping the waves like porpoises as they swam in the shallow surf. My family had joined me on a tour of the islands that I was leading in conjunction with the Beverley-based tour operator, Think Galapagos. My group and I were snorkeling in James Bay, on Isabela Island, which is notable for its black sand, when we came across a group of five sea lions in a large crevice in the reef.
Looking down, it looked like a roofless cave that ended in a point. The two youngest sea lions waited in the overhangs while the three others corralled their prey, lunging at them and herding them with their fins. Interestingly they also deliberately blew walls of bubbles to cause confusion. They drove the fish to the point of the triangular crevice and then caught them once they were trapped against the walls. The fish were small, only a few inches long, and must have constituted a small snack for the sea lions, the equivalent to a bag of crisps for us. The hunt caused so much confusion in the water that it took us a while before we noticed that all around us was an unexpectedly high number of onlooking predator fish, including pacific creole, flag cabrilla and young barracudas.
It turned out that these species were all taking advantage of the sea lion hunt and the concentration of small fish being crowded into the cave. At times the sea lions would come up for air just inches away from us, before quickly diving back down and sometimes they even bumped into one of us. Most of the time, however, their movements were precise. One sea lion actually jumped over one of our guests and when another headed towards me, I opened my legs and it swam between them. We watched spellbound for what seemed like ages and then the sea lions sped off towards the open sea.
I tried keeping pace with them, snorkeling as fast as I could. But they can reach a considerable speed effortlessly. Soon they lost me and I watched, frustrated, as they disappeared into the deep blue. It’s funny to think that on land our roles are reversed and they become the clumsy ones. I noticed them suddenly veer over to the beach where my wife and daughters were playing in the surf and when I caught up with them again I was amazed to see them all swimming around Ruby who was in a yellow inflatable ring. It seems they were just curious about the ring and had stopped their hunt to go and investigate.
It wasn’t long before they began corralling shoals of small fish back towards their underwater trap again and this time I kept pace as they herded their catch a distance of about 150 yards back. It was easier following them this time as they were slowed down by the job in hand and I watched as we rounded a rocky corner and the cave came into sight. One sea lion swam ahead to direct the shoal into the trap. It was fascinating to watch and I was grateful of the opportunity to witness their technique all over again.
Below is my footage of this sea lion hunt and some of my photographs too.
https://youtu.be/AFNXDCOAxJM?list=PLx09JDaWUEFNNLS5JFeTIacC2s-nd4vgb
