Last May, I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Galápagos Islands of Charles Darwin Fame. As expected, I discovered the Island offered many opportunities for photography and was not disappointed in the slightest. Between the seals, iguanas, Blue Footed Boobies, and the pelicans, there was so much to take in and enjoy.

Nature proved to be fun to watch. I was observing a pelican feeding when suddenly a ballsy bird swooped in, smashing the pelican in the head which caused it’s mouth to balloon out and snatched the fish the pelican had just caught. I had no idea the pelican’s mouth could even balloon out like this so it was interesting to watch on many levels.

Of course, the island also served as a reminder that what’s beautiful can also be deadly. The island is home to a tree known as the Manchineel which features perfect looking leaves and produces a fruit that looks like an small crab apples. The leaves being perfect was an unusual detail as insects or animals tend to damage or chew leaves randomly on most plants I’ve seen. I later learned that the tree has no natural enemies as the sap is toxic to most life and three of those apples could kill a human being. Nearly every part of the manzanilla de la muerte, aka “The Little Apples of Death”. tree is toxic and even taking shelter under it during a rainstorm is said to be extremely painful as the water mixes with the toxins which rain down below.

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of said tree and perfect leaves but please enjoy the gallery of photos I did manage to take.