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We made home safely.  If you read the Guayaquil post previously when there weren't any photos,  check it out again because we uploaded a few photos to go with it.

Hope to see you soon!  Click on this link for a quick summary of our trip until we do see you...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAkruBudOvo&feature=youtu.be

Update:  Here's the full length video...
http://youtu.be/Ao2OSjZ2g4E

Ecuador: Bonus Post Guayaquil

After sadly leaving behind the magical Galapagos Islands we had to stay overnight in mainland Ecuador. The way that the flights worked out we landed in Guayaquil, Ecuador yesterday in the afternoon and just checked into a hotel and relaxed (and tried to sort through our pictures/videos). On a whim we checked Trip Advisor about things to do a Guayaquil and read great reviews about a  3 hour tour....city tour that is. So I called the guide and miraculously he could fit us in for a tour this morning before our flight at 3pm. Guayaquil is the economic and professional center of Ecuador, where it's neighbor more inland, Quito is the political center. Our guide said, "Guayaquil is like New York, it makes all the money and Quito is like Washington DC, it spends all the money."

Less than 15 years ago tourists couldn't even walk around Guayaquil because it was dirty, dangerous, and ugly as per our guide. But over the last 15 years, the government has put a lot of effort into reforming the city and has really done a remarkable job. They built a beautiful esplanade right on Guayas River (but we will get to that in a minute). First stop was the Simon Bolivar Park, or as the locals call it the Iguana Park. This is a beautiful fenced in park right in the middle of the city, only about a city block in size. Besides being so beautiful, this park is famous for being home to over 200 land iguanas! They can climb trees or swim in the little ponds but they are everywhere....trust me, one of them pooped on me from a tree above! NICE! They are really funky looking with these strange "beards" that they wiggle around when they want to attract a mate. These iguanas will spend their entire lives in this park, being feed lettuce once a day by locals. They are like the Galapagos Marine Iguanas in their comfort-level with humans. Aside from sending us a message via excrement, they seemed like they couldn't care less if people were all around or not.

Then went to the esplanade and learned a lot about the independence of Guayaquil and Ecuador (although lets be honest, jeremy had a more than average understanding of these things prior to our tour...I however was essentially hearing the info for the first time). We saw some neat statues and the waterfront is just awesome! The esplanade is about 2 miles long and we walked its complete length. It has amazing landscaping with ponds, animals, and all kinds of clever walkways. They had several playgrounds and really unique structures dedicated to the 4 elements.

As we neared the end of the esplanade we could see a hill covered in colorful houses, which we learned was called Santa Ana Hill. This area used to be a slum until about 5 years ago when the government offered to fix up the houses and provide security and now it is a really unique place to see. We wound our way through and up Santa Ana Hill (444 steps!) and the views along the way were awesome. As part of remembering their past, the city has pictures posted on each of the buildings/homes they have restored (which was A LOT) and you can see the major improvements that have been made. Of course the ppl that live there are still the same and likely have many of the same challenges that they always had...just with prettier houses and now a chance to sell something to tourists on their way passing through.....but it is a really good effort to try to make this area safer and bring opportunity. We could see a nearby hill with similar houses only these have not been fixed up yet and you can see the homes are in disrepair. Currently the government is trying to work out a plan with that group of people next.

Finally we walked through a historic area where the homes are over 100 years old and still made of wood and bamboo. Most of the rest of the city is made of concrete or stone and the original homes were burned by pirates. Apparently since Guayaquil was once a major port (now the river is too shallow to support huge ships), it was destroyed by pirates on a number of occasions. The historic district is the only area of the city that was spared because it was fortified with cannons.

Then we took a 2 minute shower back at the hotel (remember the iguana poo) and caught a flight to Panama. We are one more flight away from JFK and the end of our adventure.
Thanks for following with us, stay tuned for Jeremy's teaser video (which he will post here soon) and eventually his documentary!

Happy Father's Day to you dads out there!!
XOXO

Galapagos Day 7- Cabo Rosa Lava Tunnels

This morning we woke up to heavy clouds (but no mist!), and took a 45 minute boat ride to Cabo Rosa Tunnels. En route, we saw another enormous manta ray leaping out of the water and then the boat driver circled around it and we could see it's massive dark shape under the surface. A little later in the ride, the guide started point to the side of the boat and it looked like 2 sharks were swimming parallel with each other, we could see 2 identical "fins" gliding through the water......but upon further inspection, it was the "corners" or edges of a single manta ray! They were 15ft apart! AMAZING!

As we approached the lava tunnels (by boat) the sun broke through the clouds and turned the water an incredible shade of blue. The tunnels have been formed by all of the volcanic eruptions in the highlands, as the hot lava hits the ocean its cools and forms rock formations. As the ocean slowly erodes the rock formations, these beautiful tunnels are formed. Actually, they are more like arches or bridges than tunnels.

Our boat driver literally weaved around these black lava rock formations and took us from wild ocean waves to still, crystal clear waters all around these formations. These rock outcroppings and shallow calm waters are home to blue footed boobies, sea lions, sea turtles, rays, fish, sharks, and all other kinds of creatures! We "parked" the boat at a large cluster of lava rocks and walked around. We got REALLY close to several blue footed boobies...we just cannot get over their crazy blue feet! It is just starting to be their mating season so they were making all kinds of strange whistles and noises and fluffing themselves up and strutting their blue feet for each other.

All around these black rocks, grows these wild cactus plants that look a little like saguaro cactus that we've seen in AZ. And surprisingly mangroves (which typically grow in more humid/lush areas of the world). We walked around the rocks for awhile then got back in the boat and eventually snorkeled through these passageways and arches. We saw a bunch of fish, 4 sea turtles, an eel, a big marble ray (this 3ft wide ray was nearly stepped on....it was only in 1ft of water!), and really cool rock formations!  Then we got back in the boat and ate some lunch (and warmed up...did I mention the water was SO COLD?!).

As we were sitting there eating, Jeremy noticed a huge flock of blue footed boobies 400 yards away all diving into the ocean in perfect synchronization. We had seen video about this same behavior before we came and gingerly asked the guide if he wouldn't mind having the boat driver get us closer. He was eager to check it out himself and we got within 50ft of hundreds of these blue footed boobies flying together then suddenly turning in mid-air, pressing their wings against themselves and torpedoing into the crashing waves.....all at the same time. Then the bobbed back to the surface, some having caught fish, some not, but all immediately getting back into formation to start the whole fly/dive process all over again!

Then we came back to the dock and were again surrounded by sea lions lounging all over the dock, pier, and occasionally sidewalks. We started on a walk, but a heavy mist settled in so we napped instead. When woke the rain was gone and we went for one last walk and saw 3 flamingos flying by.....just a typical night in the Galapagos.

We leave Isabela tomorrow at 5:30am, boat ride for 45 minutes to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz and then a 45 minute ride to Baltra to fly to mainland Ecuador. We will spend the night tomorrow in Guayaquil, then fly into JFK midnight on Sunday/Monday

Hope you are well and enjoying your weekend!

Signing out from Galapagos,
J and L

Galapagos Day 6 - Sierra Negra and Volcan Chico

Buenas Dias! This morning we took a grueling hike around the rim of Sierra Negra and to the top of the Volcan Chico (two of the active volcanoes on Isabela Island). It was grueling because there was a semi pleasant, but cold mist all morning, we hiked through some wicked mud (And ruined our shoes) and of course we went a total of 10 miles....did I mention to the top of a volcano? 

So we start the hike going through almost jungle-like thick vegetation. Ferns, guava plants, and moss covered trees were all around the trail....and you recall the cold mist. It was really wild....we were expecting to see a dinosaur around every turn! As we climbed higher out of the muck and lush greenery, we passed several lookouts into the crater of Sierra Negra, but the mist and clouds that we were hiking in completely obscured the view. Eventually, the landscape slowly changed into dry scrubby plants and cactus and we began walking on dry, solid ground!

After some time, we started to get higher than the clouds and mist and we could actually see Sierra Negra’s crater. Sierra Negra means Black Mountain in Spanish and it is the largest active volcanic crater in the world. It is 6 miles across and so big that whenever it erupts, all of the magma and lava is contained within the crater so that is can be viewed quite closely. Our guide actually showed us pictures from its last eruption in 2005. We could see the eastern side of the crater was barren and black since the last eruption happened on that side. The rest of the crater, which was only marginally disturbed by the last eruption had all kinds of vegetation and life.

We continued to hike along the rim of Sierra Negra, getting closer and closer to Volcan Chico, which is actually a series of volcanic peaks but is considered one volcano. The last time Volcan Chico erupted was in 1979. We could actually see exactly where the lava stopped flowing because again it was completely barren and black rock in all of the areas that the lava touched in 1979. The area around it was brownish and covered in scrubby vegetation. It was so different than the volcano that we saw last year in Indonesia. (and the wind was not threatening to blow us off the volcano today!)

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As we neared the peak, the lava had begun to be oxidized by the elements (the type of lava here contains a lot of iron) and was swirling with coppers, reds, whites, and browns. Did I mention the view? We could see Elizabeth Bay and in the far distance just make out Fernandina Island. It was spectacular! The lava formations were so interesting and looked like bridges, a waterfall and other unusual things that were formed as the lava hardened. 

Then we hiked back down through the dry shrubs and back into the muck and mist. At one point Jeremy said “I guess this is where they got the name Sierra Mist” :)

Then we got back to the hotel, pitched our ruined sneakers, and then took a shower and a nap. We woke up and walked a quick nature trail, saw another flamingo, and more of those crazy marine iguanas. Now we are eating Ceviche  (after having popcorn as an appetizer) and thinking of going to bed early. Tomorrow is our last full day in Galapagos and we will be snorkeling around some lava tunnels!

Thanks for following along! XO

Galapagos Day 5 - Isabela Island

We started our fifth day in the Galapagos by boarding a water taxi at 7am. We rode for more than 2 hours on this little boat with all our luggage and several other people. As our boat pulled into the pier at Isabela Island we were surrounded by crystal clear blue waters and an absurd amount of wildlife! There were sea lions trying to drive boats (See picture), they are so funny how they really don’t care about humans, they just lay where ever they want! The contrast between how amazingly graceful they are underwater and how silly and clumsy they are on land is really shocking! Jeremy got some great footage of them losing their balance and flopping all around one of the boats. We saw penguins swimming all around. Penguins in the galapagos can swim on the surface of the water (like a duck) or dive and swim completely submerged! They are crazy fast underwater too! There were birds flying all around (frigate, pelicans, herons, boobies, and many more that we couldn’t identify). Did I mentioned this was all seen before we even docked the boat?

Then we took a short boat ride to a small grouping of islands right off Isabela called Tintoreras which are uninhabited by people or any invasive species. We walked around the island which was made up of jagged black lava rocks---it looked like another planet! Isabela and it’s neighboring islands are the youngest part of the archipelago. The islands were formed by underwater volcanos and the “land masses” continue to move with the tectonic plate below which means that the islands to the west are the youngest and the farther east you go, the older the islands are (and the more they are eroding!). 

After walking around the Tintoreras and seeing those bizarre marine iguanas again and we came to a small channel that is connected to the larger bay/open ocean by a small passage. This channel (only 1 ft of water in some parts) was filled with white tipped reef sharks! Remember how I mentioned that these were the only sharks that can “rest” and don’t need to be swimming to circulate water through their gills? Well they like to “rest” in warm water like the little channel. There were at least 30 of them! 

Then we hopped in the water (not in the channel with the sharks) and snorkeled for awhile. The water was COLD, but along came a sea lion who was having so much fun posing for us! We played with him for almost the entire snorkel time. The rule is to stay 6ft from all galapagos creatures but the sea lions have missed the memo. They come right up to you and of course in water they can move so much faster than you that they get to define the closeness rule! :)

After our snorkel, we rode along the Tintoreras from the water and saw a lot more birds, then we got back to the pier and took a short ride to see wild flamingos! Amazing that this island is home to both penguins AND flamingos! We stopped at a tortoise hatchery and saw “happy turtles” (Although if you ask me, the lady on the bottom doesn’t look incredibly pleased). 

We grabbed lunch and headed to our hotel. We are staying right on this beautiful natural beach with soft sand and sections of jagged black lava rocks. We took a nap to the sound of the waves and have been exploring Islabela this evening. Tomorrow we will hike Sierra Negra, one of the 5 active volcanos on this island. Thanks for checking in! 

Galapagos Day 4: Diving Bartolome and Cousins Rock

Today was our last day of diving and we made it count! We dove at another island called Bartolome which was another beautiful brown/black island rising out of the crystal blue sea. We swam along slowly descending shelves and you never knew what might be just below you on the next shelf down. We saw 5 white tipped reef sharks...which are still so crazy to see, when you come upon them just resting you can literally get within a foot of them (Although your heart rate speeds up accordingly). We saw 4 turtles, eels, a pacific octopus, 3 sea horses that were bright orange and about 6 inches long, we saw several diamond sting rays and a large (4 ft across) marble ray swimming by. They are so interesting to see swim. Because they are so large (and they are dwarfs compared to manta rays!) their flat bodies "ruffle" almost like a bed skirt as they swim. It is amazing to see how they move! We saw 3 sea lions that still just boggle the mind with their sudden twists and somersaults in the water! We saw a large school of barracuda, and a nudi branch (the tiny sea slug that is all kids of colors/designs) that was several different shades of blue!

In between dives we got to ride the boat very close to a place called Pinnacle Rock which is one of the most photographed places in the Galapagos. With its towering and jagged rock formation disappearing into the blue sea, it is no surprise. We got to see galapagos penguins on these rocks! The Galapagos penguin is the only penguin in the world to live so far from the pole (in the wild). They are able to survive so close to the equator because some of the water currents come directly from the pole and are VERY cold. In fact, we are diving in thicker than normal wet suits with hoods and gloves it is that cold!

On our way back after our second dive, we saw this 10+ pod of dolphins swimming by. Our boat driver turned around and circled them for awhile and we got to see 3 of them leaping out of the water doing a little sea world show for us! INCREDIBLE!

Then we got back to Santa Cruz island (after a 1.5 hour boat ride and 45 minute car ride), walked around the town for awhile, packed up our stuff and are heading to bed. It's 9:30pm and this is the first time I have been up this late in Ecuador! Tomorrow we head to Isabela Island! We've been really lucky with internet so far, but who knows what it will be like on Isabela. Will try to keep you updated!

XOXO from Galapagos!

Galapagos Day 3, Diving at Gordon Rocks and Exploring Tortuga Beach

Well amigos, we've had another astounding day here! We went diving at Gordon Rocks, a group of 3 impossibly jagged rock outcroppings, which are the rim of an old volcano...they are several miles away from the nearest inhabited island. All along the edge of these magnificent rocks were sleeping sea lions and hundreds of birds flying just above the water. Then we got in the water....I will summarize the follow two dives into one account.

We saw a school of at least 13 hammerhead sharks.....yes, you read that correctly, a SCHOOL of hammerhead sharks! They are so strange and surreal looking with their eyes like 2 ft apart on either side of their "hammer". They swam about 20ft below us (At a depth of about 120ft below the surface) and we just couldn't believe how silently and gracefully the just swam around. If you weren't looking down  you would never know these crazy sharks were down there! We saw a number of smaller groups of them as well, some where over 8ft long and some were little babies...like 4ft long.

We saw 4 or 5 white tipped reef sharks, and my favorite---several sea lions! There were again MASSIVE schools of fish and there was A LOT of current. It was physically demanding and sometimes a little unnerving to be swept around by several different currents at once. The visibility is about 45 ft (which is not awesome but certainly not a quarry in Pennsylvania) and the reason that the visibility is so average is because the water is constantly getting stirred up and is filled with plankton that the fish are all eating. It is no wonder that this place attracts both small and large creatures. The rock outcroppings were really wild, several of them were completely below the surface and we got to swim around them.

We discovered that the best way to spot a sea lion underwater (since they are so dynamic and fast) is to watch for a large school of fish to shoot apart as they are dodging the sea lions attack. We got to see a sea lion hunting today. They race through a school of fish and try to grab one, and if they miss the lay very still and wait for the school to re-assemble. When the fish are no longer alert, the sea lion rushes back at the school of fish! Then as we were just finishing our final dive of the day, we spotted a Marble Ray which is a sting ray that is much bigger than your average ray, but not as large as a manta ray. The Marble Ray was 6ft across and so bizarre and flat that I just couldn't believe my eyes! Of course we also saw several eels, large bumphead parrot fish, and some nice orange coral. The current was whipping us around so much it was hard to look for really small creatures.

When we got back to the dive center, we bought the dive master's video (since we were too deep to take our own camera along), and raced back to our hotel. We changed quickly and headed off to Tortuga Beach.  Tortuga means turtle in spanish and this beach is a very popular day excursion, but we had less than half a day so we had to move. We walked 15 minutes to beach trail head and through a cactus forest (yes, FOREST, these are the only cacti in the world that grow into trees) for another 30 minutes before finally arriving at the beach.

When we first arrived at the beach, the initial area has a wicked rip tide and enormous waves...only surfers use that side of the beach. So we walked another 15 minutes to the quieter area and saw like 100 marine iguanas (the only iguana in the world that swims in saltwater and eats coral). These marine iguanas are so funny looking, you might be tempted to laugh out loud. They have the prickly spikes down their back that go all the way across their head like a mohawk and they were just laying on the beach in these ridiculously casual positions, completely oblivious to the many people walking all around them. These iguanas have a filtration system inside which lets them "filter" out the salt they accumulate while eating algae off rocks in the ocean. They get rid of all the salt they intake by shooting it out of their noses! You could see wet streaked sand all around where they we laying as evidence of this process. We saw (and heard) them shoot it out many times and it was really impressive how far they could blow it! A few times jeremy was worried about his camera getting splashed!

We explored all around the beach, saw a bunch of sea lions playing in the surf, a dive bombing boobie, and at least one sea turtle. Then we saw a baby shark (like 10 inches long) and 3 other white tipped reef sharks just laying in the sand by the mangroves. We saw all of those animals within 100 yards of each other! The wild life here is truly spectacular!

Tonight we are TIRED. Grabbing a quick bite to eat for dinner then going directly to bed. Tomorrow is our last day of diving and our last full day on Santa Cruz.

Hope you are well!

Galapagos Day 2: Diving around Floreana

Well today's diving was absolutely incredible. We met at the dive shop at 7:30am, had a quick briefing and then hopped a boat with a few other divers (two were a couple from NY, who got their scuba certification in Dutch Springs! Small world!). We were diving off another Galapagos Island called Floreana, which was about an hour's boat ride from Santa Cruz. Along the way, we passed playful sea lions, pelicans, and blue footed boobies. Once we arrived we got on our gear and got into the water, no sooner had we descended to the bottom than we spotted a white tipped reef shark. We were literally 2 feet from this relatively harmless shark but it was certainly the closest I have ever been to a wild shark and the first one that Jeremy had ever seen! A few moments later this really fast, large, brown thing came shooting by me. I didn't even realize what I was seeing until Jeremy started gesturing wildly...it was a sea lion! Unbelievable...the sea lion played around us for awhile and then our guide started swimming away! I could have watched that thing dip, turn, twist, and swim impossibly fast all day! Little did I know there was more in store.

We saw several eels, at least 5 sea turtles, HUGE schools of fish and an octopus! The Galapagos is one of the best "large creature" diving sites in the world. It does not have much coral, or sponges, but it does have these wild rock outcroppings and of course....large creatures! Our guide motioned me over to him and we crept down beside a little cave and inside was A WHITE TIPPED REEF SHARK. It got a little freaked and swam out of the cave right at me! To say we could have shared a kiss is not an exaggeration! The shark was about 6 ft long, and was so graceful! After I regained my composure, I swam after it and got some promising video! They are called white tipped reef sharks because they live close to reefs and have a small white mark on the very end of their tail fin and their dorsal fin. They are the only shark in the world that can "rest" on the ocean floor or reef. Because of the way their fins are positioned, they can "rest" and still allow water currents to circulate water in through their gills. All other sharks (including the close relative the black tipped reef shark) have to swim to circulate water through their gills. This is why you can come upon the white tipped shark and get so close...because it is "resting". The white tipped reef shark typically rests during the day and hunts at night.

Then we came up for a break. We drove to the other side of Floreana and anchored there while we had a snack (cheese sandwiches). Floreana has these steep jagged cliffs all around it with very few beaches. These cliffs are a natural spot for birds, and sea lions so we watched all these creatures while we warmed up and ate.

Back in the water for the second dive. We saw HUGE (like several hundred) schools of fish, barracuda, at least 5 more white tipped reef sharks, sting rays and the highlight for both of us.....at least 10 sea lions. We saw sea lions of every size from huge 5 ft plus to little 2 ft baby ones. They swam and played all around us, even nipping at another guy's fingers! They seemed as curious about us as we were about them. We were able to get so close that you could see their crazy whiskers and teeth! They moved so impossibly fast and did all kinds of wild maneuvers that it was hard to track them! It was hard to decide if you should swim up close to them (my approach) or hang back to take them all in (Jeremy's approach). As much as I love turtles, I have a new favorite diving companion! They just seemed like they were having as much fun as we were!

Back on the boat, we ate our lunch (fish, rice, and broccoli) on the way back and saw the most astounding thing......

Manta Ray's are HUGE sting rays...the largest one on record was 22ft wide. Ever since learning about their existence 10+ years ago in Australia, I have always wanted to see one, but never did. But on our way back to Santa Cruz this enormous, kite-like thing flies out of the water, literally does a flip in the air and disappears again. IT'S A MANTA RAY! Then it does it again and again and again! Why is it doing this strange jump, flip thing you are likely wondering (as we were). No one is really sure but it is likely a courtship display or a method to confuse predators. In any case it was outrageous and hard to believe your eyes when you saw this big, flat, creature do a somersault again and again! I never thought I would see my first live manta ray literally outside of the water!

Now we are back at our hotel and we are very tired, although it is only 4:30pm here. We are likely going to take a nap then hit the streets and all major attractions: shops and food only really start to open up around 7pm (learned this the hard way last night).

It was really cloudy all day so our footage was a little dark. But here are a few pictures that we took today:

Galapagos Day 1, Baltra and Santa Cruz

Well after a harrowing day of travel complete with missed flight and miracle re-booking, we were SO LUCKY to have arrived in Ecuador with enough time to catch our originally planned flight to the Galapagos. We arrived in Baltra, met our taxi guy and caught a bus to a small channel between Baltra and Santa Cruz. Then we hopped on a rickety wooden boat and ferried to Santa Cruz. Our taxi driver spoke very limited English which meant that Jeremy and I had to lead blindly with our broken, terrible spanish circa sometime in the 1990s. But we were able to manage surprisingly well all limitations considered.

After getting off the ferry, we drove for about 20 minutes and stopped in Santa Rosa (a village on Santa Cruz Island). We stopped at a farm to see the huge Galapagos Tortoises in the wild. Of course J and I had heard a lot about these reptiles, but nothing quite prepares you to see a turtle the size of a dishwasher...that you know is over 100 years old. We took a walk around and ended up seeing like 15 of them. They were so prehistoric looking, and they made these outrageous groaning sounds like some kind of ancient beast....they were really fascinating.

Then right by this farm, was a underground lava tube that we walked and sometimes crawled through. This lava tube was MASSIVE in places...like 30 feet from ground to "ceiling" and was formed when a volcano errupted and as the lava ran down the volcano the outer crust cooled and hardened and the inner lava was still hot enough to keep oozing through. This was really wild to get to see. Everywhere you look you see black or red volcanic stones since that is what makes up the islands. 

On our way out, we had to stop because a giant tortoise was crossing the road. Of course we had to wait because if you ran one of these things over it would seriously mess up your vehicle, not to mention get you arrested!

We arrived in Puerto Ayora (the village on Santa Cruz that we will be our home base for the next 4 days) and checked into our hotel and dive shop. After finishing trying on wet (wet) suits (yuck) we are all set for diving tomorrow and took some time to walk around the village. We saw our first blue footed boobie which has electric blue feet and a large wing span....but the most impressive thing about this bird is that it flies into the air (with beautiful large wings extended) then it tips upside down, tucks in its wings and dive bombs into the ocean for fish. It remains completely underwater and can actually steer itself while underwater!

Then later this evening we walked down to the espanade and walked out onto a pier. The water is so clear we could see colorful fish and bright red crabs from high above on the pier. All of a sudden a sea lion comes out of nowhere and is swimming all around playing and twisting and did I mention this place was amazing yet?

Can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store!

XOXO

Galapagos

This spring, we had a few difficult reminders that life is preciously short, and the warranty on our (mostly) perfect health has expired. And so, when we realized that (once again) we had the very good fortune to be able to take a (short) trip this summer together abroad...we seized the opportunity.

On June 7^th we will fly to Guayaquil, Ecuador and sleep over near the airport. Less than 12 hours after arriving in Guayaquil, we will hop on another plane to the Galapagos Islands.

600 miles from the Ecuadorian coastline, the Galapagos Islands were formed by volcanos. The group consists of 18 main islands, 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. Three major oceanic currents converge around the Galapagos Islands which creates an incredible mix of marine life. In addition to awesome underwater creatures, the Galapagos Islands is home to many other unusual animals and plants, such as the enormous tortoise, marine iguanas, penguins, sea lions, and a huge variety of birds.  Because of their isolation, these animals have no natural fear of humans and you can get very close to them which is part of what makes this such an amazing place. 

We will be diving for 3 days, hoping to dive with some “large things” like sea lions, penguins, hammerhead sharks, and if we are really lucky, whales. The other days will be a mix of land and water based adventures, but no scuba diving.

The two island we will be staying on are Santa Cruz and Isabela.  Check back as we hope to post new stuff each day.