Galapagos!

Once again, I haven't been good enough at updating this. Especially in this case as I have a big event to report on. It started late in September when we found out the kids were off from school for the first two weeks in October. They are on the Ecuadorian 'coastal' schedule which is completely different from any we are used to. So this was their break between semesters. So I called Tio David and asked if he had deals on trips to the Galapagos. Tio David in the president of the US branch of the major tour company in Ecuador and the Galapagos, Metropolitan Touring. And they have one of the nicest ships in the Galapagos, the M/V Santa Cruz. And Tio David worked his magic and got us a GREAT deal on a 5 night cruise around the western islands. Here are some random pics from the voyage.

Frigate bird male. His pouch isn't inflated but you can still see it. These birds are some of the best fliers in the bird world and are huge with a 2m wingspan.

Land iguana taking a nap on a warm rock.

Another frigate bird. There are two species there but they look almost exactly the same to us.

Can't go to the Galapagos without a pic of a blue-footed booby. Funny bird on land but a great diver to catch fish.

Amalia the photographer. During this trip I gave her my old camera and she is having a great time being a photographer.

During the trip we navigated mostly at night and would wake up at our next destination. From there we would have morning activities (boat rides, snorkeling, hikes, etc) then eat lunch and cruise to an afternoon destination for more activities.

Camilo on the top deck. The crew was nervous he would fall in.

Amalia and me on a panga (inflatable raft) ride. The pangas are used to access the islands from the ship. They are also used to go on tours of the shoreline.

Rocky beach and flightless cormorants. These are probably my favorite birds on the islands.

Marine iguanas! These are everywhere and vary in size and color from island to island.

Cormorants during a courtship display.

Sea turtles! These are actually quite common, surprisingly. Amalia went snorkeling for her first time ever and even saw one in the water, quite an experience!

Marine iguana in the water! They are everywhere on the beaches and rocks but rare to see swimming.

Amalia with the skeleton of some sort of whale. There are lots of whales in the area but we weren't lucky enough to see one.

Camilo saw much of the Galapagos from this viewpoint. Whenever he didn't want to walk he would be carried, usually by Lisa.

Piles of marine iguanas.

These lava cactus are amazing. They are the first things to grow on the lava. And I think you can see our ship in the background.

Camilo.

Amalia.

Oystercatcher on her nest.

When given a chance, Camilo liked to sit on the beach and play with the sand and/or rocks.

Galapagos penguin in the water. We saw quite a few of these around.

Giant tortoise. These things are just amazing to see in the wild.

Land iguana.

Tortoises at the Darwin Station where they have a breeding program.

Amalia and Camilo showing where they are.... almost.

We visited a farm inland and the kids rode a donkey that was hitched to a sugar cane press.

And this is how it worked. Sugar cane 'juice' was then served as a drink or distilled into a more adult beverage.

One day the kids fell asleep on the bus and I stayed with them while Lisa hiked around and found a new friend.

And when they awoke we climbed down into a lava tube.

On the boat we had two cabins. Each cabin had two beds and a storage area underneath. Camilo liked to nap in the storage area.

And a couple of family pics from the last island we visited.

Not the best but they will work...

Waiting to go the airport to leave I spotted this GBH who had just caught himself dinner!

Here is the view from the port to the airport. The airport was originally built by the US Navy during WWII and my grandfather was based their for a period as a naval aviator. Kind of amazing to think that he walked these same beaches 70 years ago...