The Galapagos Islands were amazing!

The Galapagos Islands were amazing!  I was on a small, motorized sailboat with 12 other passengers, a naturalist guide, and 5 crew members for one week. Just got off the boat and I am still swaying a bit. This is my first opportunity to use email.

We stopped at 5 of the 13 major islands to see wildlife, plants and rock formations unlike any other. Here is what I saw:

- Galapagos penguins!

- Galapagos tortoises and sea turtles

- Sea lions and Galapagos fur seals

- Iguanas (marine and land variety), lizards & snakes

- Dolphins, whales, octopus & rays

- Sally Lightfoot crabs, ghost crabs and hermit crabs

- LOTS of birds: frigates, flightless cormorants, hawks, pelicans, Darwin´s finches (including vampire finches), herons, and best of all --- the blue footed boobies & their cousins the red-footed and nazca boobies.

I walked lava fields, have seen countless volcanoes and their effects, seen cactus, poison apple trees and incense trees, and more.

I hiked, snorkeled, kayaked, and rode the zodiac boat and a ferry. Our ship crossed the equator 4 times since the start of the cruise.

The Galapagos adventure was everything I had hoped for --- and so much more!