Galapagos Wonders

Dear Family and Friends,

In order to get to the islands from the ship we had to take a zodiac boat. Some landings were dry...which mean you stepped on sand or a rock, and some landings were wet..which means you jump out of the boat into very shallow water.

The tours went out in groups of 16 people or less. Here is a group loading on the zodiac to start their adventure.

Sometimes the water was calm but most of the time it was a very bumpy ride.

When we made our first landing it was quite cloudy. But as the morning progressed the clouds started breaking up.

Our tour group.

A small sample of the wonderful things we saw on Isla Bartolome.

These birds are Galapagos doves. They are endemic to the islands and if you want to see them you have to go visit them.

The wild life was so very abundant. They showed no fear of humans and would not run away and hide. Some of the time they approached you.

We were asked to stay at least 8 feet away from the wildlife. Sometimes that was almost impossible.

A sea lion, iguana and crabs are all peacefully sharing the same rock. We humans could learn a lot from God's other creations.

There were crabs everywhere. These are Sally Lightfoot crabs. They range in color from dark red (almost blend in with the rocks) when they are young to a brilliant orange red as they age.

More sharing of the rocks.

This sea lion is about to take the plunge. Probably time for a snack.

These are two types of iguanas in the Galapagos. Marine iguanas who live only on the Galapagos islands. They live on land but are the only lizard that feeds underwater. The other type of iguana is the land iguana. They only live and feed on land.