The Galapagos Islands

Happy New Year! We hope you all had fun bringing in 2007. Doug and I just got back from the Galapagos! This wasn´t a planned trip, but after talking to people who went, we decided to go. So amazing! We were there for five days, four of which we were on a guided tour and slept on a boat. There were about five crew members and 14 other passengers from all over the world. It was a wonderful experience, and the highlight of our trip so far..
It is hard to describe what it´s like there. The volcanic land is beautiful, and the wildlife is just spectacular. The birds, sea mammals, and reptiles have lived for so long without predators that people can be right up next to them. We were swimming with sea lions and penguins (and sharks!), standing next to blue- footed boobies as they perform a mating dance, and walking beside giant tortoises! I think Doug´s favorite were the baby seals- He took about 50 pictures. I think the babies would let you hold them, but people are not allowed to touch any of the animals. So cute!
Our days consisted of snorkeling, going on walks with the guide, and hanging out with the others on the boat. We visited three Islands, and they were all very different-with varying landscape and wildlife. It is truly amazing to see these differences and hear about what Darwin first saw.
Hopefully you can see how cool it was in the pictures!
Tonight, Doug and I are taking a night bus into Peru. Yeah!