Day 3 - Our sailing to Espanola was quite rough. It would take 8 hours to sail to Espanola. I was grateful to wear sea bands so I didn't experience any sea sickness. If I had to compare the sailing to white water rafting, I would say this would be Level III. It truly was rock and roll in the boat. Espanola is the oldest and the southernmost island in Galapagos. This island is secluded so the wildlife on Espanola has adapted to the environment. Our first excursion, we managed to see quite a few Sea Lions. The Male Bull Sea Lion was quite large and noisy. It was awesome to see mother Sea Lions guiding their pups and even nursing their pups. We saw one pup with it's umbilical cord, it was at most 1 ... read more

Day 1 - We flew from Quito to Baltra island on a 727 jet. I had visions of flying to Baltra on a puddle jumper, but I was wrong. I was hoping to see Iguanas being chased off the runway, as I had heard these stories. The only creature I saw at the airport (besides tourists) were Lizards. We were ferried over to Santa Cruz Island. Our ferry ride was entertaining, we saw a Sea Lion sitting on a dinghy and 2 Sea Turtles mating. We finally arrived at our boat. I took this trip through Gap Adventures. Our boat (Gap Adventures I) also known as Pelikano was large enough for 16 tourists and 8 crew members. Perfect for me, I wouldn't want to have been on a large cruise ship as they can't get around ... read more

Day #4 - September 5th After my horseback ride, I had some choices for that afternoon. I could go to Bridgetown and browse the shops or I could go to Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary. I wasn't interested in buying more "dust collectors" for the house, nor am I into jewels. So, the better choice was the Sanctuary. Wise choice! The sanctuary sits on over 35 acres. It has the island's largest inland lake along with ponds and wading pools, swampy marshes and mangroves, observation huts, horticulture exhibits, and two enormous walk-through aviaries filled with brilliantly colored parrots, macaws, flamingos, and ibis. After touring the sanctuary, I returned to my hotel for a siesta. I thought I was hearing things, but when I leaned my head out the door, we were having a Caribbean downpour. I was ... read more

Day #3 - Sep 4th. One of the things that I looked most forward to was swimming with the turtles and snorkeling over some ship wrecks. It was suggested that I go on a Catamaran instead of a regular powerboat. I took this cruise with Cool Running Catamaran Cruises. They will pick you up at your hotel around 8:30 or so and drive to Bridgetown to hop on your boat. From the start, the crew was incredibly friendly: cracking jokes, getting everybody on board a cocktail, and allowing us to take over the boat. It was not too crowded -- we sat on the back of the boat the entire time - legs dangling in the water even at higher speeds -- and just chilled. Lunch on-board was great! I imagined light sandwiches, but was surprised ... read more

Day #2 - Sep 3rd I can't say enough words to describe Bathsheba, it's a drive that you personally have to take. The giant rocks seemed to have grabbed my attention. If only our driver would've stopped there for a few minutes for even more grander picture taking. Our next stop was at Andromeda Gardens which are located in Bathsheba. There, we spent over an hour. It's a well worthwhile stop, especially for those who are plant and flower lovers. One could almost say that these gardens are "chained" to rock. The gardens were started in 1954 by Iris Bannochie. The gardens are a little over 6 acres and have over 650 species of plants from: Caribbean, America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. While touring the gardens, there are two paths: John's Path which ... read more