Thursday was the actual kindle meet and my "take it easy" day. My body was not happy with me from the exertions of the day before (six miles while carrying my overpacked backpack) on top of the 3 mile MS walk on Sunday. So I slept in late and then went down to meet folks. Ann was already there when I got down but I was wearing a short sleeved shirt and so went back up to my room to get my coverup and by the time I got back, Heather and her daughter Ashley had arrived. Susan was next, and interestingly enough, it was the menfolk (Geoff and Mike) who kept us waiting. But all is forgiven, 'cause Mike brought me copies of 3 of his books in trade paperback. While I was really glad ... read more

Well, today was fun.... I had booked identical flights to/from Miami, down to the same seat numbers. Flight today was supposed to leave Miami at 10:56, but at around 10:15 I noticed that the plane still hadn't arrived in Miami. Well, it was finally announced that the plane was delayed due to President Obama's presence in Miami and was circling. A bit later, they announced that the plane had been diverted to West Palm Beach. It eventually showed up, and we took off a bit after noon. Flight was a bit bumpy, but not terrible. However, at the end of the flight, we got stuck in a holding pattern south of Trenton for 1/2 hour. Circling is the worst time for me, since you can't use any electronic devices. But eventually we landed, and after waiting ... read more

One of the mysteries of this trip was why Globus booked our flight home the way they did. Instead of flying from Baltra to Quito and staying there overnight and just catching a flight to Miami, instead we flew from Baltra to Guayaquil. And tomorrow morning we have a ridiculously early flight to Quito to change planes for Miami. I really think it´s silly! But, I have faith it will work out and I'll get home at some point. This morning was the walk to the boat to the bus to the Darwin Center back on the bus to the ferry to the bus to the airport. If that sounds like a confusing morning, it was. Left the hotel at 6:45-ish (in South America, it never seems we are actually leaving the time we say we ... read more

Another long day today. Left the hotel at 7:45, treked to the pier then panga to the yacht. Hour and a half cruise to South Plaza Island. Sea was a bit calmer today, but it was cloudy all day. South Plaza Island is covered with this red plant that put me in mind of the red weed from H.G. Wells´War of the Worlds. It is also home to a colony of sealions right on the pier, and when we were coming back we had to wait for one of them to move off the pier so we could get back on our boat. Today was iguana and bird day again. We saw a bunch of marine iguanas (green with yellow paws) on the beach when we got off the boat and even managed to get a ... read more

Greetings from the Galapagos Islands. We started our day early. Up at 5 am to leave for the airport at 6 am. 7:40 flight to Baltra via Guyaquil. Flight was good, had a great view of the mountains around Quito as we left. I was sitting next to a nice couple from Toronto who are on their honeymoon. They are staying at a different hotel and plan on doing a lot of scuba diving. Landed on Baltra at around 10:30 (we've come west, so we're now in a different time zone). Bus from the airport to the pier took around 10 minutes, then across the canal to Santa Cruz Island in a little boat. On another bus for 3 visits before heading to the south side of the island for another 5 minute boat ride (REALLY ... read more