Our last full day in the Galapagos was tortoise day. We had slept quite well on the boat for the first part of the week, but less so on Friday night with large swells rocking the boat where we were anchored in academy bay. Our outing was a single long excursion, with lunch on shore. We took the zodiac into Porto Ayora, the largest settlement in the Galapagos with approximately 16,000 people. We visited the Charles Darwin Station, a large research institution that advises the National Park Service. We mostly learned about the giant tortoises and the breeding program that the Darwin Foundation operates. The tortoises differ from one island to another and they are most actively trying to restore tortoise populations on islands decimated by humans (mostly during the 19th century when big ships would ... read more

The morning activity was a short hike on the island of Santa Cruz. The walk was mostly along a sandy beach where we saw ghost crabs. These little guys are very different than the Sally Lightfoot crabs we’ve seen elsewhere – they scurry much more quickly and are much more skittish. At the slightest provocation they vanish into the sand. This made the photography a bit more challenging, but we got a few good shots. They have an almost cartoonish appearance, with their eyes attached on stalks above their bodies, as if added as an afterthought. Our main objective was to visit a brackish pond hoping to find the Galapagos flamingos, and we weren’t disappointed. Three of the bizarre birds were working their way through the pool, filtering out the small salt-loving critters that they enjoy ... read more

Overnight we had sailed to the west side of the largest island, Isabella. The morning activity was a Zodiac ride to see Elizabeth Bay (no hiking or swimming). In deference to our sleep-deprived kids, we took the option of the later start which was appreciated but still didn’t result in everyone being ready to go on time. We did manage to catch our ride and enjoyed the tour through a network of small lava outcroppings. The protected calm inlets are hospitable to mangrove trees which give the whole area a very lush feel, although they barely conceal swaths of black desolate lava. We saw Galapagos penguins and also the flightless Galapagos cormorant. We spotted a few green sea turtles and also Eagle rays. After lunch there was an opportunity for deep water snorkeling in Tagus bay ... read more

We had to be up early to complete some of the paperwork for our trip, grab a quick breakfast at the buffet and then board busses to the airport. The flight was chartered by the cruise line, which made the drive to the airport unusually relaxing, since we had no fear of missing the plane. This was especially good, because the usual road to the airport was blocked by a footrace that had not been anticipated by the driver. Although we arrived at the airport late, we walked right on to the airplane, and it soon took off. After a two hour flight, we arrived on the island of Baltra in a reasonably heavy rain. We later understood from one of the guides, that this is the second time in thirty years he’s seen it rain ... read more

Our trip to Ecuador consisted of a long day of air travel, starting from home before 7am after sad goodbyes with the dogs. Sitting on the airplane at SFO for a long time, we were informed that we couldn’t depart due to a United Airlines computer failure, which brought back painful memories of the ugly start to our 2011 vacation. The delay was long enough to make us nervous (John was sufficiently alarmed to initiate a web search for alternate flights), but was resolved within about an hour. After a long day of flying, we were met by a cruise line representative at the Quito airport and transported to our (lovely) hotel in Quito. There was a very nice little reception for us and the other four people who were arriving at 1am, but we were ... read more