Galapagos

---

We flew back from our 8 day trip to the Galapagos yesterday. It was a wonderful experience.

We stayed on a boat called Intrepido, also known as the Free Enterprise. It was better than we expected & had a nice lounger area & sun deck. The rooms were ok, until ours flooded & we had to move. Food was ok, but nothing to write home about. Our guides Eddie & Raphael were excellent, very knowledgable.

The itinery was fantastic & we saw different animals each day & got so close to them. We went to some beautiful white sandy beaches, swam & snorkelled with all sorts of sealife. I could go on & on, but instead will just list a few highlights:-

Rabida Island, had a red beach & its where we saw our first sea lions. Two babies, no more than 3 weeks old were playing on the beach. One of them came right up to me, very curious & the other laid down in one of my flippers. We had our first experience here of snorkelling with sea lions too. They swim right up to your face & then turn upside down & then underneath you. Amazing.

At Bartolomew Island, we waked across black lava from a volcano explosion in 1888 that joined 5 islands together. The patterns it left were incredible. From there we walked down to the white beach & clear blue sea for swimming & saw 18 galapagos penguins.

The blue footed boobies were gorgeous & we saw a couple with chicks & eggs, also some albatross & hawks.

On one snorkelling trip I saw 6 turtles, 2 were really big, 4 large sting rays & a 6 foot white tipped shark.

On our last full day, we saw a turtle on the beach that had laid eggs during the night. She was on her way back to the sea, but was clearly exhausted. After some time, the guides agreed that we could lift her back to the sea otherwise she would over heat & die. They didn´t like messing with nature, but I was delighed & the tears streamed down my face as she swam away. This is my most memorable part of the whole holiday.

We got back to Guayquil yesterday lunchtime & got straight onto a bus to Puerto Lopez, a beach resort, which is where we are now. We will probably stay here for a few days & fly to Peru on the 1st December.

Thats all for now. Loads of love xx

---

Photos

Rabida Island
Us & Our Yacht

Rabida Beach
The two baby Sealions

Mandy & Miles
Do we look any thinner?

Blue Footed Boobies
What A Pair!

Bartolomew Island
View from the top