A Trip of a Lifetime

At the top of my bucket list is a unique place called the Galapagos Islands.

You may remember the islands are where Charles Darwin deduced the theory of evolution.

Many animals are found only on certain islands and have adapted to its particular environment.

I finally realized my dream of visiting there.

One of the first places we visited was Santa Cruz Island 

where the giant tortoises are being bred for conservation at the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Next, we visited Floreana where we saw flamingoes and a green sand beach,

Visited Post Office Bay, where sailors left mail in a barrel for passing ships to collect and deliver if they were headed to that destination.

And everywhere we saw crabs.

Next up, my favorite island, Espanola, where the huge waved albatross was nesting.

The albatross are so big that they launch themselves off the cliff to take flight.

A hike to cliff revealed a spectacular blowhole

And we saw the red form of the marine iguana.

 To finish off our visit to Espanola, we stopped at Gardner Bay where sea lions basked in the sun, totally ignoring the human visitors.

Day four, we stopped at San Cristobal island, one of the few islands that is inhabited by people.

We shopped and found some souvenirs and visited the national park Interpretation Center.

After lunch, we snorkeled around Kicker Rock

 Day five takes us to Santa Fe Island and a beach covered with sea lions.

We also saw land iguanas who eat the cacti found on their island.

That afternoon, we visited South Plaza Island where the many seabirds can be seen,

 such as frigate birds, pelicans and swallowtail gulls.

Frigatebirds flying overhead.

A swallow tailed gull on its nest.

Because this is getting long, I'll continue with part 2.