Los Galapagos!

The Galapagos! Where to start? We spent eight days in paradise. The amount of life on these islands was abundant. I never would have imagined seeing so many iguanas, lizards, tortoises, or sea lions in one day!

Giant tortoise 

Land Iguana, a happy one at that.

Although the entire experience was fantastic, I was surprised by a few things about the Galapagos. First off, I was surprised by the amount of development on Santa Cruz, the island in which we stayed for most of the trip. I suppose I imagined staying in a rustic naturalistic environment; instead we stayed in a nice hotel which was near many shops. To escape the development near or hotel we had to walk at least a half hour away.  This was a little upsetting for me because one thing that I was most excited for was to see the stars with no light pollution. Unfortunately all this development meant quite a bit of light pollution!

Either way, the days and nights in the Galapagos were unforgettable. Every night I took that 30 minute walk to a spot that we could see the darkness of the sky, and waited until the moon came up and took the darkness away. 11/11/11 was a full moon. I can not think of any other way I would have wanted to spend this day! That night I met an islander who pointed out (in Spanish) that it was not a normal full moon. Usually with a full moon there is a strong tide, but this night the tide was calm. He said that because it was such a special date, the tides were abnormal.
 Hiking and snorkeling every day in one of the most unique places on Earth is something I will always appreciate and never forget.

newly born sea lion, the mother, and the placenta!

Cute baby!

A few things I just need to brag about quickly: I swam within feet of sting ray, spotted eagle ray, sea turtles, a manta-ray, sea lions, white tipped reef SHARKS (about 15 of them), and all the pretty colorful salt water fish that come to mind. I also went scuba diving for the first time! Needless to say, the entire week my mentality was I need to do and see as much as possible because I AM IN THE GALAPAGOS. Not many people get to see these famous islands in their lifetime, and I got to experience them at such a young age. I have a lot to be thankful for.

the famous Blue Footed Bobbie

male frigate bird

                             

Spotted Eagle Ray