Iguana Crossing
And flamingos and turtles and dogs and people and crabs and sea lions and finches and so much more on Isabela island. It’s like I’m living inside a personal terrarium.
Scuba With Sea Lions
Scuba diving in The Galapagos is certainly one of my top 3 dive sites. The sea lions are SO playful and follow you around the chilly waters, and even come close to the hammer-head sharks! I lost count of all the turtles we saw down there. I didn’t bother taking photos while diving because I didn’t want to be distracted trying to operate a camera and instead wanted to fully focus (no pun intended) on the marine life and take it all in with my own eyes. This was too special to just watch it through a viewfinder! But after the dive I took a bunch of photos at the local fish processing port. Here are those photos for your viewing pleasure.
Tortuga Bay
About a 20-minute walk from the main water taxi dock in Puerto Ayora, Toruga Bay has a gigantic, perfectly preserved beach that is forbidden to swimmers due to the current which makes it the perfect spot to see some of the infamous Galapagos wildlife. Iguanas, crabs and birds are seen dotted along the lava rocks. There is a separate cove where you can swim where it is common to view whitetip reef sharks swimming in groups, small fish, birds, and gigantic turtles.
Evolution Starts Here
The home of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution has long been a bucket list item for me, and to be able to visit the remote islands of the Galapagos as part of a $238 round trip ticket makes it even sweeter! For those keeping track of passport stamps, this makes #49. Which will it be first? 50 countries or all 50 US states?
VIP Treatment
Turns out the 7 course meal was just the beginning of what Harumi had in store for us. Several nights of VIP service in Peru’s hottest night clubs, and then to top it all off with front-row seats at the Miss Nikkei 2012 beauty pageant — something I never thought I’d experience. It pays to know people in other countries!
