Galapagos (August 2008) – Part 3

By Mr. Peterman, on August 30th, 2008

In August 2008 we traveled with the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. Photos are split across three posts and are roughly in chronological order, subdivided by location. And yes, there are way too many pictures of sea lions and iguanas.

Santiago

(August 15) Why only four pictures from Santiago? David decided to take it easy that day and purposefully left the dSLR and snorkeling gear behind. In retrospect that turned out to be a bad idea, because everyone reported that it was by far the most incredible snorkeling location on the entire planet. On well, David had a nice time sitting on the beach with the tiny point-and-shoot camera while Carol was snorkeling and swimming with sea lions, turtles, a shark, and even saw a penguin rocket past.

Dragon Hill, Santa Cruz

(August 15) Still smarting from missing the legendary snorkeling from that morning, I made sure to partake of it that afternoon. Of course, the underwater scenary wasn’t that spectacular, with only one semi-viewable image of a ray coming out of it.

Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz

(August 16) Tortoises! The day started with a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station and it’s tortoise habitat. We then meandered down to the town of Puerto Ayora for the afternoon.

Highlands, Santa Cruz

(August 16) The tortoises we saw that morning were just a warm-up for what we encountered that afternoon in the Highlands. Seeing a 500-pound tortoise make it’s way through the trees is an absolutely bizarre experience… even up close they look like they must be remote controlled animatrons.

Quito

(August 8, 9 & 18) We spent a few days in Quito before and after the Galapagos. Most of these pictures were from the guided city tour, which, quite frankly, could have used fewer stops at churches and more stops at museums, galleries or other cultural centers. The trip to the equator was pretty cool, though. And no, water does not go down the drain in opposite directions depending on which side of the line you are on.