Jack and Dianne Galapagos and Machu Picchu 2025

We said goodbye to the Gemini after a beautiful breakfast on the afternoon deck. The food was wonderful and we are sure we all gained many pounds this week. We boarded the zodiacs one last time and got off at a dock near the Baltra airport - then boarded a bus and mo it's later we're headed into the airport. It only has 4 gates and we waited in the VIP lounge which was nice. The flight to Guayaquil was 2 hours and we were bused to a nice hotel for lunch. Then we were bused back to wait for our 8:40 flight to Lima. The Lima flight landed around 10:30 then luggage and getting everyone together took awhile. We arrived at the hotel around midnight and went quickly to bed. Not much to see but we are ready for a busy day tomorrow

  We were both sad and excited for our last day exploring:  We had an easy morning and took a zodiac to the beach for a leisurely back and forth of about a quarter mile.  There were many sea lions on the beach which were having a wonderful time. There were crabs in the rocks and mocking birds on the beach and lava lizards as well.  There was a hawk high on a post at one end of the beach - the first hawk we had seen.  Finally it was time to head back to the ship.   We had meetings about getting ready to leave the ship.  Only 8 people are going on the Machu Picchu from our ship and the rest are headed home or on to other places.   In the afternoon we had our final on island walk on Espanola island.  We saw so many creatures and birds but the highlight were the albatross and the American oyster picker and the last boobie which is the Nazca boobie.  The baby albatross birds are brown and not very pretty but still fun to look at.  They a...

We went to the city of Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz today. We spent the morning at the Darwin Research Center which is focused on supporting the Galapagos Tortoises and their habitat. The tortoises are are made up of several different species and at least one has already gone extinct. They are working to make sure they don't lose any others. They also work on habit issues for many other endangered species throughout the island. We had a nice lunch at a local restaurant then headed out on a bus to visit a farm up in the highlands of the island. They geo sugar cane and plantanes and bananas along with other crops. They also have a large see where tortoises are allowed to roam free. When they lay eggs the farmers recover them and place them with the Darwin center for hatching and early development. After the juvenile tortoises reach the age of 10 they are released back to the wild. Over time they hope that tortoises populate back to the level they saw several h...

>  > We travelled to Antarctica in 2019 and saw several different species of penguins. One of the most rare species of penguins is here in Galapagos and we were lucky enough to see it today! It's is mostly black with a white belly and stands about 18 inches tall. Like all penguins it is awkward on land but when it enters the water it is suddenly very graceful and fast. > > We started the day with a zodiac ride along the west shore of Isla Isabela and very quickly saw our first Galapogos penguin! It was quite a moment having planned this trip for many years and knowing even if we came we might not see the penguins. But we were lucky enough and it was a special moment. > > We also saw a ton of other wildlife and flora and fauna. The highlights were blue footed boobies and pelicans and flightless cormorants and turtles and sea lions and marine iguanas and so many more. We finished the zodiac ride in the mangroves. These trees can survive in brackish w...

We had a great morning with Dianne sleeping well and hungry for an omelette for breakfast. At 7:30 we headed for a 'wet landing' followed by a wonderful hike at Punta Pitt. We saw a Chatham mockingbird which is unique to that island. We headed up a trail looking for lava lizards and finch and red boobies and blue boobies. The lava lizards are pretty small and the females are colored versus the males which are dark. There are 12 different kinds of Darwin finches and we're are still figuring out which is which. The boobies are named for the color of their feet and other characteristics. The hike was up a narrow canyon with lots of rock steps. Above us we saw goats which are not good for the environment. The National Park Service will try and come out and eliminate goats because they eat native plants but they are expensive to eradicate. This afternoon we got to kayak near a set of cliffs jutting out of the ocean. The weather was a little windy but we still had a...