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 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...
Today was spent in the Sacred Valley high was important to the Incas and many older civilizations. We had another wonderful breakfast then enjoyed a lecture by Peter Frost who is an expert in Incan history . He covered a wide range of history and archaeology that was mostly driven by Incas but also other older cultures. He has investigated several sites showing how specific structures were build to align with how mountain shadows fell onto specific sites below at specific days of the year - mainly the solstices . It was very interesting and he answered many questions. Then headed out to visit a wonderful Inca site that displayed some of the best examples of stone joinery we have seen yet. Many of the huge stones were fitted to an unbelievable precision that still has us scratching our heads. We know where the rock came from which across the valley then back up the hill. The blocks were tens of tons each. They were joined together in stages with some of the ston...
You are the best grandpa ever!
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