Up close and personal with a Galapagos tortoise

We spent about ten days in late February in Ecuador — three days in the mountain highlands (over 9000 feet) in the hills above Otavalo, and a week cruising the Galapagos islands. The mainland part of our trip introduced us to native crafts (especially weaving), spectacular scenery that includes volcanoes on the ecuator topped with snow year-round, and cool spring-like temperatures. The Galapagos — a 90 minute flight away from Quito — were something else altogether. We sailed the islands in a catamaran with 11 guests and a crew of 6. The trip was labeled as “adventure” and we kayaked, snorkeled, and hiked our way through the islands. Truly an extraordinary experience. The wildlife were as tame and fascinating as we were led to expect, the scenery much more beautiful, and the kayaking and snorkeling truly amazing.  We snorkeled with playful sea lions, sea turtles, rays, sharks (even hammerheads!), and — of course — a rainbow’s worth of tropical fish. Here are a couple of our Galapagos pics. If you’re interested in seeing more, we put together a photo album on Snapfish that you can see here.

Ferocious baby sea lion attacking Tom

His portrait

They liked to play in the water, too

The peaceable kingdom

The post Carolyn and Tom’s Excellent Galapagos Adventure appeared first on Coveside Bed and Breakfast.