Great Galapagos
I am back from the Galapagos Islands (sniff sniff).
When we (16 of us) first arrived at the dock we were taking loads of photos of these crabs on the distant rocks and the marine iguanas - little did we realise how amazingly close, and how much we were going to see, in the following days.
Pretty much the daily routine was get up for breakfast at 7, do a little hike, snorkel, rest, lunch, rest, little hike (hike being 1-2km in the heat - was very hot, was an effort), then snorkel, shower, drinks at the bar, dinner, bar, then bed... Little bell would be rung every time a meal was served or we had to catch a dinghy for the landings to an island... I became known as the dessert critic as I was not impressed when we consistently got fruit for dessert - esp melon!!!The bar was pretty good as the bartender was very generous with his servings. I had a little cabin on the main deck all to myself which was pretty cool - prime location.
The guides told us a bit about the corruption going on at Galapagos... Only meant to be 120,000 visitors per year but 168000 went last year... There was meant to be a limit on teh size of cruise ships but after one large cruise ship with over 100 passengers hassled enough the government eventually gave them a permit to cruise the park...
Was crystal clear turquiose waters - absolutely stunning with volcanic islands dotted about the place... very nice and relaxing as well as being an unbelievable experience.... Had brilliant people on the boat as well - a lot of canadians, range of ages, all got on really well...
Again so much wonderful stuff so will just do the highlights...
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