Did you know that Quito is cold in June? We sure didn't. The sun goes down early, too! We paid six dollars for a cab from the airport to our hotel, Mansion de Angel. Saturday night, and the new town was hopping. We got some small bites and a few beers at the square 1 1/2 blocks from our hotel. Afterwards we came back to our room and admired …

I wish you could have seen all the smiling faces climbing off of the AeroGal plane. Each of us beamed, and then we got into line and secretly tried to catch a glimpse at the stickers we were given and proudly donning. The stickers that announce which boat you are boarding. We were all busy in our own heads thinking, "Oh, he's cute. I hope he …

Genovesa island, home of the red-footed booby. A panga ride away from our long and arduous, sleepless night. Spirits were low at breakfast, but quickly rose as we faced a land of which we had never before seen. As we ambled past booby nests . . . on the ground . . . drawn in the sand by poop, we began to recognize that we were in a whole new …

North Seymour. The island where you "see more."

This dry, dusty, windy island is home to the land iguana and bands of frigatebirds.

Oh, and the dancing blue-footed boobies, too. That was fun to watch. Imagine a sharp shrieking whistle, and then a stiff little bird bowing his head while extending his wingspan much farther than it …

This morning began as usual, awoken by eighties music and the familiar voice of our guide, Ivan. "Good Morning! Welcome to another day in Pharadyze . . . Galapagos Islands. Breakfast will be ready in half an hour. Breakfast in half an hour." Holy Cow! I think I can actually face food for the first time on this trip. Oh thank you gods of …

Neil Armstrong said that Bartolome is the closest to the moon that he's seen on earth. Well, Bartolome is the closest thing to heaven that I've seen on earth. Something about the colors and the hot sun and the physical activity just appeals to me. I love this place. The crazy thing is, we didn't do much here. Just climbed a bunch of steps. The …

Santa Cruz. I remember Santa Cruz from an earlier trip that I had taken here with my family. I remember flaming drinks and dancing. Lots of dancing. Lots of Cuba Libres. This was not the Santa Cruz I remembered from my youth. This was Santa Cruz in the day light.

Now, I know that I should pay more attention to the briefings the night before, …

Espanola is for lovers! At least for that Galapagos symbol of love. The ever graceful albotross. Have you ever seen an albatross land? There could be reels of blooper footage focused on this one act. And, these birds are huge! HUGE! I don't know how they get into the air in the first place. If you're lucky you will get to see them dance. …

Darwin Center. Lonesome George. I think I just read something somewhere that said Lonesome George is no longer lonesome. There were eggs in his nest or something like that! Yay George!

It was fun to be so close to the turtles, but we knew it was coming to and end. Husband and I made a pact to each find ourselves a native Galapagos …