, May 2011
Travel made your way ™
I had a great time. I love to travel and this was a once in a lifetime trip for me. I had planned to go to Machu Picchu but when I got your email about the Mary Anne, I jumped on it. I'd also wanted to go to the Galapagos for years and it seemed the ideal time. It was. May was a great month for travel in Ecuador and the islands. The other passengers on the Mary Anne were free spirits [like myself] who also signed on at the last minute and we all got along great! The trip was a great adventure, more physically strenuous than I had expected [no sunning and sailing on deck with a book and a drink in my hand -- although I could've chosen to do that!], and I loved the surprise of hiking and snorkling for hours each day. My trip was better than expected! I have been bragging to everyone back home about the sights and adventures.
As with my other travels it was the unexpected that always caught my attention and surprised and delighted me. I was snorkling with my friends from the Mary Anne and 3 large turtles. I got some salt water in my mask and surfaced to empty it. When I put my mask back on and looked down, a huge turtle was directly below me! Great feeling! On another snorkel I was alone in a beautiful cove. The dinghy was anchored and I followed the line down to the anchor. No one else was around. Then right in front of me a large female sea lion arrived and started twisting and turning and spinning in the water and jumping out of the water and diving back in. She was maybe 10 - 15 feet in front of me. It was my own private aquatic show with just the sea lion and me. No man-made attraction will ever feel so good.
