Galapagos Boat Tour Day 1

Just getting to the Galapagos is ridiculously expensive. You have to pay $360 for a round trip plane ticket (locals pay half the price), $10 for an id card which you´ll never use, $100 park entrance fee upon arrival, and about $6 in fees for ferry crossings and bus rides to reach the main town. Like our Hawaii, everything on the island is double cost of that on the mainland, but if you look around you can find some great lunch and dinner deals. When I landed, I immediately went to searching for last minute boat deals. I ended up snagging the last bed on a 8 day/ 7 night tour of the islands, and saved about $270 bucks by not booking in advance. Once I got on board it was smooth sailing from then on. The trip easily blew away my expectations with the boat, guide, fellow passengers, and the islands themselves all making it a truly memorable experience.

Day 1 We got a tour of the boat and headed to Las Bachas

Blue heron trying to keep cool

Blue heron and a couple of flamingos
Our first sunset - the rays of the sun were very pronounced

Day 2: Islas Plazas & Isla Santa Fe

Day 2: We headed to Islas Plazas and Isla Santa Fe. The second day was far more interesting than the first.

Trying to test fate - thank god my sandals have grippy soles

For the entire trip this guy, Rob, was on a mission to capture a ¨home run" photo. At first, considering the amount of equipment he´d brought I thought he was a professional photographer. After finding out it was just a hobby, I laid into him for carrying all that crap. In the end I checked out some of his photos on Flickr, and can only say he´s the greatest hobbyist photographer I´ve ever seen. If you have just a second check out his pics they will seriously blow you away: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rkroenert/ - the ones of the Golden Gate Bridge are unreal.
Swallow-tailed Gull
Two iguanas eating up some cacti

My favorite part of the trip was snorkeling - the sealions are especially playful underwater. If your heading to the Galapagos, I strongly recommend purchasing an underwater camera case - I had a blast with mine.

Sting ray
School of surgeon fishes
Can´t remember the name of these fish

A seal looking all high and mighty
Seal town - no clubs allowed
Me and the Galapagos Giant Prickly Pear Cactus
The best sunset of the trip

Day 3: Isla Espanola

Day 3: Isla Espanola - the most southerly in the archipelago and a great place to see the waved albatross.

Seal lions getting a tan

Truly one of the laziest animals
A galapagos heron on the hunt for a crab
A finch (i think) on the run
A blue footed booby just before impact
A waved albatross in flight
2 Waved albatrosses nesting while a 3rd gets his exercise

Day 4: Isla Santa Maria

Walking tall on a deserted beach on the island of Santa Maria.

We got up very early and headed to the beach to watch the sea turtles cover their nests and swim out to the sea.
The snorkeling around the island was great with loads of sea turtles.

Here I am swimming under a cave at Devils Crown.
This guy was giving me the look
My buddy Rob got a shot of me photographing a school of golden cow rays. Here are the photos I snagged.
Post Office Bay where you can leave a letter for somebody, and take some back home if your close to the address.

Day 5: Isla Santa Cruz

One of my favorite shots. This little guy was combing the water for bits of food. My roommate, Lawrance (France), on the trip. Thank god I broke those ridiculous glasses.
The Charles Darwin Research Station just outside of the Galapagos's biggest city, Puerto Ayora, houses loads of tortoises and other wildlife native to the area. Here´s a bunch of young tortoises.
I surprised a big guy while he was eating.
This tortoise chased me for quite a while. He even followed me up the stairs, luckily I escaped without injury.
Two guys thinking the same thing.
Just like in prison- when you put only males in a pen strange things happen. The noises were the worst part.
Our guide, Washington, getting some exercise.

Day 6: Isla Rabida & Bartolome

A large crater we passed by on the way to Bartolome.Inside the beast was a lagoon filled with flamingos.
Isla Rabida
Me on the Bartolome Island
A blue heron on the move
Stingray looking for a new plot of sand
Looking down on a sea lion
Aa sleeping octopus I stumbled across - he was not happy with me waking him up.
A proud penguin
Penguin looking for food
Diving for the goods
Two guys out hunting
Momma and her little ones. I swam a bit too close to these guys, and one of the chicks nipped my ear.
Mom feeding her baby.
Me on top of the summit