Galapagos Islands, Day 1

Today was one of those awe-inspiring, pinch-me-I-can´t-believe-I´m-really-here kind of days.  Started out with a flight to the Galapagos Islands.  Ended up with giant tortoises.

The natural beauty of this place is something I´ve never before experienced.  We were greeted by crystal clear blue waters.

Lazy sea lions basked in the sun, which is not nearly as hot as the sun in the last two cities I´ve visited.  The humidity isn´t as bad, either.

Boarded our boat after several different types of transit (none of them tortoise, darn it) and it, too, was awesome.  Ate a nice lunch and then headed back to the main island, Santa Cruz, to check out the giant tortoises.  We saw 7 different ones.  They were so amazing, I cannot adequately describe them (I also am running out of time at the internet cafe...).  So, here are some pictures:

I love the eyes on this one.  It was the first we saw.

This turtle was talking to his bird friend.  "Hello, bird."  

This one was taking a mud bath.  Nothing like a day at the spa.

Tonight, we head north to a small island way north of the main one.  I won´t have internet access again for a good 5 days, so good-bye for now!

Patty