Capturing the Moment

Snorkeling in the Galapagos!   Everyone knows about the giant tortoises, iguanas, and blue footed boobies in the Galapagos. You literally have to step around them as you walk around the different islands. However, the real wildlife bonanza here is revealed only when you put on a mask and snorkel and look underwater. Giant schools of fish fill the water column. Sea turtles and sharks swim by. And curious sea lions come so close that they might even chew on your camera playfully. I could have stayed underwater here for a long long time. I was very eager to see some of the rarer endemic wildlife underwater, like the Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, and marine iguanas. I had my old GoPro camera mounted on a pole ready to go. Well, it turned out that the ocean conditions didn't cooperate entirely with us for our underwater time. The waves were quite big, which stirred up a lot of sediment, decreasing the clarity of the water. We had to cancel one beach snorkel because of huge

  I finally made to the the 'living museum' of the Galapagos Islands. My excitement peaks as the islands come into view. After flying over open ocean for about 600 miles, I finally spied the islands of the Galapagos archipelago. I was glued to the window. Through breaks in the clouds I could small islands jutting up from the depths. Small white expedition or dive ships were anchored nearby. Pretty soon I was going to be on one of those ships, called La Pinta. La Pinta is a luxury expedition ship, fit to accamodate 48 guests with 32 crew. It plies the waters of the Galapagos all year round, so its crew knows the islands like the back of the hands. All of the crew are Ecuadorians, with many actually being from the 30,000 or so residents of the Galapagos islands themselves. First view of La Pinta, our home for the next 6 days. Loading the panga We were greeted at the airport and escorted to the small dock. It was only a 5 minute drive through a very arid landscape. There were thin

  What a week. Here is a small taste of what we saw. Despite some major camera gear malfunctions (mostly my hard drive biting the dust, with all my photos on it), I was still able to save a lot of video footage. Here is a short look at some of the cool experiences I had this week in the Galapagos.  -Dai Mar

  Iguana posing in front of a fountain on the river walk. Guayaquil is known to most travelers as the 'jumping off point for trips to the Galapagos Islands.' This is the reason that I came here. I had a night at the Wyndham Santa Ana before catching my flight to the Galapagos Islands to board my expedition cruise ship, La Pinta. However, I knew that Guayaquil probably had its own charms and sights which I didn't want to miss. So after getting settled I took to the streets to get a better feel for the city. I started on the famous Malecon, or riverfront walk of Guayaquil. It is a bit touristy, with lots of seafood restaurants and coffee shops. The river is huge, and filled with sediment. There was a bit of trash in it and I did see one dead cow floating by, so not too inviting. But it is nice not to be surrounded by buildings on all sides. At the end of the Malecon, the city started to really gain some character. The road became narrow and paved with cobblestones. The buildi