Capturing the Moment

  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...

  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...

From top to bottom Argentina is a bird lovers paradise. Recently Heidi and I traveled across Argentina searching for beautiful views, hikes, and of course wildlife. We knew that incredible hikes to glaciers, mountain vistas, lakes, and waterfalls existed across the country but we were surprised at the amazing birdwatching opportunities. Austral Parakeet near Ushuaia      The same places you travel for amazing views; Ushuaia , El Calafate, El Chalten, and Iguazu are the same places that birders 'in the know' travel for big time bird watching. The different environments change from cold ocean in Ushuai, to desert and freshwater lakes in Patagonia, to tropical jungle in Iguazu. Because of this the opportunities to see very different bird species change as well, from penguins down south to toucans up north. Tern hovering over the water Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego National Park: We will start down south in Ushuaia , the southernmost city in the world. Here a ...