The Galapagos Islands!

****I know this blog is about the love of our lives, Harper Baron Heathcott, but just a little post to share about our wonderful vacation to The Galapagos Islands. I'm going to do my best to make it short and sweet and let the pictures do most of the talking:)

We left Houston Friday morning each with our 30 pound suitcase and 15 pound back pack. This was the hardest trip to back for! The islands are very regulated and there is a weight requirement to enter the country! ( I wanted to say I just lost 10 pounds from having a baby, therefore, I should be able to bring 2 extra pairs of shoes!!) We had a short flight to Miami and then another quickie to Quito, Ecuador. When we arrived in Quito we were greeted my Maritz and then off to the JW Marriott for a good nights sleep,

On Saturday we took a city tour which involved visiting numerous churches, courtyards, and political buildings. After visiting Europe this churches were really not that impressive. One of the churches did have 225 million dollars worth of gold coverings an alter. It was really shiny!Quito is 9,000 feet above sea level so it was difficult to breath as we walked around.

For lunch we ate at a magnificent restaurant on the top of an extinct volcano. It had breath taking views. We at grilled chicken with wine sauce, fried plantains, and a blackberry smoothie. This was our first of many means with bananas! It was just the energy we needed to head to O O, the Equator! We started in the Southern hemisphere and then traveled to the Northern hemisphere. It was pretty cool! We also put our feet on either side so we could say we were at 2 places at once. Cam really wanted to flush a toilet and see which way the water went!

That night we went to an opera house. It was a cozy place in the "old colonial" square. We listened to beautiful music and drank Chilean wine. We felt like we were on a date created by the producers of the bachelor!!

Sunday morning came early and to my surprise I had no shoes! We had to have our bags out at 5Am for our flight to Guayaquil. I had left out everything I would need the night before! Well not shoes!! I rode the elevator down barefoot!! It was so embarrassing! Luckily I met a nice man who let me borrow his SIZE 11 Tevas!! I had no room to be picky, so I put on his "boats" and boarded the plane! Our flight from Guayaquil to Baltra took an hour and a half. We were now 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. We took our first zodiac ride to board the xpedition, our celebrity ship, that held 50 people. While waiting to get on our "dingy" as the locals call it there were seals sleeping on the benches!! Of course I already got in trouble for getting too close for a picture! Then we saw marine iguanas, land iguanas, and crabs covering the lava rocks. It was so beautiful and we'd been there 20 minutes! Once aboard our ship we toured our state room and then off to explore our first island, Baltra. We hiked 1.5 miles leisurely while our naturalist guide informed us about the iguanas, sea lions, frigate birds, and blue footed boobies. We almost stepped on the iguanas because they were everywhere! They have no natural predators so they were not the least bit afraid of people, which is why I almost stepped on them a dozen times!

Monday morning we work up early for a 7am boat ride to Kicker Rock. It is the Galapagos version of Gibraltar. We took a lot of pictures and got to travel down the narrow passage inside the cliff. What a way to start your day! At 9am we had a dry landing at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. This was an inhabited island. We went to the interpretation center and learned about the island....more info on Charles Darwin. (this is where he developed his theory of evolution)We tried to do a little shopping, but seriously there was nothing to buy! We did purchase some much needed sunscreen for $22!! Yikes, they saw us coming!

During the afternoon we hide around Espanola island. It is 4 million years old and has a high concentration of wildlife. We saw many albatross and watched them care for their eggs. They are very interesting birds. I've never really "watched birds" or liked them for that matter, but it was seriously fascinating! They travel for 600 miles and then return to their next. They have an internal GPS and know exactly where they left their nest. We saw 2 albatross "dance." It is part of their mating ritual. It went on for about 20 minutes, it was so funny to watch it's like they had a secret handshake! We were the last zodiac back on the ship because this is supposedly pretty rare!

Tuesday was the BEST day of the trip because we got to snorkel. The Galapagos is known to have some of the very best snorkeling in the world. A lot of divers choose to snorkel instead of dive because you can see more at about 40 feet. But before snorkeling we went on a hike to Cormorant Point on Floreana Island. We saw several flamingos from far away but none close enough to truly enjoy their beauty. I learned that they are pink because of all the shrimp they eat. Then on our way to Champion Island to snorkel, we saw 3 humpback whales while on the zodiac!! We could see them blow and then we'd go as fast as we could in that direction. We got within 40 feet of 2 females and a baby. Our Naturalist Guide, Mario, said they were teaching the baby how to breath for longer periods of time. It was incredible to see them crest, just like on Nat Geo, but live!! Well, we finally made it to Champion Island and I honestly didn't think anything could top whale watching. This was a high intensity activity for strong and experienced snorkelers. Well Cam and I do not exactly fit that description. I thought Cam had snorkeled before, but later that day he informed me it was his first time!! I have snorkeled numerous times, but not frequently. We arrived to Champion Island and our guide gave us NO instructions except to lean back and dive in backwards off the boat and follow him! Well this would not have been a problem except for that we were in the middle of the ocean!!! It was really rough and there were huge swells. Cam and I both started to panic because we both had a mouth full of salt water and our team was long gone!! We doggie paddled for about 5 minutes and then eventually calmed down. Once we put our mask on we saw the magnificent underwater world! The key to open water snorkeling is to relax and let the ocean move you. I think we needed some instructions or a floatation device!! Well this was the highlight of the trip. We saw sea lions, parrot fish, yellow tail, rainbow fish, stingrays, needle nose, sea turtles, 3 SHARKS, and other large schools of fish! It was so clear and everything was saturated with bright colors. It was the best snorkeling! I loved being out in the ocean.......felt a little adventurous! I would have to agree that this was some of the best snorkeling in the world. I just wish I had an underwater camera. We snorkeled for about an hour and I hated to leave, but I was starving after all that initial doggie paddling:)

Wednesday, we put on our wetsuit and snorkel once again but this time we did a low intensity beach snorkel. Unfortunately I got stung by a jellyfish with in the first 30 minutes so I sunbathed the rest of the morning. It was so peaceful and quiet, I was the only one on the beach! That afternoon we hiked to the most famous view in all of the Galapagos. It was on Bartolome Island, which is a volcanically active island! We hiked 374 feet to the tip. We didn't see much wildlife on the way to the top. It was extremely windy today and hard to hear much of what our guide was saying. After our hike we took a zodiac ride to look for the Galapagos penguins. We saw 2 immediately. They would be easy to miss because they are tiny! They are the only penguins in the world that are found north of the Equator. our guide dropped us off at the beach for a chance to snorkel. Once again it was amazing, super clear, and there were sea creatures everywhere! This time we at the right place at the right time. We were trying to swim out to a cove where we had see the penguins. Well all of the sudden 3 penguins swam right in front of us!It was so cool to see them soar through the water.....Such a cool experience and we turned around and there was a sea lion, then a huge sea turtle, and then a shark!! This was the 2nd best snorkel. Once again, I needed an underwater camera!

That evening the captain anchored the ship and turned on the flood lights. Amazingly sharks were swimming around everywhere. They were about 7 feet long, it was so intriguing to see them circle. Sea lions, and pelicans were swimming with them, but they ignored each other. We saw a jumping fish be devoured by the sea lion. I felt like this was all stuff that would be on the Discovery Channel:)

Thursday was our last day to explore the beautiful Galapagos Islands. We visited Isabela Island which is the largest island. It is composed of 5 volcanoes. that are still active with the last volcanic eruption happening in May 2008. This Island is know for giant tortoises, but we didn't see any! We saw their nests, but they were all in the highlands in the morning. We did see giant land iguanas. They can travel 40 kilometers and hour and live up to 80 years!

That afternoon we decided to do a low intensity activity and cruise around on the zodiac. I was beginning to feel like I was going to need a vacation from my vacation! We hadn't seemed to stop since we arrived! We cruised around on our zodiac and saw another humpback whale from afar, a sea turtle, sea lion, and a flightless Comoran. What a fun way to endour last excursion. That evening they had a local band come aboard and perform some authentic music. We danced and enjoyed our last night.