Last post on our Galapagos Islands

Our third and final post on The Galapagos.....The wildlife is enough of a reason to visit The Galapagos Islands, but go for the flora, water and scenery too.  It's all extraordinary!

The pictures below show the wide variety of flora that you see on the islands.  They are not like the Caribbean Islands. They are born from volcanic activity and range from almost barren to jungle lush in the highlands.

 Images from the Island of Floreana

 Topography of Santa Cruz Island, the most populated Galapagos Island

 

Island of San Cristobal

View of Kicker Rock.  See the boot?  We snorkeled in the channel between the two rocks.  The swells gave us a roller coaster ride with sharks as our companions....so fun!  

 

 The Island of Bartolome.....where the movie "Master and Commander" was filmed

 

Views from the Island called Plazas

 

 Flora from Santa Fe Island

Cactus Trees..Galapagos is.the only place in the world to find these beauties

Scene from the Island of Genovese...

 Island of Isabela....

Huge Brain Coral, at one point, long ago, underneath the sea.

Cave cut by eons of erosion

Insect eating plants

 Island of Fernandina

Lava Cactus

Whale skeleton

Steve and Amy loving life

Latitude 0.00.001 - our ships GPS when we were exactly at The Equator, almost.

 Last but not least is a picture of our home for 11 wonderful days cruising a magical place. We are not really the "cruising" types, but it is the best way to see the Galapagos Islands.

The Tip Top IV

 The ship was secondary in our choice.  First and foremost were the itinerary of islands and the tour operator.  Galapagos Travel offered an itinerary with lots of activity and two top of the line guides (for 16 people).  We were generally the first group to arrive on each island (early wake up calls), we snorkeled every day, had the opportunity to kayak and enjoyed evening workshops with detailed presentations about every aspect of the islands.  The food and luxury of the ship were really good, but not over the top.  Galapagos Travel is for the true nature enthusiast, who wants the nature to be the priority.  We were very happy with our decision, and lucky to have like-minded shipmates.
If you get a chance to go to The Galapagos....GO!