blog by becky

A little less traveling in our future...

2013-09-06T21:16:00.002-05:00

I've been sadly neglectful of this blog! It all started when I had a back injury in August of 2012 that kept me away from sitting at a computer for any length of time. I never finished blogging on my France trip and then I took an Eastern European trip, a few short trips around the states and then to London and Scotland for my honeymoon! The photos piled up and even though my back got better, I'm still going to physical therapy for aspects related to that and have never gotten back in the habit of blogging and reviewing my photos. I hope to still get to blogging about the trips I've taken.

So, my travels did not end, nor do I expect them to ever end... however, now I'm embarking on a new adventure! Check out my new blog at TheNewMommyAdventure.blogspot.com/.

Fall Colors of Michigan

2012-10-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

I visit Upper Peninsula Michigan annually and every year the colors amaze me, making me feel like it's the first time I've seen this magical place.

I've posted before on my trip up to the UP if you want to know more about a great place to visit! :)

France Trip- Normandy

2012-03-31T17:20:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know I said next stop was Paris. And it was. But, just for one short evening before heading out out a 3 day tour to Normandy. We made it back to Paris after Normandy for a few days. Unfortunately, I fell and sprained my ankle in one of the Chateaus we visited in Normandy! Not a terribly exciting story, I just caught a toe on a wide spiral staircase and didn't have anywhere to grab on my way down. I landed on my DSLR camera (ouch!), which was around my neck, but it is still trooping on, even now, after replacing the lens filter, which shattered. I had to take a day off from Normandy touring and stay on the bus, but I managed to limp around Paris and make the most of the rest of our stay in France. :)

Normandy was rainy and somewhat gloomy in comparison to sunny and warm Nice and Bordeaux. Paris was much the same and my companion, Char, and I discussed that in the future, we'd do the trip in reverse. Go and get the rain and gloominess over with- enjoy the sights and the bustling city, and THEN go enjoy some sun in the small towns, relax and come home. :)

Normandy was a three day tour. The first day we visited the picturesque town of Rouen and a small port town of Honfleur. What I remember most about Honfleur was having the most delicious crepe sandwich, with ham and melted cheese, folded into a rectangle, which was named a "Galette" (with some gelato, of course).

In the afternoon, we visited the beaches of Normandy, stopping at Omaha Beach, and visited the American cemetery of Saint-Laurent, the largest American cemetery outside of the US. It was a beautiful place, quiet and bit somber, but great to have had the chance to go there.

The first day ended in the city of Caen and the next day started with a visit to the city of St. Malo and ended with a visit to the spectacular Mont-Saint-Michel, and even so in the pouring rain. :) The last day of our tour started out well by seeing the castle of Angers and a visit to the castle of Langeais.

Sadly, this was where I sprained my ankle, and didn't then get to go to Ambiose or visit the castles of Chenonceau and Chambord. Back to Paris we went after a 3 day whirlwind trip to Normandy, with lots of rain, yet beautiful sights, but a swollen ankle and a very supportive trip-mate who, with more effort than it seemed like it should be, helped get us a cab back to our hotel.

France trip- Bordeaux & St. Emilion

2012-03-14T01:39:00.001-05:00

Hi there- remember me? :) I took a looooong hiatus from blogging because I was doing too much traveling. So, to come, the rest of pics from France, maybe a quick stop in Orlando, then onto a big tour of Eastern Europe. Are you ready?? ;)

Ok, let's get back to France. Ah, lovely France. We started in Nice, on the shores of the Mediterranean, and hopped over to Monaco for a day visit. There is more to this trip! It includes some wine, some sun, some rain, a sprained ankle, 8 hours (yes HOURS) in the Louvre, Paris, the Eiffel Tower and the Sien. Stay tuned! :)

Now, let's get back to mid-trip in France, and take a short flight over to Bordeaux from Nice. One thing I would recommend is checking the holidays in the country to which you are flying. We landed on a holiday, unbeknownst to us, and no taxi or private car was available to get us to our hotel! Luckily, the public transit system in Bordeaux is pretty easy to understand (well, with a friend who knows some French, as I know none) and does go to quite a few places. It was a bus -> tram -> walk to get to our hotel on the outskirts of Bordeaux. I wouldn't recommend staying in this location... not a lot to do, not that there was anything to do on a holiday in France (fortunately there was one restaurant open). We stayed here because it was close to the train station where we were going to take a train to Paris next. If you come, stay in the heart of Bordeaux and remember that taking public transit out to the train station isn't bad at all, if you happen to need to go that way. However, I must say, we got pretty good and going back and forth on the tram and got to know the Bordeaux area, so maybe it was a good thing in the end. :)

The highlights in Bordeaux included the "Bordeaux Beach," a section of sidewalk near the river that perhaps had sprinklers in the summer time. Our guide told us this was its nickname. The churches are always amazing and didn't disappoint. We took a day tour out to the wine country and to the small town of St. Emilion, a tourist-only city anymore, which we were told is impassable when buried in snow. What a charming place St. Emilion turned out to be, with cobblestone streets, wine stores-a-plenty and of course, surrounded by vineyards. We tasted the local Macarons, and had a picnic lunch of fresh french baguette, fromage (cheese), jamon (ham) and dessert. Then it was off to wine country and to a Chateau- we went to Chateau Canon, one of hundreds of vineyards in the area, and had a tour and a tasting of their superb wine.

I learned a lot about the region, of which all the details now escape me, but I recall that the fact that the ancient town is still walled is one of the reasons that the grapes grow so well in the region of St. Emilion. It keeps the wind off the low-growing grapes and shelters them. Also, the town has tunnels under each winery and though I can't recall why they were originally dug, I remember that the French stored their best wines in these caves during the second world war and pretended they were giving their best wines to the invading soldiers. Much of the best wines survived the war because of these hiding places. These days, those caves are a blessing to the region, by providing a blanket of warm air underneath all the vineyards, again providing protection to the grapes when the cold seasons arrive. I find it interesting the serendipitous reasons the region has such great grape production to create some the best wines in the world now, from the French Bordeaux region.

We much too quickly had to say goodbye to Bordeaux and board our train to Paris. Many more pictures on my website of the lovely towns of Bordeaux and St. Emilion.

France trip- Monaco

2011-07-03T19:49:00.006-05:00

While in the south of France, we visited Monaco, which is technically it's own country (the smallest country, I believe). Apparently the casinos here require formal attire, and a membership, therefore we didn't even attempt going. :) There was a beautiful palace that we visited, where they were in preparations for the wedding of Prince Albert & Princess Charlene to happen about a week after we were there. Monaco is partly built upon a big rock (La Roque) where they have a beautiful botanical garden. Walking around it was not only beautiful in itself, but overlooking the bay with it's yachts in it (this is a VERY wealthy community) and the city made for some lovely views.

Nice, France

2011-07-02T18:54:00.006-05:00

Our first destination in France was Nice, on the southeast edge of France and on the Mediterranean Sea. Just thinking about the south of France brings my blood pressure down and makes me feel more relaxed! :) Beautiful weather, palm trees, beautiful flowers... I would equate it with San Deigo-like weather- not too hot, sunny, breeze from the water. The lazy feel of the town is exactly what I look for in a vacation spot, with a place to get some gelato on your way down to the water's edge. The beaches in Nice were rocky shores and we were surprised to see locals laying down their towels and laying down as if it were sand. It hurt my feet to walk on those rocks, but perhaps it's something you get used to over time. :) We took a day tour around the city, which brought us up to a spot where there were beautiful vistas of the beach and shoreline. There was a beautiful waterfall that we could see from a distance and were able to find our way up. A great few days of food, sun and sea.

La Belle France!

2011-06-29T22:30:00.007-05:00

I had the good fortune to be able to travel to France for 2 weeks and returned just a few days ago. What beautiful country! A friend and I visited Nice, Bordeaux, Normandy and Paris. Referencing the map above (which you can see a little bigger if you click on it) we went to:
1. Flight via Madrid to Nice (3 days) and Monaco (day trip from Nice)
2. Flight to Bordeaux (3 days)
3. St. Emilion (day trip from Bordeaux)
4. Train to Paris (overnight)
Normandy bus tour for 3 days
5. Rouen
6. Honfleur
7. Caen
8. Saint-Malo and Mont-Saint-Michel
9. Angers
10. Ambiose
11. Back to Paris (4 days)

From the south of France's beautiful vistas overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Nice, to the beautiful countryside of vineyards outside Bordeaux, to the beaches of Normandy, to the bustling city of Paris, France was a wonderful and diverse place to visit. From tiny elevators, to french fry sandwiches, to downpours on one side of France and cobblestone beaches on the other, France held a lot of surprises along the way. I have not yet mentioned the best thing about France- the food! A place that I could definitely live just for the culinary delights. Stay tuned for more details and pictures of each of the four areas we visited in France. "Au revoir" for now!

New York, New York!

2011-04-28T21:54:00.008-05:00

New York was a blast! What did we do in New York? A better question might be, what didn't we do?? :) I recently took a 5 day trip with friends and we covered much of Manhattan- took in some plays on Broadway, a carriage ride around Times Square, enjoyed a sunny day in Central Park, sailed out to meet Lady Liberty, ate some great food and I got to meet Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter actor)!! My friends and I were lucky enough to see Dan Radcliffe in his currently running production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and it was just great. Harry Potter, the Exhibition was also nearby in Times Square at the Discovery Museum, which necessitated a visit from this very-big-Potter-fan. :) We covered a lot of ground and enjoyed every minute... New York, I'll be back (possibly before Dan Radcliffe's play run ends in November). Enjoy a few pics below from the jam-packed trip or find more pictures at my photo website.

The Highlights:

Harry Potter, The Exhibition

Times Square

With friends in Central Park

Central Park

Dinner with friends after the play

Carriage ride around Times Square

World Trade Center Memorial Site

Heading out for Born Yesterday, another Broadway play we saw

Harry Potter event at Harry Potter, the Exhibition

An artful brunch (please eat brunch in NY, should you go there)! :)

With friends

Chinatown

Bryant Park/New York Library

How to Succeed theatre

Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter)

Rob Pattinson (Twilight)

"Top of the Rock" Rockefeller Center

Meyer's Castle

2011-03-07T00:02:00.006-06:00

I ate tonight with two of my sisters at Meyer's Castle. Didn't know there was a castle nearby the Chicagoland area, did you? :) It's in Indiana, just over the border in Dyer, Indiana and a short drive from the Chicagoland area.

The grounds of this old, large house are beautiful with long path of archways lit by Christmas lights leading you to the restaurant. They have wedding receptions outdoors under a tent and also have a nightclub on the weekends on the lower level. Park in the lot near the entrance and a shuttle will bring you up to the door. Enjoy a meal on their porch area, built onto the house, in order for "everyone to have a window seat." And don't forget to look out those windows to the pond and peacocks roaming around. We had a lovely time in this very unique venue!

We went for their four-course dinner, which was superb, as well as affordable, at $25.50 per person (what a deal!! :) on Sundays (this was special Sunday/Wed/Thurs pricing, otherwise the four-course meal is still a steal for what you get at $34.50/person). The meal began with a quite delicious palette-cleansing shot from Brazil called "caipirinha" accompanied by a tasty empanda. The second course was a help-yourself tapas bar with such dishes as spicy mushrooms, seafood salads and marinated portabello mushrooms. The third course was a pasta bar where one picks the type of pasta and ingredients for the sauce (garlic, veggies, cheese), which is prepared as you watch and delivered to your plate piping hot. Last, but certainly not least, is the "meat" served to you on skewers similar to a Brazilian-style steakhouse. The meats featured were 3 types of steak, a tremendous melt-in-your-mouth pork tenderloin, chorizo sausage, chicken legs, roasted veggies and glazed pineapple, which is a MUST to try, even though you feel like you're about to burst at this point in the meal. :) In addition to the atmosphere, great food and great price, the service was wonderful and the owner very personable. I'd urge anyone to give this place a try! I plan to get back in the warmer months to walk around and see the grounds of the beautiful castle a bit more. Below are pics I took of the grounds, peacocks and our meal. :)

More pics at my photo website & more information in an article my sister Carrie wrote on Meyer's Castle.

Kendall College Cooking School

2011-02-04T17:38:00.009-06:00

Living in Chicago, we have so many options for fantastic meals, from the small great Chinese carryout to the high-end gourmet restaurant. Another experience I've heard of is eating at cooking schools, where they make you a 3-course meal at a fixed/reduced price for the type of gourmet food they are providing, since they are in essence "practicing" on you. There are a few places around Chicago to eat at a cooking school- CHIC, the Culinary & Hospitality Institute of Chicago, which is affiliated with Le Cordon Blue, is a well known one. Another one I've heard of is Kendall College. I took a few gourmet cooking classes at COD taught by Dave Lombardi, who worked at Kendall College. His classes taught me a lot about cooking and appreciating gourmet meals and I still use many of the recipes and techniques I learned from him. Finally, after several years have passed, I got a chance to visit the Kendall College "Dining Room" restaurant with some friends. And what a wonderful meal we had!

Below are some pictures of the artwork- er, I mean, dishes, we were served. :) The service was terrific and the menu enticed us to try such cuisine as crispy pig ear (yes, you read that right) and beet ice cream. Hats off to the Kendall College Dining Room for a splendid and unique meal!

Place setting

Chefs at work in the kitchen

The restaurant

Liz, Karen, Lynn and I

Chestnut rissoto, mascarpone cheese, savory, chestnut chips

Duck confit, poached apples, parsnip puree, baby arugula

Crispy pig ear, mustard greens, apple-mustard vinaigrette (back)
Roasted market beets, wild arugula, feta cheese, lady finger popcorn, argon oil (front)

Braised lamb shank, creamy polenta, roasted root vegetables, pumpernickel crumbles

Grilled bison strip loin, roasted root vegetables, black currant gastrique, bone marrow hollandaise (back)
Chicken and savory sausage, grilled chicken breast, red rice pilaf, apple chutney (front)

I think this was the Grilled skirt steak of grass-fed beef, winter green gratin, poached farmhouse egg, pickled ramps

Dark chocolate beet cake, dark chocolate blood orange mousse, red beet sorbet, hazelnut crunch, roasted beets, blood orange

Apple terrine, apple tarte-tatin, fennel confit, apple crème fraiche sherbet, mulled apple cider frappe, apple fritter, candy apple

Pumpkin souffle, maple ice cream, pumpkin seed brittle, gingersnap soil, winter squash, orange & cranberry relish

Cocoa chestnut crepe, milk chocolate cremeaux, turnip & pear salsa, milk chocolate streusel

Punta Cana

2011-01-04T23:24:00.007-06:00

Punta Cana was a beautiful island. The beaches had beautiful, soft sand- one of the best beaches I've ever been on. I went over New Years and although there were a lot of people at my resort, it didn't feel crowded. There were also two beautiful pools, but I couldn't tear myself away from the ocean to visit them. :) Topping off the relaxing and wonderful beach vacation, I got a massage in a little cabana right on the beach. *Ahhh*. :) Look at the pics below and you'll be saying "Ahhh" too. :)

Quito, Ecuador

2011-01-03T21:33:00.008-06:00

Me in two hemispheres :)

Before and after the Galapagos, my friend Char and I spent a night in Quito, Ecuador. The last day, we were able to get out a bit and see the area and go to the Equator! Yes, I stood in that spot where I spanned two hemispheres (of course, you learn that this isn't the exact spot at all because they "measured" wrong and the "real" equator is elsewhere, but it was fun anyway! ;)

Quito was an interesting city. We'd heard a lot about being careful of our money and belongings, even from the "kids" that look like they are selling things or offering to clean people's shoes. We had no incidents, but were careful just the same and so that made for a pleasant outing. (We'd heard of a lady getting her camera grabbed from her right in the main square! She ran after it and got it back, fortunately). We took a tour around the city and the most amazing thing we saw, I wasn't able to get pictures of- the inside of the a church that had gold covering a huge portion of the inside of the church. They described the painstaking process of this fragile gold-leaf having to be "painted" on a bit at a time and that it took an astounding amount of years to complete. We visited Panecillo, the statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking the city with nice views of the city with its many houses and parts of the new and old town areas and government buildings. The day in Quito ended our wonderful stay in South America in the Galapagos and Quito, and the next morning we had to head back home. The overall trip I highly recommend!! :) It went well beyond my expectations.

Breakfast at our hotel- crepes and fruit, and a staple of the area- fresh squeezed juice. The one was raspberry- the fresh juices were absolutely delicious!

First church we saw

Embellishments on the church- these were sea turtles and there were other carvings of iguanas, dolphins and other animals. Cool! :)

There was a festival going on and several school children in their uniforms were visiting the Panecillo while we were there, so cute! :)

Char and I in front of the Virgin Mary statue.

Government building.

In the Square

The Bibleoteca - the Library

The church with all the gold I described.

At the Equator

Ecuadorian coins (although they use the US dollar)

Galapagos - Last day and Boat pics

2011-01-02T23:16:00.010-06:00

On our last day in the Galapagos, we arrived back where we started- at San Cristobal Island. We docked in the harbor and walked around the town for a bit before heading back to the airport and boarding a plane to Guayaquil, Ecuador and then back to Quito where we spent one more night, before heading home. I'll include here some pictures of our boat and the wonderful food we were served. I was impressed with the boat, the crew, and how everything ran like clockwork. Our guide, Hanzel, was interesting and really seemed to enjoy the animals as much as we did. I'd highly recommend this tour, put on by Gap Adventures!

[Videos] Galapagos - South Plaza and Santa Fe Islands

2011-01-02T23:15:00.001-06:00

A few videos from South Plaza and Santa Fe Islands:

Galapagos - South Plaza and Santa Fe Islands

2011-01-02T21:17:00.008-06:00

Me, Char, Ketan and Conny with our crew on our last night.

Our last full day and night on the boat, we visited South Plaza and Santa Fe Islands. We arrived at South Plaza Island very early had a lot of pretty landscape of cacti and endemic red plants. It was beautiful and fun to see a sea lion nestled in the plants to keep warm. The iguanas were out and sunning themselves. There were an amazing amount of birds here and I loved hearing them and seeing them swoop down along the cliffs that lined the shore as we walked back to the boat. In the afternoon at Santa Fe Island, we visited a lovely sea lion-lined beach. :) Somehow, I never got sick of seeing the sea lions- they were so fun to watch. We learned that they are the most intelligent animals after dolphins. A little hiking and snorkeling ended our last full day in the Galapagos, just a typical day there... :)

[Videos] Galapagos - Bartalome and Black Sea Turtle Cove!!!

2011-01-02T21:02:00.003-06:00

Videos from Bartalome and Black Sea Turtle Cove:

Galapagos - Bartalome and Black Sea Turtle Cove!!!

2011-01-01T21:15:00.010-06:00

Another crazy good day in the Galapagos Islands on Day 6. We went to Bartalome Island, where the film Master and Commander was filmed. There is a pointed rock in the landscape that may be familiar to you if you have watched that movie. We climbed a lot of stairs and had a beautiful view of the Island. In the afternoon, we took a quiet paddle around Black Sea Turtle Cove and got to see many sea turtles up close (my favorite animal of this trip!!! :). It was late afternoon, with the light filtering through the trees of the mangroves. The crew cut the motors and it was super silent- so silent that we could hear the sea turtles take a breath when they came up for air! Such a beautiful memory of a beautiful place. This was my favorite part of the trip.

Enjoy, and as always, more pics on my photo website.

[Videos] Galapagos - North Seymour and Chinaman Hat Island

2010-12-27T23:53:00.001-06:00

Videos from Day 5 at North Seymour and Chinaman Hat Island:

Galapagos - North Seymour and Chinaman Hat Island

2010-12-27T22:27:00.014-06:00

Pic of Chinaman Hat Island

This is now at the halfway point of the cruise, on the fifth day. The previous day, we sadly had to say goodbye to some passengers who we had gotten to know well, but our group of four that stayed welcomed a new and interesting group. We visited North Seymour Island in the morning. We saw many, many birds, one of which was a species called frigids. The males had a red pouch that they inflated to call attention to themselves to attract female birds. They were beautiful and a few even came along back with us, hanging out at the top of our boat and hovering in the wind tunnel our boat created for an "easy ride" for the birds.

In the afternoon, we visited Chinaman Hat Island, so called because it looks like a Chinaman's Hat. We saw Galapagos Penguins, more sea lions, more iguanas, more crabs and beautiful landscapes and beaches. A highlight of this day was seeing a giant manta ray while shuttling onto one of the islands in the small dinghy boats. The ray was as big as our boat! :) What an unbelievable place (yep, I'm still saying it! ;)

Enjoy more pictures from this day on my website at www.zanything.net

Giant Manta Ray as big as our 8-person dinghy boat!

Lots and lots of Birds

Pretty landcape

Blue footed boobie and chick
Frigids

Frigids

Frigids

Such a pretty place

Frigid nest

Me and Char

Frigids visiting our boat

Frigids visiting our boat

Me and Char relaxing on the boat

Galapagos Penguins

Heron

Galapagos Penguins

Galapagos Penguins

Galapagos Penguins

Baby and Momma Sea Lions saying Hi to us

Curious Sea Lion

Curious Sea Lion

Very little baby Sea Lion with his eyes still shut

Pretty view

Enjoying the view :)

Another momma and her baby

Sunset

[Videos] Galapagos Islands - Sanata Cruz Island

2010-12-27T00:02:00.000-06:00

A few videos of the slow-moving Giant Tortoises. :)

Galapagos - Santa Cruz Island

2010-12-26T21:06:00.012-06:00

Me with a Giant Tortoise
We headed to Santa Cruz Island on our fourth day in the Galapagos. This island is populated, so we got to visit a town, as well as the Charles Darwin Research Center. It was interesting to learn more about Darwin's visits to the islands and how it shaped his theory of evolution because of all the unique species of animals found here. We got to see some Giant Tortoises, which live between 100 and 200 years old and weigh nearly 1000 lbs. There are many different types of Giant Tortoises and one who is the last of his species, Lonesome George, is housed at the Center. We also got to see some baby Giant Tortoises, which were so funny to see since they looked just as old and wrinkly and moved just as slowly! :) In the afternoon, we visited a farm on the island to see more Giant Tortoises in the wild. Throughout the day, we saw more lizards and birds as well. This was our only day we didn't snorkel and spent our time in the town and visiting the Tortoises.

To see more pictures from this day, visit my photo website.

The only sea-going iguana in the world

[Videos] Galapagos Islands - Floreana Island

2010-12-13T20:56:00.002-06:00

A few videos from our day on Floreana Island:

Galapagos Islands - Floreana Island

2010-12-12T18:35:00.014-06:00

Our group on our 8-cabin boat

Our third day in the Galapagos, we visited Floreana Island. We started the day off with a wet landing after breakfast- taking the small, inflatable dinghies up to the beach and getting out in the water. We took a hike from the beach, including to the oldest post office- a wooden mailbox stationed here in the past for people coming by to take letters and hand deliver them to the addressee. We all looked through the postcards and notes, many of which had been there for years and were just notes meant to stay. Others from all around the world, people had addressed and we were all encouraged to take a postcard to hand-deliver if we found someone nearby where we lived.

Several people snorkeled from the beach here where we saw Galapagos penguins, more sea turtles and pelicans dive-bombing to catch the plentiful sardines in the water. It was a wonderful time, followed by another snorkeling adventure which I took part in. We went on the dinghies to another, deeper area with a magnificent coral reef. I put on my wet suit and snorkeling gear and just jumped out of the boat into deep water and strong currents! If you would have told me that I'd be doing this before coming, I certainly would not have believed you :), but the magic of the coral reefs was too much to resist. Though we were told to just go with the currents, it was hard not to try, although futilely, to swim against them. I felt very safe with a life jacket on and the crew members following all of us in the dinghies at a close distance, but it was a tiring adventure :). I am so glad to have had the experience of looking into the vast, vast ocean and being able to see down to the starfish laying on the bottom because the water was so clear. I saw thousands and thousands of fish, rays and the beautiful coral reef. It was amazing!

Our day continued after lunch with another wet landing on Floreana. We hiked around and then at the end of the day, we walked back to the beach to go back to the boat. While waiting for the dinghy transportation to arrive, we observed sea turtles in the waves, a Galapagos shark!! and hundreds of small sting rays in the water as the waves would crash and recede. It was unfortunately time to return to our boat and say our goodbyes to this amazing place so we could visit another amazing place the following day. :)

To see more pictures from this day, visit my photo website.

Approaching Floreana Island

Galapagos Penguin

Rocks by the shore
Oldest Post Office
Oldest Post Office
Letters from the oldest Post Office
My footprints
A pelican dive-bombing into the ocean for sardines
A pelican happily eating his sardines
Me on the deck of our boat with another ship behind us
A fancy lunch
Crab on the beach
Sea lions relaxing in the water
Sleeping
Yawning
Pretty view
Me and Char
Me with yet another baby sea lion :)
Ladybug with no Spots
Pretty view
I liked the treeline
Beautiful water
Sting rays in the water right near the shore
Galapagos Shark!! See the white on the tip of his fin.
Me standing with the crabs
So pretty
Sunset
Sunset

[Videos] Galapagos Islands - Espanola Island, Punta Suarez & Gardner Bay

2010-12-12T18:07:00.005-06:00

Some videos of the lava lizards, crabs, more sea lions (of course!) and the views on Espanola Island:

Galapagos Islands - Espanola Island, Punta Suarez & Gardner Bay

2010-12-07T18:20:00.015-06:00

On our second day in the Galapagos, we visited Espanola Island. We saw many brightly-colored crabs and of course many more sea lions including a baby that was just born with his umbilical cord still on! Birds and lizards were everywhere, iguanas, mockingbirds, yellow warblers, blue-footed boobies, Galapagos Hawks and albatrosses, including chicks. We walked along rocky shores and had beautiful vistas, visited and snorkeled at a beach where I swam with sea turtles about as big as me!!!! Yes, just another unbelievable day in the Galapagos! :)

As you can see by the pics, this was a tremendous day of seeing so many different types of wildlife, as well as the beauty of the island. If you get freaked out by any of the iguanas/lizards, remember what Hanzel, our guide, told us when we were standing right next to them: Don't worry, they are totally vegetarian! ;)

To see more pictures from this day, visit my photo website.

Our Gap Adventures group arriving at Espanola
Iguana- He looks so relaxed, doesn't he? :)
Baby Sea Lion
Colorful crab
Many lava lizards
Baby sea lion hanging out with the lava lizards
Lava lizard
Sea lion on the shore with many crabs
Two baby sea lions playing in the water
Lava lizard posing for me
Lava lizards hugging
Boobie
Blue-footed Boobie
Blue-footed Boobie
Blue-footed Boobie
Me with a lava lizard
Baby sea lion just born that day
Baby sea lion just born that day
Baby sea lion just born that day with mama
A beautiful view
Boobie chick
Boobie chick
Me in the same pose as the blue-footed boobie
Nazca boobie in flight
Boobie chick
Boobie adolescent
Galapagos Hawks
Another beautiful view
The landscape of Espanola
Albatrosses
Albatross chick
Mockingbird on the beach
Hanging out at the beach with the sea lions
Momma and baby snoozing
Yellow warbler
Mockingbird tracks
Me and Connie, a girl I met on our boat, in our wet suits after snorkeling with the sea turtles!