Hank, Nadine and I enjoyed the Galapagos Islands very much. We rate it the #1 location on our trip to date, barely surpassing Greece. We saw many of the animals for which the Galapagos is famous – tortoises, finches and iguanas – and also surfed, fished and saw many fish, starfish, stingrays and a shark while snorkeling.

We stayed in Puerto Ayora on Isla Santa Cruz. We took three day trips with other visitors on a motor yacht – one trip to Isla Santa Fe, one to Plaza South and one to Isla Bartolome. On each of the trips we hiked and then we swam and snorkeled. We had good company on the trips. Much of the trips and hikes focused on the animals and how they have evolved, including Darwin’s work in the Galapagos and the current threats to the wildlife. Fortunately, the tortoise population is now increasing due to the work at the Darwin research center.

We went fishing in the Pacific Ocean off Isla Santa Cruz and caught tuna. Hank pulled in the most (and, according to his faulty recollection, also caught the biggest). Our guide Moab found the fish near areas where the sea birds were feeding on baitfish. We trolled near the birds, using lures 6-12” long. Twice when we passed a flock of the feeding birds, we had two strikes and two tuna on at the same time. We also saw two different schools of flying fish churning together across the surface and chasing baitfish; it looked like the ocean was boiling in those places. We filleted a big tuna steak off one of the fish and Moab took it to a restaurant, where they trimmed part of it into sashimi and then grilled the rest of it. Very tasty.

Hank and Nadine surfed at Tortuga Bay. Moab’s nephew, Adid, who fished with us, gave Hank and Nadine surfing lessons. They both managed to stand up and did well. The beach at Tortuga Bay is about 1.5 km long with few visitors. The sand was the finest we have felt on this trip – about the same texture as baby powder.