A Dream Come True
January 28, 2010
I’m a push-over for animals in their natural
habitats. There is something about
peering into nature without disturbing it that gets me every time. I loved visiting Alaska, especially Denali
National Park. Watching Mt. McKinley
emerge from the clouds at sunset with a moose in the stream just behind me
brought tears to my eyes. Three years
later, I wept in the Johannesburg Airport at leaving behind the elephants,
giraffes, and lions of Zimbabwe and Botswana.
And now I have returned from my dream vacation to
the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador.
Visiting there is a privilege.
The giant tortoises, some over 100 years old, the baby sea lions and
their mothers, and the blue-footed boobies doing their mating dance, are not afraid
of us because they have no predators and visits by humans are limited.
Dolphins playfully dive near our ship. Iguanas are on
almost every rock, flamingoes with their pink reflections in the gray lagoon feed
at sunset. We snorkle with sea lions, turtles and assorted sizes, shapes and
colors of fish.
A dozen of us and a naturalist in a zodiac, leave
the ship for different adventures, a different surprise for each of seven days. White beaches, black beaches, even a green
beach. Golden iguanas on land only. Marine iguanas black on one island, red and
green on another. Islands “uplifting”
from below or sinking to gradually disappear in a million years. Walking on what was once the sea floor.
When we took the final zodiac ride to shore for the
flight back to the mainland, I watched our beautiful ship sparkling in the sunlight get smaller and smaller.
As usual, the tears came.
The galapagos is a magical place. I'm so glad you went there. Next time you're here in Maryland we'll have to compare notes. I would go back there in a heartbeat.
Posted by: Loren (in Silver Spring) | January 28, 2010 at 10:06 PM