Galápagos 2004
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During our Middle East / Europe trip in summer 2004, we received a message from our old friend Rob Poor that he was having a wedding in Quito in October. We'd always wanted to visit the Galápagos, and this was the perfect occasion to do so (as it was for several of the other wedding guests as well.) We also spent a few days in Costa Rica on the way and the way back.
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Ecuador
We flew to Quito for the wedding, and spent two and a half days in the general area. The morning after the wedding we flew to the Galápagos, and returned a week later to Guayaquil. More pictures...
Galápagos
The Galápagos lie due west of Ecuador and may be reached only by flights through the city of Guayaquil. They are most famous as the place where Darwin refined his theory of evolution, based on observations of the differences that had developed between species living in slightly different climates or separated geographically. The Galápagos have been relatively undisturbed by civilization due to their remoteness, and efforts are underway to eradicate species introduced by man which threaten the native species, especially goats and rats. About 70,000 people a year visit the islands, mostly staying on one of 80 or so boats. Visitors are only allowed on the islands accompanied by an official naturalist guide.
Because most native species have never been hunted, they are not afraid of people, and it's remarkable to be able to get close to them. More pictures...
Costa Rica
We stopped in San José, Costa Rica on the way down to Ecuador for a day. On the way back we spent two nights at a resort next to the Arenal volcano, and went on a nature observation boat trip on the Rio Frio in Cano Negro park near the Nicaragua border. More pictures...
Arizona
On the way back from Costa Rica we stopped to visit my cousin Scott in Phoenix, who took us up to Sedona, a town full of art galleries, red rocks, and vortexes, pyramids, and crystals. More pictures...
Desktops
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