Our trip to the Galápagos needless to say was spectacular: the scenery, the people, the accommodations and the food.  We sailed on the M/Y Odyssey.  We were a total of 14 people: 2 from Argentina, 3 from Canada, 1 from England, 2 from Israel, 1 from the Netherlands,  1 from the Ukraine and 4 from the U.S. (Florida, Pennsylvania, and New York) and yet we all bonded to a point that we were crying when the cruise ended.

The Galápagos Islands is a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.  It's considered one of the world's foremost destinations for wildlife viewing.  It is a province of Ecuador and lies about 620 miles off its coast.  Its isolated terrain shelters a diversity of plant and animal species, many found nowhere else in the world.  Charles Darwin visited the Galápagos in 1835, and his observation of Galápagos' species later inspired his theory of evolution.  The Charles Darwin Research Station is located in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island and is a biological research station and active breeding center mainly for turtles.

I tried very hard to capture the best of my pictures and present them here.  I also want to thank my shipmate, Doug, for sharing his spectacular underwater pictures and videos with me.