The Galapagos - ´Paradise Found´

Straight in at number 1 - our favourite place of the trip so far, and potentially one of the most amazing places on earth. I do have a tendency to exaggerate at times, but if the Holiday Programme does another "Top 20 places to go before you die" it has to be the Galapagos at the top . All I can say is save the money, find the time and come here. We had just over 2 weeks on the archipelago, getting to 11 of the islands using all manner of transportation - speed boats, light aircraft, a pirate ship and some chilled out horses. I resisted the temptation to hitch a ride on the back of a Giant Tortoise as my fellow Shrewsbury resident, Darwin, once did . Our attempts to get a luxury class cruise at backpacker prices were thwarted by a massive lack of availability - it seems the really nice boats get booked up in advance by rich Yanks paying top dollar, funny that. So after a very frustrating afternoon roaming the streets of San Cristobals main port, getting nowhere fast and finding a lack of credible tour operators, we booked a boat called "Sulidae" - the oldest boat sailing the Galapagos but "full of charm and atmosphere" we were told as we parted with $900 each - ouch! Before the cruise we encased ourselves in neoprene and went for a dive with sharks off Kicker Rock. Bit of a shock as we submerged for the 1st time in 2 years to be gripped by quite a severe current, so we hung on to a rock wall for dear life, eventually turned a corner and spent time drifting around with Galapapos Sharks, Reef Sharks, Eagle Rays, Green Turtles and Sealions - like playful Labradors they are a joy to swim with - and we swam with them pretty much everyday. The cruise itself was superb, 8 days aboard ship (which indeed did fly the Skull and Cross Bones) sailing around the southern islands of Espanola and Florenana, before heading north to Santa Cruz, Rabida, Bartolome, Santiago, North Seymour and Baltra. In the main our fellow passengers were great fun, but isn´t it funny how certain national stereotypess prove themselves to be absolutely true. The crew were great, the chef even put together a cake for Nik´s birthday - what a place to turn 29! The wildlife is obviously the islands big draw, the creatures have no fear of man really, you can get unbelievably close to sea lions rolling around on the beach - coughing and burping in a very human way; to the iconic Blue Footed Boobie - sound stupid, look stupid. And I lost count of the number of times I nearly trod on a marine iguana, basking on black lava rocks, you only know they are there when they spit water at you. The list of endemic and native wildlife is endless and, thankfully, I won´t list it all here. Suffice to say, there is something weird and wonderful about snorkelinging amongst shoals of tropical fish and then to see a penguin dive below you, hungry for its lunch. After the cruise, we tried to recover from our sea legs by retreating to the island of Isabela - the largest but with only 2000 inhabitants - its a tropical paradise, long white sand beaches, active volcanoes and a amazing place to stay for a few days. We got a room above Beto´s Beach Bar, right on the beach - no phone, no TV, no internet, just very strong ciparinhas, excellent lobster and flamingoes flying past - heaven. So that´s the Galapagos - and here are some pics to whet your appetite before you call a travel agent and book a trip. http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stokes_richard2004/my_photos