First Impression

As the plane landed on Baltra (one of the islands of the galapagos) I saw dry lands.... I thought "this better not be all of the islands." To my pleasure it wasn't. Taking a bus ride, then boat, and then bus again I saw dry lands turn green,then almost jungle like, and back again. At this point I was still disappointed. Later on as we traveled to the Charles Darwin center I thought "maybe this will be it." It was still not quite it but I liked it a little better. The real surprise came when I saw the red chested Frigate birds flying over head. I thought I wouldn't have been able to seen them at all. The surprises kept coming when I saw a Blue-footed Booby diving into the water not too far from where we were eating our lunch. After the "sicking yet beautiful" 2 1/2 hour boat trip to Isabella Island I realized it was totally worth it. Seals laying on boats, penguins in the water, more seals flopping up the beach, and all in a beautiful dim light setting. I was relieved to see the galapagos were what I thought they were. The next day I got face to face with a Marine Iguana... he didn't mind. The Galapagos so far is living up to my expectations.