There are 3 uses of a giant tortosies tale......Pee, Poo, and Rock and Roll

Well, I am almost home. Just sitting here putting the final touches on my last blog in a locotorio in Equador. What a trip its been, but I am really ready to come home at this point and get things rolling again. I am actually looking more foreard to business then I ever have. Anyways back to where I left off. The Galapagos Island. An 8 day adventure of sailing and wildlife that I will never forget.

Im sure many are wondering what is the deal with the strage title. We had a young guide named Richard that grew up on the islands. Though his english was very good he always had a funny twist of describing characteristics of the animals and the title was my favorite. and I dont think he meant it to be fnny either. What makes it better is the english couple and I got to see it in action.

So I took off from Lima and got to Quito Equador a day before my flight headed to the islands. From the airport I found a close hotel and shut it down for the night after watching gladiator in spanish. Got up early on sunday and headed for the airport. Got to the islands around 12 and was suppose to find a guy with a nemo shirt on. Well I found him prtty quick and waited around for a hour oe so before we headed to the boat. Right before we left another guy with a nemo shirt came on the boat and said hed been looking all over for me and everyone else was on the boat ready to go. Whoops. I wasnt aware that there were two nemos. My bad. So I made it to the boat barely and we were off.

The trip consisted of 6 full days and 2 half days of sailing around to 8 of the islands where were would do some nature hikes, Snorkle, and Dive. It was really amazing how different the islands were. Everyone seemed like you were in a different country or something and the wildlife was the same as they have all evolved differently for the island they live on. Its apparent how darwin was able to come up with his theory of evolution and natural selection by studying these islands. The pictures tell most of the story for the wildlife I saw on teh island and how ridiculously close to them you can get. I wasnt able to get any pictures of diving or snorkling but that was a trip in itself. I same tons of Rays including one 10 ft Manta Ray, Hammerhead Sharks, Galapagos Sharks, and White Tip Sharks, Sea Turtles, Tons of Reef Fish and many sea lions. The sea lions are the best in the water because they actually play with you. Theyll chase you around, play with your fins ans swim right at your face and at the last second shoot to the left or right. Swimming with these animals was one of the highlights of the trip for sure. The diving was really hit or miss as the water clarity was poor at times, but we always saw sharks on every dive which was cool.

There were 12 tourists in all on the boat. 2 german couples, a english couple, one lady from france, two from vancouver and a couple from Rhode Island. It was a great bunch and everyone got along great the hole trip with no problems. The couple from vancouver was pretty cool and had some really good stories. In teh 80s they had teh most popular disco in edmonton canada and from teh way they described it it was like studio 69. I guess alot of the oilers use to hang out there like grant fuhr and the goon for the oilers at that time. They had many more stories but there not really appropriate for this blog. The meals were all first class and the crew went out of there way to make the trip as pleasent as possible. I was a little shocked at first to see the size of the cabins, which are held within the pontoons of the catamaran, but got used to it quickly. A few nights I tried to sleep out on the boat but it always seemed to rain in the middle of the night on me.

At times the trip got a little long for me and is more suited for older couples, but it was still a great way to see the islands and I dont regret it for a minute. Most of my free time on the boat was spent preparing my mind for the realty of coming home and what the heck Im going to do. I think I have things pretty worked out in my head at least. Well see how it goes.

This vacation was a perfect length of time for me and though I didnt get to do everything I wanted, I wouldnt change a thing. I learned alot on this trip about life and the world and most of all how good we have it in the USA. I remember writing my first blog and thinking I was searching for something on this trip. Whether it was the sercret of life or my purpose on earth im not sure. The thing I realized is I found that a long long time ago. This trip gave me a lot of time to look back over my life and all the memories I have made over the years and it made me realize how great my life has been with all the ups and downs and lessons learned. If I could live a lifetime like Ive lived the last 26 years I will die a very happy man. I hope everyone enjoyed my blog and my travels. I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to take the time to do some real traveling. Not the club med stuff in the carribean. get out there and experience the world. I can assure you it has alot to teach you. I know as we all get older we ponder at how fast the years go by. Its really amazing when you stop and think about it. In my opinion theres no better time than now to live your dreams, whether its taking that trip of a lifetime, learing to dance tango, or just spending more time with the people you love. Quit waiting. Go and do it. And remember you only life once. What are you waiting for.....................

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