Tiffani's Galapagos Experience

The wildlife is out of this world and SO tame - creatures just come right up to you on land (or in the sea) to check you out.  They just sit right next to you!

I must have seen well over a thousand fur seals and sea lions, and photographed each and every one at least a dozen times! It is pup season here so I have been fortunate enough to see lots of gorgeous fluffy seal pups from half an hour old to a few days. They are soooo adorable and make a noise a bit like a lamb bleating. Quite a contrast to the loud barking of the adult seals. I even got caught in the middle of a fight earlier between two very angry males ‘arguing’ over a particular rock - I nearly ended up in the water trying to move out of the way! They are very territorial about their rocks and sections of beach. Not to mention benches.... I tried to sit on a bench where one was sleeping (at a bus stop) and it barked its head off at me until I moved! Seals and sea lions rule round here.

The snorkelling has been amazing. In my first hour alone I swam with stingrays, sea turtles, beautiful dory fish, sharks, penguins and a load of fish with too many different names to remember. And the birdlife is incredible too - have taken tons of pictures of the blue-footed booby....

And the Galapagos must be the only place in the world where someone shouts “Shark” and everyone jumps in the water! I have used a whole film trying to photograph the sharks and gone through several changes of clothes jumping in fully dressed in my determination to get some good pictures.

I’m sharing my cabin with a lovely Australian girl, have met some other really interesting people and eaten some lovely new foods. All very healthy. In fact I’m enjoying a very healthy lifestyle all round! We get up at 5am, breakfast at 6am then exploring on land and wildlife-viewing at 7am to avoid the heat of the day (the sun is very fierce and I have got slightly burnt!), then snorkelling, then lunch.... before more exploring and snorkelling in the afternoon. The terrain is very varied – beaches, highlands, rocks and lava. No real fitness needed, as the pace is quite slow and everyone stops a lot to take photos so there’s no rush. We’re all in bed by about 8pm though as we’re so tired!

This is the perfect trip for wildlife lovers, keen photographers and geologists. Nowhere else can you get so close to the wildlife. The scenery is stunning and the photo opportunities endless - definitely take an underwater camera and plenty of memory cards. Promise to bore you all with plenty of photos when I get back!