The difference between a wet and dry landing are subtle. When we visited Fernandina Island we had a dry landing on this concrete section. However, a few feet later, the path took us through a few inches of water. But nobody complained.

The black post with white top (shown above) marked our trail and we were suppose to stay within the boundaries. Some places it was hard not to deviate a little bit. The naturalist told us about the different types of lava, such as "Aa" and "Pahoe-hoe; names we had heard in Hawaii.

Then we came to the area where the sea iguanas swarmed all our us. There were hundreds here sunning themselves after their meals of seaweed. As I was down on my knees to take a close-up, one of them spit at me. The guide told us that they do that through their nostrils only to get rid of the brine absorbed when they eat the seaweed under water.

A bit further along the shore we arrived at the nesting area of the flightless-cormorant. These strange birds almost look like a mishap in the evolution process. Their wings are mere stubs; useless for flying. To make up for this, the birds are excellent divers and feed solely on fish. They are similar, in that regard, to the penguins we had seen earlier during the week.

A s the Zodiac returned to the ship, we spotted a school of dolphins in the distance. We chased them full speed and watched as they were having a feeding frenzy around us. Earlier we had seen a couple whales in the distance but never got close enough to take some pictures. Another group had seen and been close to a giant stingray.

Another excursion involved a Zodiac ride into a quiet estuary. We were surrounded by mangroves as the guide kept his eyes open for sea turtles. We saw a couple and later, on a rocky outcropping, came across a blue heron.

Our last day was spent on Santa Cruz Island. Port Ayora is the main town on the islands. It has a natural harbor formed when a section of the lava formations collapsed into the sea. Now ships come here from the mainland to deliver a variety of supplies for the locals and tourist trade. Our first destination was the Charles Darwin Research Station where work continues to preserve the island's natural habitat, including the giant tortoises.

We also saw tortoises in the wild. In the afternoon we took a ride to the highlands and found seven animals eating and resting amonst the shrubery and in a small pond. This is one of their hang-outs and they will travel several miles back to the beach to mate and lay their eggs.

After our visit to the Darwin center we were free to explore the town, see the many funky souvenir shops and the local harbor with the fish mongers at work. Of course I had to buy one of the wooden hand carved iguanas for my office while Sharon checked out T-shirts and bought a tortoise silver charm for her bracelet.

The following morning we had an early start to the airport, flew back to Quito for one more night, and then it was back to the US of A and a long rest from all the hectic but satisfying experiences and activities. It had been a marvelous journey. Here finally a small sampling of the many friends and fellow passengers.