Awww, how cute! Robby and Luke stand in front of a poster of a pair of loving albatross birds; Santa Cruz

Emblem on the wall at the Charles Darwin Center on Santa Cruz

Lonesome George is the last of his species from Pinta Island; Charles Darwin Center on Santa Cruz

This sign tells the sad tale of Lonesome George. His efforts at mating with two female tortoises from a nearby island have been in vain

A yawning giant tortoise is a funny sight!

A sign reminding visitors not to touch the giant tortoises; Santa Cruz

Giant tortoises thrive on private ranches where the owners charge a nominal fee for visitors; Santa Cruz

Luke pretending to stand on a giant tortoise (he is actually about 6 feet behind it, keeping a respectful distance from the wildlife is mandatory in the Galapagos)

A giant tortoise checks us out as it grazes peacefully; Santa Cruz

Robby and Luke don heavy tortoise shells (weighing about 40 lbs each) and pretend to battle it out

Family portrait next to giant tortoises at the Charles Darwin Center; Santa Cruz

The tourist class "Angelique" has 8 cabins for 16 passengers. If you can score a last minute deal on this vessel, don't hesitate...it has a great itinerary and fun crew

Luke and Robby emerge unscathed from the lava tunnel on Floreana Island

An age-old tradition at Floreana's Post Office. Fellow travelers sort through the post cards and ensure safe delivery. We picked up two postcards bound for Lisbon, Portugal as that was on our future itinerary

Two Sally Light-footed crabs prepare to battle over prime turf; Cormorant Point, Floreana

Sally Lightfoot crabs are extremely photogenic, with a blue underbelly contrasting with the red body

Becky assists a struggling Luke with his hoodie...he owes her big time!

View of the Angelique from the bow

Even though the Galapagos is on the equator, a wetsuit is needed...no joke, the water can be super cold!

Luke leaping from the bow of the Angelique

Luke enjoying our snorkeling experience at Floreana

A friendly green sea turtle is not perturbed by our presence at all; Floreana

View of a green sea turtle; Floreana

Becky spent some time snorkeling with this friendly eagle ray, which seemed completely unconcerned with her presence

A giant hawkfish peers at us curiously but doesn't budge from its position

A guineafowl puffer fish

An eel buries into the sea bed tail first (and backs up into the sand)

A Galapagos penguin zooms off; Floreana's Post Office Bay

Playful sea lions put on a show for us; Floreana

A sea lion shakes off the water after swimming in Espanola's pristine turquoise hued sea

Mockingbirds yell at each other in a show of dominance; Espanola's Gardner Bay

It’s a mockingbird council as these birds viciously debate some vital topic; Espanola

Mockingbirds are extremely resourceful. Here, three of them plot how they are going to tear this water bottle open to quench their thirst! Be careful with your belongings around these birds; Espanola Island

A sandy sea lion pup frolics nearby; Espanola's Gardner Bay

Sleeping sea lions in a row look like the picture of contentedness; Espanola

The quintessential sea lion pose; Espanola

Becky mimics a sea lion's pose; Gardner Bay

A sleepy sea lion rests its weary head on a rock; Espanola

Sea lion kiss; Espanola Island

Three sea lions barking at each other in a family squabble; Espanola Island

A yellow colored Darwin's Finch stands out against the green seaweed rocks of Espanola's Gardner Bay

Seaweed covered rocks allow marine iguanas to easily grip their way across; Espanola Island

A marine iguana soaking up the ray's of the sun; Espanola's Suarez Point

Dozens of marine iguanas resting after feeding in the sea; Suarez Point

Marine iguanas are always found hugging each other for body heat; Espanola's Suarez Point

A red-throated lava lizard peers at us in curiosity; Suarez Point

Darwin's finches come in many colors and sizes. This puff ball sized finch waits patiently to see if there are any feeding opportunities; Suarez Point

Two blue footed boobies have a brief moment of copulation (it was literally over in about 10 seconds!); Suarez Point

A nazca booby gifts its mate with a stone for their nest; Suarez Point

Blue footed boobies perform a mating ritual; Suarez Point

A new born blue footed booby chick is guarded protectively by one of its parents; Suarez Point

A nazca booby stretches its long wings; Espanola's Suarez Point

A fluffy albatross chick waits patiently for one of its parents to return for a feeding; Suarez Point

A natural blow hole spouts water every few seconds; Espanola's Suarez Point

It’s a tough life for male sea lions! Either he is a dominant bull and gets to enjoy the benefits of his harem, or else the majority of males are sent into exile where they form bachelor pads and are known as "retired" sea lions

View of Espanola Island from Suarez Point

A mother sea lion vigorously shakes her stillborn pup which is still attached to the placenta. Sadly, the pup made no motion of movement, and we didn't think the pup was going to survive

An aggressive bull sea lion patrols his territory. Beware these sea lions...one of our fellow SCUBA divers was bitten on the leg when the bull determined him to be a threat, and we heard that a lady snorkeling off San Cristobal's sea lion colony was viciously attacked by an aggressive bull sea lion

Alvaro gives the panga a healthy shove away from our dry landing; Espanola

Pelicans take up their daily spot on the Angelique, fighting each other for the prime seats

Frigate birds don't look quite as majestic without their puffed out red throat sac

Robby and a sea lion pup had a face off until the sea lion started nuzzling itself; Santa Fe

A sleepy sea lion points its flipper at Becky by way of greeting; Santa Fe

Another sea lion greets us on Santa Fe. We learned that the main difference between sea lions and fur seals (they look awfully similar) is that fur seals have larger, rounder heads, bigger eyes, a more protruding snout, and larger ears

A curious Galapagos Hawk soars overhead. This hawk had been tagged by scientists and interestingly, held no fear of humans; Santa Fe

The Galapagos rats are actually quite cute, looking more like a mouse than a rat. These are devastating to sea turtles, devouring their eggs if they can find the nest; Santa Fe

Close up of a Hood Mockingbird which uses its sharp beak to penetrate and eat the seeds of this Cactus pear; Santa Fe Island

Portrait of a Galapagos Hawk; Sante Fe

Prickly cactus on Santa Fe Island. We were astounded to learn that on islands where the cacti are not a food source, their barbs are actually soft and pliable!

Playful sea lions off the coast of Santa Fe

Luke playing with sea lions; Santa Fe

Becky loves watching the antics of the sea lions, which are curious, playful and quite mischievous, often mimicking divers by blowing air bubbles

The Angelique is a welcome sight next to beautiful South Plazas Island

Posing in front of the beautiful red hues of the "Galapagos Carpet"; South Plazas

A hungry land iguana props itself on its hind legs and devours a piece of this cactus; South Plazas

A Swallow Tailed Gull (easily identifiable with its black head, red eye rim and red feet); South Plazas

View from the cliffs of South Plazas

This land iguana approached Becky to get its up close and personal head shot

Close up portrait of a friendly land iguana; South Plazas

A land iguana enjoys a cactus pear; South Plazas

Portrait of a land iguana; South Plazas

A banded Lava Gull checks us out. We were surprised to learn there are only 600 of these birds left in the wild; South Plazas

A friendly sea lion tries repeatedly to hop into our panga; South Plazas

Another view of how massive the male frigate bird's throat sac can become in an effort to seduce females to mate with him; North Seymour Island

A male frigate bird with its red balloon fully inflated, puffing out its throat to attract females; North Seymour Island

A blue footed booby contemplates feeding its chick; North Seymour

Profile of a land iguana; North Seymour

A female frigate bird eyeballs us cautiously as we avoid her nest on the foot path; North Seymour

Luke freezes as a mother sea lion and her pup approach him; North Seymour

A sea lion pup calls for its mother, hungry to feed on the nutrient rich milk; North Seymour

Marine iguanas huddle for body heat, sneezing, snorting, and spitting up salt from the seawater which crystallizes on their foreheads; North Seymour

A male frigate bird flies with its gular sac inflated to attract potential female mates; North Seymour

A blue footed booby parent stares at its hungry chick as if to say, "feeding time, again?"; North Seymour

How the blue footed booby gets its name

A blue footed booby performing a mating dance; North Seymour

Deep chasms exist all over volcanic Genovesa island. At this lookout point, we were able to spot a Galapagos owl in the distance

There are several different types of cacti throughout the Galapagos islands. This one is found on Genovesa

A hungry Nazca booby chick cries to be fed; Prince Philip's Steps in Genovesa

A nazca booby chick stretches its wings and waits impatiently for its parent to return for a feeding

Juvenile Swallow Tailed Gull

A lava crevice on Genovesa, one of the northernmost islands in the Galapagos (as a result, most cruises do not visit this magical island)

Marine iguanas could easily have been the inspiration for "Godzilla"; Genovesa

A nazca booby feeding; Genovesa

Close up of a Darwin Finch; Genovesa

A Frigate bird regurgitates fish for its hungry chick; Genovesa's Darwin Bay

A nazca booby refuses to budge from the footpath, forcing us to detour around it; Genovesa's Darwin Bay

Close up of a heron at Genovesa's Darwin Bay

A red footed booby inquisitively checks us out; Genovesa

Alvaro, Helene, Luke, Ruben, Con, Becky, Rachel and Robby; Genovesa's Darwin Bay

Salt water pond; Genovesa's Darwin Bay

Becky, Luke and Robby take a family portrait on Prince Philip's Steps; Genovesa

The only way to get to Prince Philip's Steps is via a panga, an inflatable zodiac raft

Alvaro, our naturalist guide on the Angelique, leads us on a tour around Bartolome Island

The volcanic contours of beautiful Bartolome Island

Bartolome's rugged landscape

The rugged peaks of Bartolome Island loom in the distance (we learned that several scenes from the movie "Master and Commander" were filmed here)

Bartolome Island has a well laid out track that leads to the fantastic look out point

View of the bay on our hike to the lookout point; Bartolome Island

Probably the most photographed vista on Bartolome Island

Ruben and Luke acting goofy at the Bartolome lookout point

One of our favorite photos from the Galapagos, admiring the gorgeous view from the Bartolome lookout point

Our goofy group photo at Bartolome's lookout point

A Galapagos penguin poses in solitude; Bartolome

A large manta ray skims the surface of the water near our panga; Bartolome

Life vests are mandatory while riding in the panga

View of Bartolome as seen from volcanic Sullivan Island

The volcanic flow on Sullivan Island is considered fairly recent, occurring a mere 100 years ago

Striking a pose against a massive lava field; Sullivan Island

There are numerous interesting lava formations on Sullivan Island

Luke picks up Ruben in a herculean moment; Sullivan Island

Starfish are seen in abundance around Bartolome

These starfish were way more vivid in real life...snorkel at Bartolome and see for yourself!

Pretty Bachas Beach; Santa Cruz

Pink flamingo feeding at Bachas Beach

Luke and Becky chilling on the Angelique

Becky leads the group for the farewell toast...the silly pirate hat is NOT her idea!

Brown pelicans wait patiently for a handout; Santa Cruz fish market

Another view of the hungry pelicans; fish market in Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is the place to stock up on Galapagos souvenirs, with plenty of cute boutique stores

This mola-mola was quite large (6 feet), and we stared in amazement while trying to figure out what it was exactly (none of us had ever seen one before); Gordon Rocks

This giant manta ray was at least 21 feet in wingspan and we loved diving with it; Gordon Rocks

The 17 islands of the Galapagos; signpost in San Cristobal

This sleepy sea lion made a bee line to its favorite bench; San Cristobal

Sunset in San Cristobal

Frigate birds and pelicans hope to score an easy meal; San Cristobal harbor

Pelicans making this boat their home for the night (sea lions are just as opportunistic, and we saw some boat owners installing protective nets to prevent such "hijackings")

Quaint San Cristobal has different animals on all its street signs

Streetside dining in San Cristobal

Probably the most unique accommodation in all of the Galapagos. Fancy staying a night in a tree house at "Quinta El Ceibo"? It is advertised as the largest and oldest tree in the Galapagos; San Cristobal Island

Giant tortoises gather for feeding time; Cerro Colorado on San Cristobal

A giant tortoise pauses on the foot path at Cerro Colorado; San Cristobal

A lava lizard freezes in motion, hoping to blend in against the lava rock; Cerro Colorado, San Cristobal

Robby getting checked out by a curious sea lion

View of the beach at Port Chino, San Cristobal Island

Becky on a tree in San Cristobal

A Yellow Crowned Night Heron peruses the small pools of sea water for any edible treats; San Cristobal

Robby mimics a bull sea lion; San Cristobal's Sea Lion Colony (La Loberia)

Two sea lions hugging it out on the beach; San Cristobal

A curious sea lion checks Becky out; San Cristobal's La Loberia

View of a frigate bird looking for a smaller bird to bully with Deep Blue in the background. Frigate birds, unable to get wet, must steal food from birds returning from the sea, chasing them until they regurgitate

Bottlenose dolphins playing alongside our bow; Wolf Island

Frigate birds are amazing creatures, weighing in at only 1.5 lbs with a massive wing span. They are unable to get their feathers wet, and thus have some of the most ingenious methods of obtaining their food to survive

View of Wolf Island, where we dove with hundreds of hammerhead sharks

Another view of Wolf Island. Sadly, the only way to reach this island is via an expensive liveaboard SCUBA cruise. The diving here is spectacular and worth the effort and expense

Wolf Island is home to hundreds of bottlenose dolphins, which leapt playfully out of the water and tantalized us with their close proximity to our boat

We couldn't figure out why this bottlenose dolphin kept slapping his tail repeatedly on the surface of the water...perhaps it is a hunting technique?

View of a green sea turtle, which are quite plentiful in the Galapagos

Bottlenose dolphins quickly became our favorite mammals, with their playful antics and aggressive hunting techniques (watching massive schools of fish disappear in a split second when the dolphins are on the hunt is unforgettable!)

Profile of a hammerhead shark; Wolf Island

Hammerhead sharks are amazing to watch as they gracefully swim by...we loved seeing them

A white tip reef shark

Schools of fish dart out of the way when larger predators glide by

Swimming in the middle of of a school of fish...awesome

Spotted eagle rays are majestic creatures. This school of rays kept circling around us at Wolf Island

Darwin's Arch...every avid SCUBA diver's dream is to dive here!

A bottlenose dolphin playing in the waters around Darwin's Arch

Darwin's Island is one of the most popular dive spots in the world. It did not disappoint and we were thrilled with our 8 dives here

A yellow puffer fish darts away once it spots us

A school of barberfish

Garden eels will disappear into the sand if approached too closely so we forced ourselves to keep our distance

Swimming alongside a whale shark is one of the most incredible experiences!

It's hard to visualize just how big this whale shark is...trust us, it is freaking massive and we were dwarfed by its sheer size

Fish galore!

We lost count of how many dolphins we could see around Darwin's Island

A swordfish leaping out of the water just as Robby was skimming the surface looking for dolphins; Darwin Island

Frigate birds following our boat as we finally departed Darwin's Island...a magical moment