I have to be watchful in not posting too many self-congratulatory "news" items here - this is the second in just a matter of days - something I have avoided doing ever since I started posting items in the news section of my website, 5 years ago.  I promise I will not post any more for at least 6 months...  But I couldn't resist this one.  I JUST received an email from Carol, clearly, a very happy guest who finished our Active Galapagos trip on April 3rd.  But I must warn prospective travelers - never raise your expectations to unattainable levels, as you will risk disappointment. Be ready for a trip of a lifetime - but be prepared for just a great trip.   Carol does a singular job in raising expectations here - so much so, that even I want to get right back out there!

Hey Heather -

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH for coordinating a trip of a lifetime - we are SOOOOO IMPRESSED with CNH and the SAMBA! and have told EVERYONE that they MUST tour with you guys - hands down the BEST ! there are SOOOO many reasons - please let anyone know they can chat with us about the trip if they are interested in going...

i was so moved, that i threw some words on paper to share with family and friends when i got home - thought i would send to you.

have a wonderful day! :)
_____

having returned from Ecuador only several days ago...i remain in a dream state, stricken with awe by the otherworldly, magical experience of traveling through these amazing and remote islands!

what a transformational journey! so entranced by the beauty and uniqueness of so many wild creatures living in a delicate and mostly peaceful coexistence...yet some realities violently savage in this unusual natural world were taught to us innocent bystanders, gazing with the curiosity of youngsters.

some outstanding memories:
* our first evening swim along a white sandy beach in the soothing salt waters after a hot and hectic day of travel and passports and papers and people moving devices - feeling at last free to explore and connect with the natural world - such contrast - flamingos feeding in the brackish waters - the day's end announced by the peaceful setting sun

* a great blue heron working tirelessly with its piercing bill to consume the smallest of sea turtle babies fighting for its life with no hope of survival - and then disappear down this bird's long, curved, elegant throat

* marine iguanas matching the black lava, crawling over each other in every possible limb entangled pose with no regard for neighborly niceties and sense of personal space while other creatures join the sprawl - smaller lava lizards, bright orange sally lightfoot crabs, flightless cormorants...a party at the edge of the sea

* the intense equatorial sun that plays a vital role in every creature's survival finally setting with bright orange hues reflecting onto the backs of penguins and a myriad of other creatures along a rocky spine of lava breaking the ocean currents with gentle brilliant colored waves

* the raw excitement and pure joy of jumping into pangas full throttle to join magnificent pilot whales and dolphins in their beautiful, elegant and record speed...joyful liquid motion

* enjoying cervezas, rocking gently among new friends on the spacious, clean wooden deck of the incredible Samba under a most brilliant, cloudless night sky

* landing on remote islands with wild, raw and savage volcanic-inspired landscapes uninhabitable to humans yet yielding a phenomenal array of coexisting wildlife - each playing a significant role in maintaining the delicate ecosystem

* playful, swirling, twirling, circling, rolling, bubble-making, whiskered, big eyed sea lions allowing us to share their wonderful underwater world

* mysteriously effortless other-worldly rays - golden, manta, spotted eagle - gliding, soaring, swimming, floating peacefully in perfect formation with no sense of urgency, gently lifting their appendages as if to wave a greeting of acknowledgement

* sunlight illuminating an incredible array of oceanic life - unimaginable colors, brilliant schools of fish, corals, sea stars, octopus, bright yellow sea horse, spiny lobsters, iguanas feeding on algae...so much to take in as an awkward visitor floating above, breathing through our small tubes, mumbling our delighted exclamations with bulging-eyed excitement behind our giant masks

* ancient sea turtles floating effortlessly all around us, safely keeping their distance with acute knowledge of our presence - and when suddenly suspicious, having an incredible ability to move swiftly beyond us with one powerful stroke of their flippers

* so many birds...nesting on ground, in trees, in cliffs...tropic birds, frigates, blue footed boobies, red footed boobies, nazcka boobies, brown noddys, shearwaters, petrels, galapagos hawks, mockingbirds, finches, galapagos doves, owls, warblers, flycatchers, pelicans, herons - all incredible - witnessing their habitats, their acrobatics, their feeding skills - each with adaptations and abilities and significance

* Juan, Jose and the Samba crew joyously sharing the wonders of their galapagos world with professionalism, enthusiasm and a deep knowledge and appreciation...protecting us, watchful, silently witnessing our discoveries without ever patronizing or limiting our experiences - allowing us to fulfill our dreams, our thirst for knowledge and for adventure - helping us understand the delicate balance of this world and human's insignificance and significance among these ancient creatures...

* starting the day in the gentleness of the early morning light, floating among the mangroves, while recognizing that even here, in these protected waters, there are no shields impenetrable to the onslaught of development of the industrial world's conveniences - plastic bags and bits, fishing line, rope, styrofoam - the roots of the mangroves reach out like a many tentacled octopus to capture these unearthly toxins and remind us that our sphere of impact is global - what we carelessly throw away today can end up in a horrid migration that impacts the incredible diversity of life that is constantly threatened on a planet that can only sustain such abuse for a finite amount of time...

this journey has raised my consciousness, rocked me into a more awakened state, reminded me that our childlike sense of wonder should never leave us!

- carol