To, From and On our Galapagos Boat

Birds of the Galapagos - including the Blue-footed Booby!

Signs of Love are Everywhere!...Even in Galapagos

Nature is our best teacher in life.

Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn; that there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning, and under every deep a lower deep opens.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Love and Hope abound! Here are some hearts I found during our journey through the Galapagos Islands and some other images I thought you might enjoy...
Happy Wednesday to you.
Coming soon...blue-footed boobies!

More Tortoises - in the wild...

The pix on my last blog featured the tortoises in the Charles Darwin Research Station.
In the following pix - they are in their natural habitat. Still on the island of Santa Cruz but now up in the 'highlands'.

Lonesome George and Co....

We showed up early to visit Lonesome George at the Charles Darwin Research Centre on Santa Cruz island as we'd been told that later in the afternoon, he likes to stay cool and hidden under some vegetation. We weren't to be disappointed. He made his grand appearance - slowly working his way out of his den. What an amazing creature! These guys look like they come straight out of the dinosaur age. Here's his bio...

Lonesome George (Spanish: Solitario Jorge) is the last known individual of the Pinta Island Tortoise (Geochelone nigra abingdoni) which is one of eleven extant subspecies of Galápagos tortoise, all of which are native to the Galápagos Islands.^[1][2] He has been labelled the rarest creature in the world, and is a potent symbol for conservation efforts in the Galápagos and internationally.^[3] It is thought that he was named after a character played by American actor George Gobel.

George was first seen on the island of Pinta on 1 December 1971 by American snail biologist Joseph Vagvolgyi. The island's vegetation had been decimated by introduced feral goats, and the indigenous G. n. abingdoni population had been reduced to a single individual. Relocated for his safety to the Charles Darwin Research Station, George was penned with two females of a different subspecies, but although eggs have been produced, none have hatched.

George is estimated to be 60–90 years of age, and is in good health.^[4] A prolonged effort to exterminate goats introduced to Pinta is now complete and the vegetation of the island is starting to return to its former state.

The presence of mixed race Pinta ancestry tortoises around Wolf Volcano, on neighbouring Isabela island, suggests the recent presence of at least one Pinta individual near Wolf Volcano. A possible purebreed Pinta candidate, male and dubbed "Tony", lives in a Prague zoo.

There is a reward of $10,000 for the discovery of a Pinta female.^[5]

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And here are some of the others at the centre - it was lunch time...
Not so lonesome George:)

An underwater ballet...

Before the shark incident of 2010 (not really an incident but I love the drama of saying I swam with sharks!), I got to witness one of nature's most beautiful and mesmerizing underwater ballets!
Having baby sea-lions swim and play safely with us in the water was soul-tickling but witnessing the moving and graceful dance of this sea-lion with a school of silver fish almost took my breath away (insert snorkel here).
It was a truly magical performance. It couldn't have been lit more perfectly by the sun gleaming down through the water and the fish glistening as the sea-lion broke through the group - dipping and swaying as if listening to their own classical ballad. Our private show went on for several minutes and it was nature's perfection. Who knew these creatures could be so graceful?
The performance may have ended with a few of those fish ending up in the sea-lion's belly and they might not have so joyfully called it a 'dance' but that's all part of the circle of life.

I swam with sharks!

What an adventure that was! I'm downloading all the photos (over 700!!!) and will attach a link for you here. Definitely a trip of my lifetime with treasured memories that will be hard to describe. I saw all of the below and so much more.
And...umm...I swam with sharks!!! (and lived to tell the tale:) Oh look, there's a sea lion, and a penguin and...look at those beautiful fish! "Shark, Shark!" screamed Walter, our naturalist/guide. I looked over to see if this was a warning to get out of the water fast or a call to come and have a look. He didn't look concerned so we swam closer to him. As we approached, he started humming the "Jaws" theme and laughing! I looked down to see at least 3 white-tipped reef sharks swimming (here's a video I found on youtube so you can see what they look like) right underneath us! Apparently they don't like humans unless you tempt them with blood. whew! I could hear my breath coming quicker through my snorkel but tried to remain as calm as possible. We continued to swim along and look at all the other beautiful sea creatures - happily leaving the sharks behind, when all of a sudden I looked down to see about 20 of them circling underneath us. I almost squeezed poor George's hand off and once again tried to keep my breathing under control. As with every other creature we saw in Galapagos, the sharks didn't seem to be too bothered by us and were happy to stay swimming with the bottom-dweller fish. I, on the other hand, am satisfied to say, been-there-done-that, and am happy to leave the sharks alone and move on to other adventures!

in 7 days...

We will be heading to the Galapagos Islands! I've seen the movie, looked at pictures online, and read a lot of blogs but I still can't get my head around what this adventure is going to look/feel like!
I hope to see this...
and this...
and this...
(although a bit freaked out about swimming with these awesome creatures!)
and I'm sure a lot of other weird and wonderful things. Time has been flying by more than ever! It's mid-January every body! That's wonderful news, isn't it? Spring will be here before we know it and the Olympics will be a distant memory (not that I'm wishing time to go quickly).
On the 17th (in 2 days!) I will be starting an online creative journey through this website...http://goddessschool.ning.com/ which I hope will inspire me to explore my creative side and challenge me to jump in to some of those unknown waters (with sea lions, maybe??). 2010...here we come! It's going to be a great year filled with some twists and turns and I'm ready for the adventure!

A Belated Christmas Report...

We had a very busy holiday season this year filled with family and friends, great meals and some entertaining game-playing. My G. chose a theme for my gifts and gave me the 'Julie and Julia' movie, the Julia Child cookbook and a beautiful turquoise le creuset casserole dish like the one they use in the movie. I LOVE it and can't wait to try out some new recipes in my new pot!!! For him, I printed up some photos that I took on a walk last year in Robert's Creek and framed them. They are the photos of the trees from my last blog. There were many other gifts exchanged and memories shared and we were once again truly blessed with love and abundance in our house and lives!
I hope you're all having a fantastic weekend!

2010 - 20-zen!

thanks to cynthia for sharing this and several other ideas with me!

i'm determined that 2010 will also be my 20-zen and am prepared to do the work that it requires to bring back balance, creativity and fun to my life.
the past few months have been a struggle. i lost focus, held a LOT of fear and felt like all i wanted to do was hide under the covers. i do believe that sometimes you need to curl up under the covers and take care but for me, it's time to step forward and look at what amazing events and opportunities my future holds.
first order of fun - my new year's resolution/commitment - sing as much as possible!
i had the privilege of singing in the new year with the local hospice group on the most beautiful, wind-swept, stormy beach - honoring the memory of friends/family who have passed on with words and song. our threshold choir met to support this group with the songs we have learned and it was a beautiful experience. it was followed up in the evening by our regular, bi-monthly choir meeting last night. pure magic - so moving and healing and powerful! the force and harmony created in that room has to have an impact on the world.
i had also heard about another group that meets here on the coast regularly in a singing circle while raising funds for an african village. i met the organizer of that group last night and she invited me to attend their next gathering. my heart has been yearning for more music and also for a place to give back. i can't wait to learn more about this project and to be a part of it!
so...2010/20zen will be a year filled with music, giving back, accessing my creativity and always taking the next step forward! and that is very exciting!!!
i bid a fond farewell to 2009 and am thankful for the gifts it brought me including travel, beautiful friends, supportive family, a wonderful new home and community, flowers in my garden, beach walks/swims/rock-gathering expeditions, music, a business that supports me and reflects my goals of celebrating all women and, of course, as always, the love of my life, my george (now in our 20th year together)!
i wish you all a happy new year!