Date 4/8/2010 Location: Santa Cruz Today was our last full day on the Galapagos archipelago. We spent the morning waking to the beautiful black sand beach on Floreana and took the boat to see more other worldly bird species and had our final snorkel session. This afternoon we visited the Charles Darwin Research Center to get a close up glimpse of the famous Galapagos tortoise, Lonesome George, the last of his kind. Tonight we will go to bed sun kissed and ready to tell our tales of

DATE:  April 7th, Wed

LOCATION:  Floreana Island

Alice takes Mt Mike under the volcano in a lava tube.  We were out of the sun here.

Up in the morning bright and early!  We went to see the Wall of Tears.  It is a left as a monument to the prisoners who were on the island after the second world war.  Treatment was so bad, there was an uprising and the guards were overwhelmed and the manager murdered.  Today, no such murder.  We rode in the bo

Date: April 6th Location: Sierra Negra Volcanoe, Isabella Island. Ride 'em cowboy! Mary Jo here. On top my bronc. We rode through the fog and rain to the crater rim. It was very muddy. Especially in the way down as the horses were slipping all over the place. We then hiked to the side of a the steaming volcano. We were just under the clouds, and could see where within the last 5 years the volcano had over flowed with hot lava. It was a bizarre landscape of tortured, flowing

Date: 4/5/10 Location: Isabela Island, Galapagos After a bit of a rough boat ride this morning we made it to our beautiful hotel which sits 100 yards from the water. The clouds parted in the afternoon in time for us to go see lots of marine iguanas and penguins. Yes, penguins at the equator. We had another great snorkel trip full of octopus, manta rays, and sea cucumbers and then we headed back to relax and have dinner at this amazing hotel. Rick shows you a marine iguana.

Date: 4/4/10 Location: Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Happy Easter!!! Rick started the morning with an easter egg hunt to get everyone in the festive mood. We spent our holiday snorkeling and sitting on our very own white, sandy beach. Our private stretch of coast allowed us some time to relax and sit under the mangrove trees to escape the hot equatorial sun. When we came back to town we spent some time sipping drinks on a nice porch while watching the sunset over the pacific. Indee

Date: 4/3/10 Location: Santa Cruz, Galapagos After departing San Cristobal we stopped for another amazing snorkel and had the chance the see a Galapagos Shark along with some marine iguanas and lots more sea lions. We arrived at Santa Cruz island and checked into the Red Booby Hotel where we'll be staying the next two nights. We ventured into the highlands to get a look at the giant Galapagos dome shaped tortoise which can reach up to 500 pounds!! The picture shows Will inside of an

Date: 4/2/10
Location: San Cristobal Island, Galapagos Morning brought more wonderful weather and a boat trip to Los Lobos and Kicker Rock, two great snorkel spots. At Los Lobos we swam with playful sea lions and enjoyed the beautiful turquoise waters. Kicker Rock is a small island a mile or two offshore which rises 450 feet out of the water and drops into ocean another 450 feet straight down. We stayed close to the walls but could still feel the presence of the deep ocean while en

Date: 4/1/10 Location: San Cristobal Island, Galapagos We have finally arrived in the Enchanted Islands!! Today was filled with barking sea lions and plenty of humidity. Everyone is in great spirits as we sit down for dinner and enjoy our ocean view. We are all exhausted from hiking, snorkeling, and heat and tomorrow promises to be another full day. Ron had the highlight of the day when he lassoed the top male sea lion and subdued it for long enough for Will to snap a picture.

DATE: Feb 27

LOCATION: Serengeti

As you can see Mt. Mike is rounding up his friends and heading home.  What a trip it has been.  Hyenas were howling right outside our tents last night.  We leave over a million wildebeast behind as we start the dusty drive home. Join us March 27 at our banquet.   Details at www.journeysofinspiration.com.  Also www.packpaddleski.com.

This is our last post until Galapagos in April.  Thanks for following

DATE: Feb 26 LOCATION: Serengeti, Wild Tented Camp We are really lucky today to hit the wildebeast migration. Normally it is not here this time of year but the weather pattern has changed. Thousands of zebra, gazelle and wildebeast spread out as far as you could see. Half the group started home today. They stoppedat tne orphanage to buy them maize today first. The large tented camp is surrounded by hartebeast and other wild animals. Hyena call in the distance. Amazing.