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Never a Dull Moment Each day during the week-long cruise, guests were offered a variety of activities including snorkeling with sea life, hiking on sand or lava rock, kayaking, going out on a glass-bottom boat or dinghy, and land-based sightseeing. On Santa Cruz Island, a bus took us to the highlands where we wandered among huge tortoises and walked through a cave-like lava tube. At Post Office Bay on Floreana Island, we put postcards in a whisky barrel like the ones that early whalers used for depositing letters that they hoped might be delivered to their loved ones. Regardless of the activity, wildlife was always the focus. While snorkeling, I saw a baby shark, chocolate chip sea stars, penguins, surgeonfish, manta rays, and colorful Sally Lightfoot crabs. I absolutely fell in love with blue footed boobies and was thrilled to see graceful flamingos take flight from a lagoon on Bartolomé Island. ere were so many turtles in Post Office Bay when we were kayaking that I had to be careful not to clobber them with my paddle, and seals and sea lions were everywhere. It took me a while, but I gradually came to appreciate land iguanas, though I still share Darwin's feelings about marine iguanas, which he famously described as "hideous-looking." Hideous or not, it was exciting to see so many unusual animals and, because they are protected, they aren't the least bit afraid of humans. One fellow traveler actually stood toe-to-toe with a blue footed booby, and I all but cuddled up with a land iguana. Pretty sure there's a lesson there — I also want to remember that the therapeutic benefit of a beautiful beach can be undone by intrusive trappings. Darwin isn't the only one to learn something in the Galápagos. detour << destinations ranchandcoast.com 72 JANUARY 2023 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE