Penguins at the Equator? How could I resist!
It's not like I have a check list of all the penguin species I have seen, but when I booked a trip to the Galapagods Islands, I wanted to make sure the itinerary included the Galapagos Penguin. After all, I have been on four trips to Antarctica and have seen what that continent has to offer in term of penguins, so I might as well try to get a glimpse of the penguin that lives at the Equator, far from the nearest iceberg.
I was not disappointed. Not only did I see them, at one location I was swimming with them. Now that wouldn't happen in Antarctica!

But there is more to these 19 Enchanted Islands that lie in the Pacific Ocean some 1,000 km from the South American continent. The Galapagos Islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique ‘living museum and showcase of evolution’. Many species that developed here exist nowhere else on the planet, and each island is a new world with its own unique species and habitats a true ‘melting pot’.

But for me, it was a wonderful photo opportunity to wander around landscape that at times looked like it was on the moon and shoot (with the camera of course!) animals who have developed no fear of man. Where else could I snorkel with sea lions and and giant sea turtles; or hike around giant, spitting iguanas, and dancing blue-footed boobies?
For over a week we sailed around these islands and explored the exotic creatures that exist here.

A pilgrimage to the Galápagos Islands is the dream of every nature lover, and photographer.