We are on a road trip this morning. We see tortoise all over the road. Here if you hit a tortoise with your car, you are fined $25,000 and will spend 2 years in prison. They are not nocturnal so there is no reason not to see them.

At the beach – Playa El Garrapatero, we are very privileged to see 4 flamingos feeding with a black-necked stilt. Isabella tells us that the pink colors comes from eating shrimps. The better fed they are the more pink!

This beach is beautiful with a lovely brick path leading to it. Brown pelicans are everywhere. While there are Pelicans in Florida, the browns one are native to Galapagos.

We make our way to El Trapiche ranch to learn more about the local cane sugar and coffee process. They process the sugar cane very much like we process maple syrup, ending up with sugar through evaporation. He also makes moonshine with it. Here Chuck is sampling the moonshine mixed with pure cane sugar.

Love the microphone flowers they grow which are not native.

The 3 stages of the cafe bean.

The coffee beans are excellent, we are invited to crunch some with a bit if sugar cane sugar and a small cacao bean. So good – my new favorite snack!

Adrianno owns the El Trapiche ranch, he arrived here in 1950 and is now 85 years old. Everything is harvested and processed by hand and 100% organic, with produces only sold at the ranch.

The Cacao beans which we are invited to taste prior to roasting. Tastes like a plum when you are close to the pit.

We see a field with cows and turtles and cow egrets eating side by side. It is interesting that cows, pigs and chickens were introduced by the Spaniards. Prior to that the ecudorian, similarly to the Incas, were mostly vegetarians and thriving.

If they are slowly crossing the road, we must wait. During the rainy season they start their 2-weeks, 17 km journey to the dry area because they do not like when ponds overflow and grass is swampy.

12- We visit a lava tunnel. There are several on the island.

13- Over to the tortoise ranch for lunch and to observe some of the biggest ones on the island. The male can grow to 500 pounds. While they like to lay in a pond to rest, their face never goes under water and they must touch the bottom. We were lucky to see so many as the rain season has started.

I was excited to catch one in movement. Most of them are eating and static.

14- The next day, we are on an expedition to Seymour island. We begin with a gentle hike around the island. It is full of land iguanas, here we catch a male eating which is rare. Usually they are like a statue.

15- There is a beautiful spot where the waves are crashing with many sea lions froliquing.

16- But mostly this island is known for being the breeding area for Frigatebird. When they were explaining that the male have this big red pouch to attract the female, I didn’t realize what they meant. They are puffing all right!! They stake their ground on a branch and do their best to attract the female. It is quite the show!

17- we also see cute 6-months old babies.

18- And more blue footed booby – normally they are mostly gone by now so we feel lucky to be able to see a few.

19- Off we go snorkeling again. Ricardo prepares us for seeing sharks. Here they are full of fishes and have no interest in humans. It is hard to wrap our heads around this. But sure enough, we come across a small black-tip shark and then….a group of probably 20 white-tips SHARKS swimming right there below us. Some up to 6feet long. I stay close to Ricardo. Chuck has had enough and gets out of the water.

It is really an unbelievable experience! I curse myself again for forgetting our underwater GoPro.

20- There are so many pristine and beautiful beaches here!

21- We walk to the other end of the Main Street to end the day with a lovely dinner at a restaurant overlooking the water. The setting is fantastic.

Tomorrow we leave for Isabella island and more adventures!