My sister and I celebrated our 60th birthdays in Galapagos February 8-18, 2019, organized through Active Adventures and a local touring company, Galakiwi. Our active, land based "Tortuga" tour consisted of a group of just seven people and our awesome guide, a Level 3 naturalist, Galapagos native with a degree in Biology, "Zambo." (We also had an assistant guide on each island as well as a Captain and first mate of the brand new, really nice boat which was ours for the week.) Every person we met on each of the four islands we visited clearly enjoyed Zambo as much as we did, and our small group was greeted and treated like welcomed visitors everywhere we went.

Thanks to Zambo, a steward of his beloved homeland, we all understand and respect the beauty of this perfectly balanced place on Earth. Most days, he was with us at least twelve hours a day, biking, hiking, kayaking, swimming, boating, snorkeling, eating, and teaching us about everything we did or saw or ate. He is an amazing teacher and didn't leave a detail untouched. Zambo made us feel safe even when we were out of our "comfort zones," surprised us over and over again with his wealth of knowledge, and never disappointed when it came to food! Every restaurant, every inn, every picnic, every snack was homemade, healthy, and memorable! Will we ever forget our warm chicken and rice picnic near the rim of a volcano in the rain? Or the yummy traditional soup before every lunch and dinner? Or the freshly squeezed fruit juice? Or the catch of the day? Or the fresh fruit on the boat after a snorkel? And the homemade dessert twice a day...

Being land based, we enjoyed the islands' friendly, gracious people much more than had we been on a boat tour. (Did you know there is NO crime in the Galapagos?!) Our accommodations were second to none, considering the remoteness of the islands, and were just another example of every detail that was carefully planned and executed by Active Adventures, Galakiwi, and, of course, Zambo and his assistants. Even on Floreana, the least inhabited island of the archipelago, we had ocean-front rooms in a simple but special place, Hotel Wittmer. We were fortunate to meet the inn owners, who have owned the inn for generations, and purchase a fabulous book written by Margret Wittmer about life on Floreana (which is the basis for The Galapagos Affair, a documentary on NetFlix). I even had homemade cake made by the Wittmers on my 60th!

I brought home pounds of fantastic coffee beans from a farm we visited, crazy-good chocolate from another local family, and some gorgeous, locally made art. But the most important souvenir I brought back to Vermont is a greater respect for our planet and its inhabitants. Experiencing the untouched beauty of the islands' heavenly fauna and flora was life changing. The symbiotic relationship of all living things in Galapagos is simply out of this world.

Gracias por un viaje de tu vida!

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